I am encouraged to put my own ideas into the workshop which helps me get involved with the other members in the group. It is so important to me because every time I go there is always something different happening. It offers me activities that I wouldn't normally get the chance to do
I think the workshop we have done will have a lot of benefits to communication in the workplace and also we will look at doing some more workshops in the future to deal with conflict resolution, communication, collaboration and trust as this one was received so well.
The workshop we did was beneficial and really improved communication between team members, people who rarely spoke to one another got a chance to develop communication channels in ways which they would not in general working life.
The arts based activities took the emphasis off work and put it firmly on the team. People were able to open up more and many of the staff commented how it felt like the were able to take a step back from work issues and this meant they could engage with people differently which they could then take back with them when they were dealing with people in a work situation.
Read More...Terminology within Disabilities – what is the correct term?
When I was studying Creative Expressive Therapies at the University of Derby one of the modules covered terminology. We were taught to say someone is ‘hearing impaired’ and ‘visually impaired’ instead of saying ‘deaf’ or ‘blind’. Since then terminology has progressed in a whole circle, and people today are saying ‘deaf’ ‘blind’ etc, so what is the correct term?
I once attended a workshop about inclusion. It was presented and delivered by a very inspiring lady who has a speech impairment. The workshop explored what the word ‘disability’ actually meant and the group came to the conclusion that it meant ‘different’. This was decided on the fact that everyone is different and saying someone had a disability is labeling their difference. The workshop leader expressed she doesn’t have a ‘disability’ she has a ‘speech impairment’. I could go to town on terminology as the more people I talk to about the ‘correct’ terms the more confused I get. For example, I consulted a friend who is a wheel chair user and asked if they considered themselves as having an ‘impairment’ and this terminology came across quite negative to them. They considered themselves to be living with a disability and that they are not impaired.
Soon after this workshop I attended another that was delivered by a very inspiring man who was deaf. Again as a group we explored what the word ‘disability’ meant. The group came up with ‘different’ again but the workshop facilitator said otherwise. He said the word defined meant ‘dis’ = no, and ‘ability’ so having no ability. He expressed that we all have different levels of ability and so everyone is ‘disabled’. A good example he used was that ‘a deaf person can do anything but hear’, so their only barrier is communication with the ‘hearing’ people. If an able-bodied person (if that is the correct term) were to visit a foreign country they too would have a communication barrier if they couldn’t speak that language, so does this mean they are disabled?
I have come to the conclusion that because everyone is different and comes from different walks of life and experiences, we all attach different emotions to different terminology. Consequently, as much as terminology evolves, individuals are the ones who it affects so they are the ones we should be asking? But if you’re meeting people for the first time how do we know what the correct term is? My advice would be to ask very open questions to try and allow them to tell you their situation. Although I believe if you use the ‘wrong’ terminology for the individual but mean well, this should be OK.
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