Facilitating Change in Your Community This project was made possible through funding from the Heart and Stroke Foundation

Who is the Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability? The ALACD promotes, supports and enables Canadians with disabilities to lead active, healthy lives. We provide nationally coordinated leadership, support, encouragement, promotion and information that facilitates healthy, active living opportunities for Canadians of all abilities across all settings and environments. OUR MISSION is to enable Canadians with disabilities to lead active, healthy lives.

Engage youth with disabilities as leaders in advocating for more inclusive communities, specifically around active living; Build a solid and active community of Youth Ambassadors, with strong connections to community active living stakeholders Work toward a Canada where more communities prioritize accessibility and inclusiveness in their planning Build capacity among the next generation of leaders in the disability rights movement.

A campaign to promote inclusion of Canadians with a disability in community recreation Uses a toolkit, PSA, the All Abilities Challenge, and 72 speakers to inform communities Canada wide

Originally launched in 1994 through the National Integration Strategy; MTI was developed by ALACD as a tool to promote inclusion of students with disabilities into physical education classes Today it has evolved as an innovative online forum, helps physical activity leaders include those with disabilities in a variety of programs Uses modules to identify concepts, strategies and approaches in leading inclusive physical activities Course participants pay an individual or group registration fee and receive a certificate upon completion Visit to learn more

Who Are We ?

Who Are You ?

What Do We Have in Common ? We Are All Experts

What is the Young Advocates Across Ontario Speakers Bureau? - To build a community of Young Advocates with strong connections to community stakeholders. - To engage young people with disabilities as leaders in advocating to decision makers and program providers - To educate community organizations about adapting programs and activities to be more appropriate for young people with a disability. - To inspire young people with a disability to incorporate healthy eating practices and regular physical activity into their lives.

Being an Advocate Advocates are people who see something that needs to be changed and who do something to help create that change

What Does an Advocate Do ?

What Do Advocates Need? - Personal characteristics - Information - Support

What is Active Living ? A WAY OF LIFE! Physical Activity + Healthy Eating = ACTIVE LIVING

Why is Active Living Important? BENEFITS ENERGY BETTER SOCIAL LIFE NO INCREASED RISKS STRONG MUSCLES STRONG BONES HEALTHY TEETH INCREASED INDEPENDENCE BARRIERS SCHEDULES COMPLACENCY FATIGUE FUNCTIONALITY

Why is Healthy Eating Important? MINERALS VITAMINS MUSCLE MASS BONES/TEETH MENTAL BALANCE OXYGEN STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DIETIAN SPECIAL DIETS CELEBRATE LIFE!!

What Inclusion Looks Like

What is a Disability? Previously, understood as a progression of illness or injury causing impairment Today, seen as an activity limitation where environment impacts a person's level of impairment

Young Advocates Across Ontario How the Program Works To effectively deliver the program, we are working closely with a number of community- based project partners across the province Each partner's role will differ based on their interest and capacity We are working with partners to deliver several leader training workshops in July and August 2012 We are recruiting speakers who we will support in delivering presentations beginning in September; speakers will receive a small presentation honorarium

Young Advocates Across Ontario - Role of ALACD To secure project funding; To develop speaker training materials To develop speaker training workshop To recruit young people with a disability in learning about the benefits of active living and healthy eating and to develop as speakers

Young Advocates Across Ontario Role of ALACD (continued) To deliver speaker training workshops for youth with a disability in communities across Ontario To develop presentation materials to support speakers To develop promotional materials for the program to solicit presentation opportunities from community- based organizations (municipal recreation staff, teachers, independent living centres, etc) To coordinate speakers in fulfilling presentation requests to identify and solicit funding to ensure project sustainability

Young Advocates Across Ontario Role of Project Partners To assign a staff person to liaise with ALACD staff as the project proceeds To work with ALACD in linking the YAAO program with other partner leadership initiatives To provide feedback on speaker training and presentation materials To help identify potential workshop participants and work with ALACD in supporting those interested in becoming a speaker To facilitate the partnering/mentoring of experienced speakers with new speakers who don't have experience in delivering presentations

Young Advocates Across Ontario Role of Project Partners (continued) To coordinate logistics and provide space for a speaker training workshop To suggest local organizations or events that might be interested in Young Advocates Across Ontario presentations To help identify sources of funding to sustain the local delivery of this program To promote the Young Advocates Across Ontario Speakers Bureau via our website and any other available avenues Other contributions/suggestions for collaborative activities

What is your Role? To promote the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for young people with a disability; To address the barriers which young people with disabilities face in being physically active and maintaining healthy eating habits; To share the strategies and adaptations which program providers can adopt in ensuring that young people with a disability are best supported

What's in it for your Audience? Feel motivated and better equipped to offer inclusive programs and services; Take advantage of the chance to ask questions and engage in discussion; Share their own knowledge and experiences with you and other audience members; Take away tangible tips on offering inclusive active living and physical activity opportunities to young people with a disability.

How Will We Support You? Speaker training workshop Speaker training materials YAAO presentation materials YAAO promotional materials Promotion of you as speakers Coordination of logistics to fulfil presentation requests Financial compensation for each presentation you deliver Access to a province-wide network of organizations with a focus on healthy living for children and youth

Key Presentation Messages Opportunities you have had through involvement in physical activity; Programs of ALACD and of the local YAAO project partner; Why your audience should provide inclusive physical activity and healthy eating programs; The value of physical activity for young people with disabilities; Importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle to all community members; Strategies to help organizations accommodate young people with a disability; Examples of inclusive sport and physical activity opportunities.

Format of a YAAO Workshop A typical YAAO presentation consists of: A power point presentation - about 30 minutes in length Discussion period (topics and notes to help facilitate the discussion to be provided) Question and answer period Workshop evaluation forms to be completed by audience

Presentation Tips Don't be afraid to share your story; Connect with your audience by learning about what is important to them beforehand; Do your homework by learning about the organization in advance; Be yourself, Be genuine and take the high road.

Presentation Tips (continued) Set the stage by using key phrases: "let me tell you a story", or "what many people don't realize" Identify 2 or 3 key messages and refer to these continually; Give your audience new knowledge or insight on inclusion that they didn't have; Leave your audience feeling inspired that they can make a difference when it comes to inclusion.

Things to Remember Before You Deliver a Presentation Practice your presentation using the materials provided; Try to learn about programs in your community that promote physical activity and healthy eating and in particular that reach out to people with a disability; Research the audience you will be speaking to; Check the room to ensure it has everything you will need; Meet with your presentation room coordinator at least 20 minutes before the workshop to review use of audio visual equipment

Things to Remember During a Presentation Encourage audience members to move forward when the room is not full; Begin by outlining the structure of your talk, and summarize the main points at the end; Don't preach to your audience. Share information and invite questions and input; Maintain eye contact with your audience; Speak slowly and clearly Avoid reading directly from slides and use notes as your guide; Be conscious of the time you have to speak.

Things to Remember After your Presentation Distribute presentation evaluation forms and collect them as people leave; Send evaluations to the ALACD office; Thank audience for their attention and input; Recognize Heart and Stroke Foundation and their Spark advocacy program for supporting YAAO

Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability 720 Belfast Road, Suite 104 Ottawa, Ontario K1G 0Z5 Phone: or (613) TTY: or (613) Fax: (613)