1. Look online at your conference or camp welcome statement (or lack thereof). Is it very clear that you welcome staff, campers, and guests with disabilities?

2. Look at your employment materials. Does the non-discrimination clause include disability?

3. Look at your job descriptions and application forms. Do they describe each position in terms of the core skills that are needed? For example, a lifeguard needs to be able to get quickly to the water, swim well, and have the strength to pull someone to safety, and to be able to communicate clearly to remind, warn and to organize a rescue, but someone at the camp office needs a different set of skills, as does someone working in housekeeping. It makes the most sense to mention potential barriers (e.g., rough terrain) and let the applicant explain how their needs could be accommodated.

4. Look at your staff training. Is disability considered a part of diversity training, not something that you do for others with "special needs"? Consider ways to be inclusive of those who may have invisible disabilities.

5. If you address disability, do you have a person with a disability (better yet a youth and an adult with a disability) do the training?  (Would you rely on a Caucasian to do anti-racism training?) Note that disability simulations have not been considered a good thing for many years and should be avoided. 

6. Look at your facilities and physical accessibility. Is it evident that each time you undertake a project you plan for and incorporate accessibility whenever at all feasible, especially with structures? Do your long-range plans include accessibility?  

Special thanks to Lynn Swedberg for these suggestions! Lynn is an occupational therapist and UMC Deaconess. She serves as liaison for and consultant to the DisAbility Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church. Lynn has consulted with many UMCRM sites and is an amazing resource for us all.