The Disabled Access Friendly campaign
(How can you help)
Paul Shaw and the team
Disabled Access Friendly Coordinator
«Raising Awareness and Promoting Change for the Disabled in Foreign Language Schools in Greece»

The Disabled Access Friendly campaign aims to raise awareness about the needs of the physically disabled (AMEA) and to improve accessibility for disabled people initially in Foreign Language Centers in Greece. The campaign's website is currently under construction and will provide school owners, students and publishers with useful materials and tools that will help achieve these goals. There will be tips on how to empower the disabled, worksheets for teachers of English as a Foreign Language to use in the classroom, a forum for students and teachers to share their experiences either as, or with, the disabled, and much more. Everybody will be able both to contribute and benefit from the information on the site.
Many of you have directly asked “How can I help?” and we are sure there are many more people that would be willing to offer their expertise or share their ideas and experiences if they had a clear idea of what is needed. Therefore we are putting out this “Call for Help” in the following specific areas and invite anyone who can assist, in however small a way, to contact us (see below). The level of commitment and time you are able to offer is up to you.:

Production of worksheets for learners of English which will raise awareness about the disabled.
We need material writers, designers, illustrators and teachers to come forward.
Acknowledgement of your contribution would appear on worksheets available for downloading. An example of this will be seen in next months ELTnews; kindly provided by Malcolm Mann.

Sharing of experiences
We need school owners and teachers to share their stories about accommodating disabled children in the classroom and to talk about their experiences in teaching the disabled. Photos/videos would be welcome of perhaps how the school has made structural or methodological changes.
You could include details about what motivated you to make any changes to your premises to accommodate someone who is disabled, what changes were necessary and how you achieved them, the reaction of students and parents, your opinion on whether you have a responsibility to sensitize young people to social issues, how a disabled classmate is accepted and manages in the classroom, difficulties encountered by the teacher, and whatever else you would like to share.
The name of your school and a link to your school's website would be added to published articles.
Teachers could also collect input from their students (both able-bodied and disabled) and send it in on their behalf.
You could describe your feelings and experiences and include information on how your attitudes have changed or what you have learned, and ideas on what you would like to see happen in the future.
Your first name, the name of your school and a link to your school's website would be added to published articles.

Brainstorming of ideas for school projects
A project on an important social issue like access for the disabled could be a real showpiece for any school. Anybody can submit an idea for a short or longer term project. This could be anything from a compilation of poetry to a petition to the local authorities to a survey on accessibility issues in the community. If you can provide an idea for consideration, we would then provide relevant background material.
Your name, and/or the name of your school and a link to your school's website if relevant, would be added to the projects selected for downloading from the site.

FAQs
We have already come across some of these, such as:
1. What are the minimum requirements that would make a Foreign Language Center “Disabled Access Friendly?”
2. Where can I get practical information on making improvements to a building so that it is “Disabled Access Friendly?”
3. What are the legal provisions for the disabled in Greece?
We are sure you have many more questions. Please send them to us (see below) so that we can provide comprehensive and useful information on the website.

How to submit input or contact us
Please send your contributions, ideas or offers of help by e-mail to: disabledaccessfriendly@hotmail.com
Thank you in advance for your active support. Remember even small actions speak louder than words!