Alice Frame – Program Coordinator - Health Promotion for People with Disabilities Initiative - Disabilities Health Unit – Michigan Department of health and Human Services
Many emergency response and community preparedness groups
and organizations go through annual (or semi-annual) practice exercises with
the intent of gaining practical experience and in-depth evaluation in very
realistic emergency situations.
To have an exercise that is realistic as possible, the place to start is including real people with realistic challenges. This includes people with disabilities.
Considering 1 in 5 adults in the United States have a disability of some kind,
it’s highly likely that responders would be assisting people with disabilities in
any type of emergency. Including people with disabilities in exercises enhances the capability to respond by helping first responders develop skills and build confidence. This includes general items such as:
- How to use person-first language to respectfully
interact with all people
- How to communicate with someone who is nonverbal
or has a hearing impairment
- How to assist someone with a mobility limitation
or who uses a mobility aid
- The etiquette for and legal protection of
service animals
- How to give information in a way that people
with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities can understand
Depending on the exercise scenario, these ideas can be incorporated into realistic scenario injects such as:
- Helping someone who uses a motorized wheelchair
go through a decontamination process
- How to communicate to someone with a
developmental disability where you need them to shelter in place
- How to help someone with a visual impairment
navigate through debris or wreckage
- How to assist someone with a service animal
without separating them
Practicing these skills can help responders effectively and
efficiently assist people with disabilities in emergencies, and can make disaster
response as smooth a process as possible. In the stress and urgency of an actual
disaster, not having this practice can leave responders unprepared.
Tip: When planning an exercise be sure to include actual people with disabilities rather than someone playing a "role". This will ensure realistic outcomes and avoid being offensive. If finding participants is a challenge, reach
out to disability advocacy groups and disability service organizations.
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