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Empathy and Inclusion: Celebrating 30 Years of A Touch of Understanding (Update)

·57 min·5 clips

A student in Arnold shocks Karen by revealing he also has a prosthetic eye, turning a lesson into a shared surprise.

This episode features Megan Adamski, Executive Director, and Karen Parsegian, a longtime volunteer, from the nonprofit A Touch of Understanding (ATOU), which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The organization runs a hands-on disability awareness program called "Wheelchairs, White Canes, Prosthetics, and Candid Conversations" for students. The program was founded by Leslie DeDora, inspired by her childhood experiences with an aunt who had intellectual disabilities and her son's lasting curiosity after interacting with disability exhibits at a museum. ATOU has reached over 157,000 students across 10 counties, typically working with grades three through six, though it also serves older students. Karen Parsegian, who is blind, shares that she was recruited after "three taps on the shoulder," including a recommendation from a principal at her niece's school. During school visits, students are split into groups to participate in hands-on activities like using a wheelchair, walking with a white cane, writing in Braille, and learning about learning differences like dyslexia and ADHD. The other group engages in candid conversations with speakers with disabilities, who discuss their lives and tools like prosthetic limbs. Karen describes passing around a prosthetic eye in a container, noting a student once humorously interrupted her bit by claiming to also carry an artificial eye. A memorable moment involved two fifth-grade boys who, a full year after a workshop, accurately recalled a speaker's name and her message about her traumatic brain injury and paralysis from a drunk driving incident. The program also offers a "Dark Meal" experience for groups like BTC (Boys Team Charity), where participants are blindfolded to simulate eating a meal without sight, aiming to build empathy. Karen facilitates these meals, noting participants often shed their initial apprehension. The impact extends beyond the classroom, with stories of students applying lessons at community parks, like a boy who included a peer on the autism spectrum because he remembered ATOU. Funding comes partially from school fees, which cover less than half the cost, with the rest from grants, an annual fundraiser, and individual donations. The organization employs a small team of eight and relies on about 50 workshop volunteers, roughly half of whom have disabilities. For its 30th-anniversary celebration in April 2026, ATOU plans a fundraiser at Timber Creek Lodge in Roseville to honor its founder and milestones. The tone is conversational, inspirational, and focused on personal narratives and program specifics. Listeners interested in community-based nonprofits, disability inclusion, or educational outreach would appreciate this episode. Those seeking highly produced narrative drama or broad policy debates might find it less aligned with their interests.

As heard by us

A grounded look at empathy built through everyday contact.

This episode keeps its focus on a simple idea: empathy gets built through contact, not slogans. The volunteer partnerships and the dark meal exercise do most of the work.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how a blindfolded meal helps students find common threads with people they first meet as strangers.

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