Despite policy guidance, Disabled young people are still not getting the chance to make decisions about their lives, and Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) are struggling to do this work with them. The toolkit is designed to help DPOs engage with Disabled young people around this issue so that they can become empowered Disabled adults. The toolkit includes sections on Disability and Identity, decision making, and working together as partners for change. It is designed to have DPOs deliver it alongside a Disabled young person who has a good understanding of Disability issues.

The toolkit has been created by ALLFIE and Common Room and co-designed with Disabled young people, to support Disabled Person Led Organisations (DPOs) to better connect with Disabled young people and build their resilience to participate in decision making.

The toolkit is also an opportunity to assist DPOs to build their own sustainability and to ensure they can stay relevant in the future. Currently, there is no rights and empowerment training programme that has been designed to be delivered by Disabled adults and Disabled young people so we hope you will welcome this exciting new training opportunity! It is a chance to step into the future and educate Disabled young people about the power they have and their rights!

Download toolkit

You may also be interested in “Hear Us Out” – the VIPER guide to young people’s participation in decision making.

What is inclusive education? Why is it of benefit to all learners? How can we transform the current education system?  This downloadable pdf (or text only version) explains in a nutshell. Print it out and pass it on.

Case for Inclusive Education

Case for Inclusive Education text only

We have written this guide because many people we’ve spoken to including voluntary sector organisations, local authorities and health bodies said they wanted to learn how to involve young Disabled people in decision making, and that they wanted to learn about what works directly from young Disabled people themselves. This guide is based on our own experiences from the VIPER project and on the evidence we gathered through our national research project.

We think there should be more opportunities for young Disabled people to be involved in decision making about services. All young Disabled people can be included and participate if we change attitudes. We hope people will use this guide to make that happen.

Download the guide

We suggest you also look at our “Knowledge is Power” toolkit for Disabled People’s Organisations involving young people in their work.

The toolkit was developed in 2011 by Disabled people from France, Italy, Iceland and the UK and is based on learning and evidence from visits to each of these countries. The toolkit offers information and advice to Disabled people across Europe to encourage their participation and leadership in the implementation of inclusive education for Disabled children and young people. The Advocacy & Training toolkit was funded by Grundtvig.

Download the toolkit

The guide offers practical advice and information to those professionals already working with disabled children and their families and also to those professionals unfamiliar with this area of work. It is based on learning and evidence from visits to each of these countries and was funded by Leonardo.

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Written by Linda Whitehead in 2011, it encourages families to think of themselves as allies to their Disabled children by thinking about Disability in a positive way using the Social Model of Disability. The guide will help families ask the right questions of schools and to be more confident in seeking out a school that is inclusive of all children from the local community. The guide is based on learning and evidence from visits to various countries and was funded by Grundtvig.

Download the guide

Inclusion Standards Guide

Inclusion Standards Guide text only

“For anyone who supports people with disabilities, the important thing to know is that we all want to make decisions and to succeed just like everybody else. If they really want to know what people need, just ask them, treat them like people who know what they’re doing and people who know what they need.”

In this video, made by ALLFIE and Parents for Inclusion in 2010, young Disabled people and those around them talk about the kind of help that will really support them to grow and be autonomous.

This report looks at some of the ways different organisations are including young Disabled people and encouraging their leadership and includes the voices and experiences of young Disabled people on leadership matters.

The report highlights that young Disabled people need to feel part of their communities, families and peer groups if they are to feel confident to seek out leadership roles. The research shows that young people want more choice and control in their lives so they can be leaders.

Full Report – pdf

Full Report – text only

Summary – pdf

Summary – text only

• Campaigns in Action – 2011 campaign guide celebrating some of the historic victories won by Disabled people standing up for equality and inclusion.
• Inclusion Assistant Training Pack. This pack was produced in 2007 for supporters of young people with high level needs in mainstream education.
• Forced Apart – the case for ending compulsory segregation in education, c 1997.