Disability Awareness Training - Removing physical barriers

Why you should attend

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the types of physical impairments people experience
• Understand through real life stories the unintentional barriers we can create that impact on colleagues or learners living with physical impairments
• Understand the types of assistive technologies used to remove visual barriers
• Gather advice and tips on how to remove barriers in your workplace or educational institution or avoid creating them in the first place

Who will benefit from this training?

The course will be of special interest to anyone wishing to be able to work in a disability inclusive way, including:

• diversity and inclusion leaders
• HR Directors
• Hiring managers
• Line managers
• IT managers

Level of training: Suitable for all levels of knowledge.

Book Now: 

• New date to be confirmed

If you're looking for training for more than 8 people on a single course, please contact us about our great value in-house training options.

Buy on demand 

Attendees of the live training will receive a recording of the course. If you are not attending the live training you can buy an existing recording of the course on demand:

Course overview

This course is part of a series during which AbilityNet’s workplace inclusion experts will provide a deep dive into the experiences of people of living with different disabilities and impairments.

Led by individuals with lived experience, we will share the common barriers that people encounter at work, in study and in day-to-day life, the kinds of assistive technologies and tools that people use to overcome these barriers and the steps that everyone can take to avoid creating barriers in the first place. 

Alex Barker (profiled below) is a Disability Consultant at AbilityNet. He has Moebius Syndrome, which is a very rare condition that causes paralysis in facial muscles, club foot, missing limbs and sometimes cognitive issues too. He will discuss his experiences growing up, at university and in the workplace and will provide a demonstration of the tech tools he uses. 

The course is interactive and practical. It includes real life stories to help articulate how employing the social model of disability at your workplace or education institution can lead to a working or learning environment that embraces and welcomes everyone and is inclusive by design. 

What you will learn

• Types of physical impairments and the associated digital, environmental, and cultural barriers.
• Assistive technologies used and other tech tools that can help.
• How to make sure your working or learning environment does not unintentionally exclude people living with physical impairments or differences from participating fully. 
   

Your trainer - Alex Barker

Alex Barker is a Disability Consultant at AbilityNet and before that as Advice and Information Officer. He has been working for AbilityNet for more than 18 years and in that time has seen technology evolve.

"We have more computing power in our smartphones than was used on Apollo 11. As NASA had to overcome lots of barriers to get to the moon, disabled people often have to remove physical barriers to enable them to live, study and work effectively. I’ve used technology to enable me to study at college and university and I love passing on my experience to other people so they can have the same opportunities that I’ve had," says Alex.

Important information 

Class size: We limit the number of people on our training courses to ensure all attendees can engage with the presenter, ask questions and have an informative experience.

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