According to the 2010 U.S. Census, one in five Americans has some kind of disability.

Disabilities can range from having mild difficulties speaking to not being able to get out bed in the morning.

On March 24, CHS students in the Introduction to Medical Careers and Medical Terminology and Procedures 2 classes, observed Physical Disability Day.

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Beth Craig, a Health Careers Academy teacher, said the “purpose of this activity is to allow students to experience how a day may be if they could not hear, see clearly, use a limb, etc.”

Students participated by pretending to have a disability during the regular school day.

A student taking part in this event could have had: Difficulties walking, hearing loss, impaired vision, arm paralysis, and paralyzed vocal cords.

To enhance their experience, one might have found themselves roaming the hallways with crutches, an eye patch, ear plugs, a cane, or the inability to speak.

Students and teachers were then forced to work around the impairment and still complete all of their assignments.

The goal of Physical Disability Day is to teach others what it’s like to have a physical handicap.

Senior Chris McCullough, who on March 24 temporarily had hearing loss by wearing ear plugs, believes it did just that.

McCullough said he learned “to appreciate that I am 100% healthy” and that having a disability is “just tough in general.”

Similarly, senior Sierra Goshea also views Physical Disability Day as a positive learning experience.

Goshea said she “learned so much from [Physical] Disability Day” because “it showed me even more that a small act of kindness can really help someone.”