As part of its initiatives to improve its provision of services to Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) conducted a two-day online Disability Sensitivity Training in partnership with the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) on May 10 and 11, 2022.
The Disability Sensitivity Training was developed to equip the frontliners and professionals in understanding the concepts of disability and to enhance their skills in communicating and assisting Persons with Disability for their specific needs and concerns towards promotion of quality life.
The training aimed to capacitate focal persons and DSWD personnel in frontline service in handling Persons with Disabilities by increasing their awareness on disability concepts and enhancing their skills in communicating and assisting different types of Persons with Disabilities. The training also required participants to create a disability inclusive plan to integrate the concepts learned from the training to the plans of all DSWD offices, bureaus, services, and units.
Mr. Randy Calseña, NCDA Regional Programs Coordinator; and Ms. Jonalyn Lucas, NCDA Planning Officer, served as resource persons during the training. Among the topics that they discussed include the Disability Concepts, description of Persons with Disabilities based on Philippine laws, types of disabilities, laws concerning Persons with Disabilities, and ways to address the barriers encountered by Persons with Disabilities.
Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities
One of the highlights of the training was the discussion on providing reasonable accommodation to Persons with Disability. Reasonable accommodation, according to the United Nations Disability Convention, refers to the “necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Some examples of reasonable accommodation include: ensuring physical accessibility in selection of meeting venues; use of simple and easy to understand instructions; use of captions, sub-titles, and sign language insets in videos; accessible formats for information materials; readers for blind persons; and ensuring disability accessibility in websites.
Likewise, it is also imperative for the public to always respect the preferences for independent mobility of Persons with Physical Disabilities.
Lastly, the Department will continue to work actively with other agencies and organizations to create an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for Persons with Disabilities. ##
