According to the US Census, around 11% of individuals under 65 in Nelson County are living with a disability. To support educational efforts during Disability Awareness month, the Understanding Disabilities program was offered to Nelson County Educators. 

This Understanding Disability curriculum includes 12 suggested lessons each of which covers a unique disability. Each session identifies a specific disability that is illustrated through the reading of the identified book. Each lesson includes five to 10 questions that ask the audience about certain aspects of the story for help discussing the topic. Activity options are included to help build understanding and consideration of others who experience various disabilities. The intended audience is children ages 5 to 9; however, additional book titles are recommended for older and younger audiences.

  In order to reach a larger number of students, Danielle Hagler, Nelson County Cooperative Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences choose to provide the program by video supported with lesson plans for the educators to implement.  Fifteen volunteers, who are, or were advocates for, individuals living with disabilities, were recorded on video narrating the books in the series. They began each video with their connection to the content.   Danielle partnered with a 4-H volunteer to edit the video and produce them in an unlisted Youtube channel.  Educators in the county could sign up for 3 of the 14 topics to share with their students.  The videos were accompanied by a lesson plan to support the story.

Twelve Pre-K- 5 grade educators signed up to share the videos with their students or shared with their entire school.  Over 1,300 students either viewed the videos or had access to the videos through online access shared with their parents. 

The videos had  over 300 views from 207 unique viewers. One unexpected outcome from the program was the impact it had on the volunteer narrators.  One narrator shared, "I wish I had this book as a child.  It helped me better understand myself."  Another narrator stated, "Sometimes I forget my mom is deaf/has a hearing impairment. It seems like a normal thing to me. Doing this video reminded me of my life and how my family has had to overcome many obstacles. It was a great self-reflection, life reflection, and gave me a different view toward my mom. I can only hope a lot of people could do the same for their family members or friends who have similar impairments."