The annual Carmel Sensory Skate Day will take place on Jan. 29 at the Ice at Carter Green from 5 to 7 p.m. According to transportation development coordinator Kevin Whited, Sensory Skate Day provides a sensory friendly skating experience for individuals with disabilities. Various measures will be in place for the event. For two hours, the event staff will lower announcement volume, dim the lighting and turn off the music. In addition, the amount of people on the ice will be limited to 50, as opposed to 250 that the Ice at Carter Green usually accommodates.
Whited said Sensory Skate Day is Carmel’s take on similar accessibility events in other cities.
“This event was started as a collaboration between the City of Carmel and the Carmel Advisory Committee on Disabilities in order to promote inclusivity in our city programs,” Whited said.
Special education teacher Natalie Brand said Sensory Skate Day has benefits beyond providing access to a safe skating environment. Brand said sensory friendly events help provide everyone with the satisfaction of engaging in an experience they may not have otherwise.
“I think that it’s important that individuals with special needs get to participate in community events,” Brand said. “I think it’s important that everyone knows that they provide value as part of the community. It’s also important for parents, because it shows them that other people care about their kids. It can also give parents some much needed time to themselves because it can be really hard to be a parent of someone with special needs.”
Justin Macharia, Best Buddies president and senior, said events like Sensory Skate Day are necessary to fight stereotypes surrounding individuals with disabilities.
“I joined Best Buddies because growing up I watched my grandfather and grandmother in South Bend care for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities,” Macharia said. “I think (these events) are important as there are a lot of misconceptions about the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) community.”
Brand said working with individuals with special needs, even if only for a brief period of time, can have long lasting impacts.
“In fourth grade, my teacher put me with a student who had autism and had me be her buddy,” Brand said. “Nobody else wanted to be friends with her. But building that relationship with her was what I think really made her feel valued every day.”