Creating a warm, welcoming and safe environment
People with intellectual disabilities feel services are inclusive when staff and other service users are friendly and welcoming towards them.
Services are inclusive when a person feels safe from physical or verbal abuse by others.
Staff in services can ensure their interactions with service users with intellectual disability are friendly and welcoming.
Staff can also help mediate interactions between all service users to ensure services are friendly, welcoming and safe for everyone.
Making your service more welcoming for people with intellectual disabilities
In this video, people with intellectual disabilities explain ways of creating a welcoming atmosphere in services:
People with intellectual disabilities often feel services are welcoming and friendly when staff engage with them in a personal way. There are some simple steps you can take to make a person feel welcome:
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Welcome them warmly on their arrival;
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Introduce yourself by name, and ask for their name; make an effort to use the person’s name;
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Show a personal interest in the person, while respecting their privacy and personal boundaries;
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When a person leaves, explicitly invite them to come back again;
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Use non-verbal cues to convey of friendliness and warmth: such as open and inviting body language, and a tone of voice that conveys friendliness and sincerity.
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Do not speak to an adult as if they are a child;
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Let the person know they are ‘seen’ and acknowledged. For example, you can say ‘Josh, it’s nice to see you here again!’.
Shared activities
Wherever possible, involve people intellectual disabilities in spaces and activities that are shared with other service users, rather than separate from them.
Separate activities deny people opportunities to meet and make connections with others without a disability. They mean some activities are exclusionary.
Mediating interactions between service users
Proactively create opportunities for friendly interaction between service users with and without intellectual disabilities. For example, you can introduce service users to each other and help initiate conversation between them.
When you notice service users having difficulty understanding each other, you can offer help. You will learn more about communication accessibility in the next module!
You can create opportunities for people to connect with each other but do not force these on people. If any service user prefers to be left alone, it’s important to respect their autonomy on this matter too.
In this interactive video, Jenny and Max, both have an intellectual disability and regularly participate in an arts class at the local community centre. You are asked to help the class instructor choose the actions that create a warm and welcoming environment for both Jenny and Max.
Interactive Video
Creating a safe space for all
Inclusive services provide a safe space where everyone is free of physical and verbal abuse.
This is an important and challenging responsibility for mainstream service staff.
Sometimes people with intellectual disabilities experience aggression or abuse from other service users. Sometimes some service users with intellectual disabilities can be aggressive towards other service users and staff.
Wherever possible, take action to prevent or stop aggressive behaviour by any service user. Here are some things you can do:
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Facilitate and mediate conversations in ways that prevent conflict and abuse, by building a shared understanding of each other’s needs.
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If the person has other supporters, such as a carer or support worker, collaborate with them to find ways to manage any aggressive behaviour.
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Only remove a person from a service as a last resort, if there is no other way to protect safety of other services users
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If you notice signs a person with intellectual disability is being subjected to exploitation, abuse or neglect, and this seems outside of your control, alert your managers or authorities. In Australia, you can contact the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline
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People with intellectual disabilities feel included in services that are friendly, welcoming, and safe.
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Staff can enhance inclusivity by engaging with service users, by using welcoming words and gestures, and expressing a genuine personal interest in a person while respecting privacy.
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Shared spaces and activities for service users with and without intellectual disabilities are preferred, as separate activities can lead to exclusion.
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Staff can proactively create opportunities for direct interaction between service users, fostering connections without imposing them.
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Inclusive services must be spaces where all people are safe from aggression or abuse. Staff should prevent or address aggressive behaviour, mediate conflicts, and collaborate with other supporters, if there are any, to manage such issues.