Introduction
Volunteering within disability sport on the face of it is no different to volunteering within mainstream sport. The benefits may arguably be more rewarding and the delivery more challenging but ultimately it achieves the same purpose to support participation and the enjoyment of sport.
This brief document is to provide volunteers with basic information, which will empower them in supporting disabled people to participate in sport and physical activity. Both disabled and non-disabled volunteers should be welcomed into any volunteering programme. The more inclusive an environment the more open to new members and participants a sports or physical activity club is, more members will join and get involved!!! It is at the disabled person’s discretion to identify themselves as ‘disabled’, and it should never be assumed that if a person is disabled they will require assistance. Before approaching a disabled person ASK if they need any help.
Preferred Terminology
Disabled people realise that there needs to be terminology relating to them in certain situations. It is not about ‘being politically correct’ but more about respecting disabled people and their wishes. What we say and how we say it can have a profound effect on how people feel about themselves and also how positive a first experience disabled people have when accessing sport or physical activity for the first time.
| Preferred Terms to Assist You |
- People with visual impairments (blind if totally blind)
- People with hearing impairments (deaf if profoundly deaf)
- People with physical impairments
- People with learning difficulties
- Non-disabled people (not Able Bodied)
- People with mental health issues/problems
- People with speech impairments
- People with sensory impairments or dual sensory impairments (i.e. visual and hearing impairments)
|
Barriers to Participation
As a volunteer it is helpful to recognise that many barriers exist for disabled people and hinder them in going about their everyday lives. Examples of common barriers faced by disabled people in accessing sport and physical activity are:
| Barriers to Participation |
| Physical Barriers | Accessible parking, signage, changing facilities/toilets, doors, no lift of ramp, lighting etc. |
| Transports | How to get to the club? Can the person drive? Is there public/community transport? Extra cost etc. |
| Communication | No text phone or type talk facility, no hearing loop, marketing material not in alternative formats, poor signage, language used by staff/volunteers |
| Social and Psychological | First impressions, stereotyping and assumptions, people’s lack of understanding, ‘health and safety risk’, body conscious, nervous and unsure, no one to support and motivate them (volunteers) |
When Working with Disabled People, regardless of their Impairment:
- Do not underestimate the intelligence or ability of the disabled person
- Do not assume that all disabled people require assistance. Ask if they need a hand, or wait to be asked
- Always address the disabled person, not the person they are with
- Be aware of personal needs and preferred ways of communicating and working and respect their requirements
- Try and work around the issue, rather than avoiding it
- When assisting, ask the disabled person how best to do this
- For specific information, ask the individual (if this is unsuccessful, ask their permission to ask their personal assistant, parent or carer)
- Demonstrate what you mean if you are not getting the message across successfully verbally
- Do not interrupt, correct, speak for the person or be tempted to finish sentences off for them
- A wheelchair should be viewed as part of the user’s body space. Keep an appropriate distance and never use the chair as something to lean on
- It is perfectly acceptable to offer to help guide the wheelchair or negotiate obstacles such as doors. But only push someone’s chair if they have said that it is OK for you to do so.
Volunteer Boundaries
Whether you are working one-to-one or with a group of disabled people it is human nature for friendships to develop. To maintain a professional distance it is advisable that the relationship should not develop outside the sports/physical activity centre or site. To ensure that, as a volunteer, you remain professional yet friendly there are a number of common sense points to be aware of when entering into a volunteering role:
| Do: | Don’t: |
- Avoid getting into situations that could be misunderstood
- Think before you agree to something
- Remember that the key focus of the relationship is the needs and progress of the other person
- Recognise your own personal boundaries
| - Give out your home phone number or address, or take the other person to your own home
- Lend or give money/material goods or ever borrow from the other person
- Become emotionally over-involved
- Get involved in an intimate relationship
- Accept any form of harassment, violence or abuse from the other person
|
Further Information
This website has other useful resources including Quick Guides “The Disability Discrimination Act” and “Volunteers”, along with other downloadable resources - Top Tips ”Involving Disabled People as Sports Volunteers”, Role Outlines and information on training including workshops and workbooks. Alternatively, telephone the runningsports Hotline on 0800 363373.
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