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Description

Discuss the different ways people might be disabled, and figure out how we can adapt the world so it’s accessible.

Source https://www.scouts.org.uk/beavers/activity-badges/disability-awareness/

Resources

Take it further
Disability is one of the themes of A Million Hands. If people are interested, they could check out the A Million Hands resources, and even work towards their Community Impact Staged Activity Badge by taking action around disability.

Youth shaped guidance
If people find something they could change about their meeting place, empower them to plan and make the changes themselves, whether they make some better signs or fundraise for a ramp.

Safety
All activities must be safely managed. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Do a risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Always get approval for the activity and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Change the level of challenge
Groups could think about a game or activity that you enjoy. Are there any barriers? How could it be adapted to be more inclusive?

Instructions

If you want to, you could contact an organisation such as the Guide Dogs or National Autistic Society to visit and help everyone find out about disability. If anyone’s disabled or knows anyone who’s disabled (and they’re happy to talk to the group), you could invite them along to talk about their experiences.

1. Split into small groups. Each group should talk about what they think the word disability means, and different ways people might be disabled.
2. Everyone should share their ideas – what did they talk about? The person leading the game should help everyone understand what a disability is, and different ways people might be disabled. [We’ve included some information below to get you started and help you explain.]
3. Get back into the small groups. The person leading the game should give each group a different impairment or condition to consider. For example, some people could think about sight impairments, others could think about people who use wheelchairs, or people with dyslexia.
4. Groups should think about barriers people might face. What sorts of things might mean they’re left out or excluded?
5. Groups should talk about things that could get rid of or avoid these barriers to make places and activities accessible. We’ve included some examples, to get you started.
6. Everyone should come back together and share some of their ideas. What can you do to make sure everyone’s included?



Reflection
This activity helped you to respect others. Now that we know that some disabilities are invisible, how does this change how we think about other people (for example, if we see someone very angry or upset we won’t stare at them or presume they’re being naughty)? Why is it important to make sure disabled people are able to access things? Why is it important to ask before you try to help a disabled person?

This activity also gave you the chance to care about other people. How do you think it feels to be left out because people don’t make activities accessible? How do you think it feels when people make sure that things are accessible? Why is it important that we think about accessibility? What can we do to help make things accessible?


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Disability facts
Here is some information to consider when learning about different disabilities:

- The law says that someone is disabled if they ‘have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities’. This means it’s more difficult to do the sorts of things most of us do every day, and that difficulty stays for a long period of time.
- Impairments can affect our bodies or our minds, or both. For example, they might affect someone’s senses (such as hearing or vision), their learning, or the way their body works.
- Some disabilities are invisible ­– you can’t always tell if someone’s disabled by looking at them.
- One way of looking at disability is that people are disabled by the world around them, rather than their bodies (or minds). For example, someone who can’t walk might use a wheelchair. They’ll be disabled and left out if their friends have a party upstairs in a building where there isn’t a lift. They might also be disabled and left out if all of the tills in a shop are high and they can’t reach. If every building had lifts and ramps, accessible toilets, and lowered switches, it might be that they’d be able to do normal daily activities – they might not feel disabled or left out.
- This way of looking at disability encourages us to think about the barriers that make life harder for disabled people. If we remove these barriers, we create equality and offer disabled people more independence and the chance to join in with everyone. We should treat disabled people with the same respect and care as we do everyone else – and this means caring about the barriers they say they experience, and doing our best to avoid or get rid of the barriers when we can.


Examples of adjustments and accessibility
Every wheelchair user is an individual, so people’s needs will be different. In general, though, some wheelchair users might need:
- places to have ramps or lifts instead of (or as well as) stairs.
- places to have an accessible toilet with equipment that helps them use it.
- the red cord in disabled toilets to be left loose, so they can pull it if they need help.
- people to make things such as light switches or cupboards lower down, so they can reach them while sitting.
- a space (instead of a chair) at places such as the cinema.

Everyone who is blind or partially sighted (or has a visual impairment) is an individual, so people’s needs will be different. In general, though, some people might need:
- things like boxes of medicine to have braille on, so they know what’s inside.
- television shows, films, or plays to be audio described.
- road crossings to make a noise so they know when it’s safe to cross.
- a bumpy floor near a road crossing to warn them where a road is.
- their computer or phone to read out loud (so they need people to make sure their websites can be read by technology).

Everyone with dyslexia is an individual, so people’s needs will be different. In general, though, some people with dyslexia might need:
- verbal (spoken) instructions rather than written ones.
- text in a different colour, size, or font.
- their computer or phone to read out loud (so they need people to make sure their websites can be read by technology).
- spell checking software.
- more time to do tasks that involve reading and writing (and/or more frequent breaks).
ways to show what they know without writing (for example, drawing or talking to someone).

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Badge Links

• Disability Awareness - Disability definition
• Disability Awareness - Explain