Creating Inclusive Environments for Youth Sarah N Douglas

Creating Inclusive Environments for Youth Sarah N. Douglas, Ph. D Assistant Professor

Outline • • • Characteristics of inclusion Awareness of your own identity and bias Accessibility Creating a Respectful Environment Providing Accommodations

Characteristics of Inclusion • What is inclusion? – Belonging – Respect – Bond – Trust – Valued for being you – Seen as an individual

What inclusion is not Inclusion is NOT… • a place - it’s a value • bringing together people who are different to meet a quota • a synonym for diversity • trying to achieve a melting pot – it’s a embracing a mosaic

Awareness of your own Identity and Biases • Before you can be understand others from diverse backgrounds you need to understand our own identity and it influences you and your biases. • What is your identity?

Awareness of your own Identity and Biases • ADDRESSING Model (Hayes, 2008) – Age – Disability (developmental/acquired) – Religion/Spiritual Orientation – Ethnicity – Social class – Sexual orientation – Indigenous heritage – National origin – Gender

Ensuring Accessibility • Is the environment accessible and welcoming to individuals to all individuals? • If not what can changes can you make to ensure accessibility?

Creating a Respectful Environment Step 1: Use Person First Language • How do we refer to people from different backgrounds? – Emphasize the person first, not their disability/nationality/race/other defining feature – Shows respect – Use the most recent/accepted terms • This: Man with Down Syndrome • Or even better: Fred has Down syndrome • Not this: Down’s man

Person First Language • A few tips: – Some terms are never ok • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=fkdt. EOrrk. Ps – Some individuals and groups prefer identity first language – Ask the individual – Using their name is always safe

Creating a Respectful Environment cont. • Establish ground rules • Encourage and model respectful dialogues • Encourage reflection (Why do you think that? What lead you to that conclusion? Can you give an example? ) • Reframe and correct errors in student knowledge • Provide youth with resources to expand their knowledge • It’s ok to come back to topics that you didn’t adequately address

Providing Accommodations

Providing Accommodations • Best practice: – Encourage youth to communicate about any and all challenges they are facing – Avoid probing for too many details related to student disability/diversity – If you lack expertise, consult with family members or community members who knowledgeable in the disability/diversity of the individual

Questions?

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