Disability Awareness Training Beth Elkins Personal Support Manager Cambridge Regional College What does disability mean? Medical model Social model What can a disabled person expect from their college? What types of disabilities affect people in what way? Invisible disability (and lack of awareness of people to make adjustments) Sensory disability (as above, really!) Mental Health (and again!) Visible disability (and assumptions made around these) Reasonable adjustments you can make Attitudes to disability and how to change them!

Medical Model of Disability The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a disabled person as: “someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. DDA was slightly amended to include people with cancer, HIV and MS, who are covered from the point of diagnosis rather than from when symptoms begin to adversely affect life

Social Model of Disability Reaction to Medical Model Systemic Barriers Negative Attitudes Exclusion A person is only dis-abled if society and its functions make them that way. Body as a machine that needs to be ‘fixed’ to reach a level of normalcy again

Types of Disability Invisible Disability Mental Health People aren't necessarily aware that adjustments need to be made Mental Health Interpretation of situations may not always be accurate Sensory Disability Effect on communication and understanding Visible Disability Assumptions and attitudes of others

Attitudes to Disability Equalities Act places an obligation on providers to promote and advance attitudes to disability Range from offensive, through ignorant, to inclusive Make assumptions Make mistakes

Emerging Attitudes to Disability How can I change this activity to make it more accessible? Can you come and give us some training? We’d like to do a project on the VLE to make our vocabulary more accessible to Deaf people We’re planning a trip; can you give us some advice on accessibility, please? What can I do to ensure inclusion?

Support Strategies Develop a relationship directly with the student, regardless of whether they have someone there to support them Encourage the learner to define their support needs and be realistic about what you can provide Encourage the learner to participate in the review of their support plan Adjust support accordingly

Teaching Strategies Make your classroom accessible to the learner, regardless of disability Make use of positive language and avoid language that could offend If you aren’t sure what works – ask the learner! Take opportunities to raise awareness of issues faced by people with disabilities to improve societal attitudes

"Disability is not a brave struggle or ‘courage in the face of adversity.’ Disability is an art. It’s an ingenious way to live." Neil Marcus