This week is National Inclusion Week which celebrates inclusion and encourages taking action to create inclusive workplaces.
One of the ways that employers can be more inclusive is to think about the sensory experiences of their employees. We found an interesting article on LinkedIn which talks about things like lighting adjustments, sensory break spaces and noise control.
Of course, sensory considerations are not unique to the office environment. People who experience their senses such as smell, noise, or textures in heightened or muted ways may need reasonable adjustments to be made wherever they are.
Many theatres are now good at taking sensory needs into account. For example, The Lyceum has a scene-by-scene Sensory Synopsis of The Lion King available on its website. In addition, during relaxed performances the theatre turns off noisy hand-dryers in the toilets and provides alternative ways to dry hands.
Being in a healthcare setting can lead to heightened experiences – so it’s important that healthcare staff and those designing healthcare settings take sensory needs into consideration and act on requests for reasonable adjustments.
We had the founder of The Sensory Projects www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk Joanna Grace as a special guest at one of our Champions sessions. She talked with us about the reasonable adjustments that autistic people may need to help communication in a healthcare setting.
Many thanks to Jo for kindly sharing her own personal insights of how her autism affected her experience of healthcare during pregnancy and birth.
The NHS’s Sensory Friendly Resource Pack (Free here: NHS England » Sensory-friendly resource pack) describes 3 types of sensory experiences that people with autism may experience:
hyper-sensitivity:
extreme over-reactivity to sensory input
hypo-sensitivity:
extreme under-reactivity to sensory input
sensory-seeking:
unusual interest in aspects of the sensory environment.
The Include Champions have produced a newFREE Easy Read document to share about reasonable adjustments for sensory needs.
When I talk to people about Include, I always say how much it has made a huge, positive impact in my life and improved my quality of life, given me a purpose and that it is the BEST charity I have ever come across where EVERYONE is included, everyone is welcome.
I want the world to know that there is no place anywhere that makes you feel so included, safe, comfortable, happy and purposeful as Include does.
How it started
I first found out about Include by research. I moved back down to Surrey from Coventry, and wanted to find out if there were any Makaton groups nearby and that’s how I came across Include. I messaged Alix and it all went from there.
I wanted to get involved because I was very lonely and I enjoy Makaton so much, and use it a lot personally.
At first, I was very anxious, only because I always am when facing new places, people and situations BUT this didn’t last long! Soon I was comfortable and felt ‘included’ and part of an amazing community and surrounded by lovely, genuine people.
When I first went to Include, I started off just joining in the choir every Wednesday evening in Redhill.
Growing in confidence
It wasn’t long before I wanted to volunteer, make a difference and help others.
I also started to attend some of the Stroll and Sign walks on Saturdays, going to performances, and helping to design the new ‘Star of the month’ certificate and another certificate.
I am also now part of the Champions Group which I really enjoy and feel we all make a difference by working on and designing Easy Reads for people and giving examples and explaining things like ‘reasonable adjustments’ etc.
Since being part of Include, I have gained confidence, made friends and have something to really look forward to each week; helping others, having fun, being included and having a purpose.
Signs of Change
Although I already knew most Makaton signs before I came across include, I have gained more skills from The Include Choir and the Champions Group. These include improved speaking and listening skills, trusting people because I feel comfortable with the people I’m surrounded by and learnt a couple more skills on my computer.
The things I do with Include really help me day to day and help my support workers, family and others around me to understand and communicate with me, and others in a better or different ways.
When I struggle, I can become non-verbal, so for support workers and family to know basic Makaton signs is very important and helpful. I am now able to feel confident to teach them the important basic signs that are useful so that they can best support me.
I think it is important for people in all sorts of jobs to know basic Makaton e.g. hospital staff, doctors, teachers in schools, dentists and other professionals that might come across people who may use a different form of communication like Makaton.
We are all different…
My favourite quote is ‘we are all different, but all equal’ and I feel everyone at Include is treated equally no matter what their needs are and this makes me very proud to be a part of such an amazing group.
The next step in my Include story is to do volunteering more and make more of a difference, help people more, improve more skills and gain more confidence.
I have a goal and that is to do a solo Makaton song at Christmas, I hope I can get enough confidence in time.
Discovering Include is the BEST thing that’s happened and I am very grateful for all that everyone does to make it such a lovely, enjoyable group.
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
At Include, we work hard to ensure that communication needs or disabilities are not a barrier to access or inclusion in our projects.
We proactively make reasonable adjustments – and we keep listening and checking what else we can do to ensure people have equal access.
We admit that we can always improve in this area.
Probably most services, charities and businesses can do more to enable genuine equality of access. We don’t just mean how easy a building is to access if you have a mobility issue. But the whole experience – how people interact and communicate, how we experience an environment or service from a sensory point of view etc.
Focussing on improvements that help individuals and getting it right tends to enhance things for everyone, with or without an additional need.
As well as coproducing a FREE Easy Read on Reasonable Adjustments, our lived experience consultancy team The Include Champions are reviewing some of the things we do within Include and helping to fine-tune them.
By sharing this FREE Easy Read we hope more people with communication needs and disabilities will have better experiences when they go to work, interact with services or are customers in shops and restaurants.
Email
We recently talked about our emails.
We already use accessible fonts and Easy Read format – with a picture to reinforce each point.
But our members suggested that we use shorter and simpler links, and make the writing bigger.
Website
We’re becoming even more aware of the importance of colour contrast in terms of how easy, or not, it is to read and have started to use a new resource to check this: https://colourcontrast.cc
Furthermore, we are going to be working harder to make best use of alternative (Alt) Text to describe the images we use on our website and elsewhere. Thanks to Colin Grist from Few and Far for his free talk and tips on website accessibility.
Our website provides project information in a calendar format so members can check at any time what projects are running, where and when. One of our Champions, Hannah is encouraging everyone to use it – it means you don’t have to wait for the emails!
Visuals
Consultation and co-production are central to the way we do things, so naturally Include Choir members help to write lyrics and choose which songs we learn to sing and sign.
Visual and tactile prompts help people with communication needs. So, we make a physical list of song names with visuals using Velcro. Members choose from a whole table full of song options to decide which songs we perform at certain events.
Recently Hannah, one of our members has suggested that our song polls on Facebook also have an image to represent each song option to enhance understanding.
We also have a photo board at the choir sessions – this is for people to add themselves (sign in – without needing a pen) as they arrive and so everyone can see from the photos who is there that day.
Recently we have had feedback to say that we should make the signing in board a bit more organised so that volunteers are shown in a board along with an idea of their role that day.
Objects
Hattie the hat stand is never far from our Choir Directors! There is a very good reason for that. We have Hattie because it carries all our props or objects of reference. We use physical props because some people find objects helpful to enhance understanding – because communication is more than signs or words.
Champion Beth feels the props are good as we have some visually impaired members – props can enhance their experience too. Member Philip loves the hat stand and Josh reminds us to include Hattie in some of our photos!
Location
Many of the adjustments we make are not to do with literal access ramps (often the first thing that comes to mind when people consider disability access). That said, when we run projects like our Stroll and Sign wellbeing walks, or perform as a choir in new locations we always risk assess beforehand.
An important element of that is assessing accessibility and working out what adjustments we may need to make. For example, regarding lighting in a car park, suitability for wheelchair users or access to a stage. And if we need to, we do feedback to venues about any issues to try to improve things.
If you would like some guidance on inclusive communication, or access to a lived experience focus group to look at this topic for your organisation please get in touch: info@include.org
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
It is Volunteers’ Week 1 – 7 June and we’re delighted to share a blog from our fabulous Volunteer Kim who joined us this year…
Thank you Kim for all you do for Include. You’re kind, hard working, brilliant at thinking on your feet and you make people feel included.
“My name is Kim, I’m turning 40 this year and I’m a single mum to 3 wonderful kids aged 17, 11 and 7.
Many years ago, I saw a sing and sign choir on the TV, and I found it so exciting and inspiring that I decided one day, when the time was right, I was going to be involved in something similar.
Then just a few months ago I came across Include.org on Facebook and decided to see if I could be involved somehow. My two main passions are music and inclusivity so Include was perfect for me.
My first impression when I came along to choir was that everyone was so welcoming and friendly and were all so happy to be there. It was incredibly well organised with a professional set up.
There is a role for everyone at Include, from refreshments, tech support, meet and greeting, one to one support, to setting up, handing out props and instruments, tidying up or just generally joining in and having fun. You can learn so many roles and skills.
The thing that has surprised me most about Include is that it is so much more than a choir. They put on social events, quiz nights, Stroll and Sign (wellbeing walks) and much more.
Not only that but they are true advocates for inclusivity and change. Attending NHS conferences and talking in public about making reasonable adjustments for adults with communication difficulties. They really inspire me to help bring that change!
When I tell people about the work I do with Include, it makes me feel excited to share the amazing work they do and I’m proud to be a part of it.
I love talking with the members and sharing experiences – I’m happy to say they have become my friends.
My favourite experience so far was with a member who was incredibly shy and nervous of me when we met on my first day. They didn’t want to talk or sign with me at all. But slowly over a few weeks they got to know me more and one evening came over to me on their own to say hello! My perseverance had paid off and they were now comfortable with me. Since then, we chat at every choir and have fun. I’m so happy to have made that connection.
One massive perk of volunteering with Include is the amount of Makaton you pick up along the way.
Learning signs of the week and joining in with choir, using the pictures of the signs on the projector to join in the songs. I’ve even used the Makaton signs that I’ve learned outside of Include, for example helping a lady order a coffee in McDonalds. The server was struggling to understand her speech and Makaton, but I recognised the sign for coffee and was able to help.
I love the fact that Include offers Makaton training and qualifications to their volunteers free of charge, as a thank you for everything. This means everyone can be a huge part of inclusive communication at Include and beyond.
My favourite song to see the members perform is ‘Let’s go fly a kite!’
The joy you can feel in the room when everyone is on their feet, swaying along, signing and singing at the top of their lungs, kite props flying above their heads, huge smiles on everyone’s faces. It really is wonderful to experience; they raise the roof!”
The My Vote, My Voice group have accessible information about voting on their website too.
Our Champions have been sharing their experiences:
Hannah’s experience
During Covid times, Hannah, one of our Champions voted by post. But gradually she has decided to go to a Polling Station.
She knows she can ask for help from the people working there but Hannah has become more confident over time about being independent when voting in person.
First, she talks about it with her family and thinks really carefully about who she wants to vote for. She now votes independently.
Planning Ahead
The Include Champions pointed out that if you live in supported accommodation, or a block of flats you might not get someone knocking on your door or putting a flyer through your door about their party. So, it’s not always easy to get information to be able to make a choice about who you want to vote for.
Despite that, our Champions did know about The Conservative Party, SDP (Social Democratic Party), Liberal Democrats, Labour Party, Green Party, Heritage Party and The New Forest Party. There are lots of options and you can talk to your friends and family and get ideas to help you make a choice about who to vote for.
Ellie voted by post – you need to register to do this before the election. Ellie’s Mum helped her do this online.
Voting in person
Some people prefer to vote in person. David said that it is too far to walk to the polling station, so he needs to ask for help / transport to get there.
Remember your Photo ID to vote in person.
If you are voting on your own and don’t know what to do, you can always go into the polling station and say “I am here to vote, please can you tell me which desk to go to.”
The helpers can’t actually tell you which party to vote for – that has to be your choice.
Apparently, all the polling station staff have been trained to look out for sunflower lanyards – so they know that people may want to be offered extra help. So, you can wear one if you have one.
Sarah joined Include in 2017. In the time between then and now Sarah has moved home a few times, navigated Covid and had hospital stays. Throughout all the changes and challenges Sarah has remained loyal to Include.
She is very thoughtful and brings so much to the charity – we are delighted to share what she has to say about Include and her role:
How Include Makes Me Feel
” Being part of Include helps me to be myself.
And it makes me feel proud and relaxes me.
When I come to The Include Choir, I feel listened to. There are people with and without disabilities and we all help each other. Together we raise awareness of communication needs. I am proud when my Support Worker joins in with the singing and Makaton signing.
The volunteers are great too – they set up and make it all run smoothly – they are non-stop like Alix – our Director! Alix is so good.
Singing makes me happy – even if I can’t get to choir one week I will join-in on Zoom.
Getting The Community Involved
The Mayor of Reigate & Banstead knows us – he likes our charity. He helps us get more empowerment and open it up to more people. At the Banstead Christmas lights switch-on he wouldn’t let The Include Choir leave! He just felt we were popular with the crowds.
At concerts and performances people in the audience ask questions and I like explaining about Include and telling them how I feel about it. I also like when the people watching join-in. When we performed in The Belfry shopping centre there was a kid who was blind dancing along with us.
I am Choir Rep for our new Epsom Include Choir. I would say to anyone; “come along – there is cake, it is fun and everyone is helpful.”
Part of the Decision-Making
My favourite song is the MCA (Mental Capacity Act) song. Choir members help to write the songs. I helped to write one about Covid too. Our songs are our own versions – with the words expressing our feelings and what’s best for us from our point of view.
I use Zoom to be part of the Include.org Steering Group and the Include Champions Group. It is really, really good to be involved with Include – when I’m part of these meetings I feel more involved. I am part of the decision-making and that makes me feel included.”
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
Last month we ran our first ever in person fundraising quiz!
In lockdown we hosted one on Zoom but this time it was in a lovely setting – The Old Council Chamber in Reigate.
Being Include.org this was not a standard quiz. It was an inclusive one.
What helps to make a quiz inclusive you may ask? Well…here are a few things we did…
Role Model Hosting by Ciara
Although the Mayor of Reigate and Banstead was ‘host’ in that he invited us to use the Town Hall venue, he took a seat with one of the quiz teams on the night, and the quiz was presented by our Patron Ciara Lawrence.
Ciara recently spoke on our first ever Podcast and made it clear that as a person with a disability she is on a mission to ensure more of the world sees people like her for who they are and what they can do.
Well, we now know for sure…Ciara can brilliantly host a quiz evening, engaging a whole room of people with authority, style and warmth!
Something for everyone
People played in teams and we had a real mix of rounds and formats which all played to different people’s sensory strengths:
Hearing – Name the song
Signing – What does the Makaton gesture mean
Taste and smell – Guess the crisp flavour
Touch – Identify the household item hidden inside the sock
Sight – Work out what the items are that we photographed very close up / micro
General Knowledge – Answer audio / video questions from supporters like TV’s Dan Walker, Marcus Ramtohul (also in our first Podcast) DJ SUAT and Cllr Jonathan Essex
There is always more to be done in terms of inclusion. But we did our best with limited resources and we were delighted that the team that won The Include Quiz was a mixed group of people – some of whom only met each other that night. Meeting new people is not always easy for people with communication needs, so that in itself was a big win.
This team, called “The Team That Shall Not Be Named”, included volunteers, choir members and parents. There were people with autism and visual impairment, playing alongside people without additional needs. There were volunteers who have literally just joined Include working alongside members who have been around for years.
We know that there was a team with regular quiz winners in it who were defeated on this night. But this was not a regular quiz!
So that’s a win in our book.
Want to make your own event inclusive?
If you want to host an inclusive event why not speak to The Include Champions Group to get their ideas and tips based on their lived experience of being a person with a communication need and/or disability? Enquiries to info@include.org
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
The Include Champions Group is a lived experience consultancy team, generating ideas, feedback and free accessible resources on important topics. Between us, group members have real world experience in of learning disabilities, autism and other communication needs.
Our latest FREE Easy Read resource is about Co-production. It helps to explain what Co-production is and why Include puts it at the heart of everything the charity does.
Our dedicated Champions Group members meet every week via Zoom, and there is always something important to discuss, analyse and provide feedback on.
Last week we had an invite from Lloyds Bank seeking the input of people with additional needs. This is so the bank can try to design their services with everyone in mind.
We had a special guest on the Champions Group Zoom session last week – Cathy Wood who has joined Include’s Board of Trustees. She said:
“I was delighted to hear that Lloyds Bank are inviting Include members to provide feedback as experts by experience of what it is like to use their services with a communication need.”
Cathy W – Trustee of Include.org
Philip from the Include Champions Group said this;
“It makes us feel happy that they want our help. I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something and the bank is being helpful by asking us.”
Philip – Include Champion
We can help others
The Champions can teach services about their experiences and what helps them to communicate well.
For example, the Champions Group help design training for health professionals, to help them understand how to support people with communication needs in hospital.
The Champions can also help to check documents to make sure they are accessible. For example, the Champions worked with The Samaritans to make sure their flyer was easy to understand.
Trustee Cathy sums up:
“It was great to get more insight into the important work that The Include Champions Group does. Ensuring everyone has a clear idea of what Co-production is, and why it is important is such a valuable piece of work. We hope many organisations and individuals will make use of this Easy Read explainer.”
Please email us on info@include.orgif you think you might like some help from The Include Champions Group.
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
Claudia, our new Speech and Language Therapy Assistant, who we introduced you to in December’s blog, has been getting to know The Include Champions Group a bit better.
We’re really proud of the Champions Group because they do some really important things, and we’d like everyone to have a chance to get to know the group better – not just Claudia!
So, our latest FREE Easy Read resource is made by the Include Champions about the Include Champions! It explains what the group does, why and how – all presented in an Easy Read format.
In summary, The Include Champions Group is a lived experience consultancy team, generating ideas, feedback and free accessible resources on important topics including the Mental Capacity Act and Inclusive Communication.
Members have real world experience of learning disabilities, autism and other communication needs.
Dedicated group members meet every week via Zoom, and there is always something important to discuss, analyse and provide feedback on.
Time to Talk Day (2nd Feb), which encourages people to have conversations about mental health, seemed like a good day to re-share two of the Easy Read resources produced by our group:
As our CEO Alix says in her guest blog for Browning York; “Today is ‘Time to Talk’ day – a day designed to promote conversation and communication to benefit everyone’s mental health. Let’s also think about the communication which uses more than words to include people – the biggest kindness of all.”
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
“I’ve joined Include as a Speech Therapy Assistant.
Having Attention deficit and Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), means that my brain is wired differently from what is considered normal. In other words, I am neurodivergent just like most Include members. I only found out I had ADHD at the end of my Master’s degree in speech and language therapy, when multiple social barriers made life very difficult.
The challenges of being a highly functional young neurodivergent adult, made me realise that much needs to be done to implement the social model of disability in our society. In other words, much needs to be done for society to start seeing that impairments are most often caused by social barriers. With this in mind, I knew I had to somehow be part of Include when I saw their new speech therapist job opportunity. So, I applied even though I only fully qualify as a speech therapist next January and I live 90 miles away.
Joining Include
From day one, I felt welcomed and comfortable enough to share my neurodivergence with senior members of staff. Not only I felt incredibly supported, but also felt that my neurodivergence was seen as a strength.
It is really amazing to find organisations such as include! Indeed, seeing difference as a valuable asset is at the core of the organisation culture and this was clear from the day I interviewed for the job. To my great surprise, an include member who has a learning disability, was part of the interview panel. If our society was as inclusive as Include, experiencing this would not have been a surprise for me. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see small changes towards a more inclusive world and certain that I had made the right decision by applying to Include!
Working with The Champions Group on the Christmas Quiz
The Include Champions Group sessions do more than just collaboratively produce content with people that have communication difficulties. From the first session, I felt a sense of union and friendship between all members of the group. Just like when friends meet, these sessions start with members spontaneously sharing how their week was and things they are looking forward to.
You will find the free audio format when you click here: SoundCloud
Alongside the collaborative work, group members also discuss various topics of their interest. This was no different at the last champions group session, where we jointly worked on the Christmas quiz.
Within this session we not only worked on the quiz but discussed different Christmas traditions.
Having in mind that I am Portuguese and Christmas traditions are quite different from England, this was such an interesting conversation!
I was very surprised to learn that traditionally some people in England set their Christmas pudding on fire and the champions were surprised to learn most Portuguese people eat salted cod with their Christmas dinner.
I suppose what made this conversation intriguing was that our differing perspectives on what constitutes a “traditional” Christmas were acknowledged as part of our world’s diversity. To put it simply, Christmas traditions are just forms of Christmas celebrations. Just like gestures, signs and body language are just forms of communication. If all forms of communication are equally embraced, people with communication difficulties have fewer barriers and fewer difficulties. This is what the social model of disability theorises and what Include.org believes!
If you are reading this blog, you are probably already contributing to this. Include is here to help if not!
We wish you all a merry Christmas and a more inclusive happy new year too.”
Penny Sims
Communications, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead
