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Sometimes people with intellectual disabilities are treated badly at work.
For example: There is a training which helps people with intellectual disabilities |
FEAPS concluded their participation in the two-year European project ‘Let me be Me’ which aimed to combat workplace bullying of adults with intellectual disabilities. To achieve this, FEAPS has supported the development of a research based training toolkit that address employers, trainers and support staff, and introduces them to the gravity of bullying across Europe. Moreover, it provides them with the best practices which can be used in order to combat this issue, and prepares them to deal and support different target groups at their daily workplace.
The project aims to bring an innovative approach to the European problem of bullying people with intellectual disabilities. was set up using actual experiences and testimonies from victims of workplace harassment. Only a small number of projects have tried tackling this issue in the past, fact which makes it a much welcomed innitiative. ‘Let me be Me!’ has developed a training programme that looks at reducing aggression, while promoting the social skills needed to address such negative behavior and develop feelings of empathy. For victims of bullying, the training introduces essential practical skills necessary in order to improve their situation and increase their level of safety.
The training tools’ success was tested in the countries. In Spain, FEAPS oraganised the project together with Fundación Laboral del Metal. The pilot trainings enabled 58 adults, with intellectual disabilities, to understand what workplace bullying meant and how it could be handled in order to improve the conditions of their working environment. In Germany and Ireland, participants with intellectual disabilities learned to recognise different forms of bullying. In Portugal and Spain, training focused on prevention and intervention in case of harassment at the workplace.
At the same time, training courses were also offered to parents, employers and professionals. These focused on informing them about the gravity of the issue across Europe, and, at the same time, let them them know about good practices which help provide all workers with the same workplace conditions.
The training toolkit was only used in the project countries so far. The project partners however, committed themselves to disseminate its results outside their borders as well, because bullying of people with intellectual disabilities is present in all EU countries.
Visit the project website for more Information at: www.letmebeme.eu
Source: FEAPS, Spain
