The third annual “Reaching Out for Answers” Disability Resource Expo held on Saturday featured 66 resource and service exhibitors, with demonstrations aimed toward spreading awareness about the disabled community in Urbana-Champaign.

University students from a special education class titled The Culture of Disability participated in the expo, held at Lincoln Square Village in Urbana, by creating a “sensory experience” service-learning project to allow all interested participants to understand what it is like to live with a disability.

The “sensory experience” consisted of wheelchair and walking brace activities, an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder station and a visual impairment simulation.

“This is teaching people what it’s like have a disability so they can better understand people with disabilities,” said Samantha Kocher, freshman in Education.

Some of the activities were harder to do than others, said Madisyn Cheatham, sixth grader from Champaign. She said the walking brace activity was particularly difficult because participants were asked to walk up and down steps while wearing a pair of leg braces.

“I learned that some people are just born different,” Cheatham said.

Each activity provided awareness and information about a different disability.

“Whenever you experience something, it changes your perspective on it,” said Olivia Ebinger, sophomore in Education. “We’re not just telling them about it; they’re actually experiencing it,” Ebinger said.

The expo has been held for the past three years to inform the community about resources and services that people with disabilities can utilize.

“One of the reasons that we do this is for general awareness about disabilities,” said Barbara Bressner, expo coordinator and a consultant for the Champaign County Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Board.

The expo is also another event used to dispel misconceptions about the disabled community.

“It’s a way to eliminate the stigma that is related to disabilities by people learning and being more educated about the disability community,” Bressner added.

Despite the presence of the disabled community on campus, students still may not be aware of the issues this community faces, said Travis Von Alst, freshman in Education.

“I feel like students are not as aware as they could be because I know I wasn’t until I started taking this class,” Von Alst said.