People First: Practicing Accessibility 
One Contact at a Time 

Mark Sweet 
Trainer & Consultant 
Disability Rights Wisconsin 

msweet@drwi.org 

608 267 0214 
disabilityrightswi.org 

Winter 2016 



It’s not only buildings 
that can be inaccessible 

People can be Inaccessible 




My Strength / My Intention 

I 

Listen … 
I Empower … 
I Advocate … 
I Support … 




My Strength / Intention 
a 
Her/His POV (point of view) 
a 
they tell me what to do 
a 
they give permission, or not 

a 
for what they want for me 
or think I need; their timeline 

a 
when I do what they want, 
sometimes they dismiss me 



£ 
I’m just trying to help 

£ 
If I had known, I could have… 
I would not have… 


R 
Humility 
R 
Mindfulness (Attention) 



The intention to be… 
(helpful) is not 
always understood or experienced as… 
(help) 

Ú 
Experience is in the body; 
nervous system 

Ú 
Understanding is based on 
learning & past events 

the intention to be … 
informative 
… 
encouraging 
… 
trustworthy 

… 
respectful 



r 
Adults with developmental disabilities 
had 3X the rate of physical or sexual 
abuse as other adults 

r 
80% of psychiatric inpatients & 
68% of outpatients reported physical 
or sexual abuse in their lifetime 



Trauma as effects of an event(s) 
on the nervous system & thinking 
as they relate to feelings of (un)safety 

Developmental Trauma as effects 
that emerge later with new 
information & understanding 

a 
Accumulated effects of others having 
power & control over you (e.g. placements, 
goals, rules, schedules, behavior plans) 



“Trauma Informed” g 
Services 

g 
Care 

g 
Supports 

g 
Organizations 

… 
now what 



Thinking 

} 
If something interfered…? 

Energy / Mood Regulation 
} 
If you couldn't quickly adjust to 
situations or expectations …? 



r 
Who might have trouble with thinking 
and energy / mood regulation? 

People living with 

} 
intellectual disabilities 

} 
autism 

} 
brain injuries & other changes 

} 
thought disorders 

} 
mood disorders 

} 
sexual assault / interpersonal abuse 

} 
trauma 



(Interpersonal) ACCESS includes 

¢ how you are experienced & understood 
¢ 
one contact at a time 
¢ 
from her/his POV 

…now what 

R 
Trauma & Power Aware Interactions 



POV 

È You È 
Other 

] 
time & schedule 
] 
activity & goals 
] 
expectations 
] 
what’s ‘appropriate’ 
] 
what’s wrong 

à 
wanting energy 



È 
Your POV È 
Other’s POV 

— 
time & schedule — 
thoughts, senses 
— 
activity — 
interests, concerns 
— 
expectations — 
coping & history 
— 
rules — 
understanding 
— 
what’s wrong — 
emotions 

æ 
wanting energy vs. wanting energy å 


g 
control in support relationships 
g 
brain lock 



Brains Lock g 
when we Characterize 

} 
out of control } 
aggressive 
} 
angry } 
lazy, doesn’t care 
} 
difficult } 
manipulative 
} 
doing it for attention } 
has challenges 

g 
use population talk 

a 
Characterizations Subvert Access 



Babies: sounds, facial expressions, 

gestures & movement 
Adults: curious detectives, interpreters 
Ê 
to help them cope, 

assert & accomplish 

]Babies g 
Children … 
(disability) 

Ê 
curiosity g 
judgment 

Ê 
lead with characterizations & diagnoses 



Behavior 

= Action (everything we do) 
Ê in context 

= Coping 
= Asserting 
= Trying to Accomplish 



Bottom-Up mind vs. Top-Down mind 
Thinking Fast vs. Thinking Slow 
Old Brain vs. New Brain 

Old Brain Emotional, fast, automatic 

New Brain Rational, slower, deliberate 

r 
Old Brain can Overrule New Brain 
& reduce attention to another person 



rHow do you want to engage? 

Reactive 
Automatic 
Habitual 
ImpulsiveJudgmentalYour POV

 Cue Ð 


Í 
Reactive 

ResponsivePresent 
ListeningFlexible 
Curious 
Her/His POV 

Cue Ð 


Í Responsive 



To better appreciate her/his POV … 
ask 

R 
What are you seeing or hearing …? 
R 
When is s/he more likely to …? 
R 
What does s/he probably understand …? 
R 
What is s/he probably experiencing 
(sensations) and feeling (emotions)? 
R 
What is s/he trying to cope with, assert 
or accomplish? 
R 
What might be helpful? 



a 
Trying to be accessible 
— 
is not an add-on 

— 
is not a special occasion switch 
a 
We do not need proof of harm 
a 
Accessible is what we strive to be, 
one contact at a time, with everyone 



1: When are you more likely to be out of 
your comfort zone or slip into automatic; 
When are you chunking? 
2: What adjustments might help you 
to be more attentive a 
accessible? 
3: What reminders will help you to practice 
those adjustments; to be more 
accessible one contact at time? 

Free resources: disabilityrightswi.org 

a 
Access from an Interpersonal Angle 
a 
Creating Safety by asking 

what makes people vulnerable? 

a 
Conversations about Interpersonal Safety 
a 
When Deaf & Hearing Meet (parts 1 & 2) 

click: publications 
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