FACILITATE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

37

Question 1

Compile a portfolio (1,500–3,000 words) of resources in your local area, specifically relating to community integration for people with a disability. The folder should contain information about services, programs and facilities that might be useful to people with a range of different disabilities. 
Include information relating to:
o    service providers
o    agencies and government support services
o    aid suppliers
o    community facilities and activities that might be of benefit to clients
o    clubs
o    recreation and leisure facilities
o    entertainment venues
o    transportation options
o    innovative ideas or programs
You might collect brochures and pamphlets for the various providers, you could download information from the internet or you could consult with people who work in the various facilities. 
Index your portfolio by drawing up a contents page on which the various facilities or services are listed.
Complete an introductory page on which the options for and applications of each listed facility or service are summarised. 
How would you make this information available to clients?

Introduction 

In this part, a list of resources from the local area will be compiled that is particularly relating to the community. Furthermore, this part of the assignment will also contain some of the information that is related to the programs, services and the facilities that will be quite useful for the people who are disabled in different segments. It is already known that the disabled people always need an extra care and the way an individual behaves with them greatly affects them to a large extent. Throwing light on the above-mentioned discussion it can be said that it is one of the major reasons why the disabled people are given the equal access to a large number of services so that they may feel the sense of belongingness in the community in which they live in. It has been also noticed that the change took place from the year 1981 itself when the disabled people came to know about their own rights in the community. Moreover, the doctrine of equal opportunities suggests that the normal people must discriminate against the disabled person as they are also an important part of the community. Arguably, the above-mentioned approach was quite harder with regards to the disabled people, as to meet the needs were observed as quite expensive and it is quite difficult when contrasted to the non-discriminatory attitude towards other groups.

Discussion 

Service providers 
There are a large number of service providers that are available in the locality. These service providers are of great help to the disabled people. However, it has been noticed that the service providers generally provide services for all age group with regards to the disabled persons. Below-mentioned are some of the services that are provided by the service providers that can be useful for the disabled persons living in the community such as, a community integration service- the main aims of the service is to integrate the youth and the children into their schools and the community and further they also tend to encourage them so that they can live independently throughout their entire lives (Swain and et al, 2013). Then there is also a special student care center and the aim of the centre is to provide an opportunity to the children to be financially stable by providing physical care. In case of the seniors, there are senior community home and senior community center that will accommodate the low-income seniors without the family support. 
Government support services and agencies 
There are a lot of government support agencies and services that are providing a helping hand to the disabled persons. There are a lot of services such as employment for the disabled people- it is an initiative by the Australian government that has been formed for ensuring that the disabled people must receive equal opportunities with regards for participating in the workforce as well as in the community. There are two types of specialist agencies in Australia for helping the disabled people for maintaining and finding work namely: The Australian Disability Enterprises under this almost 20,00 disabled people are working and the work ranges from packaging, designing and printing to landscaping, manufacturing and laundry. 
Aid suppliers 
There are also a large number of aid suppliers that are present in the local community in Australia that might be quite helpful for the disabled people. However, the Aid suppliers mainly work with the care associations for helping the disable people care homes for saving the money and enjoy the benefits. If a person is chronically sick then they can use the VAT relief with regards to the disability aids (Emerson, McGill, and Mansell, 2013). 
Community activities and facilities that are benefitted to the client 
There are a large variety of activities that are specially designed for the disabled person by which they can be benefited to a great extent. There are some of the community activities that are greatly funded by the government. The community service involves a large number of people who work in a group for giving benefits to the disabled person. The community service may include: Working with the disabled schoolchildren- tutoring the disabled children, providing them with some of the school supplies and etcetera (Boyle and et al, 2011). The community activities also include helping and working with the disabled senior citizens- the group mainly delivers meals to these people, driving them to their desired destination and etcetera. 
Clubs 
It has been observed that the disabled persons cannot enjoy the essence of clubbing like other normal people but in the recent times there are a lot of facilities that are specially equipped for them. The nightclubs are also covered under the Equality Act that was created in the year 2010 which tends to protect the disabled people from any type of discrimination. Hence, there are a lot of venues that are especially for the disabled people where they can go and enjoy themselves with the normal people. 
Leisure and recreation facilities 
 It can be said that like the normal people the disabled people also need to enjoy their lives in terms of getting proper recreation and leisure facilities. In this 21st century, it is possible to enjoy all the amenities like the normal people. There are some of the centers that are present locally tends to use sports for the personality development and social inclusion for the disabled people. There are a large number of recreation and leisure facilities that have a positive impact on the disabled people such as: The disabled people directly got an accessibility to the quality services that also includes using technology appropriately and trained individuals who can advertise them, then the disabled persons also get an amazing opportunity for interacting and meeting with other normal people on a regular basis (Drew and et al, 2011). 
Transportation options 
 In the recent times, the transportation options are also not limited to the normal people. Throwing light on the above-mentioned discussion it can be said that one of the famous cab application namely Uber has introduced special facilities for the riders with disabilities. Their technology is helping to increase the independence and the mobility for the disabled riders. There are also some of the bus and other services that are provided completely for the disabled persons. 
Entertainment venues 
The normal people tend to enjoy themselves in the entertainment venues but the disabled persons were always deprived of this kind of entertainment. Furthermore, the entertainment is also required to have the Disability Discrimination Act for making the premises accessible by the disabled person. In this area also there are a large number of entertainment venues which have been completely set up for the disabled persons. Some of the most prominent examples of the entertainment venues are the- circuses for the disabled persons, street parties, fetes and festivals, carols by candlelight and a lot of music concerts (Mackelprang and Salsgiver, 2016). 
Innovative programs or ideas 
In the recent times, there are a large number programs that are coming up and completely designed for the disabled persons. Some of the innovative programs and the ideas for the disabled persons are as follows: Technology-based resources are mainly used for educating the deaf children, there are also schools for blinds that have innovative programs designed for their children like, the alphabets are learnt by the children by some form of innovative program, then there are also the hydrotherapy for the people who are having disabilities such as cerebral palsy. In this scenario, the children are mainly communicated by the IPad in the water when they swim (Hayashi, Arakida and Ohashi, 2011).

Conclusion 

In this section, the complete guides with regards to the resources that are accessible in the local area for helping out the disable people are greatly highlighted. The entire folder with regards to the portfolio has programs, facilities and also the services that are highly useful for the people with different kinds of disabilities. It has been greatly witnessed that in the recent times there are a large number of initiatives that are taking place for the disabled people.  Furthermore, the government as well as the local community is also trying to come up with lot of facilities for the disabled person so that they can feel that they are same as the normal people in the community although the programs are specially designed for the disabled person it has been also made sure that the normal people take part in it so that they feel the sense of belongingness and not deprived. On the other hand, some of the researchers have also revealed that the variety of programs most of the time have a positive impact on the disabled person. 

Question 2

Introduction 

It has been mentioned in the case study that Philip Aboriginal man at a very young age his brain was mainly injured because of a car accident. Furthermore, it has been also stated that Philip's movements are also quite uncoordinated, has speech that is limited and he has also a mild disability with regards to the intellectual level. It has been also stated that Philip in the present times has also become quite isolated when he was recovering in the hospital but now he is quite interested in participating in various community programs. Before the accident took place he was quite involved with other activities such as photography and the walking club. In this segment, a community integration plan will be developed for Philips. 

Discussion 

Actively involving Philip and his family in the community integration plan 
One of the first steps of the community integration plan will be to involve actively Philip and his family. One of the primary goals of the community integration plan will be assisting Philip in identifying his underlying interests and passions that will be highly supported by the community integration plan (Arbour-Nicitopoulos and Ginis, 2011). It will also include a large range of experiences and information to Philip as well as his family so that they will be able to take the decisions by themselves. The family will be involved with Philips so that they can also help in future for achieving a productive life with regards to the community in of his choice. 
Strength-based approach 
The approach will be completely strength based because it is quite beneficial for the intellectual and the person with developmental disabilities. It is mainly the social work practice theory that will completely highlight the strengths and self-determination of Philips. It is also the philosophy that will view Philips as resilient and resourceful for facing the adversity. The outcomes from the strength-based approach are quite positive as people like Philips has shown improvements in terms of health, life, and employment (Mulligan and et al, 2012). 
Lifespan development for Philips
Lifespan development will also be used for Philips because it will give him cognitive and physical changes that will be quite beneficial for his physical as well as for his mental health to a great extent (Aman and Singh, 2013). Earlier, the theory was only applicable to the disabled person in their childhood days but in the recent times, it is quite applicable for the adult disabled persons also. It is one of the greatest chapters of the psychology that will be incorporated into the community integration plan for Philips. 
Responding to the social model of disability 
The social model for disability will be used in response to the condition of Philip. It is the method that will explain to Philip that disability is mainly caused by the way a society highlights rather than be an individual's difference or impairment. It is the way that will be aimed mainly removing the particular barriers that are restricting Philips for making his own life choices. Under the social model of disability, Philips will be supported so that he overcomes his speech difficulty and interact with other people in a smooth manner (Friedman and Kalichman, 2014). 
Providing active support 
Active support will be provided to Philips throughout the community integration plan. However, there will be other people also who will be providing an active support to Philips. Through the method of active support, Philips will be more in his daily life. Furthermore, Philips will be also informed about the fact that even the people with full intellectual disability have the right to live their life at fullest like others. The outcomes will also be quite positive for Philips as he will be able to have a boost in his skill development. 
Working with other staffs for delivering the plan 
It can be said that the community integration plan for Philips will not be successful at all if there is no help from the other members of the community. However, it can be also concluded that the activities and roles of each of the staff may vary in the plan but they will help in developing a successful community integration plan. The staffs may engage Philip social, religious activities, leisure, entertainment, and home management (Baer and et al, 2011). 
Aids and devices and Environmental modifications 
There are different types of aids that are available in the marketplace for the people with disabilities. Some of the aids that will be used for Philips are Computer access aids, recreation devices, environmental controls, aids that are needed for the daily living (Grigal, Hart and Migliore, 2011). On the other hand, environmental modifications can also be highly beneficial for Philip for instance; picture of different photos in Philips house might encourage him again to take up photography. If the environmental modifications are done in Philip's home then it will increase his ability to live in the home in an independent manner.  
Addressing stigma associated with the disability 
The stigma can be mainly addressed by the method of the social inclusion to a great extent for the people with disability. Generally, it has been noticed that the people fail to address the stigma with regards to the disability. On the contrary, it has been also observed that most of the societies are welcoming the disabled people like normal people. There are some of the approaches that should be adopted by the society in order to address stigma with disability in a peaceful manner.
Complying with legislation 
There are some of the disability standards that need to comply with legislation for the community integration plan. Every country has different types of legislation with regards to the disability. In case of Australia, it has been prescribed under the Disability Discrimination Act that each and every disabled person has equal rights and responsibilities. On the other hand, there is also the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that can be used by Philip as he is a disabled person. It will highly help in every aspect because it incorporates both of the social, cultural and economic rights as well as the political and the civil rights. Moreover, the above-mentioned right also covers some of the vital human rights content such as- Access to justice, non-discrimination, and equality, protecting the integrating of person and etcetera. 
Task breakdown, prompting, fading, reinforces, incidental learning 
Fading and prompting will; act as an important tool with regards to the teaching techniques for Philips. It is the specific technique that can be used in the classroom as well as in the home also. A cue or prompt will be used to help Philip for performing a desired skill, for instance, photography as he loves it. The prompt will only support Philip for developing his skills while fading is the process that will make sure that when Philip is developing the necessary skills he does not becomes interdependent on other people. There will be also task breakdown for Philip that will help him to carry out the daily activities smoothly, for example, Philips may start with cooking his own meal, washing his clothes, ironing the clothes. 
Criteria against which the plan would be monitored and evaluated 
There will be certain criteria that will be set for evaluating the entire community integration plan will be monitored after that it will be evaluated so that if there is any gap then it can be addressed in an effective manner. Throwing light on the above-mentioned discussion it can be said that a specific monitoring and evaluation plan will be used for tracking and assessing the results of the community integration plan. It will help the planning staffs to work on the gaps in the planning process. 
Service gaps 
After monitoring and evaluating the community integration plan there are some of the gaps that have come into the limelight if everyone. Firstly, there is a communication gap that has been noticed in the entire plan between the family members of Philip and between the staffs because most of the time they are not available for providing the required amount of information to the staffs so the main planner for this community integration plan has decided to contact the family members twice a week whenever they are available. In these two days, the information for the entire week that is required will be taken into account so that there is no communication gap. 
Reviewing and evaluating the success of the plan
The entire quality of the plan will be mainly evaluated in terms of for instance: The needs, life, desire and vision of the Philip is reflected throughout the entire plan, the plan is also quite clear, and mainly Philip is the main component in the entire planning process. The community integration plan was mainly for 6 months and Philip has shown positives changes and his life also has been much better than before. Hence, it can be said that the plan is quite successful till now as it is ongoing. 
Accessing and managing risk 
The risk assessing and risk managing takes place in a different manner in the disability-related plans. The risk assessment of the plan will take place in form of the risk analysis, risk identification and evaluating the risk. Assessing the risk is quite vital for the component in the entire risk management program.

Conclusion

In this entire segment, the community integration plan step by step has been developed for Philips with regards to his disability. It has been observed that one of the main problems in the entire plan was only the communication gap between the family members of Philip and the staffs but a recommendation has been also provided for minimizing this particular gap. It can be concluded that the entire plan will be quite helpful for Philip in the upcoming days.

References

Aman, M. G., and Singh, N. N. (Eds.). (2013). Psychopharmacology of the developmental disabilities. New Jersey: Springer Science & Business Media.
Arbour-Nicitopoulos, K. P., and Ginis, K. A. M. (2011). Universal accessibility of “accessible” fitness and recreational facilities for persons with mobility disabilities. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 28(1), 1-15.
Baer, R. M., Daviso III, A. W., Flexer, R. W., McMahan Queen, R., and Meindl, R. S. (2011). Students with intellectual disabilities: Predictors of transition outcomes. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 34(3), 132-141.
Boyle, C. A., Boulet, S., Schieve, L. A., Cohen, R. A., Blumberg, S. J., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., ... & Kogan, M. D. (2011). Trends in the prevalence of developmental disabilities in US children, 1997–2008. Pediatrics, 127(6), 1034-1042.
Drew, N., Funk, M., Tang, S., Lamichhane, J., Chávez, E., Katontoka, S., ... & Saraceno, B. (2011). Human rights violations of people with mental and psychosocial disabilities: an unresolved global crisis. The Lancet, 378(9803), 1664-1675.
Emerson, E., McGill, P., and Mansell, J. (2013). Severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviours: Designing high quality services. New Jersey: Springer.
Friedman, S. L., and Kalichman, M. A. (2014). Out-of-home placement for children and adolescents with disabilities. Pediatrics, 134(4), 836-846.
Grigal, M., Hart, D., and Migliore, A. (2011). Comparing the transition planning, postsecondary education, and employment outcomes of students with intellectual and other disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 34(1), 4-17.
Hayashi, M., Arakida, M., and Ohashi, K. (2011). The effectiveness of a sex education program facilitating social skills for people with intellectual disability in Japan. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 36(1), 11-19.
Mackelprang, R. W., and Salsgiver, R. (2016). Disability: A diversity model approach in human service practice. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mulligan, H. F., Hale, L. A., Whitehead, L., & Baxter, G. D. (2012). Barriers to physical activity for people with long-term neurological conditions: a review study. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 29(3), 243-265.
Swain, J., French, S., Barnes, C., and Thomas, C. (Eds.). (2013). Disabling barriers-enabling environments. New York: Sage.