Disability & Neurodiversity Training & Advice

I offer introductory in-person & live online training on disability access generally, on neurodiversity, & on some specific access needs. I specialise in museums/galleries with suggestions tailored to those settings but my introductory courses are also suitable for any teams who want to be more disability inclusive. I also provide site assessments for autism & sensory needs, make recommendations, & devise bespoke resources such as visual stories & activity plans. Please ask me for details of my consultancy services.

Introductory training for staff & volunteers

My friendly, informative courses are aimed at people with little or no experience of the topics. They cover prevalence, terminology, some of the access challenges often faced, ideas for improving access, & the importance of involving service users. They increase participants’ confidence through greater understanding, encourage further enquiry, help individuals to make positive personal changes & to work towards shared objectives afterwards. The emphasis is on everyone being of equal value while having different needs, & that being D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent is not the barrier to access. Up to 10 participants is ideal. Small groups are more conducive to openness & conversations about sometimes difficult personal experiences.

A lot of useful information is packed into each half-day course so participants usually find it easier to digest no more than one half-day course per day or one day course instead. Please ask if you're interested in a bespoke package comprising a series of course sessions.

One-day Awareness Courses

All one-day courses are delivered in-person.

Disability
The intention is not to go into detail about any specific conditions (although some will be given as examples) or to create artificial impressions of disability ‘experiences’. Rather, I aim to give a sense of the diverse range of conditions, the wide range of access barriers, & to illustrate how some barriers can be tackled. We briefly touch on key legislation. The day includes an activity which will help your team to start examining the unique challenges & opportunities presented by your site & service.

Autism
This looks at the most common areas of autistic difference & how your service/environment can be more inclusive to autistic visitors & their families. It includes an activity which will help your team to think about the unique challenges & opportunities presented by your site & service.

Sensory Differences

Please see the summary under half-day training. The half-day Sensory Differences course has scope for bespoke expansion to a full-day in-person course. For example, covering more than one sensory case study &/or an activity to help your team assess the sensory experiences of their environment to create a supportive tool.

What the day & half-day training is like

Each course is structured around a PowerPoint presentation interspersed by discussion & participatory activities. Expect training that is relaxed, thought-provoking, interactive & enjoyable. I use examples from my personal & professional experience to make connections with & to give insights to participants. As much information as possible is packed-in to make the most of participants’ valuable time & to give them a good springboard to find out more independently.

Complementary features include PDF copies of the presentation slides & personal course certificates if requested post-course.

For in-person day training, I’ll be with you for 5-6 hours, 4-5 hours of which will be training. For in-person half-day courses, I’ll be with you for at least 3 hours, 2-2½ hours of which will be training. Typically, this comprises 30mins set-up & welcome time, followed by group training, then optional time at the end for any one-to-one conversations stimulated by the course content. Short breaks are offered approximately mid-way throughout each half-day session.

With sufficient notice, I’ll do my utmost to make presentation adjustments for any participants who have access needs. Regrettably, I‘m unable to provide captions (although for online training, some communications platforms have these as an option), Braille, Makaton or BSL interpretation.

Half-day Awareness Courses

Although designed to be delivered in-person, some half-day courses are also available live online.

Disability

A brief introduction to encourage teams to think about the importance of disability access & how to start improving it. This is an intensive ‘beginners’ session to help teams start their access journey.

Neurodiversity

An overview of what neurodiversity means & how you can make your service/environment more welcoming to neurodivergent people. By completing this training & acting afterwards, you’ll meet many of the targets set-out under the five national Principles of Museums & Diversity (The Neurodiverse Museum, 2022). Note. Autism is specifically covered in separate training.

Autism

As for neurodiversity but looking at some of the most common areas of autistic difference.

Learning Disabilities

A look at what LDs are, their diversity, & how some practices can make a big difference to visitors.

Dementia

An introduction to the language, stages, & needs associated with dementia which your team can help to support.

Sensory Differences

An overview of the role of our senses, the consequences of sensory differences, & how to be more welcoming to people who experience them. As the conditions covered in the above courses can include sensory differences too, this course includes some of the same suggestions for improving access. However, it incorporates additional detail plus a case study of how to improve access when a particular sense has been reduced or lost. Choose between audio or visual.

Supporting documents available

Health & Safety Policy
Method Statement
Risk Assessment
Safeguarding Policy

No license is needed for my work nor are subcontractors used.