A Web-based course titled "Ready, Willing, & Able" provides training to public health, hospital, preparedness, emergency response and disaster relief personnel on working with disabled individuals during a disaster. The 2-hour course includes a pre-assessment, a 25-minute video, a 60-minute video, group exercises and discussion, and a post-assessment. The course addresses a variety of topics applicable to the needs and desires of people with disabilities during disasters, including 1) Preferred word choices; 2) How to approach an individual with a disability; 3) Characteristics and needs of people with disabilities; 4) Best practices; 5) The role of public health; 6) Individual functional roles; 7) Communication roles and systems; 8) Recognizing individual limits and key systems for referring matters that exceed those limits; and 9) Creative problem-solving and flexible thinking for unusual challenges.
The course includes several interactive components that could be completed in a group. For instance, one exercise encourages participants to pretend that individuals who wear glasses are disabled. People who do not wear glasses would be astonished that the "disabled" group members are able to work in certain professions and accomplish tasks. Exercise participants then discuss how to address their assumptions about and reactions toward disabilities. A second exercise allows participants to plan for someone with impaired mobility during a bomb threat in a mall with no accessible exits.
Setting aside two hours for the online course may be a challenge for members of the target audience. The information is noteworthy, however, because it educates participants about personal assumptions and beliefs while providing them with specific information they can use to build trust and collaboration with people who have disabilities.
Participants must register on the web site before taking the course. The course name ("Ready, Willing, & Able") and number (1010882) are necessary to access the materials.