WINDMILLS MODULES

The original WINDMILLS training program was developed to raise our awareness of the limitations we impose on the employment of people with disabilities because of our lack of understanding and our acceptance of myths.

The title WINDMILLS is derived from the literary classic Don Quixote. Our goal was to slay the dragons of misunderstanding created by fear, myths, biases, and stereotype.

Twenty-five years have passed since we wrote the original curriculum. The Americans with Disabilities Act is now law, and it embraces the tenets of our original training program.

The new WINDMILLS program, like the original, is specifically designed to be easily portable, and is comprised of training modules, each of which requires about one hour to complete. The modules can stand alone or be combined in any configuration to meet the needs of different target populations, including middle management, personnel staff, and first‑line supervisors. The program is also designed to allow modules to be used to supplement and enhance ongoing training programs.

With all of the positive changes that have occurred since the first Windmills, attitude remains the major barrier to employment and integration for all people of diversity, especially for people with disabilities.  WINDMILLS has become known as a leading teaching instrument in shattering attitudinal barriers.

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Module 1 - Empathy

• To introduce group members to each other;

• To help participants identify their feelings about disabilities in 'first encounter" situations;

• To explore how participants' initial feelings might impact negatively on interactions with people with disabilities.

In this exercise we explore some typical human responses to circumstances where our experience may be limited or affected by mistaken perceptions. Employers and others who have limited experience interacting with people with disabilities will probably feel some anxiety or fear of "doing the wrong thing." These feelings of anxiety may also be felt by the person with the disability. When we realize that these potentially awkward situations do not involve "we and they" but simply "we," we have taken together the first essential step to effective communication.

Module 2 - The Story

• To allow participants to realize that they have had experiences with disabilities or persons with disabilities;

• To allow participants to learn that other people have had similar experiences and feelings;

• To assist participants in realizing that "people with disabilities" are often our family, loved ones, ourselves.

While participants may think they're coming to a workshop on "them", they are actually going to talk about a group that doesn't seem that separate from "us".  It turns out that disability has touched all of our lives, even though we might not have realized it before.

Module 3 - Rumor

• To demonstrate how facts become distorted through rumor;

• To illustrate how rumors and inaccurate information can affect the employment and return to work of people with disabilities;

• To offer practical suggestions for avoiding rumor problems that can arise when employing people with disabilities;

• To explore fears, stereotypes and concerns that supervisors and employees may have about bringing ill and injured employees back to work.

This exercise points out a few Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act implications, such as negative environment that may be created by rumors for a person with a disability. It is important for employers to defuse environments that are potentially hostile for workers with disabilities, just as they would work to defuse situations involving racial or sexual harassment.

Also discussed are the ADAAA implications concerning confidentiality issues, and the need to distinguish between the "right to know" and the "need to know" when evaluating how relevant an employee's disability is to the functions of the job.     

The rumor exercise points out the importance of training all staff on the goals, objectives and procedures for corporate disability management and return to work programs.

Module 4 - Profiles

• Examine how stereotyping of persons with disabilities may impact employment decisions;

• Teach participants to evaluate, on a case-by-case basis, each job match with a person with a disability;

• Explore assumptions about "Good" and "Bad" jobs for certain disabilities.

The most important point of this exercise is that you are not provided enough information about the person to determine if it was a good or bad job match.  You look at the disability itself and not the person with the disability.  It is vital that duty statements and/or job descriptions be broken down into essential and marginal job functions, and that you base your interview questions on the essential functions.  This method will allow the person with a disability to tell you how they can perform the job.

If you have a concern about how an applicant with a disability will perform an essential function do not be afraid to just ask them. More times than not the applicant will have an answer. If the applicant does not have the answer there are other recourses for information.

Don't always assume that just because a job has been done one way it must always be done that same way.  Do not allow stereotypes and misconceptions to cause you to miss out on a valuable employee.  Consider each individual on a case-by-case basis.

Module 5 - Disabilities: Fact or Fiction?

• To teach participants to anticipate situations that might occur in the workplace with people with disabilities;

• To make participants aware of respectful etiquette and language in creating a comfortable work environment for all employees;

• To familiarize participants with some of the basics of disability employment law.

Much of the discrimination that occurs – intentionally or not - and that is addressed in state and federal Laws, results from faulty assumptions, generalizations, and misinformation about people with disabilities.

For employers, knowledge of state and federal laws regarding discrimination on the basis of disability is essential not only to meet legal obligations, but also to benefit from the wealth of talent and skill available in people who happen to have a disability.

A variety of resources are available to employers to inform themselves of their responsibilities and rights under the law and to assist them in designing accommodations to facilitate employee satisfaction and optimum productivity.

Module 6 - Pick a Disability

• To examine stereotypes associated with common disabilities;

• To illustrate participants' emotional reactions to specific disabilities;

• To better understand the impact of attitudes about people with disabilities and the effect they can have on our relationships with each other.

Keep in mind that one experience with a person with a particular disability is not automatically transferable to other people with the same disability.  This kind of thinking can lead to beliefs that there are jobs that are "well suited" to people with disabilities.  Just as with people without disabilities, each individual will have particular strengths and weaknesses that must be evaluated in light of the position for which he/she is applying.

It's important to understand that we all react to disabilities.  To ensure valid or defensible actions, make your decisions based on the experience and qualifications of the individual.

Module 7 - Ask it Basket

• To reduce inherent fears about asking questions regarding disabilities or persons with disabilities;

• To reduce the threat of seeking answers to questions which can prevent employment and advancement of people with disabilities;

• To broaden the group's knowledge of disabilities and to focus on the abilities of these people which allow them to work;

• The participants will learn simple and easy ways to get answers to any future questions they or their co-workers might have about disabilities or people with disabilities.

 It is important to understand that most people are not knowledgeable about disabilities. It is natural for us to have questions about specific people with disabilities or disability in general. It is okay to ask questions. It is when we don’t obtain the information we need, that qualified people with disabilities are overlooked for promotion or not considered for hire. The answers do exist.

Module 8 - Encounter

• To help participants feel more confident and relaxed in dealing with disabilities;

• To provide a better understanding of specific disabilities;

• To allow participants to become exposed to people with disabilities in a safe, information-sharing environment.

Both state and federal disability discrimination law limits the types of questions a manager/supervisor may ask a person with a disability during a job interview.  This exercise is specially designed to help you feel more comfortable, but be aware that many of the questions being asked in this module may not be legal in a job interview.

Module 9 - Whose Fault?

• To improve participants' awareness of the different players and roles in a successful business program employing persons with disabilities;

• To assist participants in considering their own roles in making a program successful;

• To identify more effective ways to communicate and resolve conflict;

• To review methods that participants can implement to improve the way they work with persons with disabilities.

Many employers are hesitant to employ a person with a disability for fear that the person will fail and the employer will be blamed. This exercise shows that it is not necessary to blame if we learn from our mistakes.

Persons with disabilities have problems just like everyone else. Unfortunately, they do not always have them handled like everyone else. Hiring a person with a disability is not enough. Business must also effectively utilize and supervise them if an employee with a disability is to succeed.

Module 10 - Reasonable Accommodation

• To acquaint participants with the creative process in identifying possible reasonable accommodations;

• To acquaint participants with the interactive communication process to develop accommodations;

• To sensitize participants to a wide range of disabilities which might require reasonable accommodation;

• To educate participants on the ADAAA definition of reasonable accommodation.

One of the most important concepts within the ADAAA is that of reasonable accommodation. It is central to the idea of providing an opportunity for individuals with disabilities to participate fully in the workplace.

Reasonable accommodation is also the subject that engenders the most confusion and misunderstanding among employers, as well as among those with disabilities themselves. The ADAAA  states that persons with disabilities are their own best experts when it comes to assisting the employer to determine what accommodation will work best for the person. While this is true in most cases, experience tells us that it is essential for the employer to have more than a passing knowledge of this important subject. This is what this module attempts to offer.

Module 11 - Taking the emotion out of emotional disabilities

• To demonstrate that employers are more effective at brainstorming reasonable accommodation ideas for persons with physical and sensory disabilities than they are for persons with emotional disabilities;

• To explore the effects of employers’ emotional reactions to emotional disabilities;

• To provide a way for employers to consider reasonable accommodations for persons with emotional disabilities in an emotionally neutral environment.

There is a vast body of information about accommodating people with emotional disabilities. They are not necessarily unpredictable or out of control. The key to developing reasonable accommodation for this population is to approach their needs in the manner we approach the needs of those with physical disabilities.

The key is not to try to accommodate the diagnosis but rather to identify how the impairment affects the person's ability to perform the essential functions of the job.

Module 12 - Traumatic Brain Injuries

• To improve participants’ awareness of the range and scope of mild to severe traumatic brain injuries;

• To explore the participants’ assumptions and beliefs about how traumatic brain injuries affect job performance;

• To identify effective ways to accommodate employees with traumatic brain injuries;

• To review strategies participants can implement to improve how they work with people with traumatic brain injury.

While head injuries are a challenge for employers, they are less taxing if we keep ourselves informed. Remember not to become intimidated by the nature of the injury, but instead to concentrate on specifically how each employee is affected. 

Traumatic brain injuries have been called the "injury du jour" of the war on terrorism.  Hundreds of thousands of our soldiers are, and will be, coming home with such injuries.  Our ability to assist them in their transition back to civilian life should be both a national and a corporate priority.

Appendices

A - Program planning and sequential checklist

B - Examples of job accommodations

C - Suggested films/videos

D - Guide to acceptable terminology in the field of disability

E - Guide to etiquette and behavior for working with people with disabilities

F - Overview of major disability legislation (including the American with Disabilities Act and the Federal Rehabilitation Act)

G - General Resources

Credentials

Individuals who have attended a T for T session within the last two years qualify to initiate the credentialing process.

Obtaining a credential is a new process that accompanies the publication of the 2009 edition of WINDMILLS. Credentialing consists of participating in a T for T program, a follow-up interview, and documentation of on-going training experiences.