Facilitation teams should include a person with a disability to co-facilitate this session. People First organizations, located in each state, can assist in finding a guest facilitator for the session. The People First organization provides training to its speakers. The facilitator team should interview potential candidates to be sure that the guest facilitator has a philosophy similar to the session’s and a presentation style that matches other team members’. The training team also needs to clarify what accommodations are needed so that the guest facilitator can participate fully. Finally, the guest speaker should be in a position to speak about his or her experiences without feeling uncomfortable or vulnerable in the training situation. (See page 17 of the “Facilitator’s Guide” for suggestions on hiring a guest speaker.) The facilitation team should meet with the guest speaker in advance to plan and review the session and its key points and to determine roles and timing in conducting the session.

Facilitation team members need to model the People First Language handout.

It is important that the facilitation team creates a safe environment so that people can participate fully in and learn from this experience. The video in this session may provoke intense reactions. Therefore, it is important to enhance the ground rules with suggestions from the “Facilitator’s Guide” on creating safe environments.