Ready for exposure

Why use this?

To reflect upon problems that might arise.

Ready for exposure Helper

Method

As a volunteer working with disabled people, they will have to deal with several situations that might cause different feelings in them. In this method, we will have to prepare our volunteer to be ready for what it might be coming.

Step 1:

Introduction of the topic. We can start with a little introduction of this collective of people, differencing four big groups of disabilities: mental disorders, sensory impaired disabilities, physical disabilities and developmental/social disabilities. We might need to give the person a few examples of each group and general characteristics of them.

Step 2:

Emotional engagement. We will ask the volunteer about their background working with disabled people. If they have had a previous contact with them, they could probably deal easily with what it would be coming soon; but if they haven’t, this method will approach them to several realities that might be likely to happen to them during the ESC project.

Step 3:

Emotional management. The main part of the activity will consist in expose the volunteer to several realities, one per group of disabilities (in the resources, you will find two per group, and there are much more if you search online!). Before starting the first video, you will give them a paper with lots of specific emotions and feelings, classified by more general feelings. Once that has been given, you will follow these steps with every video: 1) Watch; 2) Detect emotions; 3) Reflect and explain in case it’s needed; 4) Detect after-reflection emotions.

Here you have several comments and questions that could make your volunteer get closer to every reality during its reflection:

Tip from a Mentor

Let your volunteer speak freely about that they know about those realities and try to complement their knowledge of the topic as much as possible. Remember that this is about creating empathy, dealing with own emotions that might appear and let them normalize those realities in order to be ready to work with them in a horizontal way.

Resources

We see you
o What is happening in this video?
o Does anyone realize what’s happening?
o How would you feel if you were that friend talking to him?
o Would you have reacted in a different way?
o What do you consider that your role would be if you were that friend?
o Do you think that you could have detected what’s happening if you were her?
OCD – The reality
o What is happening in this video?
o Have you ever known a person with OCD?
o How do you think these obsessive-compulsive thoughts can appear in your volunteering journeys?
o What do you think is your role there?
o How would you feel if you found a person with OCD in the middle of a crisis?
o How would you react in that last situation?
o How do you think that person feels when that happens?
DEAF
o What is happening in this video?
o Have you ever known a person with OCD?
o How do you think these obsessive-compulsive thoughts can appear in your volunteering journeys?
o What do you think is your role there?
o How would you feel if you found a person with OCD in the middle of a crisis?
o How would you react in that last situation?
o How do you think that person feels when that happens?
Blindness
o What is happening in this video?
o Which are the feelings that the narrator was describing?
o How did you feel about the ending?
o What similar situations do you think that you could face during your activities?
o Have you ever been so close to a blindness reality?
o What difficult situations do you think that you could face during your activities and how do you think you would react?
Cerebral palsy short film
o What is happening in the video?
o Have you ever been in touch with a person with cerebral palsy?
o How does the video make you feel?
o Which situations do you think that you could face during your process working with a people with cerebral palsy?
o Have you thought about how it would be to do common activities with a person with cerebral palsy?
o Which would be your difficulties?
Expectations
o What is happening in this video?
o Have you ever herd of Ashley’s syndrome? (Olliers and Mifushi Syndrome)
o What emotions have you felt watching the video?
o Have you thought that you could work with a person with a rare disability?
o What would you tell the younger Ashley if you heard her telling out loud what she wrote in her diary?
o What difficult situations do you think that you could face working with a person with a syndrome like hers?
Me, my autism and I
o What is happening in this video?
o How did you feel with the course of the day in the video?
o In which moments did you feel similarities with her feelings?
o Have you ever been close to a person with autism?
o What would you change in the story?
o How would you react if you found a older woman with autism in the middle of a crisis? And with a younger boy?

Mutism
o What is happening in this video?
o Have you ever been in a similar situation?
o Have you ever realized of someone around having similar feelings?
o Did you know about selective mutism before this video?
o What would you change in the video?

Extra Material

Feelings List

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