Include Me!Ideas on how to include people with an intellectual disability or an acquired brain injury in conferencesThis guide is for people organising a conference and

for people going to a conference.

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Words used in this Presentation• Self Advocate: Someone with an intellectual disability or an acquired brain injury who speaks up for themselves and the rights of others

• Intellectual Disability: A disability that mostly affects the way a person learns. They may take longer to learn things, need special training and may have difficulties reading and writing. The disability may vary from person to person

• Acquired Brain Injury: Any type of brain damage that happens after birth. Causes include disease, substance abuse, oxygen deprivation, infection or a blow to the head.

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• Plain English: When you write or say something it should be easy to understand not jargon.

• Easy English: Information in short sentences sometimes with pictures to help explain the meaning. You should work with a Self Advocate to check that the meaning is understood.

• Support Person or Advisor: Supports a person with an intellectual disability or an acquired brain injury to understand what is being said and makes sure the person is listened to.

More words used in this Presentation

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WORDSSelf Advocates find that one of the biggest

issues is the wording of documents

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Predominant

Main

Example

Use Plain or Easy English

WORDS

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Don’t Use JargonParadigm

Paradox

Inter-related

AccentuateUtilisation

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Acronyms?These are Acronyms

AFDO = Australian Federation of Disability Organisations

DHS = Department of Human Services

If you use an acronym spell out the letters or provide a handout with a list of the acronyms and their meanings

CRU = Community Residential Unit

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If difficult words need to be used put the meaning next to the word

or include a word list

Word List1. Subsequent = after2. Keynote Speakers = the main speakers3. State of the Art = latest4. Retain = keep

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WORDS

Use clear fontsNo italics

Contrasting colours

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Use large font Not small

Use largeSize 14 or larger

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WORDS

Room 1

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Make sure program times are correct

Session 1 –

Session 2 –

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Room 110 am

10 am

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1. Registration forms should be in Plain or Easy English and should ask about:

• Access needs• Language and communication needs• Dietary needs

Forms

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Forms

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2. Find out how people want their information:

• Easy or Plain English• Online or by mail• Large font• To be used with a screen reader

Forms

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3. Provide Feedback forms:

• In plain or easy English• Support participants to do the feedback forms• Provide them online so they can be done later

Presentations

Self advocates may find it difficult to follow presentations

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• Explain diagrams or graphs in Plain English• Provide information in small pieces• Keep presentations short• Have regular breaks• Allow time for self advocates to ask questions

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Presenters should...

Information for Keynote Speakers

• Provide information about yourself including photos

• Not speak too quickly and be clear

• Use short sentences

• Give clear explanations of difficult ideas

When presenting you should:

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• Use pictures or photos to support your talk

• Make your questions and answers easy to understand

• Pause and check that everyone understands

More… for Keynote Speakers

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← Slow Down

← Stop

← Go Ahead

The Coloured Card System

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Give Self Advocates coloured cards to hold up to let Key Speakers know how they are going

Use colours in the program to help people find rooms

Coloured Rooms

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Give the rooms colours not names

To help Self Advocates decide which sessions to attend Keynote Speakers should rate their information

using the ‘Star’ system.

= hard

= easy

= some difficult words

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SUPPORT1. Self Advocates may need support to participate

2. Ask Self Advocates if they want support

3. Have Support Workers/Advisors at the conference

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Have a workshop before the conference for self advocates to:• find out what support will be available• to meet each other• learn about the themes for the

conference

Workshops

Also…have a quiet space for Self Advocates to rest

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Support Workers/Advisors

• Should be well trained

• Have an orientation program

• Explain presentations and ideas

• Should arrive early to meet self advocates

• Stay until self advocates have left

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The VenueSelf Advocates may need support to get to the venue and to know where to go when they do get there

The conference should be...... easy for people to find

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close to public transportThe conference

should be......

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• If there is no public transport near the venue arrange for a taxi or a community bus to pick people up

• Provide public transport information, an easy to read map and step by step instructions on how to get there

• Use large non-reflective signs, colour coding

and footprints to help self advocates know where to go at the venue

Also...

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Self Advocates may have other disabilities.

They may have physical disabilities, vision

or hearing impairment or limited speech,

so they may need other

information about the

venue.

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FinancesMany Self Advocates will be on a limited budget

ProblemMany self advocates can’t

afford to attend conferences. Conference fees can be very

expensive and out of thereach of self advocates

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SolutionProvide sponsorship forself advocates who mayfind it financially difficult to attend.

Finances

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Solution

Finances

Sponsorship could include:• meals and travel• accommodation• registration fees• conference dinner costs

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• This is the Wikipedia link that describes several aspects of accessibilityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility • Meetings and Events Australia. “Accessible Events – A Guide for Organisers” www.mea.org.au

• Office of Disability, Department of Planning and Community Development. “Inclusive Consultation and Communication with People with a Disability” January 2008. http://www.officefordisability.vic.gov.au/docs/Inclusive_Consultation_and_Communication_Resource_List.pdf • Plain English Alternatives http://www.kerryr.net/webwriting/plain_english.htm • Reinforce Inc.A Self Advocacy group run by people with disabilitiesPh. (03) 9650 7855 http://www.reinforce.org.au/

Useful Resources & Internet Links

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Useful Resources & Internet Links (cont)• SARU Self Advocacy Resource Unit Ph. (03) 9639 6856 http://www.saru.net.au/  • VALID IncPh (03) 9416 4003 www.valid.org.au  • Westernport Speaking Out Inc. (WPSO). Ph. (03) 9770 1710 wpso.selfadvocates@bigpond.com

• Queenslanders with Disabilities Network Copy & paste the following sentence into Google “How to organise a conference to cater for people with a number of disabilities” 

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• World Health Organisation Guidelines for Accessibility at WHO-FIC Meetingswww.aihw.gov.au/international/who_hoc/hoc_02.../brisbane62.doc • A Guide for Planning Meetings, Conferences and Gatherings - A Publication of The Home and Community-Based Services Resource Network Boston College, Graduate School of Social Work 140 Commonwealth Avenue, McGuinn Hall, Rm. 602 Chestnut Hill, MA 02467http://tcsip.tarjancenter.ucla.edu/docs/HCBSAccessibleMeetings.pdf • Removing Barriers Planning Meetings That Are Accessible To All Participants North Carolina Office on Disability and Health in collaboration with The Center for Universal Design 2005http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/pdfs/rbmeetingguide.pdf • Planning accessible presentationshttp://www.w3.org/WAI/training/accessible.php

Useful Resources & Internet Links

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Project Funding:Helen MacPherson Smith Trust. http://hmstrust.org.au/

Project Support:AFDO - Australian Federation of Disability OrganisationsPh. 9662 3324 office@afdo.org.au http://www.afdo.org.au/

DRC - Disability Resources Centre Phone: 9481 6646 advocacy@drc.org.au www.drc.org.au

Steering CommitteeDavid Banfield, Norrie Blythman, Amanda Hiscoe, Frank Hall-Bentick, Neil Cameron, Christine Scott, Sue Smith and Heather Forsyth

Project Workers/Kit DesignJanice Slattery, Val Edgar, Jacqui Ward, Neal Haslem

About This Project

End