Before you are thinking to involve people with disabilities in various activities
Checklist
I can / I cannot / I possibly can …
- see blood
- clean up excrements
- lift someone into bed (physical strength)
- dress/undress someone
- wash someone
- be with someone that is swearing aloud
- accept patronizing attitudes to the person with disability you are with
- talk to someone who is not 100% coherent in his speech/behavior
- have patience and respect towards people with behavioral problems
- deal with provocative, aggressive behavior
- accept sexuality of young people with disability
- touching & hugging of disabled
- be patient and respectful towards people with behavioral problems
- accept the exclusion by deaf people who use sign language with each other
- help people with life saving equipment (without which there is a risk of dying)
You can do a similar exercise with the young people with a disability to find out their limits and preferences as well
- go out and talk with people with disabilities, give all the details of the venue, explain all procedures convincing their parents that they can participate in your activities
- deal with physical obstacles (installing ramps or hold meetings/activities in accessible places)
- do activities at different times (persons with some disabilities get tired earlier or need more time for their evening hygiene)
- be willing to write down or visualize all decisions and talks
- provide all documents in braille or electronic format (so it can be read with a braille reader)
- compromise on the “quality” of a final product so that persons with an intellectual disability can participate
- find and divide tasks and activities for people with different abilities you can change of thinking and working
- Doing a mixed-ability project, does not mean you should have persons from as many different disability types as possible.
- Be realistic about what your group can ‘carry’. Persons are able to survive independently enough volunteers or staff to support the persons with disability It is best to start small and increase the number of participants with a disability gradually
Provide
- Accessibility of the venue (bedrooms, bathrooms, toilets, working rooms, restaurants, parking,…) – vertical and horizontal mobility
- Accessible working methods (audio loops, braille reader, flpilchards at an accessible height,
- Daily life –appropriate assistive equipment for eating, washing, sleeping
- a space to switch off when they are tired, to rest or, relax,…
Inform persons with disabilities about …
- Accessible public transport, variety of indications of where you are, where to get off, ramps, braille, vocal & visual announcements, alternatives,…
- Outings in the city – accessibility, obstacles, (adapted) maps or indicators, always move in couples/group, accessible public toilets
- companies that can hire/sell/repair assistive equipment (wheelchairs, hoists, walking aids, hearing aids, special glasses, etc) when you need it
- Take the most demanding requirement as minimum standard e.g. the largest wheelchair, the slowest walker or eater, the person with the least vision
Evaluation of the participants in relation to their abilities.
Ask the participants, their parents, personal assistant or doctor if they
- can stay (sleep, eat, wash) alone or do they need assistance
- use communication devices
- depend on accessible transportation to get to work, doctor’s appointments, or to other places in his community
- receive medical treatments (e.g. dialysis) on a regular basis
- need assistance with personal care
- rely on electrically dependent equipment or other durable equipment
- use mobility aids such as a walker, cane, or a wheelchair
- have a service animal
Ask about the special needs of the participants related to
- Care, medicine, material, food
- Methods to keep up concentration – intellectual, practical, creative, verbal
- Work on people’s self-esteem and sense of achievement – sometimes young people with a disability don’t even think that they could ever go on an international project
- Make everybody in the group feel comfortable – spend enough time for group building and get to know each other, begin with relatively few activities based on involvement and gradually proceed to more and more challenging activities, create trust and friendship between peers
- Deal with frustrations or dissatisfaction – foresee moments of feedback and evaluation (individual, in smaller groups, in national groups, before-during-after
- Take time for fun and feel-good moments – can either be during free time or as an incorporated part of the programme
- Give enough free time – not only in the group but also alone (to recover from the intense group life)
- Foresee a life-line to the home front – create the possibility to speak/ mail parents, friends, people back home related to the medical condition of all participants, and in particular to the people with a disability you must know
- What particular medication do the young people and youth worker need – collect information about their usage, take extra in case of loss, find out the name of the active component (because brands are different in different countries)
- What type of personal care items do the people on the project need (e.g. adapted toiletries, nappies, etc) – can you buy more of them abroad when you run out of them?
One must
- Keep the numbers and addresses of local doctor/nearest hospital/ emergency care handy
- Make a list of contact numbers of people that know the people’s special needs and how to deal with them – parents, guardians, doctor at home
- Have recently First Aid training or have a nurse in your team
Related to needs of the young people and their parent’s vis-à-vis the youth organization and youth workers that are taking the young people abroad.
- Get appropriate insurance – health insurance for the country you are going to, travel insurance for luggage & expensive assistive equipment, repatriation in case of emergency
- Clarify your role and liability as a youth worker towards the young people you work with – get parental consent, inform them about the programme of activities, ask them for agreement, allow opting-out for specific parts of the programme…
- Check rules & regulations for youth work both in your country and abroad – minimum requirements, special provisions when working with mixed-ability groups,…
- Think if you need a qualification/ brevet/ authorisation for the development of your activities guard,…
- Have ready an action plan, a proper risk assessment ,a crisis management strategy in case something goes wrong