A few thoughts on Volunteer Training needs.

This is really based on what I found and did when I started with ITCH, having almost no contact with I.T. for disabled people (or disabled people themselves for that matter) except for two partially sighted mainframe programmers about 20 years ago.

Let's for now ignore any need to train volunteers in ordinary PC skills as we assume they have enough for now!

What else will they need and how can they get it?

General approach to ITCH work, how to treat disabled people:

read Ken's ITCH volunteer doco and also The Disability Information Guide;

Health and Safety Procedures

ITCH Complaints Procedure.

Visit a Disability Resource Centre or equivalent to Bucks Assoc for the Blind (CC to organise?);

ITCH Annual Meeting.

Familiarity with Resources and Disability Aids:

visit a DRC etc as above;

ITCH Annual Meeting demos;

websites: AbilityNet, Keytools, Inclusive Technology, Youreable, BCAB, RNIB; also

many other Links from this website

videos: HAFAD Make It Local

Courses: AbilityNet

software demos: download from internet, e.g Jaws, Lunar, Magic, HAL, Zoomtext.

Again, see this website for links.

(If anyone doesn't have the capability to download megabytes,

I will volunteer to do it and send them a CD)

Microsoft Accessibility features

ITCH County and Area meetings

Motivation: CC (if he has the time!) to take lead in the county and encourage the

volunteers to train themselves.

Advice: CC to advise volunteer prior to a visit about what the client may be using in the way of aids.