Disabled people in Canada continue to face barriers to participation in society as a whole, including access to STEM education. Actua’s National Youth with Disabilities Program aims to engage disabled youth in intentional programs designed to break down barriers to participation in STEM, in order to:

• Bring the unique perspectives of youth with disabilities into the culture of STEM
• Foster a culture of disability inclusion in STEM
• Increase disabled youth’s STEM skills, knowledge, and attitudes 
• Develop STEM Identity in youth with disabilities by breaking stereotypes and demonstrating that STEM is a part of their everyday lives.
• Increase disabled youth’s interest and awareness about their future possibilities in STEM, including in education and employment.

In addition to programs intentionally designed to engage disabled youth, the National Youth with Disabilities Program aims to equip network members  to foster a culture of disability inclusion in all of their programs, and their institutions as a whole, through training and resources. 

Guiding Principles & Program Components for Success

The program includes a variety of delivery types, ranging from camps, clubs, workshops, events, and much more. The basis of each program will be the following principles. 

Guiding Principles

• Respect and dignity: Acknowledging every individual's inherent value and worth, regardless of ability or background is paramount to all Actua programming.
• Empower youth with a strengths-based approach: Each individual’s abilities and strengths are explicitly considered, along with their personal goals, and empowerment of the person has a high priority. Adapt the activity, not the person, so that everyone can participate at a level that is meaningful for them and grow their STEM skills. Independence may look different for each individual, so supports should be flexible and responsive. Whenever possible, empower youth to make choices on decisions that affect them, fostering independence and autonomy.
• Nothing without us: Disabled people need to be involved in the development and implementation of the National Youth with Disabilities Program, including instructors and mentors who are representative of the youth they are serving, and working with disabled community partners to plan inclusive programs. 
• Mutual responsibility: Recognize that inclusion is a shared responsibility. Everyone must actively work together to create an inclusive and accessible environment.
• Access without diagnosis: Participants are welcome to accommodations with or without a formal diagnosis and participants should be able to access accommodations without disclosing their personal medical information. 
• Intersectionality: Recognize the ways that multiple intersecting identities can impact a person’s experience of their disability and compound barriers to accessibility. Programs should implement an intersectional approach to accessibility by centering and amplifying the voices of people with rich and varied experiences. 

These are in addition to the guiding principles of all of Actua’s programming, that is, developing experiences that are affordable, interactive, safe, non intimidating and fun.

Components for Success

No matter the delivery type, below are some of the components of success in delivering programming for youth with disabilities:

• Each disability and each child is unique and needs to be approached uniquely. Work with parents, caregivers, and the youth themselves to determine their needs and the best accommodations for them. Using knowledge from past experiences can help to know where to start when working with a disabled child, but avoid assuming that an accommodation will work for every child with a disability. 
• Seek out training and information sharing: All staff - including directors, coordinators, instructors, and volunteers - should be trained on an ongoing basis on disability awareness, ableism, and best practices for inclusion. Programs or training may be hosted by network members with partner organizations and other network members in order to share knowledge and best practices on creating inclusive programs. 
• Work within your skillset: Instructors are not expected to be experts in all disabilities and all accommodations. Network members should work with partner organizations who serve youth with disabilities in your community, institution supports, as well as youth and their parents to determine and implement appropriate accommodations. Generally, network members bring the STEM knowledge, and partners bring in-depth disability knowledge. But above all, don’t hesitate to act - if you see an opportunity to support a youth with a disability, take it. 
• Expectations and alternatives: Provide clear and detailed descriptions to participants and parents of what to expect at your program. Once you have shared expectations, give participants and their parents the chance to share their needs with you, and provide alternative ways of engaging in the experience whenever possible.
• Representation matters: In all Actua programs, we want youth to see themselves in STEM through role models that look like them. Where possible, programs should include disabled instructors in planning and delivery and increase the visibility of disabled faculty members and professionals in STEM fields as mentors or career spotlights. Consider drawing on resources such as The Disabled CoLab - Stories of STEM with Disabilities. 

Much of the information you are about to read in this training emphasizes the importance of following the guiding principles and successful practices for this program. As a program leader or instructor, it is your responsibility to simply create an environment where the youth can thrive as they learn.