Communities :: Keys to Inclusion

Currently children with disabilities frequently need to leave their communities and home towns to get access to support and services. They do not get the opportunity to play and make friends and contacts where they live. When they reach adulthood and leave children’s services, they may lose their friends and contacts and people who support them and have to start all over again.

We want to help make the ordinary and regular places in our communities more open and inclusive for everyone, by helping them become accessible and better able to meet a diversity of needs. People need to see the positive images of children (and adults) with disabilities that are often not shown – this is about mutual benefit and equality and good for everyone.

We promote practices in communities that improve the quality of life for children with disabilities and that improve the support services for children with disabilities.

We provide information, resources, educational materials and training on inclusion and issues on disabilities for parents, teachers, school administrators, service providers, businesses, therapists, recreational facilities and others in communities.

We educate the public about inclusion and it’s benefits for everyone and we demonstrate inclusive practices through various community events.

Communities can be best placed to change if the following are in place

Leadership:

at all levels, from those who have authority to those whose opinions are respected and are influential

Vision:

that our neighbourhoods are expected to be inclusive

Imagination for change:

We need to be able to imagine that our values and ways of behaving can become more inclusive. To do this we need to acknowledge and address power relationships and create policies that facilitate individualised support and funding

Investment:

Training:

Such as, leadership, equalities and inclusion, rights and the law, person centred practices, use of specialist equipment

Resources:

Such as, individualised budgets, new technologies, eg. Adaptive and Augmentive communication

Communities of practice:

A community of practice is a network or hub of people who are connected, inspired and committed to sharing practice and experiences, to sharing ideas and to taking positive action

Community Capacity Building:

One example of an approach to enhance a community’s capacity to include children with disabilities is through Community Circles.

Communities