Only 19.7% of the 81,363 students in Kentucky who are identified with a disability are enrolled in secondary education within one year of graduating high school.  Visually impaired students make up 6,509 youth across our state (ed.gov).  To help them prepare for real life, a special version of “It’s Your Reality” 4-H program was offered at the Knott Co Sportsplex.  Thirty-five students from all across the region, along with their aides, participated in the program.  

     One of the adaptations utilized in this program was the “folded money” technique.  In order to identify the paper bills in their wallets, the visually impaired learned to fold each bill a particular way in order to identify them. This is an essential skill they will be able to take with them to use in their daily life.

     Only one of the thirty-five had used the folded money technique before the beginning of the program.  By the end, 100% of the students were able to demonstrate this ability to fold.  One-hundred percent of students, upon completion of the program, also reported they would feel comfortable practicing this skill in their daily life.  

     The “It’s your Reality” 4-H program instills an awareness in youth about any upcoming expenses they might face in life, and also helps them learn to manage their income in order to survive. Furthermore, the youth were presented with how the relationship between performance in school and success in secondary education would give them the ability to fund their wants versus minimum needs.  Twenty-eight out of thirty-five students who completed the program were able to make the connection between the importance of secondary education and their future life satisfaction.  

     Twenty-one 4-H teen volunteers assisted and helped the visually impaired students learn to utilize the folded money techniques in order to complete the “It’s Your Reality” program.  The volunteers were responsible for explaining each real-life situation and assist each student with handling their folded money.  These twenty-one volunteers stated this experience is one where they truly applied their communication skills while learning to overcome any challenges presented that day.



Kentucky. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.ed.gov/category/location/kentucky