Abuse Awareness for People with Learning Disabilities

This half-day workshop will provide an opportunity for adults with Learning Disabilities to learn about abuse in all its forms. The course will pay attention to how being abused may make a person feel and to the importance of being able to tell somebody.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course participants will have had the opportunity to:

• Consider what ‘abuse’ means
• Understand more about the different ways in which a person can be abused
• Address how being abused may make a person feel
• Look at how being abused may affect a person’s behaviour
• Talk about why people abuse others and who they may be
• Identify somebody to tell, if it should happen

Course Programme:

10.00am Welcome
Trainer and participants introduce themselves
Warm up game
Talk about the morning – that abuse can be an upsetting subject to talk about, but that it is important for protection. Highlight the areas that we will be addressing.
Agree ground rules for the group

10.20am Exercise: What is ‘abuse’ ?
Large group activity looking at different types of behaviours. The group are asked to think about which behaviours might be abusive.
Trainer shows short video clip which shows abusive behaviour

10.45am Exercise: Different types of abuse
Small groups are asked to look at different scenarios, which highlight areas of abuse, e.g., physical, emotional/psychological, neglect and omission, sexual, financial, discrimination, institution.
Who are abusers?

11.20am Tea/Coffee break

11.30am Exercise: How does abuse make a person feel ?
Participants look at the differences between ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’
What might feel nice, and what doesn’t
Feeling like it’s my fault
Being scared because the abuser is in a powerful position

Trainer informs participants about organisations who can offer support, e.g., Voice UK, Change, Respond.
Trainer hands out copies of ‘Stop! No More Abuse’ publication

12.00pm Exercise: Who will listen to me ?
Saying ‘NO!’ to things that make you feel bad
I am worth a lot and I deserve to be treated in a nice way
Participants are asked to think about and identify somebody they can tell, if they are abused.

12.30pm Evaluation and Finish

Working Methods:

Large/small group work         Flip chart work        Trainer presentation         Video

CP134/5.9