The Arc Maryland Personal Space Program Curriculum Guide | Page 22

Facilitating Discussion
As previously mentioned, the success of the Personal SPACE Program is dependent upon a
trusting and open relationship between the trainers and participants. While the curriculum
uses role plays and visually-aided activities, discussion should be woven throughout all of
the class activities. We found that an informal teaching style aided in facilitating discussion.
Although one or two trainers may be assigned to lead a specific activity, all of the class
trainers can jump in when they want to reinforce an important point.
In the curriculum you will find role plays and some suggested language. For most role plays
we have set the context and tone of the role play, however on occasion we do provide a
script. These are not meant to be followed word-for-word but rather are a guideline for you
to develop your own scripts. Certain language and slang expressions may be used by a
particular individual or class of participants or may be found in your region of the country.
Use terms that your group is familiar with and do not shy away from slang expressions.
Should one of your class participants be faced with reporting an act of violence, the critical
issue is their ability to describe what happened, not whether they know clinical or polite
terms.
Use all of the activities to frame discussion questions. Form your questions to first illicit
whether each individual understands the concept being taught. If the group seems to have
understood the basic concept (ie. When they say “no” to an activity, the other individual
should stop the activity), change the context of the question. What if it were a staff person or
family member? In a different setting? If they were offered something in return? As the
group’s understanding of the issues increases, through discussion and activities generalize
the concept into different areas of daily living (home, work, leisure, etc). Although the
nuances of relationships can make these topic areas very complicated, be as concrete in your
examples as possible. Make it clear what are “absolutes” (i.e. If one person says “no” to an
activity, the activity should stop) and repeat important phrases over and over (i.e. The 3
Rules).
Using Visual Aides
Included in this curriculum are a number of visual aides. While these visual aides can form
the basis of your lessons you will need to find additional graphics and pictures. It is
important to find graphic or pictorial representations of content areas and use them as much
as possible. In preparing for a class, this may be your most difficult challenge. Graphic
representations that are respectful of women, represent the diversity of the population, and
that are freely available or inexpensive are difficult to come by. Types of pictures you will
require are listed in the Appendices. We recommend laminating pictures and large materials
where possible to extend their life. While the Personal SPACE Program does not have a
companion video, videos could be used to supplement the classes. Any videos used should
be previewed to assure that their message is consistent with that of the curriculum.
Role Play Activities
Role plays are often used as a training tool to facilitate experiential learning and many of
your class participants may be familiar with them. Despite this, it is important to explain

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