8 CORE VALUES

NSEAI’s 8 CORE VALUES​

1  EVERYONE IS A CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF SOCIETY

• Treat everyone with dignity.  Honor everyone’s story.

• Every one should be valued because everyone makes a difference.

• Within society there is a wide range of abilities and disabilities, physical, mental and intellectual.

• Disabilities is an evolving concept that is the result of societal attitudes, environmental barriers and social interactions, not just the result of the actual disability, that impair one’s full, effective, and equal participation in society.

• Discrimination against anyone based on their disability is a violation of their inherent dignity and human worth.

2  DISABILITY AWARENESS, POLICY & PRACTICE EVALUATION

• Use person first language. (my son with autism vs. my autistic son) (person first - disability last)

• Educate the community, stakeholders, legislators and governmental agencies concerning policies & practices that impact the lives of individuals with disabilities.

• Use systemic approaches to overcoming barriers.

• Provide diversity training so that individuals become more aware of and sensitive to individual differences and attitudes in all areas of their life.

• Work to replace the stigma of disability so that differences will be seen as an ordinary part of society.

3  COMMUNITY INCLUSION

• Inclusion benefits everyone! It is not an optional practice.

• Use  for those with and without disabilities, in every facet of our communities. A, “WE ALL BELONG” message needs to be used so to develop a sense of belonging, equal membership, citizenship and a sense of value.

• Inclusion intolerance and bias is what requires re-education.

• Inclusion is a social justice & civil rights issue.

• Lack of access to inclusive environments and neuro-typical modeling prevents adequate acquisition and mastery of communication, friendship, social competence, self-advocacy and academic skills which increases dependency.

• Provide safe environments through the use of integrated safety supports and proactive bullying prevention

4  USE OF RESEARCH BASED INTERVENTIONS AND PROGRAMMING

• Use research based interventions and programming to improve functional outcomes.

• Use differentiated instruction, social competence & inclusion training, activity adaptation, behavior support services & personal care services across academic and natural environments.

• Research based programming leads to better outcomes, increased functional skills, participation, and inclusion

5  CULTIVATE DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIPS

• Play nice in the sandbox.

• Partner with groups working and supporting one another to create a collaborative environment.

• Develop dynamic partnerships using mission focused collaborative practices to prevent redundancy and improve the quality & access to education & services.

6  PROMOTE INDEPENDENCE & TRANSITION SERVICES

• Use a child focused approach.

• Remove barriers to accessing education, promote independence, and monitor outcomes.

• Use best practices in self-determination, functional communication, social cognition training, and transition planning.

• Remember that employment does not just have economic value, it also has social and psychological value.

• One gets a job because of the basic required skills. One keeps a job and is promoted due to the quality of one’s social cognition skills. Promote the teaching of social cognition skills.

7  PROVIDE RESOURCE COORDINATION & ACCESS

• Share information - information is powerful

• Provide coordinated resource information for families with children with disabilities

(including education & vocational training, respite, therapy, assistive technology, individual and family supports, social competence, recreation & leisure programs, community living, state and federal programing, insurance, employment and educational advocacy).

8. TECHNOLOGY

• Promote access to life changing technology to ensure functional independence for those with disabilities.