It is vital to recognise that each disabled person has very specific needs. For example, each group is very different, especially in terms of communication and mobility. Further, each person who has one or more impairments has highly individual needs and different format requirements.
The term ‘advice’ can be used in a number of ways by different organisations and even within a single organisation. We have taken the term to relate to a range of complementary activities and processes.
One-to-one provision of advice should be used where available. Interpreting should be provided where required and information should be available in the preferred format.
We define advice as:
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listening to service users,
- identifying information needs,
- giving information in whatever format is preferred,
- advising on the options available,
- taking action on behalf of clients as requested,
- making referrals where appropriate,
- negotiating on behalf of service users as requested,
- representing service users’ cases at tribunals and courts,
- enabling or empowering individuals to take informed action on their own behalf as appropriate.
The advice service will need to decide which of the above interventions it is competent to provide. Available resources should also be taken into account. The individual advisor should work with the client within this framework to assess which of the interventions is suitable.
Each of these activities may require either general or specific skills from the advisor.
Go to the next page: Information and Advice Providers
(c) Scottish Accessible Information Forum, 2007
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