Day of wheelchair basketball helps raise awareness for people living with disability

Students at North Albany Senior High School put theory into practice, testing themselves with a day of wheelchair basketball to raise awareness about the challenges of life for those living with a disability.

On Tuesday, Year 10-12 students from the Albany Secondary Education Support Centre took part in games of wheelchair basketball at NASHS.

The day started with a speech from Clint Morgan from Rebound WA, who gave the students an insight into his life-changing accident. Students then hit the court, with a staff and students game one of the highlights of the day.

The initiative was an opportunity to cement classroom learning, according to NASHS teacher Kaiyisah Shariff.

“Students in Year 10 have been reading the book, Wheels, by Delwyne Stephens which is about a 15-year-old boy who has a motocross accident and becomes a paraplegic,” she said.

“As a result of studying the book, students have become more aware of the challenges that people with disabilities or people in wheelchairs face, especially living in Albany. “To increase awareness, especially as the Paralympics occurred, I invited Rebound WA to use their Wheel Life for Schools program to educate our students.”

Ms Shariff said that students learnt plenty that they would be able to apply in the community.

“Students learnt about life in a wheelchair, having resilience and to take the opportunities that come their way. They also had fun and worked as a team,” she said.

“This has been a valuable experience for our staff and students at NASHS and we have come away from the experience with an increased amount of respect and awareness for the challenges that come with living a disability.”