Premium
MM:6
Wake‐up call: everything you always wanted to know about working with people with disabilities but were afraid to ask
Author(s) -
FIALA LS
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.03075_6.x
Subject(s) - habilitation , hero , sociology , media studies , psychology , public relations , advertising , political science , art , business , computer science , artificial intelligence , humanities
‘Wake‐up call’ was developed as a training DVD for staff that work with people with disabilities (known as ‘consumers’) and addresses the way that consumers want staff to speak, work, relate, and interact with them. It's all about attitude and respect. It is the result of a year‐long project that began when Consumer Self‐Advocacy groups at four UCP/NYC Day Habilitation programs around the city met in November 2006 to discuss the expectations of people with disabilities. The resulting 12‐minute edited film will be used for training new UCP/NYC staff and will be available for distribution around the country and Canada. ‘Wake‐up call’ features Geri Jewell (HBO's Deadwood), who narrates and performs, and Commissioner Matthew Sapolin of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities in New York City. Sapolin, who is blind, contributed his own thoughts, including his reluctance to be considered an ‘inspiration’ or ‘hero’. As Jewell comments on screen, ‘everyone in this video has one thing in common – they are people like me and you’. Wake‐up call also features the song ‘I Need To Wake UP’ by award‐winning singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge. The film was co‐produced by UCP/NYC staff Scott Feldman, Director of Waterside residences, and Lois Silver Fiala, Media Manager. Silver Fiala, who has won several awards for previous films, found the non‐scripted format to be extremely enlightening. ‘After working with consumers for over 20 years, it was fascinating for me to gain even further insight into what they have to say’.