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Fat City Notes
Beyond F.A.T. City: A LookBack, a Look Ahead-A Co Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension The F.A.T. City workshop and video are my contributions to the important process of understanding learning disabilities. F.A.T. stands for Frustration, Anxiety, and Tension — and that's exactly what the participants experience. This workshop and video provide teachers, parents, caregivers, and siblings with the opportunity actually to experience the emotions and stresses that children with learning disabilities face daily. By using simulations and contrived activities as models (for example, telling a story without using any words that contain the letter N), the participants temporarily experience the frustration, anxiety, and tension that is the lifestyle of students with special needs. For the first time in years, these parents and educators are asked to sit on the other side of the teacher's desk. They are required to recite aloud and complete timed spelling and writing activities under great pressure. I play the role of an unforgiving — and uninformed — teacher. I yell. I scold. I ridicule. I interrupt. I embarrass. ("Try harder!" "Pay attention!" "Are you trying to be funny?" "Why can't you do this? Everyone else can." ) I recall the results with myriad emotions:
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