Best practice ways to support disabled young people
Disability pride means embracing disability as an important part of one’s identity.
It’s important to support disabled young people to develop disability pride. Having a positive view of themselves—one that includes their disability—can help them build a strong sense of self.
An organisation that embeds disability pride will:
- have better quality services
- improve the outcomes of the disabled clients
- have a reduced risks of complaints.
Disabled Young People Answer: What is Disability Pride?
Watch this video where disabled young people talk about what disability pride means to them.
What is disability pride?
Disability pride is about embracing disability as a core part of one’s identity and rejecting ableism.
Disability pride promotes community, solidarity, and visibility, encouraging disabled people to be unapologetically themselves. It also recognises that factors like race, gender, and socioeconomic background shape how people experience disability.
Disability pride pushes for the full inclusion and rights of disabled people, including the removal of barriers and stigma.
Why disability pride is important
Watch this video to listen to disabled young people sharing why it’s important for NDIS service providers and support workers to know about disability pride.
Why incorporate disability pride into your service?
Promoting disability pride enhances disabled young people’s wellbeing, improves service quality, and boosts the standing of service providers within the disability community. Disabled young people are more likely to continue getting support from service providers who embrace disability pride.
Disability pride can also reduce discrimination and exclusion, leading to fewer complaints.
How you can incorporate disability pride into your service
You can incorporate disability pride into your work in a number of ways. Continue through the below topics to learn more.
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Disability pride is about embracing disability as a core part of one’s identity and rejecting ableism, or discrimination against disabled people.
What is disability pride?
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This belief that disabled people are less than is called ableism.
Understanding and Combatting Ableism
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Implementing frameworks and policies that truly support disabled people requires strong leadership, a commitment to skills development and cooperation between staff and people with disability.
Disability positive leadership
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Not every disabled young person you work with is aware of disability pride.
Education and Conversations
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Embedding disability pride into your business or organisation requires an ongoing commitment.
Internal Work Practices
Training for working with disabled young people
Training about disability awareness and/or pride helps shift unconscious beliefs about disability, and can help create a positive experience for both clients and staff.
Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS) works with disabled young people aged 12-25. They have a range of resources about supporting disabled young people.
YDAS also offers tailored training for businesses and organisations specifically about working with disabled young people through their Access and Inclusion Training.