Notre Dame Mission VolunteersDiscussing Disability Inclusion

The webinar will begin shortly. Please let us know you’re “here”!

Our plan for today…

• Introduction to disability inclusion• Building an inclusive environment• Stories of inclusion• Action Planning: What can you do?

Housekeeping and Logistics

• Identify where your microphone/phone is

• Be ready to speak up! • Ask questions

Sharing “Gems”• Today you will have

discussions in your small group

• TONS of interesting things will come up

• Select the “gems” to share with the group

Who is here today?• As a site, you have five minutes to…

– Come up with a team name that reflects the diversity of your service site

– Be ready to share and explain your team name • Pick a spokesperson! • Make sure the spokesperson is close to the phone/mic

• OK! Introduction time!

What do we mean by “disability”?

• “Disability” is defined in different ways by different groups.

• Americans with Disabilities Act definition

• UN – “disability resides in the society, not the person”

Living with a disability- 40 Years ago

Christmas In Purgatory: A Photographic Essay On

MentalRetardation

Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan Human Policy Press, June 1, 1974

History of the Disability Movement

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“If we are to achieve a richer culture… we must weave one in which each diverse human gift will

find a fitting place” - Margaret Meade

Basic Disability Etiquette

• When offering assistance, – Ask first– Clarify assistance desired– Preferences are different– Be comfortable with “no”

• Always direct communication to the person with a disability, not to his or her companion, assistant or interpreter.

• Make a mistake? Apologize, correct, learn and move on

• Treat adults as adults

If you are ever unsure of acceptable language, acceptable etiquette, or anything else:

It is OK to Ask

• To be unaware and courteous is understandable, and often invited

• To make assumptions is often unacceptable

Basic Disability Etiquette

Language Why should you avoid saying…

- “cripple”?- Derived from an old German term

“kripple” which means “to be without power” which is completely untrue

- “wheelchair bound”?- A wheelchair is a means for mobility

and freedom, not something that restricts anyone

- “the” anything- “the blind” “the disabled” etc. groups

people into an undifferentiated category

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People First Language• The key is to use “person first”

language because people with disabilities are human first and have a disability second

• For example…– “A person who is blind” instead of

a “a blind person”– “A student with epilepsy” instead

of “an epileptic” – “A boy with an intellectual

disability” instead of “a retarded child”

What is “inclusion”?

As a team, please take five minutes to discuss:

• What does inclusion mean to you?• what might full inclusion look like at your

service site? • What might full inclusion look like on your

team?

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his

individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Universal DesignHow can we make

EVERYTHING accessible to

EVERYONE??

How can we make EVERYTHING accessible to

EVERYONE??

Universal Design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people,

to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or

specialized design

For example…

Provide essential information in different modes

Simple and Intuitive Use

Examples of Universal DesignAs a group, list as many examples of how you can use universal design in your program to make it more accessible•These examples can be:

– physical (space, objects, buildings) or – programmatic (things you do that enable everyone to

participate)

Prizes for creative, innovative examples!

Americans with Disabilities in National Service

“Because I’m blind doesn’t mean that I’m not intelligent, and it doesn’t mean that I can’t contribute. Because I need some accommodation or help in some areas, doesn’t mean that I don’t have a lot of tools that I can use in general society. I can read and write and think and do physical labor probably as well as the next person given the appropriate tools.”

-Steve Hoad

Former AmeriCorps member with Maine Conservation Corps

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Video

“I learned a lot about my own limits, my own abilities as far as what I will accept from others, ways in which I can grow, the potential that I have. As well as recognizing that really the only limits placed on me are those limits that I am willing to accept, so I don’t need to put any limits on myself as far as dreams or anything”

-Margaret StranAmeriCorps*NCCC Alumna

Video

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“I work with AmeriCorps Service for 1 year. I have no interpreter. I only need an interpreter for meetings. I don't need that for work. I just write a note with some members and I taught some members some basic sign language like: "work, breaktime, what, where, why, toilet, see you later, bye, and hi". I can read lips a little bit, not long sentences just two or three words.”

-Kevin PachecoHoopa AmeriCorps on Native Lands

What will you do to be more inclusive?

In your service, how will you make your community more inclusive? •Take a moment to set a goal for yourself – what will you do to be more inclusive?•What resources/support will you need? •How will you know you’ve been successful?

Checking back in…

• In March, we will come back together as a group to check in on your inclusion efforts

• If you need support in the mean time, contact your site director or contact the National Service Inclusion Project!

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