Riley Regan is a nine year old Villa fan who was chosen to be a mascot for a recent game. Riley has autism and struggles with loud noises. He has ear defenders to help him keep calm, but he was worried if he wore them to walk on to the pitch, that the footballers would laugh at him.
Villa Forward Danny Ings wore ear defenders and walked with Riley. Danny Ings said there was a lot of ignorance around autism and he wanted to help raise awareness. Riley's Mum said following Danny's gesture, other parents have contacted her to say their children no longer feel embarrassed to wear ear defenders in public.
Mum said, "Riley was worried that the players and other fans would laugh at him so the fact he wasn't the only one wearing them made him so happy. What Danny Ings did has had such a positive impact on raising awareness and making children like Riley feel less alone. That's all we really wanted, just to show people that even if a child has a disability - that doesn't mean he's not the same as everyone else."
- what is a mascot in football, what do they have to do, what do you think it's like to be a mascot?
- what is autism? (I asked Oliver, a child with autism how to describe what autism means. Oliver told me, "autism is your brain wired differently so you see the world in a different way. It' just a different view of the world." Oliver says some things are harder for him but but also he better at some things than other children.)
- Why ask a child with autism to be a mascot? Isn't that insensitive knowing the noise and sensory overload the job involves? (no, it's not insensitive, everyone should have the right to be a mascot, sometimes we just have to do things in a different way)
- Why was Riley worried?
- If Riley was so worried, why didn't he leave his ear defenders home for one afternoon? (Danny has the right to wear whatever makes him feel comfortable)
- Why do you think Danny Ings chose to wear ear defenders when he doesn't need them?
- "What Danny Ings did has had such a positive impact on raising awareness and making children like Riley feel less alone." explain this comment
- What was the impact of Danny's decision on a) Riley b) the other players c) the crowd d) the world
- why do you think the photo went viral?
- "Even if a child has a disability - that doesn't mean he's not the same as everyone else." - is this correct? Are we all the same? How would you respond to this comment? (We're not all the same, all of us have differences but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be treated equally. At our school we're not afraid of differences; we understand our differences because we ask questions and talk about them so that we can support each other if we need support. There are no outsiders here) (note: there is a tendency to slip in to language such as "We celebrate our differences" here, but be careful not to use that word- we don't need to celebrate ear defenders, we just need to understand and accept them as part of our everyday life.)
- What can we learn from Riley?
- What can we learn from Danny Ings?
- Why is this about No Outsiders?
www.no-outsiders.com
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