Webinar: Introduction to Accessibility & Inclusion in the Workplace

This 1.5 hour online workshop has been designed to give participants some background information about accessibility and inclusion. It will also provide strategies, resources, and tips for creating greater accessibility and inclusion in your workplace.

Topics will include:
• Why accessibility & inclusion matter
• Definitions & statistics
• Myths about disabilities
• Related accessibility legislation
• Types of disabilities, invisible disabilities, and intersectionality
• Barriers to accessibility & inclusion: attitudinal, physical/environmental, communication, technological, systematic
• Strategies for minimizing barriers to accessibility & inclusion
• Inclusive language
• Implementing accommodations

By the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to:
● Define accessibility and inclusion
● Identify the professional and legal obligations and responsibilities of employers as they
relate to accessibility and inclusion
● Describe the impact of values, perceptions, and beliefs associated with accessibility
and inclusion in the workplace
● Outline disability types and related workplace accommodations
● Identify barriers to inclusion and strategies for removing these barriers

About Melissa Lyon, M.Ed., B.Ed., TESOL (she/her/hers)

As an educator with a master’s degree in special education and as a person with a disability herself, through her company, Accessibility & Inclusion Matter Consulting, Melissa Lyon has designed and facilitated various self-paced and instructor-led online accessibility and inclusion courses. She currently works at Vancouver Island University PDT as an instructor of a 30-hour online Accessibility & Inclusion in the Workplace course. She also teaches a similar course at the Open Door Group to WorkBC students who are training to become Disability Employment Specialists.

Melissa also has experience working at UVIC, Camosun College, and Capilano University Continuing Education, where she worked to support their diversity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, Melissa has worked with various non-profit organizations, as a consultant, writer, resource developer, and a volunteer. Her areas of expertise include knowledge and strategies for both K-12 education & post-secondary education; creating resources or courses related to disability awareness, inclusion, and accessibility; and mentoring other people who have disabilities. Melissa has just been appointed to two accessibility teams – the BC Provincial Employment Accessibility Standards Technical Committee, and the Youth Advisory Committee for the BC Employment Strategy for Youth with Disabilities.

Continuing education categories:: B1, B2, D4