Heather Simmons shares an insightful story illuminating the idea that people of all abilities have the ability to learn giving the opportunity.
Although Heather was originally from Scotland she now lives in Perth Australia where, with her husband Richard Hill, they operate a company called h2 Training and Consulting that focuses on training staff who work with and for people with disabilities.
Heather has worked extensively in diverse roles with the disability sector since 1994. Including roles as a support worker, group home manager, team leader, and development worker.
Heather has many stories to tell… and her passion is working in the ‘grey areas’ of human services. She loves the challenge of finding ways of applying the ideas she talks about everyday to the day to day practice of working in the disability.
Your staff can now learn about “Understanding and Promoting Rights” with either our long or new short version module. But first watch this fun music video we made about rights, community and more!
Our new module “Understanding and Promoting Rights – Short Version” takes just 100 minutes to complete. But for a more in-depth look into this topic your staff also have the option to complete a more detailed 210 minute version.
Beyond defining rights, these modules give your staff first hand knowledge and expertise on how to maintain and promote the rights of the people you support. Watch the trailer:
This module features video presentations from Dave Hingsburger, Simon Duffy, Gary Kent, and Margaret Cushen.
On successful completion of this module, your staff will be able to:
– Define what rights are and understand the different types of rights.
– Detail how, why, and in what circumstances rights may be limited or taken away.
– Explain how rights interact with responsibilities, decision-making, risk, power, and control.
– Explain how to support, promote, and help people advocate for their rights.
Five things to know about Open Future Learning
1. Any size organization can access 24 rotatable seats to over 50 learning modules and over 600 videos on demand for $112 (USD) $134 (CAD) $134 (AUD) $1148 (NZD) £78 (GBP).
2. Our free trial allows up to three staff two weeks access to our entire resource.
3. There is no contract of use and no admin fees.
4. You can use any part of our resource with groups of learners and only use one seat on your membership.
5. Every user gets access to our entire resource by default.
To start a free trial or to ask questions please email hello@openfuturelearning.org
It might seem odd that a professional would ignore someone who is drowning. But as David Pitonyak explains, this happens all the time in our field. People who have disabilities and difficult behavior are often overboard and terrified, and we barely seem to notice.
About the module: Jumping Into the Chaos by David Pitonyak
David Pitonyak has a way of understanding and communicating the needs of people who have been labelled as having challenging behavior that is profoundly straightforward. This module offers a unique compilation of tips gleaned from David’s library of adventure books (most particularly, Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm). Often people with challenging behavior are overboard, drowning, terrified, and we barely seem to notice.
David Pitonyak explains the ways in which people can change physiologically and psychologically in the face of threat and helps us to understand why remaining calm and clear of purpose is critical to the well-being of a person in crisis.
This module features presentations from David Pitonyak, Beth Mount, and Doreen Kelly.
On successful completion of this module, learners will be able to:
– Understand the ways in which we change physiologically and psychologically in the face of threat.
– Understand why remaining calm and clear of purpose is critical to the well-being of a person in crisis.
– Contribute to a crisis support plan based on the unique needs of the individual served.
– Understand the importance of a support plan for the person’s supporters based on their unique needs.
