Handicap accessibility - Belgium

We welcome all types of public and without distinction.

If you have a disability, you may need special support or assistance.

In order to welcome you in the best conditions and to ensure that the means put in place during the course are adapted to your specific needs, you can contact our disability referent, Fabrice Williquet, by phone at 02 347 06 27 or by e-mail : fabrice@physicalcoaching.com.

1. Accessibility of training organizations

The accessibility of a training organization constitutes all the material and human means implemented to allow everyone, and in particular people with disabilities, to fully benefit from a training course. The accessibility of a training organization means for example :

• Physical access to training facilities;
• Clear information on disability-specific training and assessment procedures;
• Raising awareness of disability among staff, learners, companies, etc.

2. Different types of disability

2.1 Motor disability

Motor disabilities can affect one limb or the whole body. Thus, people with this disability move around either standing with the help of one or two canes, crutches, a walker or even in a wheelchair. In practice, motor deficiencies cause discomfort or impediment in moving around, grasping objects and sometimes speaking.

2.2 Autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is part of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) and lasts throughout life. It is caused by a neurobiological dysfunction that affects communication skills and social interactions. This pathology usually occurs during the first three years of life in the fundamental period of development. Delays or abnormalities in all areas of development can be observed to varying degrees from infancy to adulthood. The symptoms and their severity vary from one person to another, as in all pathologies, and also vary with age. There is as much autism as there are people affected by this disability.

2.3 Mental disability

The causes of intellectual disabilities are diverse: chromosomal abnormalities, genetic diseases, neurological problems, accidents, etc. An intellectual disability results in a stable, permanent and irreversible intellectual deficiency. People with intellectual disabilities, in various forms, exhibit one or more deficits in the functioning of intelligence, usually accompanied by secondary disorders of language, motor skills, sensory perception, communication, and discernment. Rather, intellectual disabilities are defined by their deficits (emotional, intellectual, physical), regardless of their origin. An intellectual disability affects the capacity for abstraction, concentration, coordination, memorization, and spatial and temporal localization. It also implies difficulties in adapting to the cultural demands of society (including communication, health and safety, functional academic skills, leisure and work).

2.4 Dysfunctional disorders

Dysphasia is a structural, severe, and long-lasting disorder of oral language learning and development. This pathology, which is not well known, is quite frequent, since it is considered that it affects at least 1% of the population in one form or another. Dysphasia is to be distinguished from simple language delay.

Dyslexia is a specific disorder of learning to read, characterized by a significant reduction in reading and spelling performance compared to the age norm. These difficulties are of long-lasting and are not a simple delay in acquisition. The fundamental mechanisms of written language are affected in their very structure, often in both expression and comprehension. Dyslexics are potential dysorthographers. A poor reader will be a poor transcriber, especially since transcription is less easy than reading.

Dyscalculia is a severe and long-term disorder of « numerical skills and arithmetic ability » (Temple’s quote). It involves the construction of numbers, operations, and more generally, the structuring of reasoning and the use of logical and mathematical tools. Like dyslexia, dyscalculia is diagnosed in children with normal intelligence, without sensory deficiencies or brain damage and living in a social and family environment without major difficulties. It may or may not be associated with other cognitive disorders: difficulties with spatial orientation, motor skills, attention problems...

Dyspraxia is an abnormality in the planning and automation of voluntary movements. It is a specific disorder in the learning of gestures. Dyspraxia is a disorder in the acquisition of gestural coordination (gross or fine motor skills), often associated with a gaze disorder or a disorder in the construction of two-dimensional space (sheet, book), sometimes with an oral-facial disorder and visual acuity (facial expressions, spoken language, swallowing).

Dysgraphia is a persistent disorder of graphic gesture having a significant impact on the formal aspect of writing which is characterized by incorrect forms, poor motor attitudes, excessive body tension, mirrored characters... Dysgraphia affects the shape of letters, their connections, their formatting and/or page layout...

2.5. Psychological disorders

Psychological disorders are caused by an illness, psychiatric disorders or a disturbance of the psychological balance. These are invisible illnesses that we refuse to see. Psychological disorders can affect everyone sooner or later. They can appear, strengthen or diminish at different ages of life. People with a psychological disability suffer from disorders of psychological origin (neurosis, psychosis, mania) or physiological origin (cranial trauma, drug use, etc.) that amputate, limit or deform, in a more or less temporary manner and to varying degrees, the control of their mental, emotional or physical activity. The mental, cognitive and intellectual capacities of these people remain intact, but can be disturbed by the symptoms (manifestations) of these diseases.

2.6. Auditory disability

It is more appropriate to speak of hearing disorders, i.e. anything that alters or even prevents the perception of a sound signal to a greater or lesser extent and, consequently, creates distortions in the processing of the relationship to the world of sound, to communication and to social life.

2.7. Visual disability

Amblyopia is a general term designating, after all corrections, a degree of vision (visual acuity or visual field) that is very poor, less than 4/10. The nature and degree of visual deficiencies are multiple and the handicaps are very variable according to the individual and the surrounding conditions. Visually impaired people often have difficulties with lateralization and spatial location, and with the perception of space and movement to varying degrees. Their apprehension of information is sequential, because of their non global vision, and often partial at first sight. There are very diverse situations (people who are blind from birth, people who are late-blind or people with a remnant of visual perception).

3. The various interlocutors

3.1 The disability referent

The disability referent for Belgium is Fabrice Williquet - fabrice@physicalcoaching.com.

His role is to :

• Foster the identification of people with disabilities as soon as they enter the training center;
• Ensure equal treatment during the recruitment phase (selection/positioning) but also throughout the course, allowing equal access to the right to course for people with disabilities;
• Be a driving force for the development of the pedagogical accessibility of the courses provided, by identifying the problems and areas for progress;
• Have the ability to mobilize support mechanisms for the implementation of disability compensation in training as necessary;
• Anticipate the end of the course by guaranteeing the transmission to the partners of the data useful for the integration in employment of the disabled person.

3.2 Other external resources

FPS Social Security

Agence Wallonne pour l’Intégration des Personnes Handicapées (AVIQ) in the Walloon Region

Personne Handicapée Autonomie Recherchée (Phare) in the Brussels Capital Region

Address: Rue des Palais, 42 à 1030 Brussels.
Phone: 02 800 82 03
Mail: info.phare@spfb.brussels
Website

Vlaams Agentschap voor Personen met een Handicap (VAPH) in the Flemish region

Address: Sterrenkundelaan, 30 à 1210 Brussels.
Phone: 02 225 84 11
Mail: informatie@vaph.be
Website

ADEPS

Phone: 02 413 25 00
Mail: adeps-info@cfwb.be
Website

Ligue Handisport Francophone (LHF)

Address: Grand Hôpital de Charleroi – Reine Fabiola; 69 Avenue du Centenaire à 6061 Charleroi.
Phone: 071 10 67 50
Website

Fédération Multisports Adaptés (FéMA)

Address: Chaussée de Haecht, 579/40 à 1031 Brussels.
Phone: 02 246 42 35
Website

G-sport Vlaanderen vzw

Adres: Bredabaan, 31 ; 2930 Brasschaat.
Telefoon: 03 640 35 35
Email: info@gsportvlaanderen.be
Website