Free webinar: Don't disable me: how language, organisational culture and equipment enables inclusion

Don't Disable Me! On Tuesday 18th October 2022, three experienced AbilityNet accessibility and innovation consultants shared their lived experiences of visual, hearing and mental health barriers. 

There are more than 4.4 million disabled people in work (Labour force survey October to December 2020). By embracing inclusive language, culture and equipment you can help remove barriers for employees in your workforce, including disabled employees. In this webinar, the speakers discussed:

• Language do’s or don’ts
• Organisational culture
• Reasonable adjustments
• Equipment to remove barriers
• Challenges with online platforms

There was also an opportunity during the webinar to ask the panellists questions about disability and inclusion in the workplace.

About the webinar

This webinar consisted of three panellists from AbilityNet:

Adam Tweed, Innovation Consultant for Education and Workplace

Adam is a lover of all things tech, and he firmly believes "if you can break it; it's been designed badly" and that “the best tech is the stuff you shouldn't need to think about.”

In this webinar, Adam discussed his mental health-related experiences and share tips about some of the tech tools available to help manage mental health conditions.

Adi Latif, Accessibility Consultant

Adi graduated in Scotland with a business degree and went straight into website accessibility which was relatively new at the time. With experience working for a large management consultancy, he brings a wide range of skills and workplace experience.

Ghizzi Dunlop, Digital Accessibility Consultant and Learning Technologist

Ghizzi Dunlop is deaf/Hard of Hearing in her left ear. She is also Neurodiverse with Dyslexia, Irlen Syndrome, Audio Processing Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Ghizzi is a Digital Accessibility Consultant at AbilityNet and Learning Technologist in a STEM faculty, with a specialist focus on Open, Digital Accessibility and Pedagogy at the University of the West of England.

Amy Low, Service Delivery Director 

Facilitating the conversation was Amy Low, Service Delivery Director at AbilityNet. Amy leads the workplace, education and free services teams. Having spent 15 years working in a variety of leadership and transformation roles within serviced property and IT services, Amy joined AbilityNet in 2016, drawn by the opportunity to leverage technology to remove barriers to participation for disabled people and create a better digital experience for everyone. She works with a wide range of institutions and organisations providing services and support to ensure their digital practices are meeting the needs of the widest audience.

AbilityNet's website has several expert resources about reasonable adjustments. Find free blogs and factsheets on our website. 

Further resources 

• Keep up to date with accessibility issues with the AbilityNet newsletter 
• Find out more about AbilityNet's free live webinar events
• Unsure where to start with digital accessibility? Speak to our experts for help.
• Other HR and workplace-related courses running soon that you might be interested in:
• How to Develop Accessible, Inclusive Recruitment
• How to Develop Accessible, Inclusive Onboarding
• How to develop inclusive, accessible customer services
• How to run accessible, inclusive meetings and events on Zoom, Microsoft Teams and more

AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people. If you can afford it, please donate to help us support older and disabled people through technology.