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This chapter explores the importance of training staff in inclusive recreation programs, including understanding disability, providing respectful accommodations, and collaborating with the community. It emphasizes the use of person-first language, recognizing biases, and making accommodations to allow individuals with disabilities to fully participate in activities. The chapter also highlights the impact of language and the need for community collaboration in promoting inclusion.
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Chapter7 chapter 7 Staff Training for Inclusion Staff Training for Inclusion Author name here for Edited books Kathleen G. Scholl and Torrie Dunlap
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. –John F. Kennedy
An Ecological Approach • There is continuous interaction . . . • Direct interaction • Indirect interaction • Between . . . • People • Environment in which they live • See figure 7.1
Figure 7.1 Figure 7.1 The social ecology model.
Environment • Family relationships • School settings • Peer groups • Social class • Religious affiliation • Culture and society • Any other social organizations
Environmental Systems • Microsystem • Mesosystem • Exosystem • Macrosystem • People interact with these categories of social organizations
Ecological Concepts • Interdependence is paramount. • No person is totally independent. • Community assets are as important as individual skills and abilities. • Flaws in the environment may need to be addressed, or modified, to allow healthy interdependence.
Supportive Recreation Inclusion Model • Designing less restrictive leisure environments • Maximizing supports • Empowering attainment of independence • Components: • Needs and interests • Support systems • Recreation service providers • Community at large
Camp counselors and other personnel who interact directly with clients should be capable and prepared but also should be able to make clients comfortable in their recreation experience.
Creating Community Change • A revision in the ways that people and institutions think, behave, and use their resources to fundamentally affect the types, quality, and degree of service delivery to children and their families. • Recreation programs are a mechanism for such change.
Community Change and Recreation Programs: Consider the Following • Efficiency and effectiveness of delivery • Availability and usability of agency resources • Agency policies and their impact • Intended • Unintended • Consider potential effect on all community members
Importance of Training • Many recreation providers feel undertrained. • Training can help us • understand disability, • learn specific support techniques for all, and • recognize similarities among people. • We must commit to learning how to • communicate respect for all people, • examine our own biases and beliefs, • make respectful accommodations, and • collaborate with colleagues.
Communicating Respect Through Language • Person-first language • Always put the person before the disability • “People with disabilities” instead of “the disabled” • A sincere effort to use respectful language • Respect different preferences as well • The deaf community often prefers “deaf” rather than “person who is deaf” • Some persons with autism prefer “autistic”
Some Examples Person-First Not Person-First Handicapped Disabled Autistic child Retarded Typically developing Able-bodied Joe is confined to a wheelchair Wheelchair bound • Person with a disability • A child with autism • Joe has an intellectual disability • Children without disabilities • Peers without disabilities • Joe uses a wheelchair
Other Considerations • Refer to a disability only when necessary. • “Joe is a boy who likes to play soccer” vs. “Joe is a boy with a disability” • Avoid derogatory slang. • “That’s gay.” • “You’re so lame.” • “Don’t be an Indian giver.” • “I think I can Jew him down to a lower price.” • Train staff to realize the impact of language.
Examine Your Own Biases • Potential sources of bias • Archaic terms • Cultural background and related beliefs • Past experiences • Lack of experience interacting with people • Biases show through in service delivery • Recognizing biases allows you to consider alternative views and explore options
Make Respectful Accommodations • ADA requires public programs to make reasonable modifications. • Focus on the spirit of the law. • Find a way to make it work rather than focus on having to make it work. Accommodating a child’s needs can allow him to fully participate in activities.
Accommodation Guidelines • Provide only when necessary. • Fade or eliminate prompts when possible. • Get info from participant and family. • Do not ask about the specific nature of disability or for a diagnosis. • Do ask about strengths, interests, and where support is needed. • Explain activity and ask for input.
Collaborate With Your Community • Training extends into the community. • Identify clients’ micro- and mesosystems. • Get ideas from others who work with client (with permission): • Teachers or specialists • Other recreation professionals • Use information and resource sharing.
Beginning the Inclusion Process • Your mission statement • Your admission policies • Your intake and enrollment process • Your facility and program offerings • Your commitment to training
Mission Statement • Does it welcome all? • Using the word all conveys philosophy: • “Inspiring and enabling all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.” (Boys and Girls Clubs of America) • When revising: • Respect history • Include stakeholders and build consensus
Admission Policies • Are they rigid? • Are they skill based? • No flotation devices allowed. • Child must be able to…. • Demanding prerequisite skills can lead to unintended exclusion.
Intake and Enrollment Process • Starts with a phone call of inquiry • Who’s answering your phone? • Do they understand your philosophy? • First contact: the registration form • What to ask • What not to ask • Invite the parent or participant to visit
Facility and Program Offerings • Consider facilities and programs. • Involve all levels of employees in planning. • Use a top down, bottom up approach.
Commitment to Training • Turnover rates • Ongoing training maintains consistency • Go beyond awareness to increase knowledge and skill • New-hire orientation • Continued development of seasoned staff
Summary • We are part of a larger social system. • System should serve all of the community. • Engage the system at all levels. • Always question effectiveness and efficiency. • Acknowledge similarities we all share. • Continually engage the inclusion process.
