This website is designed to give people with disability information and ideas so that they can have a good life that suits them.
Some people with disability will need support to access and use the material. If you are supporting a person with disability to use the resources, here are some tips to
guide you.
1. Do the exercises yourself before you support someone else to. It is fine to register yourself, look at the resources and answer the questions. This will help you to know how everything works before you get started. It will also help you to understand how all the resources work together. If you have any questions, you can contact My Choice Matters.
2. When you understand how the website works, explain it to any person you support to use the website. Let them know that it is not a test and that there are no wrong answers. They can decide not to do some parts or to come back to them later. This may help people to relax and get the most out of the materials.
3. Start by thinking about a good life. People can choose which topics they want to cover and in what order. But starting with the resources about having a good life can help guide what topics someone wants to cover. It can help people think about what is most important to them. There are 3 topics about having a good life.
4. Stop to discuss resources. Some topics are long and it can be useful to stop at the end of each resource to discuss it.
You can talk about things like:
o what the resource was about
o anything the resource helped the person to think about
o how the person feels after going through the resource
o who they want to talk to about the resource
o any ideas they want to act on.
To the extent you can, it would be good to use open questions – questions that do not suggest the answer.
5. Each topic starts with a resource that is easy to read. There are pictures to help people to understand the information. These resources can be a good way of getting an overview of what is covered in the topic.
6. Some of the resources that are easy to read are designed specifically to talk about with someone else. They are intended to start a thinking process. People can answer in a way that says:
· Yes
· No
· Not Sure.
It can be useful to explore why people answered in the way they did. Once these thoughts are gathered, they can be used as a basis to guide future decision making and planning.
These resources that are made to ‘talk about’ are intended to be useful for anyone – whatever their support need.
7. Different people will have different support needs and people can engage with the resources in a way that suits them. For example, there are often options to write an answer or to choose a picture to answer.
If the person you are supporting wants to choose a picture, they can use their computer mouse to drag a picture onto the relevant background – or you can support them to do that.
Again, it would be good to discuss why they made the choice of picture where possible.
You could also be a scribe for a person who wants to write an answer but cannot do so themselves.
8. When people finish a topic they will be invited to make a list of actions. These action lists are intended to help people reflect on what they just learnt and what they now want to do.
If people struggle, you can return to each resource to remind the person of what was covered.
9. People learn at different speeds and have different energy levels. Some resources will take people different lengths of time to complete. For example, some workbooks will take most people more than 1 hour to complete.
It is good to have small breaks between resources or topics so that people stay focused. It is likely that people will get the most out of the website if they have lots of small sessions –rather than one long session.
10. People will have all of their answers saved automatically. They will be able to look at their answers again if they use their password. They will be able to add and change things.
Some people will find it easier to look at their answers and think about them, or share them with others, if they are printed. You can go to the person’s home page to print their answers when they finish. Just click ‘Create Booklet’.
11. If you are a person who is in a paid role, it may be useful to involve a family member or friend when you go through materials with a person with disability. You could ask the person who they want to be present and/or make suggestions about who could take part. In this way, people with an ongoing role in the person’s life may be better able to support them to achieve what they want.
12. Make it fun! People learn best when they are interested in what they are doing and can see how it is relevant to them. Support the person with disability to have high expectations and to strive for what they want.
There are all kinds of resources on the website. Here is a description of the different types.
1. Workbooks give you information and help you think about the information. There are links to videos and extra resources plus activities you can do. The activities help you practice using the information. If you do everything in the workbook, it will take you more than 1 hour to finish. But you can have a break and come back.
2. Worksheets give you information and have activities to do. They are shorter than workbooks. But they still get you to think about the information and give you space to write or draw your ideas.
3. Check lists are to help you remember important things. Or to think about something you want to do. You can use a checklist to get started on something new. You can use a checklist to get ideas you may not have thought about.
4. Fact sheets give you information. They are to help you learn about new topics.
5. Questions to ask are just that. They are questions you could ask someone to find out information. You may not want to ask all the questions but we hope they give you some ideas.
6. Action sheets say things you can do. They can get you started doing things – not just thinking about them!
7. Tip sheets list some things for you to think about. They note some key ideas about a topic. Tips come from people who have done something before. You will learn from the experience of other people.
8. ‘Talk about’ resources are to help you talk to someone else about what you want to do. They have lots of ideas for you to discuss. You can say ‘yes’, ‘no’ or that you are ‘not sure’ about each idea. It is can also be good to talk about why you have answered the way you have. ‘Talk about’ resources can help you to get lots of ideas about what you do and do not want quickly.
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