When I ‘became’ Disabled a decade ago, it was a curtains-back moment for me. I’d unknowingly been Disabled, both physically and neurodevelopmentally, my entire life and had masqueraded as non-disabled for much of it (not without consequences!). But when I lost my mobility, I was rudely awakened by the bizarre and incomplete nature of our collective understanding of disability. I had not anticipated how differently people would behave towards me or how many obstacles I’d encounter.
Most of us will become Disabled during our lifetimes. Yet, you wouldn’t know disability is such a common experience, given the uncomfortable and avoidant way our society behaves around it. I, too, had subscribed to inaccurate notions of disability, and as I peeled back the layers of my ignorance, it was liberating to recognise disability as a normal part of life, and to learn that there was already an empowering way of viewing it, created by Disabled people decades prior – the Social Model of Disability.
At Equal Lives, the Social Model is at the heart of our approach. We support Disabled people to empower themselves to live independent lives through our services: Information & Advice, Advocacy, Shopmobility and more.
Another approach we take as a disability rights organisation involves raising awareness on a broader scale -- reorienting thinking -- which we do through campaigning, influencing policy, and delivering training. This training takes the form of our CPD-certified Disability Equality Workshop, an interactive tour through the foundations of modern disability consciousness.
Is everyone in your organisation confident about what language to use when engaging with Disabled people? Should you call someone ‘Disabled’ or a ‘Person with a disability’ or perhaps, ‘differently abled’? Who even qualifies as ‘Disabled’ and who gets to decide this? Do you know what access barriers your Disabled staff and clients may come up against? Why is the Social Model a helpful way of looking at disability, and what are the alternatives? How do stereotypes and cliches in our media influence our thinking around disability?
Throughout the workshop, we tackle these questions and more. The workshops are very interactive, with lots of activities and opportunity for self-reflection. We don’t record our sessions, as we want all participants to feel comfortable speaking candidly about these challenging topics, but we do give you a summary sheet to take away.
We are committed to continually developing our training and have recently relaunched our workshop with brand new material. I’m super proud of our Disability Equality Workshop and would like to share it with as many organisations as possible. To enquire about booking please email us on communications@equallives.org.uk.
Our Disability Equality Workshops can be delivered via MS Teams or Zoom. We also offer hybrid and in-person workshops, but most organisations prefer the ease and accessibility of remote options. We are happy to offer bespoke workshops tailored to your organisation’s needs – just ask if you have any specific aims.
Arianne, Marketing Officer and Disability Equality Trainer at Equal Lives.
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