L.E.D LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR DISABLED USERS

L.E.D LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR DISABLED USERS Reference Number : 517891-LLP-1-2011-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP

The italian context: a complex system Populationabout 60.000.000 millions Disabledpersons 2.600.000 4,8%ISTAT Disabledpersons 4.100.000 7,3%CENSIS Population 4.400.000 Disabledpersons 171.000 ISTAT In Workingage (15 -65) 41.000 ISTAT rules concerning compulsory hiring for disabled persons 26.423

The Provence of Ferrara ASL healthcare + Hosptal Population 350.000 Disabled persons 20.000 rules concerning compulsory hiring for disabled persons 2.548 26 Municipality 6 ASP welfare

Normative framework The difference between physical and mental/psychic disability seems to be particularly relevant when it comes to employment, even though this is actually a rather “raw” distinction and it is not acknowledged in the Italian regulatory framework. There is a lack of reference points to establish a sort of basic levels – of social nature – to evaluate the wellbeing of a person with disabilities. The current regulatory context does not allow a sufficient degree of specificity and differentiation to respect the endless variables of disability. On the regulatory and industrial plan, the protective devices introduced to safeguard workers and employment actually stiffen the system; this comes into conflict with the need of diversification and personalised interventions due the existence of very complex variables which are hard to define a priori. However, introducing more discretionary devices could be problematic as well because it could upset the system.

occupazione 66% of people with disabilities (older than 15) are not integrated in the job market; only 3.5% are employed and 0.9% are looking for employment. Creation of personalised starter contracts. All the social parts involved, including trade unions, allow a certain degree of flexibility whenever is required by the specific disadvantage they are dealing with.

Training and education It seems that theoretical arguments, usually squashed between more urgent problems, are mostly focused on two different points of view; the first has a general character, regarding theoretical-orientation aspects, while the second has a more pragmatic nature: a connection between the two aspects – taking into consideration the training and pedagogical function of educators – seems to be lacking, or at least it remains implicit and therefore limited.

Trainer and educators The characteristic element of all the people we have met, at all organisational levels convey an idea of strong adulthood, which is the quality that, above all, supports the role of educators of these people. The mission includes the ethical code of the organisation in wich an operator decides to collaborate for its “personal vocation”, that is a rational choice. Usually, for people working in the social field, life and work strictly interact – more or less consciously – and the concept of prosociality and human relationships is a central model in both their working and everyday life. Because of this correspondence, their work commitment can more easily lead to burn-out situations.

Complexity fragmentationstratification biography Analysis of synchronic moment and diachronic development Extreme fragmentation due to different types of disability intersecting different levels of disability and different ages of life. This intersection with people’s life stories must be read from the perspective different social contexts as school, job, … The huge stratification and general complexity are best represented by people’s life stories and by the work experiences of people who chose to commit to disabled people’s integration. This is the reason why we decided to carry out interviews aimed at summing up this complexity and getting in touch with the real situations out there.

Città del Ragazzo Città del Ragazzo welcomes people with acquired disabilities in a relational dimension in order to reach a co-planning of work. Initial evaluations are based on the ICF classification. A psychological evaluation follows right after. The efforts that people with acquired disabilities put in their rehabilitation comes into conflict with low employment expectations for people who suffered moderate to severe traumas. Working hard to reach a good degree of autonomy seems to be more stimulating than working hard to obtain low employment possibilities. Centro Perez: living in a warm, social environment where everyone is committed to mutual help and returning to a normal life rhythm, with a good work-home balance, is extremely rewarding; the difference between the new type of job and the old one – before the trauma occurred – becomes less crucial. Like a sort of reconquest, the constant thought of “before” is overthrown and some space is made for new forms of gratification. “Children are originated from the first moment they are conceived”

A technical-scientific group who can do somethings Perez Centre: half of projects aimed at the professional training/transition of people with acquired disabilities has to be financed by welfare services, the other half by healthcare services. Choice made by the Zone Plans of the whole province. Creation of district technical-scientific groups (GTS) that are also representative of the commission for the evaluation of remaining abilities (UVAR commission); they include people with operative functions so that every decision taken by mutual consent results into prompt action. FAMILIES NEEDING HELP Institutional problems make things extremely hard and confusing for people and for their families.

Padova. Consortium Social Cooperatives and coop Riesco The goal of the Consortium is to respond to the needs of the communities it serves, which involves strong democratic basis from the part of the cooperatives. Type A cooperatives, focused on disadvantaged people’s reception, have commissioned the canteen service to the Riesco cooperative, which thanks to this minimum guaranteed income has been able to integrate in the labour market. Mutual acknowledgement leads to the possibility of drawing up tailor-made contracts, whenever normative provisions can be adapted in order to facilitate job placements. This kind of work relationships can only work if there is mutual trust and a guarantee of long-term support to the host company. Cooperation?

3F family faith future: a new foundation The new foundation 3F (family, faith, future) aims at coordinating risk and investment by bringing families in on supporting the real needs of cooperatives, through the device of risk co-participation. 3F gathers and takes advantage of: cooperatives’ investments; endows of the families for the “after us” projects; donations of other local foundations. Social welfare (regulations and control) supported by cooperatives and social work, financed by the 3F foundation and with Family Associations – in the role of advocacy – to link the whole together. Once this virtuous circle of trust has started, cooperatives could reach autonomy and it would even be possible to make a contribution to welfare.

IT2 experience: a social labouratory The IT2 experience was created in 1998 from the YES project (Young Enterprise Solutions), financed by the community initiative Employment Youthstart, and is qualified as a A+B cooperative. The support network around the cooperative is very extended and well-structured; the executive council includes 7 bodies: foundations, professional training centers, social movements, consortiums. Partnerships and networking but always maintaining a strong connection with the territory; connection with the labour market and the local production activities.

A restaurant in Bologna Regional Catering School: base for the development of the catering sector of the cooperative and of the transitional restaurant “Le Torri”. Synergy with a catering course offered by a professional training centre. The restaurant run by IT2 employs a part of the workforce offered by the students and teachers of the catering school and allows people with psychic disabilities to be integrated for training. The human aspect sometimes predominates over managerial aspects. This can lead to mental effort and a few technical problems, but “it rescues our souls”.

It’s difficult The world of disability is very complex, it’s hard to analyse both in positive and negative terms, and hard to keep under control. It’s important to support family and other close relationships, which are often fragile and affected by the understandable concern of the main care givers. Projects are not dynamic enough, they should resemble a constant work in progress. The shortage of opportunities creates a sort of obligation. Am I here because I’m good at doing this or because they needed a disabled person to sort out law affairs? The answer to this question needs to be collective, in order to remove any doubts that diversity is – and should be accepted – as an element of a social practice freed of any prejudice/judgment/comparison and totally respectful of alterity.

Some things that seem useful Skills in social managment Skills in business managment Reference points to establish basic levels – of social nature – to evaluate the wellbeing of a person with disabilities Evaluation of different life conditions and their specificities, so as to offer useful guidelines to follow when relating to the work system. The figure of group leader requires a double kind of training: technical and relational (team work and mutual help). Necessity of studies on the feasibility of new cooperatives or social entrepreneurships and experimental training approaches in transition enterprises.

Best wishes In certain experiences, the most important transition (maybe the hardest and the most beautiful) is the inner one, for example when a person with disabilities goes from being helped to help others. Giordano Barioni and the Simpson

L.E.D LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR DISABLED USERS