Dive into the world of living with a disability

How does it feel to enter a building as a visually impaired person? Or as a person in a wheelchair or someone with an autism spectrum disorder? In this immersion session you put yourself in the shoes of someone with a disability. Together with disability experts, you will discover solutions to remove barriers.

→ Experience firsthand the perspective of someone with a disability.

→ Engage in dialogue about your experiences with your peers and with disability experts.

→ Take home concrete tips to make your services, workplace or products more inclusive.

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foto: © Judith Desmyttere

Program

1.Experiential exercises: step into the shoes of a person with a physical disability. Each participant will experience tasks designed to simulate blindness, hearing impairment, or using a wheelchair. (A Flemish Sign Language interpreter is needed to support experts with hearing impairments).

2.Reflection on experience: we will engage in dialogue with other participants and disability experts, initially in small groups and then with the full group. From this reflection, we will deduce practical principles related to accessibility in terms of support, communication, and environment. Disability experts contribute additional practical tips.

3.Insights: we will conclude the session by sharing insights gained and providing an overview of general principles of inclusion and accessibility. With these insights and principles, you can immediately take concrete steps towards progress within your company or organization.


  1. Experiential physical disability exercise
    Participants are assigned a physical disability upon arrival (sitting in a wheelchair, reduced vision or hearing, etc.). They are then challenged to go through a customer journey with their disability. During this exercise the participants are confronted with various barriers (registering at the reception, taking the elevator, getting coffee, etc.).
  2. Persona mapping physical disability
    After the experiential exercise, extensive time is taken for reflection in separate groups and according to the type of disability. A co-lecturer (disability expert) also participates in each reflection group. The intention is for each reflection group to draw up a persona that maps out the main characteristics.
  3. Exchange in group
    Based on the drawn-up personas, the most important insights from each reflection group are shared with the other groups. There is room to ask questions and we provide a number of general principles regarding accessibility for each type of disability. The co-lecturers complement this with practical tips and tricks.
  4. Experiential exercise on cognitive impairment
    During a second experiential exercise, participants are exposed to a number of characteristics of cognitive impairment (more specifically ASD, mental disability, ABD). The focus is on a combination of overstimulation of the senses and difficulty with socially desirable behaviors. This is done in a context where behaviors, sensory stimuli and words take on different meanings. In this way, participants experience what life is like for people with cognitive support needs.
  5. Persona mapping cognitive disability
    We discuss in groups what the participants thought of the exercise. Their experience is especially central. We also show the testimony of several individuals with cognitive support needs. This gives a good picture of their environment and what concerns them. We re-map all collected information based on person mapping. We also consider the general principles related to cognitive support needs.
  6. Group discussion
    Based on an inspiring Ted Talk, we will discuss with the group the underlying social problem that people with disabilities constantly face. An exchange with the experts present guarantees many additional insights.
  7. Evaluation and feedback
    We wrap up by having everyone articulate their main insights of the day.

Practical information

  • target audience
    companies and organizations that want to gain insight into living with a disability
  • duration
    full day (also possible in half a day - see below)
  • group
    from 5 to 20 participants
  • location
    this workshop preferably takes place in the company or organization

Dive into the world of living with a disability

This session also exists in a half-day setup, with a choice of focus on cognitive or physical disability.

The immersive course has motivated us to work even further on inclusion.
Alexander Alonso, General Manager BD Benelux
Dive into the world of living with a disability

Any questions? Stien, Kurt and Marijn are happy to tell you more.

Stien Van Obbergen

account manager companies and organisations Meer info

Kurt Vanhauwaert

account manager companies and organisations Meer info

Marijn Leroy

account manager companies and organisations / team leader Meer info