Disability Awareness

About this course.

Disability is part of the human experience. Around one in five people in the UK is disabled — more than 16 million people — and that number rises sharply with age, so almost all of us will either be disabled at some point in our lives or be close to someone who is. Despite this, disabled people still routinely face barriers that have nothing to do with their condition and everything to do with how the world around them is designed, organised and run; disability awareness is about understanding those barriers and learning to remove them.

This course explains what disability really means, both in everyday terms and under the Equality Act 2010, and the different types of disability, including the many that are hidden or non-visible. At its heart is the social model of disability — the idea that people are disabled not by their impairment but by the physical, communication and attitudinal barriers society puts in their way. You will also learn about disability discrimination, the duty to make reasonable adjustments, the Public Sector Equality Duty, and how to communicate respectfully using an ask–don’t–assume, person-centred approach.