What does disability
include?
Having a disability can
include many things, such as loss of physical or
mental functions, loss of a part of the body,
having an infectious disease or illness, a
condition which means a person learns differently
from other people and any condition which affects a
person’s thoughts and processes.
When you think about this
range, it is likely that some of your existing
clients, and possibly staff, have a
disability.
The Disability
Discrimination Act 1993 (DDA) provides
protection for everyone in Australia against
discrimination based on disability.
Under the DDA it is against
the law to discriminate against a person with a
disability in the provision of goods and services,
education, sports, access to public facilities and
accommodation. These cover all types of youth work.
Discrimination can be direct and therefore obvious,
but can also be indirect and hidden in the policy
of an organisation or the way they conduct their
service.
What can youth workers do to
make their services more accessible to young people
with disabilities?
You may need to first look at
your organisation’s policies. Do you have an
Access & Equity policy that ensures all young
people enjoy full access to your service? If not,
you might contact other services to ask if you can
look at theirs. YAPA also has an access and equity
guide available (see below).
If you do have a policy, is
it being implemented?
Are there achievable
strategies in the policy that you will act on or is
it just another policy that is put away on the
shelf? Perhaps you need to apply for funding for a
support worker or interpreter to ensure these
strategies are achieved.
There may be a number of
barriers within your service that need to be
addressed to ensure your service is accessible.
While your funding and staff levels may be tight,
with some creativity and understanding you can
create change.
Physical
barriers
This includes accessibility
to and within the building, eg. ramps, doorways and
clear pathways, lack of appropriate transport to
programs and the service, fliers and information in
inaccessible locations and formats.
If your centre is not
accessible, relocate specific programs to another
accessible venue. Produce your fliers in different
formats, use larger print (14 point) and relevant
pictures.
Attitudinal
barriers
This includes language of
workers and young people in the service,
misunderstandings of nature of the disabilities and
of the needs of young people with a
disability.
Organise disability awareness
training for workers in your service or local area.
Have people with different disabilities as guest
speakers.
Plan integrated programs
specifically targeted at young people with
disabilities, this will allow all young people to
mix and learn from each other.
Structural
barriers
This includes lack of
policies to address access issues, employment
practices, program/service delivery inflexible or
inappropriate for all young people.
Some tips for working with
young people with a disability
If you remember and practice
the following five things, you have the skills
needed to work with young people with a
disability.
Young people with
disabilities have the same needs as other young
people.
If you feel a young person
with a disability needs assistance, ask
them.
If a young person with a
disability wants assistance, ask them what they
want you to do.
When another person is
accompanying a young person with a disability,
speak to the young person with the disability and
not to the person who is accompanying
them.
There is no such thing as the
typical young person who is blind, deaf or has MS,
Cerebral Palsy, Quadriplegia, Downs Syndrome, an
intellectual disability, etc. Likewise, people from
different cultural backgrounds are not the same.
They are all individuals. Though two young people
may have the same disability, they may not do their
day to day living tasks in the same way or use the
same equipment or aides to get around.
Now that you have a more
accessible service, market it! Let people know
about the access you provide on all your
promotional material, go out and visit
organisations and groups who already work with
young people with a disability.
Useful contacts and
resources
• YAPA,
The A Files: A for Access and Disability - A
Youth Worker’s Guide to Working with Young
People with a Disability, 1997
• NSW Disability
Discrimination Legal Centre (02) 9313 6000
or 1800 800 708 www.ddlcnsw.org.au
• Intellectual
Disability Rights Service (02) 9318 0144
www.idrs.org.au
• The Northcott
Society (02) 9890 0100 or 1800 506 071
www.northcott.org.au
Source: New
Youth Worker Series, Youth Action &
Policy Association NSW, March 2003 YAPA
www.yapa.org.au/facts/disability.pdf
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