Programs
in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe
Jo Mooney is national leaders' co-ordinator, and is responsible for leaders' training courses held in Ireland as part of Independent Living Community Services (ILCS). He is also involved in other kinds of courses organised in the same field, particularly in courses for personal assistants.
The Independent Living movement came to Ireland some five years ago. For the first two years the initiative received funding from the HORIZON project. The movement was aimed at introducing in Ireland the idea of independent living for persons with disabilities through the education of personal assistants.
When this initial project ended, those involved made urgent requests to the government for an extension, and this was subsequently agreed to but was restricted to a small number of people in Dublin. Persons with disabilities in other towns were not granted the same opportunity, and today those of them who have personal assistants have to manage on their own resources.
There are presently seventeen Centres for Independent Living active in Ireland, with staff levels averaging around 8 people per centre. Each centre organises various activities on its own or in conjunction with the main centre in Dublin. Together they form the Independent Living Community Services organisation.
Four key-words have been singled out to describe the action and ideals of the organisation: option, choice, rights, independence, i.e. a route from a different outlook and deeper knowledge, leading to a new life.
ILCS is now responsible for organising courses at two different levels.
The first level comprises training courses for leaders, held all over Ireland; participation will soon become an official precondition for employing personal assistants.
This kind of course is addressed only to persons with disabilities. It is subdivided into five modules (1 per month), for a total duration of twelve days' training. The five teachers employed (one per module) are themselves persons with disabilities. The participant group usually numbers ten to fifteen people.
The overall aim of the course is to give participants greater insight into the independent living movement, to equip them with skills which will enhance their role as an employer and to help them become more active in Ireland's independent living movement.
Teachers are selected not only on the basis of their disability, but also according to their expertise in the topic to be dealt with.
Each teacher chooses the pedagogical approach that s/he considers most suitable for the situation. Usually, the methodology adopted is a lecture of no more than one hour, followed by discussion, debate, and other activities such as role-playing. The trainers have a training pack for their individual module including relevant handouts, information leaflets, etc. At the end of the programme final evaluation is carried out involving all the leaders who took part together with the trainer and the leader co-ordinator.
Contents of the Course
The programme comprises the following modules:
PHILOSOPHY OF INDEPENDENT LIVING
History
Language
Role of the Leader
Role of the Personal Assistant
Various models of disability
Recognising and implementing responsibilities connected with the Independent Living Philosophy
COMMUNICATIONS
Problem solving, conflict resolution and decision making
Assertiveness skills
Recognising the importance of non-verbal communication and reading body language
Rules for giving appropriate feedback
Positive thinking
EMPLOYMENT SKILLS
The role of the employer
The role of the employee
Employers' rights and duties
Employees' rights and duties
Calculation of PAYE/PRSI
Health and safety at work
Advertisements
How to write a job description
Methods of recruitment, interviewing skills and ensuring employees' safety and welfare
Insurance
POLITICAL EDUCATION
Political lobbying
Writing a letter to a TD or member of statutory bodies
Demonstrations
Public relations
Political awareness and current affairs
Rights of people with disability
Legislation
Using the media
PERSONAL CARE INSTRUCTION
Personal care
Lifting techniques
Different disability equipment
Health, hygiene and safety procedures
Back care
First aid
Personal safety techniques
Wheelchair management
The course has been "acquired" by the 17 Irish Centres of Independent Living, at 4,000 Irish pounds per centre; consequently the teachers rotate from one centre to the other, since the courses are held simultaneously.
The course is aimed at empowering persons with disabilities towards independent living, making autonomy possible for them; in other words, it aims at bringing about real change in people, fostering the acquisition of new attitudes and ways of life. In this framework, autonomy means performing consequential actions, such as shedding dependence on family or friends by adopting a personal assistant who can be considered as an aid.
Jo Mooney underlines the revolutionary aspect of this approach in a country such as Ireland, where family bonds are tight and social and religious traditions tend to foster restriction and piety. In any case, no particular stress is placed on the social role of the person with disability, meaning that the course does not seek to spread this way of thinking at large, but rather aims to bring about changes in the persons themselves. Their becoming "leaders" in a social sense depends on the fact that they are good testimonials of a different way of living with disability.
At present, the title of "leader" is only related to
participation in the first-level course, but will soon become
an legal requirement for gaining entitlement to a personal assistant.
The second type of course organised by ILCS is devoted to the education of personal assistants. This experience began five years ago as part of the above-mentioned HORIZON training course, which was to have a two-year duration but strong lobbying by a group of persons with disabilities forced the government to provide funding for a continuation.
The course lasts a total of 200 hours spread over a 12 month period. Lessons are given by specialists in each subject (doctors, psychologists, therapists and nurses) and a number of lessons on the philosophy of disability are given by teachers with disabilities. Those who complete the course are issued a certificate which is officially recognised by a British institute of quality certification. To obtain this recognition, some parts of the course have been based to those of the course for carers, since a specific curriculum for personal assistants does not yet exist.