Different Abilities

Services for people facing other life challenges

For each of us, our belief in our right to be safe and in our ability to protect ourselves is the biggest self-protection tool we have. Belief in one’s power to take charge of one’s safety can be seriously damaged for individuals who are survivors of assault, child abuse, domestic violence or a hate crime or who are struggling with personal issues such as homelessness, poverty, or substance abuse.

Our tailored programmes help people to develop a strong set of safety skills within the context of the effect of past experiences on how to weigh options and make safe choices. Our goal is to provide our participants with tools to make choices and take action that will help them stay physically and emotionally safe while acknowledging and respecting the hard issues they face.

Our workshops for the general public are appropriate for most students who have difficult life challenges. We also provide Teenpower and Fullpower workshops for participants and Training of Professionals for staff of residential care facilitaties, domestic violence prevention programmes, organisations helping people who are targets of prejudice, alcohol and drug treatment programmes, and organisations supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Services for people with diverse physical, cognitive, developmental, and neurological abilities

Since 1989, Kidpower’s experiential, strengths-based approach has made our social-emotional safety skills accessible for adults, teens, and children with diverse physical, cognitive, developmental, and neurological abilities.  Our goal is to provide our participants with tools to make choices and take action that will help them stay physically and emotionally safe while acknowledging and respecting the hard issues they face.

People of all ages with disabilities or other special needs are especially vulnerable to facing bullying, abuse, or assault. We’ve been successful in teaching self-protection and personal safety skills to tens of thousands of children, teens, and adults with difficult life challenges such as: developmental delays; difficulty with vision, hearing, or mobility; or personal struggles with domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, or being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.

Our workshops are tailored to work with the strengths of every single student help develop a strong set of safety skills within the context of the effect of past experiences on how to weigh options and make safe choices. We make adaptations for how different people’s bodies and minds work, focusing on exploring and building on what people CAN do – rather than focusing on what they cannot do. It is too easy to assume that a person is helpless as a result of something they may not be able to do.

Fullpower Healthy Relationships - for Young Teens and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Programme

An evidenced based programme to teach personal safety in relationships, what consent looks like, how to set and respect boundaries.  Provides practical tools to build resiliency and prevent bullying, violence, sexual violence and abuse, is suitable for classrooms, groups, or individuals, is easily adaptable and is FUN AND EASY?

Sessions suitable for disabled people, professional development for professionals, caregivers and other caring people, and provide interactive resources.

"Well constructed, topical, true to life and accessible" - SAMS report.

Ambassador Project

Trained disabled Ambassadors co-facilitate interactive sessions for groups based on the Fullpower Healthy Relationships programme and resource. They
• co-lead interactive sessions,
• teach relationship skills,
• facilitate genuine sharing and discussions, and
• collaboratively create roleplays.

Resources

Available online and as hardcopy (1 User's Guide, 4 posters, 3 booklets containing social stories , Start-up guide).

The Resources Cover:

Healthy Relationships
• What are Healthy Relationships?
• When Something is Necessary for Health and Safety
• Making and Keeping Friends

Saying Stop and Stopping
• Speaking Up
• Listening to What Others Want
• Being a Caring Person

Getting Help
• What is Urgent?
• Where to Get Help
• How to Get Help
• Understanding Your Right to Good Support

 

Our primary prevention programmes support communities to foster healthy relationships free from harm, with the aim of preventing Bullying, protecting and respecting healthy boundaries for touch, games, and affection, de-escalating conflict that can escalate resulting in harmful behaviour, supporting people to interact safely online, and prevent sexual violence and family violence.