People sometimes wonder if this kind of workshop is necessary and I think it is, because activity must be inclusive for everyone.
Those with learning disabilities face a lot of barriers to taking part in sport and physical activity, but the workshop helps people and organisations to be aware of these and how to overcome them.
According to Sport England, people with learning disabilities are also less likely to take part in sport and physical activity, but that doesn't mean they don't want to be active - they just don’t have the same opportunities to participate.
But this workshop helps to improve understanding of how to help disabled people get active.
Since the pandemic we have delivered 58 workshops across the country reaching 989 people and we'll keep working to reach many more.
People have passed on great compliments about the course, too, including the following:
‘Thank you so much for explaining everything and for the amazing practical exercises, which clearly and practically made us understand what a person with learning difficulties needs to deal with on a daily basis, and how that can affect them and how those around them (coaches and helpers) that are giving the session need to adaptable.’
So what examples of practical things can be done to help coaches and helpers to design better sessions for people with disabilities?
Take time think about the language you use.
Language that some people use in their day-to-day lives can be hard to understand for others.
So as a coach, if you need to explain how to do a particular exercise, ask yourself: 'can someone with a learning disability understand what I'm saying?'
If they can’t, how do you think that makes them feel?
So use simple language and break information down into smaller chunks and, where needed, give people enough time to understand new information.
Some people don’t know there are pathways to global competitions for people with learning disabilities.
Find out what is out there for people with a learning disability and how they can get involved.
Inclusive recruitment in our sector
So as well as disabled people being active, how easy is it for disabled people to work in our sector? We need to ensure there are inclusive recruitment possibilities.
For me, inclusive recruitment looks like people with learning disabilities having an equal chance for jobs.
When you’re in employment, you’re included in different parts of the company and you’re seen as an equal, which means you don’t get excluded.
I also think that speaking to people and understanding their training or accessibility needs is important because that helps them feel included in their workplace and beyond.
In this sense, learning disability-focused training helps employers to understand things from the perspective of someone with a learning disability.
They can then make changes to the workplace to make it more inclusive, like communicating in different ways because for instance, some people may prefer voice notes rather than emailing.
The most important thing is knowing that each person is different and will have different needs, so if we can understand those differences we can then go about helping them.
The benefits of inclusive work environments
When I think of the benefits I bring to those I work with as a tutor with lived experience as a disabled person, I think of talking about my life experiences and sharing advice to help them be more inclusive in their coaching offers.
But what’s more important is that when people see me in a leadership role, it opens their eyes to a better understanding of how people with a learning disability can and must be employed.
As an employer you don’t want to tell people’s stories for them.
Instead, working to employ disabled people helps you to better understand them and letting them tell their own stories has a massive impact and something that I think is key is for employers to think of different ways to advertise job opportunities to people with learning disabilities.
This could be word-of-mouth, contacting or visiting local organisations to present the job opportunities, or providing easy-read information about the available positions.
The easier the better.
I feel that recruiters could have better ways of allowing people with learning disabilities to fill in applications, possibly with video applications.
They could also allow voice notes or online meetings, depending on the person and their individual needs, and it's important to give people the space to have comfortable conversations and to not make interviews an intimidating situation.
Those in charge of recruiting could offer people the chance to have support during the interview if needed and, most importantly, they should chat to disabled people like regular people, because we are!
As a leader make sure you take action – rather than just talking – and don’t make empty promises.
Help inspire others to be the leaders they want to be in their life and in their community by helping them feel like they have a fair chance and equal opportunities to get the advertised job.
If you would like to find out more about the workshop, please get in touch.
