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Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment (CAPE)
New! Sticks and Stones is available for purchase!
Sticks and Stones is a collection of fifty stories about facing abuse and violence, published by the World Institute on Disability. The compelling stories are told by a diverse group of people with disabilities, as well as family members, services providers, and other allies, and cover a wide range of mistreatment and recovery experiences. By sharing their stories, these writers hope to empower similar survivors to resist and to disclose abuse and violence, to recover if abuse occurs, and to move ahead to live strong, fulfilling lives. Contributing writers from eight other countries join those from the United States in sharing their stories. Saxton’s introductory comments frame complex abuse issues as part of the larger picture of societal mistreatment of people with disabilities, going far back in history. The stories featured in Sticks and Stones are wrenching; the authors’ voices are strong. Yet the reader is left with a sense of hope and encouragement that mistreatment can be challenged and empowered disabled people can end abuse in their lives. Read excerpts, see what people are saying, and order Sticks and Stones today!Project Description
Sadly, people with disabilities get abused, sometimes at the hands of people who help or care for them. Care providers and personal assistants, including family members and service providers (paid or unpaid) can be abusive. When abuse occurs, a disabled person’s personal health, safety and emotional well-being may be at risk, along with their ability to engage in daily life activities. For a more detailed introduction to the issue of abuse of adults with disabilities, click here.
Our goal is to reduce the incidence of abuse and empower people with disabilities through education and support about abuse and safety awareness and abuse-prevention strategies. CAPE offers learning tools that appeal to wide audiences, including stories, movies, comic book scenes, quizzes, and games in formats that learners already regard as fun and entertaining.
The completed curriculum will explore fundamental issues of abuse, best-practices training approaches, and stories of disabled people confronting and resisting abuse. CAPE also helps teachers adapt learning activities for use at disability and senior community events, rehabilitation sessions, schools and independent living training sessions. CAPE is funded by the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR). Below are some samples of CAPE resources now available for free use via our website.
CAPE Comic Book Scenes, depicting interactions between people with disabilities and their personal assistance providers or family members, show disabled people being mistreated and taking steps to confront or correct the mistreatment. These scenarios help people with disabilities clarify what abuse is and create new strategies for challenging abuse. The teaching guide will offer training approaches for classes and individuals.
Several other elements of this curriculum are also available online. These include several videos for disabled people, families, and professionals. There are also tips for avoiding abuse, printable brochures, and links to other relevant and helpful websites. You may also take an interactive quiz that can help you evaluate your relationship with your care provider and determine how you can improve that relationship using the resources available here and elsewhere.
These tools, resources, and activities are designed to break through the stereotypes and provide real methods to stop abuse. This site will be continually updated in the future, with the addition of more stories, more activities, and more multimedia resources. Also, all of the resources in this curriculum are available in both English and Spanish.
Please contact us to get more information about our complete curriculum or to provide us with feedback.