Recommended Topics for Training and Resources

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This document contains training topics for different stakeholders of the consultation process. These topics were identified by co-design participants. They have also strongly noted that any training should be offered by someone who is Deaf, or with lived experiences of disability.

Topics For Federally Regulated Entities

Legal obligations, protocols, and standards

Building awareness around the legal obligations of the ACA, and how the website will help entities
The legal and human rights-related obligations that entities have to make things accessible and inclusive to Deaf people and people with disabilities (ex. UN Convention of Persons with Disabilities)

Disability knowledge and awareness

The contemporary issues that Deaf people and people with disabilities face, and what’s being currently advocated for (ex. Reconciliation)
Creating the will to change: reasons to be accessible that isn’t just regulations-oriented
Ableism and audism: Attitudinal barriers and stigma towards people with disabilities and Deaf people
Different cultural ways of viewing disability (ex. Social model of disability vs. medical model )
Views of Deafness and disability that include intersectionality
Deaf culture and its differences with the disability community
- The differences between the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community
Description of different disabilities that include invisible disabilities, mental health, neurodiversity, addiction, and substance use
- Understanding how disability affects people at different ages differently
Diversity of perspectives on disability from within the community - how not everyone views their disability the same way
A glossary of appropriate terms to refer to disabilities (ex. Not using biomedical language for people with psychosocial disabilities / people labeled with psychiatric disabilities)

Consultation with Deaf and Disability community

The historical and contemporary issues with a traditional consultation process
- Doesn’t include accountability or proof of change
- Inclusion near the end rather from the very beginning
- Invisible labour that is done by people with disabilities and Deaf people
Best practices and guidelines for how to do consultation with people with disabilities and make the consultation process accessible, inclusive, and safe
- How to interact with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) people with disabilities and Deaf people, and what racism looks like
- How to interact with 2SLGBTQ+ people with disabilities and Deaf people, and what homophobia and transphobia looks like, using pronouns
- How to interact respectfully with people with significant disabilities who have a caregiver or supporter
  - They may appear to be fully understanding what’s happening, but this isn’t always the case and is especially risky with legal and financial issues
  - Consider a video format for this
- How to work with individuals that are represented by someone else (ex. Supporters, care givers)
  - The role and responsibilities of one’s caregiver or supporter
  - Be able to spot potentially unhealthy dynamics or patterns, such as Misrepresenting what someone is saying)
- How to work with people who are homeless or live in poverty and treat them with respect and dignity
- How to work with people with linguistic differences and neurodiversity - some people may not be able to say what they mean, especially when stressed - these people still need to be taken seriously
- Anti-oppression approach and working in a non-hierarchical approach
- Education around crip time and chronic time and being more flexible around the timing of their projects
- How to protect and respect consultants’ privacy, not forcing people to come out (ex. people labelled with a psychiatric disability)
How to assess their own organization’s readiness to change
Resources about how to plan and facilitate an accessible meeting whether online or offline
- Technologies that are accessible, affordable, and easy to use
- Accessible communication formats
- Different types of accommodations and access supports
Best practices and guidelines for developing an accessibility plan
- How to interpret a broad range of knowledge and ways of expression
- How to synthesize and transfer collected information to accessibility plans

Topics For Consultants

Legal and financial

Managing payments
Other financial aids for people with disabilities
Scope of the ACA (ex. what it covers, what’s under federal jurisdiction)
Employment and legal rights (ex. what to look for in a contract)

Disability knowledge and awareness

Views of Deafness and disability need to include intersectionality
Training on disability and intersectionality
- Anti-oppression
- Decolonization
- Disability Justice
- Human rights
Understanding disability across a lifespan

Skills and professional development

Basic computer and digital literacy skills
Breaking down internalized barriers about who a consultant is - training about what a “consultant” is and does
Training on how to be a consultant
- How to not speak on someone’s behalf, but raise issues in allyship
- Best practices for collaboration - for example, from Indigenous culture
- Communication (how to talk to others about challenges, how to share the relevant stories, consulting with small vs big entities)
- Self care and mental health (managing anxiety and stress, identifying your own boundaries, what a safe and healthy interaction looks like, what toxic behaviour looks like)
How to build a constituency
- Intersectional outreach
- Compensation models
- How to spot issues of control and power imbalance between caregiver / support person and the person with a disability

Topics for caregivers

How to be a liaison between the consultant and the entity, not always speaking on behalf of them
Specifying to the entity which feedback is from the consultant directly, and wich feedback may include the perspectives of the caregiver

Topics for Social Enterprise Support Team

Clear understanding of the website, how it works, what supports and resources are available on the website, and how to navigate the website with assistive technology
Peer support and conflict resolution, especially if there is conflict based on discrimination
Ways to assess an entity’s education and awareness of disability and Deafness and their readiness for change
Training to build consultation teams that are cross-disability, intersectional, cross-canada, both rural and urban representation, directly impacted by the project, intergenerational, or assess them to make sure they have adequate representation
Training on what conflict of interest may look like between consultant/entity pairings
How to play a peer support role
How to spot issues of control and power imbalance between caregiver / support person and the consultant

Topics for Social Enterprise Outreach Team

Relationship building in a community context
How to recruit across disability, intersectionality, and for people who may not consider themselves as having a disability
How to reach marginalized groups within marginalized groups
Not everyone has the same resources or uses the same methods of connecting
Addressing internalized attitudes in certain communities about consulting and who a “consultant” is

Topics for Disability Organizations

How to help your members identify their skills and expertise as consultants