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Inclusion360Inclusive education and social integration for youth with intellectual disabilities

For parents, educators and youth workers

Active in My Community

For every lesson in this module: what is behind it, and five things that help.

  1. Lesson 3.1

    My Community

    Why this matters

    Taking part in the ordinary life of a town is a right under Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In practice many young people spend their free time at home or in special settings and rarely use a public place on their own.

    It starts with knowing what exists. Libraries, youth centres, municipal services and accessible sports facilities are often free, and families often do not know about them. Using a place needs three things: getting there, knowing what happens there, and the social rules of that place. All three are learned by going, first together and then with less help each time.

    What helps

    • Make a real map of your town with the group, using photographs of the real places.
    • Prepare each visit with a short picture story: what will happen and what to say.
    • Call the service in advance. Many are glad to welcome young people and explain their work.
    • Repeat a visit until they feel sure of it, then step back.
    • Take peers without disabilities along on the visits.
    Look at the lesson itself

  2. Lesson 3.2

    Sport and an Active Life

    Why this matters

    The World Health Organization recommends at least 60 minutes of activity a day for young people, and the recommendation applies to people with disabilities too. Young people with intellectual disabilities are usually less active than their peers and join far fewer clubs.

    The research in this project found sport to be one of the strongest tools for inclusion: it builds not only health and motor skills but also teamwork, confidence and friendships. Unified teams, where young people with and without intellectual disabilities play together, were the most effective model. Sport also teaches the social rules explicitly: wait your turn, follow the rules, accept the referee, support your team.

    What helps

    • Choose an activity where they can succeed, then add the challenge.
    • Adapt the rules and the equipment: a bigger ball, a lower basket, more time, a shorter distance.
    • Ask local clubs and Special Olympics programmes about unified teams.
    • Use sport to practise the skills of Module 2: greeting, taking turns, handling feelings.
    • Celebrate taking part and trying, not only winning.
    Look at the lesson itself

  3. Lesson 3.3

    My First Job

    Why this matters

    Work brings income, a role, contacts and self-esteem, but employment rates for people with intellectual disabilities are very low across Europe. The step from school to work is where most young people are lost: there are few transition programmes, and many go from school straight to staying at home.

    Supported employment works the other way round from long preparation: the person is placed in a real job and trained there by a job coach. Before that, young people need to know what jobs exist, what they are good at, and the skills employers ask about first, which are being on time, following instructions, asking for help and being reliable. Adjustments such as picture instructions, a fixed routine or a quiet place for breaks are a right, not a favour.

    What helps

    • Start from their interests. Someone who loves animals may do well in a pet shop or on a farm.
    • Use real workplaces when you can. A few hours of real work teach more than many lessons.
    • Use picture task cards and a visual schedule at the workplace.
    • Prepare the employer and the colleagues: how to give a clear instruction, how to give feedback.
    • Celebrate the first pay or the first certificate. It is a big step into adult life.
    Look at the lesson itself

  4. Lesson 3.4

    Our Small Social Business

    Why this matters

    A social enterprise sells products or services like any business, but it exists for a social purpose and puts what is left back into that purpose. The social pastry shop of the You Are Part of Us Foundation is one example, and it gives young people with disabilities training and work.

    At this age entrepreneurship is not taught through business plans but through one real small project done as a team. The group chooses the idea, plans it, makes it, sells it and decides together what to do with the money. Everyone has a role that fits their strengths. Three words are enough: what we paid for the materials, what the customer pays, and what is left.

    What helps

    • Let the group choose both the idea and the good cause. Owning the decision is what creates the effort.
    • Choose a product that is made in small, repeatable steps.
    • Give each person a role that fits their strengths, and swap the roles in the next project.
    • Invite families, peers and local media to the Market Day, so the abilities are seen.
    • Talk afterwards: what went well, and what would we do differently?
    Look at the lesson itself
For parents, educators and youth workers