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Janelle Monáe - Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout) (feat. Various Artists) [Official Lyric Video]

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The Runnymede Trust  Messaging Checklist to Build Solidarity Across Difference

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The Runnymede Trust  Messaging Checklist to Build Solidarity Across Difference

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Usually I try to add links to documents so that you will have access to any updates and so that  you visit the author's website. However, the link to this publication on the Runnymede Trust website no longer works. An active link as at 18.3.22 is http://classonline.org.uk/docs/Solidarity_Across_Difference_Messaging_Checklist_2019.pdf but I have attached a PDF in case this link closes.

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‘What would your mother say?’ New Zealand urges citizens to wind back online rage

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Faced with a rising tide of acrimony, rage, and online crankiness, New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign to try to calm its citizenry down.

Over the summer, pastel posters began cropping up around the cities, asking New Zealanders to "dial it down a notch," "read it before you hit enter," and "comment with dignity". Cartoon characters entreat keyboard warriors to take a breath, and consider "what would your mother say?"

The Human Rights Commission - which is an independent crown entity - launched the campaign late last year. Human rights commissioner Paul Hunt says it was prompted by "a rising tide of division and antisocial behaviour."

"Complaints and inquiries have gone off the richter scale. People are really stressed and angry," Hunt says. The commission has had more complaints about abuse in the past seven months than its previous record annual high, he says. The monthly rate of complaints had almost doubled, from 525 to an average of 956.

The "Dial it Down" campaign hoped to remind New Zealanders, Hunt says, that they "can have vigorous disagreement without losing the plot."

[One] thing that seems really shocking to me is the level of vulgarity

Kate Hannah

Since mid-2021, there has been a significant rise in the quantity and extremist tone of chatter on social media, says Kate Hannah, a principal investigator at research institute Te Pūnaha Matatini. Researchers were seeing a higher overall volume of violent language and imagery - including increased references to lynchings, sexual violence, misogynistic language and profanity. That tone had become commonplace on mainstream platforms, she says.

"[One] thing that seems really shocking to me is the level of vulgarity. I know that sounds prudish - but I'm not a prude, I'm a kiwi, I swear. We're not Americans," she says - referring to a generally higher antipodean tolerance for swearing. "The other thing that's shocking is [seeing this] from people on Facebook who look like - or they appear to be like - my mum or my aunty, ... in their 60s or 70s, using the C-word," she says. "That is not necessarily something that we're used to."

Hunt believes that much of the uptick can be blamed on pandemic stress, and the long, grim months of lockdown.

"Two years of the pandemic is very, very tough. So people are struggling financially, emotionally, mentally, they feel powerless, and they're struggling to cope. And sometimes people do lash out at something else - or someone else."

Experts say people have struggled with two years of pandemic restrictions and some can lash out. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

A large current of abuse has flowed toward journalists - who are often the communicators of pandemic policy, infuriating both those who see them as government lackeys or as over-critical of the government's response.

"The block button has been hot this year," says Maiki Sherman, chair of the parliamentary press gallery. "I think everyone in the media would agree that we've seen an increase in online abuse."

Some of that abuse was extreme, she says. The protesters gathered outside parliament this week were fond of telling journalists that they would soon be "put on trial" and killed for treason. "Just got told I'm going to be executed by a woman holding a sign saying 'love is the cure'," 1 News reporter Kristin Hall remarked on Twitter on Wednesday.

"Reporters have thick skins, we're used to dealing with confrontation, it's part of the job. But it's escalating to a point where there is real concern, given the types of threats that are being made," Sherman says.

A complicated picture

The increase in abuse, Sherman says, was not exclusively the domain of anti-government or anti-vaccine factions - heated jibes were coming in from across the political spectrum.

"A huge part of it is to do with the pandemic and vaccinations. But I think also in general, there has been a slow growth over the last few years and over the last two decades, with social media growing itself, and so people have more and more been given this tool to have a voice."

Researchers have found that Māori women were more likely to be subjected to abusive comments - a dynamic Sherman had observed. "I have noticed it targeted at other Māori woman, certainly."

Accounts of abuse recorded by the commission were not restricted to one side of the vaccination debate. Some complaints, Hunt says, were from people who had mask exemptions due to disability, and were shouted at by members of the public who perceived their lack of a mask as indication of a broader anti-health-regulation stance. Simultaneously, an increasing number of frontline workers tasked with enforcing vaccine passes or masks were subject to abuse from customers who refused to comply.

He speculated whether sharpening rhetoric was driven by some deeper fissures that emerged as the country's policies have shifted to emphasise greater freedoms for the vaccinated.

"Before, we were all in the same boat. Now, actually, we're not in the same boat. We're not being treated the same. Now, I think [the policy] is warranted, I'm not against it - but there is this new dimension ... and we've got to deal with it properly."

A publicity campaign would not be sufficient to calm some of the uglier elements of the national conversation, Hunt says, but there was hope it would help.

"Of course, it's a very complicated picture. We're not suggesting our campaign is going to solve it - these things are complicated and they require multi dimensional responses. But we thought this campaign had a role to play."

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'What would your mother say?' New Zealand urges citizens to wind back online rage

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Faced with a rising tide of acrimony, rage, and online crankiness, New Zealand has launched a nationwide campaign to try to calm its citizenry down. Over the summer, pastel posters began cropping up around the cities, asking New Zealanders to "dial it down a notch," "read it before you hit enter," and "comment with dignity".

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Accessibility regulations – Understanding accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps

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Accessibility regulations – Understanding accessibility requirements for public sector websites and apps

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New regulations mean public sector organisations will soon have a legal duty to make sure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements.

Public sector websites published on or after 23 September 2018 must be compliant by 23 September 2019. Any websites due to be published after this date must be compliant before going live.

Public sector websites published before 23 September 2018 must be compliant by 23 September 2020.

Apps need to meet the regulations by 23 June 2021.

What public sector bodies need to do

The accessibility regulations aim to help make sure online public services are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.

There are four steps you should take now to make sure your online services are accessible.

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Accessibility Regulations for Public Sector Bodies

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New regulations mean public sector organisations will soon have a legal duty to make sure websites and apps meet accessibility requirements. Public sector websites published on or after 23 September 2018 must be compliant by 23 September 2019. Any websites due to be published after this date must be compliant before going live.

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A woman who raised funds for an all-terrain wheelchair so she could access the Peak District home she loves so much says it has liberated her.

Naomi Wheeler, 28, from Matlock, Derbyshire, has cerebellar ataxia, which affects her balance, coordination and speech.
This video has been optimised for mobile viewing on the BBC News app. The BBC News app is available from the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android.

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A woman who raised funds for an all-terrain wheelchair so she could access the Peak District home she loves so much says it has liberated her. Naomi Wheeler, 28, from Matlock, Derbyshire, has cerebellar ataxia, which affects her balance, coordination and speech. This video has been optimised for mobile viewing on the BBC News app.

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New rules on lecture transcripts give academics an impossible choice | THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect

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While the pandemic hit our sector hard, for many there was a silver lining. Remote learning brought huge gains in accessibility - partly driven by the massive increase in recorded content such as lectures.

For deaf students who usually lip-read and listen in class, the acoustic and visual environment for some was better online. The lecturer's face was visible, and usually the sound quality was good for pre-recorded lectures. However, accurate captions were much more difficult for universities to achieve, and across the board staff and students have reported that the standard of transcripts generated by automatic speech recognition (ASR) is poor.

But it's not just deaf students who struggle without accurate captions. Traditional, listening-only approaches present difficulties for students with neurodiverse conditions - approximately one in five - particularly those with dyslexia, auditory processing disorder and attentional difficulties. Students studying in their second language also report finding transcripts hugely beneficial.

More broadly, for technical courses with a high proportion of specialist vocabulary, accuracy is paramount. For medical or veterinary students, misinterpreting what the lecturer has said because of poor quality recordings or transcripts could put lives at risk.

When new legislation crept quietly into force in 2018 requiring public sector organisations to begin making their websites and mobile apps accessible to all, the impact on the higher education sector was minimal given the prevalence of face-to-face teaching at the time.

Fast-forward to summer term 2020, and the stark reality of remote learning induced by the pandemic had drastically changed the landscape. The 23 September 2020 deadline specified by the legislation was the date when all public sector websites needed to be fully accessible. This included the requirement for all video and audio content produced by universities to include 99 per cent accurate transcripts or captioning (or both, for video). Automatic subtitling tools have proven not to be up to the task, but more concerningly, the impact on staff has highlighted systemic inequalities.

Voice recognition technologies typically do not perform well with accents that deviate from the "standard" speech they have been trained on. At the same time, the number of staff members who speak English as a second language and/or are likely to speak in a "non-standard" accent is high - in 2019-20, 31 per cent of UK HE academic staff were not UK citizens. Further, considering the regional and social variation in accents within the UK, it is inevitable that automatic transcriptions are not equally accurate for all staff members.

Of course, no academic would question the need for accessibility, but transcription has become a heavy burden. Perfect transcription can take up to three hours for every hour of recorded content, and lecturers cannot carry this extra work, especially with the volume of recorded content now being produced.

In some institutions, such as the University of Edinburgh, subtitling units are in place to provide accurate transcripts for deaf students; even then, however, there can often be a time delay on receiving accurate transcripts, which can impact students' ability to keep up with the course. Better software with fast editing functionality is essential, but we also need an honest, open dialogue in universities and colleges.

The accessibility legislation was designed pre-Covid, in a world with much less video content, and this may help to explain findings that a majority of European institutions are struggling to comply with the legislation. It's an interesting thought experiment to consider whether the legislation would still have been published in its current form if we had known what was coming. So what can we do to work towards meeting the requirements of this legislation and ensuring that students have timely access to transcripts while not adding to staff workloads?

1. Maximise the acoustic

Staff should be provided with access to high-quality recording equipment. When recording, use a good quality microphone and place it near your mouth, but not so close that it brushes against clothing. Record away from windows or draw the curtains for sound absorption. Place rugs, beanbags or other soft furnishings in the room to reduce reverberation. And don't forget to protect against interruptions.

2. Slower and shorter

Avoid rushing your speech, and use sensible transition speeds between slides to allow short processing breaks; this will help dyslexic students and those with auditory processing difficulties, as well as increasing automatic speech recognition accuracy. Think of each session as 10- to 15-minute segments for an audience sitting at their computer.

3. Enable easy editing

Use software that allows fast automatic transcription of video plus editing access for multiple users; this means that lecturers can get help with transcript editing from (appropriately compensated!) graduate teaching assistants, PhD students and other colleagues. This has encouraged staff in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow to use our video-learning and live-streaming platform Echo360 alongside other systems to make recorded content more accessible with transcripts.

4. Be transparent

As a sector, we should communicate with students clearly about when and why transcripts may not always be 100 per cent accurate, including highlighting the systemic biases and additional workload that can be placed on particular groups of staff. Guidance for staff should be honest about the time required to produce 100 per cent accurate transcripts and provide clear, concrete recommendations for how long they should spend on editing transcripts. While universities may employ a flexible approach to accuracy, it should still be acknowledged that staff members with "non-standard" accents will be disproportionately left with the choice of providing an inaccurate transcript or spending non-allocated time on editing their transcripts.

5. Engage on workload

Leaders must engage transparently on workload. We can't keep up a system where lecturers have the choice between adding to already breaking workloads and allowing all students to meaningfully engage with their education. It's time to be honest about the impact on workload and fund a solution.
Emily Nordmann is senior lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow. Wilhelmiina Toivo is a lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow. Rachel O'Neill is a senior lecturer in deaf education at the University of Edinburgh. If you found this interesting and want advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the THE Campus newsletter.

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New rules on lecture transcripts give academics an impossible choice

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While the pandemic hit our sector hard, for many there was a silver lining. Remote learning brought huge gains in accessibility - partly driven by the massive increase in recorded content such as lectures. For deaf students who usually lip-read and listen in class, the acoustic and visual environment for some was better online.

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Sing your heart out ABBA: Thank you for your data - for more equality

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Sing your heart out ABBA: Thank you for your data - for more equality

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Our parody of the ABBA song 'Thank You for the Music' for the education and training sector created by the national network of (sector) equalities networks for the Education and Training Foundation to support its work to increase workforce diversity and social mobility.
Plus, check out our playlist containing:

raw footage, outtakes,

3-verse versions

a British Sign Language-only musical interpretation which includes a specially developed new BSL sign for 'Superdiversity'.

Let us know if you make your own version to this tune or another. This version has a single verse and 2 choruses.

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Thank you for your data - 1 verse final version

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Choosing wisely - Parody age and disability

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Choosing wisely - Parody age and disability

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Choosing Wisely - a parody of the infectious Pharrell Williams song "Happy" - choose wisely when it comes to making health care decisions and if you choose wisely it will make you happy.

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Tea, syphilis and going global: My quest to uncover why so many Black people mistrust medicine - Metro

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Tea, syphilis and going global: My quest to uncover why so many Black people mistrust medicine — Metro

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Mural brings disabled people and asylum-seekers together (16.12.21)

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Mural brings disabled people and asylum-seekers together (16.12.21)

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Disabled people and asylum-seekers have worked together on a mural that illustrates some of the barriers they face in society, and which acts as a tribute to a disabled asylum-seeker who was murdered in 2016.
The mural, on the side of a community centre in Easton, Bristol, is the latest to be produced over the last decade through the Disability Murals project, originally run by the UK Disabled People's Council.

Progress on the Easton mural ( pictured) was unveiled on Friday to mark Human Rights Day.

Among the designs featured on the walls of the community centre is an idea that was originally contributed by Kamil Ahmad, who had worked on another mural in Bristol before he was murdered by a racist neighbour in July 2016.

It shows him holding his head in his hands in despair.

Researcher-activist Rebecca Yeo, who has been working on the project since it began, said she had been involved with the disabled people's movement for many years but had become aware when she started working with asylum-seekers of how the UK asylum system was "actively and deliberately disabling".

She said at the launch that the mural "includes messages and images from Deaf and disabled activists, from disabled students and academics, from refugees, from homeless asylum-seekers and from people with many of those experiences combined".

She said there was a lot of overlap between disabled people and people with experience of the asylum system, although some of those they worked with do not identify as disabled.

She said: "We bring people together, to learn from each other and to build understanding of the similarities and differences in our experiences."

One of the asylum-seekers who has worked on the mural describes in a video that is being produced as part of the project that he has experienced mental distress due to living on the streets for more than three years with no food and no place to live.

His experience is illustrated in the mural through an image of a politician who ignores a homeless asylum-seeker sitting next to him in despair under a bush.

He says: "We've learned a lot about the politician man. But they know you live in this [situation]... they didn't care."

Another of those who have contributed to the mural is Lynn Stewart-Taylor, founder of the #WhereIsTheInterpreter campaign.

She describes in the video how Deaf people felt "stuck", "left out" and "marginalised" by the government's failure to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter at coronavirus television briefings.

Her part of the mural shows a Deaf person signing from within a cage, with a hand outside asking: "Where is the interpreter?"

Stewart-Taylor says: "It's really, really impactful and demonstrates these barriers, that the cage is restricting.

"You can't get out. You can't see what else is around. You can't be part of helping other people.

"I think that one day we will see that cage removed, but the fight continues until we've got equality."

Janet, an asylum-seeker, describes on the video being refused a bus ticket because she only has cash and no bank card.

She says: "I would like people to understand the struggles that we have in this country... so it was very embarrassing, very shameful for everybody to be looking at you in the bus and you pretended that you were checking that your card is in the pocket, but you don't have."

Lizzy Horn, a young disabled woman who contributed an image of a dead flower in front of a window to the mural, describes how "you can kind of watch the world going on around you but not access it".

She says the lockdown allowed non-disabled people to experience a little of what her life had been like for the last 13 years.

Another of the ideas represented in the mural - through a chain with broken links - is that the COVID-19 pandemic has broken many of the links that previously helped support disabled people and asylum-seekers.

Mike Steel, from Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living (BRIL), said: "One of the ideas behind the whole mural is that COVID has exposed or magnified what's been going on anyway... the exclusion that disabled people, people with chronic illness, feel."

He said the project had "brought together Deaf campaigners, people from disabled people's organisations, refugee organisations, but basically just people from Bristol, ordinary people" to both represent through the mural what has happened and "how awful it's been, but also that things can be really different".

The artwork was led by mural artist Andrew Bolton, with the project supported by the Thinking Futures social sciences festival, Quartet Community Foundation, BRIL, Eastside Community Trust, The University of Bath's public engagement unit, the University of Bristol's public engagement team, Bristol City of Sanctuary and Bristol Hospitality Network.
Picture by Mark Simmons A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS...

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Mural brings disabled people and asylum-seekers together

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Disabled people and asylum-seekers have worked together on a mural that illustrates some of the barriers they face in society, and which acts as a tribute to a disabled asylum-seeker who was murdered in 2016.

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Disabled activist’s ‘hate speech’ campaign has sweet success with retailers (13.1.22)

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Disabled activist’s ‘hate speech’ campaign has sweet success with retailers (13.1.22)

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At least three major retailers appear to have taken action over their own brands of a top-selling type of sweet after pressure from a disabled activist who has linked its name to disability hate speech.
Dr Erin Pritchard, a lecturer in disability and education at Liverpool Hope University, has already persuaded M&S to rename its own line of "midget gems" - a chewy sweet similar to wine gums - after pointing out how offensive the word "midget" is to her and other people with dwarfism.

M&S said this week that it had changed the name of its own-brand version of the sweet to "mini gems" after "suggestions from our colleagues and the insights shared by Dr Erin Pritchard".

Now Tesco has also taken action, while Morrisons appears to have followed suit.

Tesco said it was reviewing the name of its own-brand version - and is already describing the sweets on its website as " Tesco Mini Gems" - while the Morrisons website has removed its own brand "midget gems" from its website.

Pritchard ( pictured) said: "The word 'midget' is a form of hate speech and contributes to the prejudice that people with dwarfism experience on a daily basis.

"Having spoken with various firms about the use of the word 'midget', it's clear that many companies are simply unaware of just how offensive the term is, and I've had to explain to them why it's such an issue.

"We need better awareness about this particular word so that things can change for the better.

"And I'm grateful that M&S has been willing to listen to the concerns of people with dwarfism and has gone ahead with the rebranding."

She said the vegan-friendly Free From Fellows brand had also agreed to rename its gems sweets, although bags of sweets carrying the offensive name were yesterday (Wednesday) still available on its website.

Pritchard added: "It is truly baffling that, in this day and age, a number of British retailers are still able to use this disablist hate speech to market their products."

Writing in August 2020 in Big Issue North, she said the word "midget" originally came from the word "midge", a type of small gnat-like insect.

She wrote: "Its origin automatically dehumanises people like me.

"It was a term popularised during the Victorian freak show, where many disabled people, including people with dwarfism, were oppressed and exploited."

An M&S spokesperson said: "We are committed to being an inclusive retailer - from how we support our colleagues, through to the products we offer and the way we market them to our 32 million customers.

"Following suggestions from our colleagues and the insights shared by Dr Erin Pritchard, we introduced new mini gem packaging last year, which has since been rolled out to all of our stores."

A Tesco spokesperson said: "Everyone is welcome at Tesco and we would not want any of our products to cause offence.

"We are grateful to Dr Pritchard for bringing this to our attention and we will be reviewing the name of this product."

Morrisons had not responded to requests to comment by noon today (Thursday).

A spokesperson for Bravura Foods, which owns the Free From Fellows brand, said: "Free From Fellows would like to confirm they are planning on making these changes as soon as possible, once existing stock has run out.

"They would also like to thank Erin for bringing this issue to their attention so they can act accordingly."
A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS...

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Disabled activist's 'hate speech' campaign has sweet success with retailers

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At least three major retailers appear to have taken action over their own brands of a top-selling type of sweet after pressure from a disabled activist who has linked its name to disability hate speech.

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Ministers have already broken six Disability Strategy pledges, just months after launch (13.1.22)

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Ministers have already broken six Disability Strategy pledges, just months after launch (13.1.22)

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The government has already broken at least six promises it made in last summer's much-criticised National Disability Strategy, responses by various departments this week have confirmed.
Analysis of the strategy, published last July, shows that at least six of the actions it promised would be carried out by the end of 2021 have not been completed.

This includes action on tackling disability hate crime, the accessible housing crisis, disability employment and how the government engages with disabled people.

When the strategy was published, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, described it as the "down payment" on his promise to "build back better and fairer, for all our disabled people".

But the strategy has been described as "just cynical repackaging", with analysis by Disability News Service last August exposing its lack of bold initiatives and new funding, and how ministers had padded it out with scores of consultations, reviews and vague pledges.

Fresh analysis of the strategy now shows that at least six of the "commitments" made in the document have already been broken.

One of the pledges was to act on disability hate crime, as part of a new government crime and disorder strategy that would be published in 2021. That document has yet to appear.

The disability strategy also promised action by the end of 2021 on how the government would deliver more accessible new homes, through its long-awaited response to a consultation on raising accessibility standards in England, which ended in December 2020. That response has yet to be published.

The government committed to publish new guidance for local authorities in England on "effective delivery" of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) scheme. Again, this was promised "during 2021", but has yet to appear.

The strategy also promised updated guidance for employers who have joined the government's much-criticised Disability Confident scheme. Again, that updated guidance has not yet been published.

And the strategy promised that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) would publish proposals "by the end of 2021" to "ensure that every disabled person who wants to start a business has the opportunity to do so". Again, these proposals have not yet been published.

Finally, there was a pledge to review the government's engagement with disabled people, an area in which ministers have faced repeated criticism, by December 2021.

In a blog posted on 29 December, the minister for disabled people, Chloe Smith, said that this review had now been extended until the spring of 2022 so as to provide "a full opportunity for meaningful engagement with our stakeholders".

Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, who raised some of these delays in a new year message, said: "With a number of actions in the disability strategy not being delivered to time, we need more transparency and communication from government as to the reasons for delay, and information on revised timescales and consultation arrangements.

"We also need consultation with DPOs [disabled people's organisations] and disabled people prior to actions being implemented.

"We are the ones affected by the actions, yet we are often not part of the process.

"The disability strategy must be treated seriously and disabled people need regular reports on its implementation.

"Whilst it is far from a transformational agenda for change, there are actions which could improve the lives of disabled people and failing to involve us or not delivering the actions set out is not acceptable."

The minister for disabled people, Chloe Smith, declined to explain this week why so many of the government's "commitments" had already been broken.

And she declined to say if this showed that the government was not treating disabled people as a priority, and if the prime minister's statement that the strategy was the "down payment" on his promise to "build back better and fairer, for all our disabled people" had now been exposed as empty rhetoric.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said the Disability Confident review was "well underway", with an update to guidance for employers expected in the spring.

A Home Office spokesperson said it was "working with disabled people and other disability stakeholders to develop a new strategy for tackling hate crime which will be published shortly".

The Home Office said the delay in publishing the hate crime strategy was due to competing priorities.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities declined to explain why the DFG guidance and the accessible homes consultation response had not been published, but the department said they were expected to be delivered this spring.

BEIS said its self-employment proposals were part of a wider enterprise strategy, which had been delayed and would be published later this year.

A BEIS spokesperson said: "We are committed to making the world of work more inclusive and accessible for disabled people.

"We have been talking to disabled business leaders and stakeholders and charities to ensure disabled people are given the opportunities and support they need to start their own businesses, and this will form part of our enterprise strategy due to be published this year."
Picture: Chloe Smith (second from right) at last year's Conservative party conference A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS...

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Ministers have already broken six Disability Strategy pledges, just months after launch

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The government has already broken at least six promises it made in last summer's much-criticised National Disability Strategy, responses by various departments this week have confirmed. Analysis of the strategy, published last July, shows that at least six of the actions it promised would be carried out by the end of 2021 have not been completed.

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Baby vouchers scheme ‘blackmails’ disabled parents onto universal credit (20.1.22)

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Baby vouchers scheme ‘blackmails’ disabled parents onto universal credit (20.1.22)

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A disabled mother-of-two has accused the government of "financial blackmail" and discriminating against claimants of legacy benefits*, after she was told she could only claim vital financial support for her baby's nutrition if she agreed to transfer onto universal credit.
Allie Bennett-Cox, from Winchester, said this week that no parent should be left fearing that they will not be able to feed their baby.

The Healthy Start scheme provides vouchers for milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and vitamins for pregnant women and those with children aged up to four if they are claiming certain income-related benefits.

But the scheme only applies to pregnant mums receiving income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) until the moment they give birth, at which point they are no longer eligible for the vouchers.

Disabled mums then have to migrate onto universal credit if they want to continue to receive financial support with their baby's nutrition, a policy described by Labour's shadow minister for disabled people, Vicky Foxcroft, as "immoral" and "deeply problematic".

It appears to be part of the government's continued push to force disabled people off legacy benefits such as ESA and onto universal credit, which could lead to them receiving a lower rate of benefits.

It follows the ongoing controversy over the government's refusal to provide recipients of legacy benefits with the same £20-a-week uplift given to those on universal credit during the pandemic.

Four benefit claimants are waiting for the high court to rule on whether this policy was discriminatory under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Because of the Healthy Start rules, Bennett-Cox and her husband, her full-time carer, have now missed out on nearly four years-worth of vouchers for their first child, Elizabeth, and they have been told that the same rules apply to their newborn son, Oscar.

NHS Business Services Authority, which runs the scheme on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), has confirmed in a letter that she is not eligible for the vouchers, even though the Healthy Start website mistakenly states that she is.

Bennett-Cox, who also had to take the Department for Work and Pensions to a tribunal to establish her eligibility for personal independence payment, said she believes the Healthy Start policy is "very discriminatory" and "would especially affect parents like me who are also disabled and therefore struggling anyway".

She said: "With the high court considering if it was unlawful discrimination to give the £20 pandemic uplift to those on universal credit but not to ESA claimants, it seems this situation is almost identical in nature.

"My financial situation is exactly the same and it amounts to financial blackmail to try and force people to switch over to universal credit."

The letter from the Healthy Start scheme to Bennett-Cox's MP, Steve Brine, who raised the concerns on her behalf, confirms that the vouchers are not payable after the child has been born if the claimant receives income-related ESA, but that they could start receiving them again if they move onto universal credit.

Those receiving income-based jobseeker's allowance and income support, as well as some recipients of child tax credit, pension credit and working tax credit, are also eligible to receive the vouchers after their child is born.

The letter says that work is now "ongoing" to change the wording on the government website to ensure it is clear that if someone "receives income-related ESA and is no longer pregnant, they are not eligible for the Healthy Start scheme".

Foxcroft said: "Once again, the government is showing complete contempt for people on legacy benefits, creating a two-tier system of support which disproportionately negatively impacts disabled people on legacy benefits.

"The Healthy Start scheme is purposely set up to provide new and expecting parents help in buying food, milk and vitamins.

"Crafting a policy where disabled parents on legacy benefits lose out on this support is immoral.

"This Tory government is now actively forcing new parents into a situation where they are having to move to universal credit, without knowing if they will be negatively financially impacted or not.

"Ministers need to correct this deeply problematic policy urgently. All parents deserve proper support, regardless of which benefit they are on."

Bennett-Cox said: "The government and the NHS offer these vouchers for a reason, they know it is a massively vulnerable time for parent and child, with the financial struggle for the parents of raising young children and the emotional anxiety that is inherent in trying to give your baby the best start in life possible, but mostly of course in regards to the tangible health of young infants and their complex needs.

"Children have their own individual nutritional needs and many mothers have to rely on expensive formulas when breastfeeding does not work for their baby.

"Also, with energy costs soaring and grocery bills seemingly climbing higher each week, this lifeline is needed now more than ever.

"No parent should ever be made to fear that they cannot feed their baby."

She said that not all disabled parents are as lucky as she is.

She said: "I have family that would never let my babies go hungry if it came to it and my parents will sometimes bring us baby formula, but it is still hard to manage a very stringent budget and there are more and more things we have to do without, shop around for or sacrifice nutritional quality on, as prices go up consistently.

"At a time when some families are forced to choose between heating or food, these things are very worrying to us all.

"I have often seen people online comment that poor or disabled people shouldn't have children.

"This suggestion is patently disgusting but I have concerns that it is echoed in the ethos of many members of parliament, that poor people should be somehow punished for being in need."

The Department of Health and Social Care had failed to comment by noon today (Thursday), despite being approached for a comment three days earlier.
*Picture: Allie Bennett-Cox and her son Oscar A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS... Legacy benefits are those that are gradually being replaced by the new universal credit system

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Baby vouchers scheme 'blackmails' disabled parents onto universal credit

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A disabled mother-of-two has accused the government of "financial blackmail" and discriminating against claimants of legacy benefits*, after she was told she could only claim vital financial support for her baby's nutrition if she agreed to transfer onto universal credit.

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Government’s easing of COVID rules ‘is populist, dangerous and irresponsible’ (27.1.22)

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Government’s easing of COVID rules ‘is populist, dangerous and irresponsible’ (27.1.22)

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The government's decision to ease COVID regulations is dangerous, populist and irresponsible, while ministers have forgotten those people who have spent much of the pandemic shielding from the virus, say disabled campaigners.
There has been widespread alarm this week after the prime minister and the health and social care secretary announced that the so-called "Plan B" protective measures in England* - introduced last month to slow the spread of the Omicron variant - would end today (Thursday).

This means an end to criminal sanctions for those who fail to wear masks in public places, while the government is no longer asking people to work from home if they can.

Ministers have also ended the requirement for face coverings to be worn in classrooms.

As well as concern at the easing of the restrictions, there was anger and frustration at the confusion over guidance for those seen as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) to coronavirus.

Many of those who have been told they are CEV have now spent nearly two years taking careful precautions to protect themselves, but say they were not told about new advice published on 24 December, or that that guidance remains in place despite the latest announcement.

Disability News Service has seen an email to the disabled Liberal Democrat peer Baroness [Sal] Brinton from the office of the junior health and social care minister Lord Kamall, which confirms that the 24 December guidance remains in place.

Baroness Brinton, who herself is CEV, has raised concerns about the failure to publicise the guidance, and even had to correct the Conservative leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Evans, after she claimed last week that there was now no such guidance in place.

Among those speaking out this week was disabled campaigner Doug Paulley, who is CEV and has been seriously ill with COVID-19 over the last 10 days.

The virus outbreak has infected 11 of the residents and many of the staff in the Leonard Cheshire care home where he lives in Yorkshire.

He says there are already severe pressures on public services, including delays with providing results of PCR tests, and three GPs off sick at his local surgery.

Although he has not had to be admitted to hospital and intensive care, he has been "proper ill, gasping for breath", although he is now recovering.

He said: "I don't have a choice of saying I want everybody else to wear masks so I can go out, I can only choose whether I wear one or not."

Paulley said the government's decision to ease the rules was "bloody dangerous and irresponsible and populist, and people will suffer and die because of it, and disabled people disproportionately so in my opinion".

Even so, he said, it was "nothing compared to the way they just openly threw disabled people, and especially care home residents, to the dogs back when this all started.

"It's a remnant of that same attitude, and it's not just disabled people in care homes either.

"Nobody wants to have restrictions, it is an imposition on our rights, but it's a bloody necessary one for the sake of people's suffering and life."

Another prominent disabled campaigner, Fleur Perry, who has had to shield through the pandemic, said it was "pointless" to ask those who were CEV to socially distance if the government was not asking other people to do so.

She said: "Asking one person to social distance is like asking one hand to clap - it doesn't work.

"You need everyone around you in a public space to co-operate in order to successfully social distance.

"I don't understand why we're also expected to know that we need to follow Plan B without being informed."

She added: "I've heard from many other shielders that they have felt 'forgotten' at various points during the pandemic.

"This time, there is no sign that we were remembered at all until after [last week's] announcement was made.

"We need clear, workable guidance from the government, and we need our safety to be considered.

"Removing layers of protection when there's more than 80,000 cases per day is gutting.

"I was looking forward to being able to go to visit friends and family as soon as the weather warms slightly.

"Each time a layer of protection is removed, the things I want to safely do move further away.

"The government needs to consult with disabled people and consider our needs when thinking about policy changes that affect our safety and way of life, not remember us after-the-fact. They also have a legal duty to do so: the public sector equality duty."

Among issues being raised by Perry and some of her CEV friends are the failure to send them priority PCR tests, which they need to access anti-viral medication; problems with accessing the anti-virals; CEV people being forced back into unsafe workplaces; the risks being faced by CEV children, parents and teachers; and concerns over access to lateral flow tests and personal protective equipment for personal assistants.

Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK (DR UK), said the government's announcement would be seen by those who are CEV or cannot have the vaccination as "another sign that the government has abandoned them".

She said: "Despite disabled people accounting for at least 60 per cent of all COVID-related death so far, the government is doing nothing to protect and support people at greater risk of serious illness.

"We are particularly concerned that these rule changes will negatively affect working-age people who will be forced to return to work."

DR UK's policy and campaigns officer, Dan White, added: "The government needs to stop washing their hands of people who are still at severe risk from COVID.

"It must recognise that there are still disabled people who are clinically extremely vulnerable or who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons who still need a strong ring of protection.

"It must reinstate employment protections, financial support, and provision for essential supplies such as food and medicine.

"The current guidance changes too often, is causing constant confusion and is adding un-needed stress to individuals' lives."

Dr Sarabajaya Kumar, co-founder of the disability caucus of the Women's Equality Party, who has been shielding for the last two years, said CEV people were now "expected to take individual responsibility to protect ourselves, without a policy in place to support our actions".

She said: "Rather than keeping the work from home advice in place, we are expected to speak to our employers 'about what temporary arrangements they can make to reduce your risk'.

"I understand that we need to open up the economy, and I too very much look forward to the day I can return to working with colleagues in person and get out and about to shop, visit the theatre, art galleries, museums, etc, and socialise safely, but I do not understand why the government is not continuing to protect those of us who are most at risk in the meantime.

"Even if we are able to negotiate with our employers to continue to work from home, my family members (who also have underlying conditions) are not allowed to do so, putting me at huge risk each day they go to work or university, as protective measures are no longer required in public places, workplaces or on public transport.

"As we live together, we are wondering how to best to continue to protect me."

She pointed out that about 60 per cent of deaths from COVID-19 are of disabled people, many of whom were CEV, while working-age disabled women with higher support needs, like her, were 91 per cent more likely to have died from COVID-19 than non-disabled women of the same age, even after allowing for factors such as underlying health conditions, and whether they lived in poverty, or in a care home.

She said: "I would like government to review policy in relation to this group of people, as the current policy position puts us at even greater risk.

"We are not, nor should we be, collateral damage."

Meanwhile, the government this morning released new guidance that further eases COVID restrictions in adult social care.
Picture: Dr Sarabajaya Kumar and fellow disabled activists from the Women's Equality Party protesting about the government's pandemic failings in Parliament Square last summer A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS...

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Government's easing of COVID rules 'is populist, dangerous and irresponsible'

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The government's decision to ease COVID regulations is dangerous, populist and irresponsible, while ministers have forgotten those people who have spent much of the pandemic shielding from the virus, say disabled campaigners.

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the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

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Government ‘must tear up national disability strategy’ after high court defeat (27.1.22)

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Government ‘must tear up national disability strategy’ after high court defeat (27.1.22)

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"Mr Justice Griffiths found this week (PDF) that the consultation, launched early last year through a national survey, was unlawful because the thousands of disabled people who took part were not given enough information about the government’s proposed strategy to allow them “intelligent consideration and response”.

The government had argued that the survey was just an information-gathering exercise, but the court had heard how the Disability Unit’s own website listed the survey at the time as an “Open Consultation”, while it was hosted on the unit’s “Consultation Hub”, with the promise that responses would inform the strategy’s development.

The court also found that the survey’s multiple-choice format, and the word limit on the small number of questions that allowed free-form responses, “did not allow for a proper response even to the issues canvassed in the Survey”.

Because the court has found that the consultation was unlawful, so is the strategy, which was published last July.

It is not yet clear what action the government will take following the ruling, although a spokesperson said it was considering its next steps."

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Disabled campaigners have called on the government to tear up its "fundamentally broken" National Disability Strategy, after the high court ruled that the much-criticised document was unlawful.
The high court found that a botched consultation had made it "impossible" for disabled people to "shape" the content of the strategy.

Mr Justice Griffiths found this week (PDF) that the consultation, launched early last year through a national survey, was unlawful because the thousands of disabled people who took part were not given enough information about the government's proposed strategy to allow them "intelligent consideration and response".

The government had argued that the survey was just an information-gathering exercise, but the court had heard how the Disability Unit's own website listed the survey at the time as an "Open Consultation", while it was hosted on the unit's "Consultation Hub", with the promise that responses would inform the strategy's development.

The court also found that the survey's multiple-choice format, and the word limit on the small number of questions that allowed free-form responses, "did not allow for a proper response even to the issues canvassed in the Survey".

Because the court has found that the consultation was unlawful, so is the strategy, which was published last July.

It is not yet clear what action the government will take following the ruling, although a spokesperson said it was considering its next steps.

Doug Paulley (pictured, above, left), one of the four disabled campaigners who took the judicial review* against work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey, said it was "entirely clear" that the consultation had not been "fit for purpose".

He called on the government to withdraw its "fundamentally broken" national strategy and "start afresh with disabled people's organisations (DPOs) and disabled people at the heart of it, as they always should have done".

He said: "What I would hope for is they would actually go to DPOs and disabled people and do a proper consultation and focus on what disabled people actually want, which is enforceable and genuine rights.

"What I think they will actually do is appeal the judgement."

But he said the judgement meant there was "a very clear ruling that the strategy is now unlawful and will remain so until something is done".

One of the four claimants, disabled activist Miriam Binder ( pictured, above, right), died last month, and her family said today (Thursday) that they were "incredibly proud" of the part she had played in the legal victory.

Her daughters said in a statement: "It is a bittersweet moment for us as a family that our mum is not here to see this, but mum didn't do this for just herself, she took on this fight for every disabled person in the UK.

"We are so incredibly proud of her and her courage.

"She has always been a stalwart campaigner for justice, particularly for disability rights and equality.

"We are elated with the judgement and hope this makes a difference to the lives of those living with a disability.

"This is an extremely fitting bequest and we take comfort in the knowledge that she made a difference."

In-depth analysis of the government's strategy by Disability News Service after it was published last summer showed it had been padded out with scores of pledges to "discuss" or "consider" further action, to commission lengthy research, and to carry out reviews of existing policies.

At the time, Inclusion London called it "a cynical re-packaging of current polices and current budgets", while the DPO Forum England, a network of many of the country's leading DPOs, said it had ignored bold action on increasing benefit levels, supporting inclusive education, combating the disability employment gap, increasing accessible housing, and reforming social care.

This week, Inclusion London said it was "shocking" that disabled people "have to go to court to force the government to properly and meaningfully engage with us on a central disability strategy which is meant to improve our lives".

Svetlana Kotova, Inclusion London's director of campaigns and justice, said the "damning" ruling was a "wakeup call to the government" that it can "no longer get away with [its] unlawful, dismissive, patronising and discriminatory approach to engaging with disabled people and DPOs".

Kamran Mallick, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, said that a "disability strategy formulated without deep listening to the voices of disabled people is doomed to failure.

"The government must now go back and do what it should have done the first time round: dedicate time and resources to enable disabled people to speak freely and fully on our lived experience, demonstrate we have been fully heard, and share draft strategy proposals with us for discussion and comment."

Another of the four claimants, Jean Eveleigh, said: "If the secretary of state genuinely wishes to place disabled people's lived experiences at the heart of the strategy, then she must do so through proper and lawful consultation that provides a meaningful opportunity for disabled people and their organisations to contribute their views."

The fourth claimant, Victoria Hon, added: "For too long disabled individuals have been infantilised and our views ignored.

"This judgment sends a clear message that the government cannot claim to consult with disabled people if in practice we are not given the proper opportunity to share our views.

"It is time the government listened and learned from what disabled people have to say about our own experiences and lives."

Vicky Foxcroft, Labour's shadow minister for disabled people, said: "Once again, the government has been forced into a humiliating defeat, even though disabled people raised their concerns numerous times.

"They shouldn't have had to be taken to court for them to have corrected the failings from their shoddy consultation process.

"Ministers need to urgently clarify how they will correct these failings and ensure disabled people are consulted properly."

A government spokesperson said: "We engaged with disabled people, disabled people's organisations, carers and others as part of the National Disability Strategy.

"We remain committed to improving the everyday lives of disabled people, and the National Disability Strategy has already made significant inroads.

"We are disappointed with today's judgment and we will consider our next steps carefully."
*The four claimants were represented by Jamie Potter, Shirin Marker and Amy O'Shea of solicitors A note from the editor: Please consider making a voluntary financial contribution to support the work of DNS and allow it to continue producing independent, carefully-researched news stories that focus on the lives and rights of disabled people and their user-led organisations. Please do not contribute if you cannot afford to do so, and please note that DNS is not a charity. It is run and owned by disabled journalist John Pring and has been from its launch in April 2009. Thank you for anything you can do to support the work of DNS... , and barristers Steve Broach and Katherine Barnes, of 39 Essex Street chambers

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Government 'must tear up national disability strategy' after high court defeat

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Disabled campaigners have called on the government to tear up its "fundamentally broken" National Disability Strategy, after the high court ruled that the much-criticised document was unlawful. The...

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Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis urges MPs to make British Sign Language official ahead of debate (27.1.22)

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Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis urges MPs to make British Sign Language official ahead of debate (27.1.22)

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Strictly's Rose Ayling-Ellis urges MPs to make BSL official ahead of debate | ITV News

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Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose Ayling-Ellis has renewed her call for British Sign Language to be given legal status in the UK. Ayling-Ellis, an EastEnders actress and Strictly's first contestant, made a fresh appeal ahead of a parliamentary debate on Friday. "Parliament will be debating whether or not to make BSL a legally recognised language.

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British Sign Language to become recognised language in the UK (27.1.22)

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British Sign Language to become recognised language in the UK (27.1.22)

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British Sign Language (BSL) is on course to become a recognised language, after the government backed a proposal by a Labour MP.

The private member's bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper, aims to improve accessibility for deaf people and would see the promotion of BSL when making public service announcements.

It would also see the launch of an advisory board of BSL users to offer guidance to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on how and when to use it and look at increasing the number of BSL interpreters.

It will encourage government departments and public bodies to follow the guidance, giving deaf people "equal access to education, employment, public services such as the NHS", according to the British Deaf Association (BDA).

DWP minister Chloe Smith said: "Effective communication is vital to creating a more inclusive and accessible society, and legally recognising British Sign Language in Great Britain is a significant step towards ensuring that deaf people are not excluded from reaching their potential.

"Passing the bill will see [the] government commit to improving the lives of deaf people, and will encourage organisations across the nation to take up the BSL mantle, benefiting both themselves and the deaf community."

If the bill passes its reading on Friday, 28 January, it will have two more stages to pass before becoming law. The final reading is expected to take place in March.

Rosie Cooper, the MP who proposed the bill and whose parents were both born deaf, said: "The deaf community have constantly had to fight to be heard. This bill sends a clear message that they deserve equal access and will be treated as equal."

Although BSL was recognised as an 'official' language by the UK government in 2003, it does not have the same legal protections as Welsh or Gaelic, for example.

EastEnders actor Rose Ayling-Ellis made history as the first deaf contestant on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and has urged people to back the bill.

Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice. Photograph: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

She told BBC News: "Why doesn't this country legally recognise BSL? It's our language. It feels wrong, it isn't right, it should be accepted."

She added: "If I go to the doctor and there is no interpreter, it means I have to bring a family member with me - but I don't want that, I want privacy."

In the wake of her celebrated Strictly win, research revealed more than three-quarters of deaf children thought the show has given the public a better understanding of deafness. There are an estimated 87,000 BSL users in the UK.

David Buxton, chairman of the BDA, said: "Deaf people still do not have access to the same essential information and services that are available to the hearing population.

"The Equality Act does not cover linguistic rights. We are forced to rely on inadequate disability discrimination legislation to access information in our own language.

"British Sign Language is an indigenous language of the UK and should be accorded the same legal protection as Welsh and Scottish Gaelic."

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British Sign Language to become recognised language in the UK

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British Sign Language (BSL) is on course to become a recognised language, after the government backed a proposal by a Labour MP. The private member's bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper, aims to improve accessibility for deaf people and would see the promotion of BSL when making public service announcements.

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The disabled influencers making their mark on social media

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The disabled influencers making their mark on social media

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The disabled influencers making their mark on social media

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Brands are starting to embrace social media influencers with disabilities to target the “purple pound”.

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Prezi - Accessibility Toolkit for Open Educational Resources (OER) - LibGuides at CUNY Office of Library Services

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Skip to Main Content

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Prezi

Prezi Design, a cloud-based graphic design tool used to create and share dynamic designs and data visualizations.You pick a template, add your content or data, and share your creation.

There are various opinions on whether Prezi is accessible. In 2018 Prezi Support wrote a blog post about how Prezi Design was accessible and WCAG compliant. Within the blog post they posted how-to tips, which I've included. However, several other sources (Universities and businesses) have written about how Prezi is not ADA compliant.

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LibGuides: Accessibility Toolkit for Open Educational Resources (OER): Prezi

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Euan's Guide: Disabled Access Reviewsby disabled people for disabled people

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Euan's Guide: Disabled Access Reviewsby disabled people for disabled people

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Euan's Guide features disabled access reviews by disabled people and their families and friends. We feature hotels, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and more.

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A Different Narrative: Text within Disability Art

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A Different Narrative: Text within Disability Art

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"...  text in Disability Art is very raw and direct and usually about the artist’s personal experience and identity. It signifies an urgency to be heard, often becoming a polemic for change even as it recognises an ‘us and them’ dualism."

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Last year saw the death of American Artist Lawrence Weiner whose highly regarded work is well known for being text-based and conceptual. An acknowledged influence on many contemporary artists, Angela Edmonds felt that his passing suggested an appropriate time to reconsider art and text and particularly the use of text within Disability Art.
Text has been an integral or accompanying part of art since time immemorial but it's only in recent history that text has become ubiquitous within Western Contemporary Art. The use of text creates an immediate dialogue with the audience and it's no surprise that it has been adopted by Disability Art Practitioners as a direct way to connect with their audiences. Furthermore, it reproduces very clearly online which is all for the good.

Conceptual Artist Weiner used topographical text not in didactic sentences but as an invitation to explore meaning. He understood the fluidity and instability of language and the way that the audience's interpretation changes according to who is viewing it and the context in which it is viewed. In 1969 Weiner wrote a short but influential manifesto titled Statements concerning the making of Art. If Disability Art had a manifesto what would it look like? What is different about the use of text in Disability Arts? What is it saying, where does it come from and where is it going?

The text in Disability Art is very raw and direct and usually about the artist's personal experience and identity. It signifies an urgency to be heard, often becoming a polemic for change even as it recognises an 'us and them' dualism. The New York Artist Shannon Finnegan incorporates text into her sculptural installations of cushions, benches, and chairs in order to reference the absence of seating provision in galleries and other public and private spaces. One of the exhibitions of this work was titled Do You Want Us Here Or Not? Her text on seating is written in her own irregular typeface and "based on handwritten text to give it a human touch".

Her message is direct, clear, and heartfelt in addressing curators and galleries where seating is conspicuously lacking for those that desperately need it. One bench states This Exhibition Has Asked Me To Stand For Too Long Sit If You Agree, knowingly making this work less didactic and less 'other' by encouraging audience participation. As Finnegan stated in an online zoom event:

"my work is part of an ecosystem of Disability Arts."

Her work is gaining traction and is well documented online resulting in the issues she deals with being brought into consciousness and beginning to be addressed. For example, the American Art Critic Jerry Saltz has recently championed the need for seating in galleries on his Instagram account and galleries are sitting up and taking notice. Finnegan explains her motivation as being:

"How can I communicate my experiences in ways that create points of connection?"

To this end she has also translated her text work into other languages, such as German in order to reach wider audiences and is now extending her research into investigating the content and use of Alt Text as poetry.

Nevertheless, for Disability Art to reach those audiences it needs to be visible beyond gallery exhibitions on the theme of disability so as to become part of the wider canon of the art world and art history without becoming ghettoised. As a Crie de Coeur or protestation Disability Art can seem relentless and thankfully the work is sometimes imbued with a redeeming irony and dark sense of humour. An example of this is the work by Dolly Sen titled Help The Normals, a charity collection box to which she has added a playful but serious label.

Three simple words challenge representations of the disabled as being vulnerable helpless 'charity cases'. The work is both political and personal whilst retaining an element of sardonic humour. No longer internalizing her frustrations Sen describes her subversive work as:

"Turning what's hurting you against itself".

The language used in Disability Art isn't obscure or random, it's highly focused and often highly charged in challenging restrictive normative practices and constraints. Challenging a status quo that is already structured in language can only be done by using the language which is already there. The work seems to say:

"I am here. Get me out of here".

Artist Oliver Hemsley has gained respect from artists including Gilbert and George and Tracey Emin. His expressive work includes figure drawing and painting and stand-alone text. Quoting him from his public instagram account Oliver said:

"I am an artist who is disabled I am not a disabled artist ... my writing is my Art."

Hemsley makes powerful work around issues of identity, and often painful sense of self, and a raw self-awareness, but with a determination to make it powerful and real. The language and perceptions of disability are slowly changing and Disability Art forms part of that change through its harnessing and subversion of language. It calls for changes in society; changes to lack of seating in public places, changes to inaccessible buildings, changes to condescending attitudes, and to a general lack of awareness and understanding. These artists are finding their voice.

Sociologist Bill Hughes has compared the construction of disability as a process of 'invalidation'. He acknowledges how the naming and labelling in language connect our sense of self with society's definition. Saussure argued that language is socially constructed and that things can only be understood by contrasting them with what they are not. He called it La Langue: the language system. In addition, and more optimistically he spoke about 'Parole'; individual speech which expresses itself through this system. I believe that text in Disability Art is doing just that by turning an already encoded system on its head to create new possibilities and improved awareness.

As Oliver Hemsley himself has observed:

"Invalid - what a fucking word".

The term 'Invalid' seems archaic and unacceptable now but its a clear reminder of how disability has been structured in language and that old habits die hard.

In its early days Disability Art was made by disabled artists for other disabled people as a shared visual language and sense of solidarity. Things are very different now with work generally made for the non-disabled viewer as a way of personal expression and highlighting a need for societal change. By using written language and reaching wider audiences the work can act as a wake up call about unheralded injustices and experiences. These artists are using language in a very direct way to make issues visible. Nothing can be addressed until it is visible; until it exists in consciousness.

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A Different Narrative: Text within Disability Art - Disability Arts Online

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Last year saw the death of American Artist Lawrence Weiner whose highly regarded work is well known for being text-based and conceptual. An acknowledged influence on many contemporary artists, Angela Edmonds felt that his passing suggests an appropriate time to reconsider art and text and particularly the use of text within Disability Art.

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NADSN: National Association of Disabled Staff Networks

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NADSN: National Association of Disabled Staff Networks

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Is:

A super-network that connects and represents disabled staff networks.

A collective platform to share experiences and good practice, and to examine challenges and opportunities.

Focussed on the tertiary education sector (i.e. universities, colleges, etc).

Open to any individual and organisation (public, private, social or voluntary) interested in the equality of disabled staff.

Interesting fact: only 1 FE college is part of NADSN

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PRESS RELEASE The National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) is a super-network that connects and represents disabled staff networks at organisations across the United Kingdom. NADSN exists as a collective platform to share experiences, develop good...

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"Resources and networks to enhance opportunities for employment in the UK for people with a disability"

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Disability Jobsite - Official Site for UK Disability Employment

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Disability Jobsite assists people with a disability to participate actively in employment and plays a critical role in supporting people with a disability on the pathway to work.

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You Kind of Have to Prove It: Gender Micro aggressions within the Lived Experiences of Women in Engineering

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You Kind of Have to Prove It: Gender Micro aggressions within the Lived Experiences of Women in Engineering

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I built this to communicate with my 89 year old aunt who lost her hearing after a shell fell a few blocks from her house during WW2. Hopefully this is useful to others.

This app uses speech-to-text and streams the text instantly to a unique URL. This allows you to have communication with a deaf person in a much simpler way than using notes, or other speech-to-text apps that are not specifically designed for this purpose. Text automatically clears after a short pause in speech, resulting in almost natural conversations. Font size can be adjusted to be really large if needed (designed for older users). The app can also translate on-the-fly to communicate with one or several people speaking different languages.

This app REQUIRES a second device and internet access on BOTH. Can be a computer, smartphone, smartTV or tablet.

Support the development by sending your feedback/appreciation to etienne@spottyegg.com

Version 2.1.0

Bizarre and nonfunctional

This app is disappointing, bizarre, and nonfunctional. When you start it up it gives a web address to give to other people. When they enter it on their browser they should be able to see what you say when you have the app open.

Nothing. The app flashes and jumps and shows red at the top of the screen. Nothing is transmitted. I checked my iOS settings to to make sure the mic was enabled. I tried entering text directly. Nothing is transmitted.

There is no help, no settings, no clues what you need to do to make it work. Just a nonfunctional mystery.

Also it seems bizarre that if two people had the app installed that one would have to use a web browser.

I would really like it to work but for now it's a total waste of time and memory.

Amazing app

This is a must for anyone with a family member, relative or friend who has a hearing disability. Setting up the app is super simple and is only required on the input device. An iPad in landscape mode seems like the perfect display and larger fonts are a point-and-click away! Using an iPhone for input is perfect as you could use a hands-free device with the phone in your pocket. This is a life-saver!

Worked Temporarily (One day)

Tuesday worked fine at home. Took it next day to work and speech (microphone issue probably) not transformed/tranlated into text. The typed text goes thru, and the "Sorry....." icon sends the message, to the website. Tried iPhone 6, iPad same problem. Concept wonderful. Would use for patients with hearing impairment. Will try and use periodically hoping the bug gets fixed. Would pay too, assuming functionality. (Ignore uncivilized comments, your work is commendable).

The developer, Spotty Egg Ltd., has not provided details about its privacy practices and handling of data to Apple. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

No Details Provided

The developer will be required to provide privacy details when they submit their next app update.

Information

Compatibility

iPhone

Requires iOS 10.0 or later.

iPad

Requires iPadOS 10.0 or later.

iPod touch

Requires iOS 10.0 or later.

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

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‎This app uses speech-to-text and streams the text instantly to a unique URL. This allows you to have communication with a deaf person in a much simpler way than using notes, or other speech-to-text apps that are not specifically designed for this purpose. Text automatically clears after a short paus...

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Too busy to read articles from your favorite websites? Sit back, relax, and listen up as news from any website is magically read back at you with adjustable speeds and multiple accents.

How does it work? Give the link of your article to Speaky and that's it. It will extract the main content, detect the language, and read it out loud to you. You can retrieve content from your favorite websites (RSS feeds supported), import files from the cloud (txt, doc, pdf, jpeg, png, and more), or scan existing documents with your camera.

"Articles in your Speaky queue play without an internet connection, so you can breeze through a New Yorker treatise as you ride the subway or catch up on world news on your next international flight." - New York Magazine

"Speaky is a handy tool that helps you multitask by listening instead of reading. Whether it's an entertaining article on the Web or an important PDF for work, you can give your eyes a rest or just get more done with this intuitive voice reader." - AppAdvice

"The Pocket integration really makes it a lot easier to catch up on those articles you put off on reading." - Lifehacker

This update includes bug fixes.

The developer, Sandratra Razafindralambo, indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Provider

Sandratra Razafindralambo

Compatibility

iPhone

Requires iOS 11.0 or later.

iPad

Requires iPadOS 11.0 or later.

iPod touch

Requires iOS 11.0 or later.

Languages

English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

In-App Purchases

1. Generous Tip USD 4.99

2. Massive Tip USD 9.99

3. Amazing Tip USD 14.99

Family Sharing

Up to six family members will be able to use this app with Family Sharing enabled.

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‎Too busy to read articles from your favorite websites? Sit back, relax, and listen up as news from any website is magically read back at you with adjustable speeds and multiple accents. How does it work? Give the link of your article to Speaky and that's it.

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A free app connecting blind and partially-sighted people with sighted volunteers and company representatives for visual assistance through a live video call.

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Blind or low-vision person requests assistance

As a blind or low-vision person, whenever you need visual assistance, our volunteers are happy to help. Through the live video call, you and a volunteer can communicate directly and solve a problem. The volunteer will help guide which direction to point your camera, what to focus on or when to turn on your torch.

Sighted volunteer receives video call

As a sighted volunteer you can help just by installing the Be My Eyes app. A blind or a low-vision user may need help with anything from checking expiry dates, distinguishing colors, reading instructions or navigating new surroundings.

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blind association; association for the blind

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As a blind or low-vision person, whenever you need visual assistance, our volunteers are happy to help. Through the live video call, you and a volunteer can communicate directly and solve a problem. The volunteer will help guide which direction to point your camera, what to focus on or when to turn on your torch.

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Coronation Street and its changing approach to disability

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Coronation Street and its changing approach to disability

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Alison Wilde takes a glance across two decades of Coronation Street in an analysis of the ITV soap's representation of Disability, highlighting characters whose storylines portray an understanding of the social model of disability.

I am a long-time fan of Corrie, despite some occasional despair at over-extended storylines that sometimes stretched the credulity as well as patience of the audience (e.g. the Phelan killing spree of 2017). As a northerner, a soap opera scholar (my PhD in Disability Studies) and a fan of comedy, they don't come much better than Coronation Street for pantomime moments (apart from Victoria Wood's Acorn Antiques, perhaps); these are what make it the best contemporary soap for me. As I now have to limit my soap opera diet, taking the temperature of representational change in soap opera portrayals is entirely reliant on Corrie.

Recent Corrie stories made have me realise how far we have travelled from the pathological forms of imagery which dominated in the 1990s, e.g. the oedipal trajectories of Don Brennan and Jim McDonald, and the portrayal of disabled women as burdens on the rare occasions they appeared (e.g. Maud Grimes).

Coronation Street now demonstrates more awareness of disabling barriers, and has shown considerable commitment in employing disabled actors recently, with two regular disabled actors (below), and two recent irregular characters, Emily Bishop's niece Freda (played by Ali Briggs), and Imogen (played by Melissa Johns). It feels like we are really getting somewhere when we can even see incidental characters featured, e.g. a Deaf couple using sign language as they dined in the Bistro, in May 2018. We may soon look forward to a third regular character, with one of Gemma and Chesney's quadruplets (Aled) born deaf in 2020.

Sadly, there has been a noticeable absence, or only scant appearances, of the two regular disabled adult actors during the pandemic, Izzy Armstrong (played by Cherylee Houston), and Alex Warner (played by Liam Bairstow). Well before 2020, both characters were welcome additions to the soap, ushering in new types of disability representation.

Cherylee Houston was the first disabled actress on Corrie, as Izzy Armstrong, and one of the first disabled actresses in a UK soap. I am assuming these absences may be due to the pandemic; although she's not mentioned as a character who is shielding there have been efforts to include other actors who have to shield, i.e. showing them on online calls. Izzy is occasionally mentioned in people's conversations but has not made recent appearances, an absence which could have been utilised to bring viewers attention to the extraordinary weight of issues disabled people have faced during the pandemic, e.g. the fact that many disabled people have not been able to leave their homes for ten months.

It would be easy, now, to forget how radical it was to employ a disabled actor on television in 2010, with only very few representations of disabled women, or characters, on British television before 2008 (for example, Lisa Hammond and Cerrie Burnell on Grange Hill).

Thankfully, Izzy has largely avoided the kind of stereotyping we saw with Maud Grimes, even providing one of the earliest representations of successful disabled and interdependent parenthood. Similarly, in 2015 Liam Bairstow was the first actor with Down Syndrome (DS) to appear on Corrie and his storylines have steered well away from the usual tropes afforded to people with DS, refusing stories of infantalisation and stigma, instead emphasising agency, whilst remaining honest about barriers and needs.

Despite the relative absence of Izzy and Alex during the pandemic, there have been many impairment-related storylines throughout the last year, many pre-dating this period. I even began to question whether there are too many impairment-related storylines on the street, when it became very noticeable that two different characters were admitted to hospital in the same week as part of two different storylines.

One of these was the story of Oliver, Leanne Battersby and Steve McDonald's son, who was three years old when he was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease; his eventual hospitalisation and worsening condition resulted in a court case when the hospital decided to withdraw his treatment. With Oliver constantly unconscious or sedated, the focus was on the agonising experiences of his parents and family; as well-acted as this was, this heart-rending story of life and death decision-making is typical of issue-based soap drama (and, sadly, a potential candidate for soap awards).

However, the development I think breaks new ground is the story around the character of Shona Platt. She is not the first person to have an accident which results in brain injury (in 2020) but the trajectory of her rehabilitation makes many departures from the storylines of the past. Not only do we have her devoted, if troubled, husband David showing a deep commitment to her, but the potential rejection of her old life (as unwanted) comes from her, and leads to a situation where he declares his greater love for her (disabled) self; a bit schmaltzy perhaps, but it probably spoke volumes to many of us with acquired impairments.

We were also given insights into some of the difficulties that brain injury might bring in her reintegration into family life, alongside gentle and respectful comedy incidents which have largely been built on the lack of communication filters resulting from her injury. These have been used to good effect to question what passes as normality in social situations, a facet of disability representation I have rarely seen outside Disability Arts. Although I am not a big fan of slushy moments, the scenes of David's re-enactment of their wedding to aid her memory, and his declaration that he was more in love with the 'new' Shona were delightful, taking a progressive step in disability representations, where the new disabled person asserts their right to be loved as they are, not for who they were.

There have been several disabled narratives in the last few years, some featuring children. In 2018 Jack Webster had his foot amputated after he was diagnosed with sepsis (due to a sporting injury); Jack is played by a non-disabled actor Kyran Bowes, who had worked on the soap since 2016.

Max Turner (played by Harry McDermott,) the adopted son of David Platt, was diagnosed with ADHD in 2014, aged eight. Other recent additions include the later diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (LOMS) for Johnny Connor, also in 2018, at the age of 64. Disability-wise, I am glad to have seen that this depiction has avoided common associations of MS with sour personalities and the positioning of an MS diagnosis as a tragedy; it is neither ignored nor central to Johnny's life. As good as this is, if I am being picky, I wish they'd go a few steps further and confront issues such as the bladder and bowel difficulties (very common for people with MS), and could easily fit well within both dramatic and comedic elements of the show.

Overall, although the majority of impairment and disability storylines have been played by non-disabled actors, it is worth noting that another character who has an impairment which matches with his own is Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson); the character was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2015, close to experiences Simon Gregson has in his own life.

Much progress has been made, I think, but there are some caveats. First, all the characters I have discussed so far are white. We rarely see Black disabled characters in film and television, and, given the large amount of people with impairments currently on the street, this absence is becoming noticeable - notwithstanding the newish character of Grace Vickers (played by Kate Spencer), former girlfriend of Michael Bailey. It is implied that her mental health problems are linked to the loss of a baby, but the storylines so far have encouraged us to take a side between characters, dependent in part on our fondness for the Bailey family, and our position on the old 'mad' or 'bad' binary. Whilst the same could be said to be true of several white people on the street, including the current difficulties Peter Barlow is having with alcoholism, this is the second time we have had a Black mixed-race woman with mental health problems set against 'good families, i.e. Kirsty Dobbs as an abusive partner (played by Natalie Gumede) in 2013.

Nonetheless, this is offset, to an extent, to the casting of Alexandra Mardell as Emma Brooker, an immensely likeable empathetic character, and daughter of Fiona Middleton (Angela Griffin), another well-liked character from the early 1990s. Nonetheless, in terms of equity it would perhaps be prudent for the producers of the show to think a little more specifically about the intersectionality of impairment and ethnicity portrayals.

In contrast to the high number of white people with impairments there are now several other long-running characters who are either Black or people of colour such as Yasmeen (Shelley King), Dev (Jimmi Harkishin), Imran (Charlie de Melo) and Alya (Sair Khan), as well as the Bailey family all of whom are non-disabled characters. Given this disparity and the dearth of Black disabled women on our screens, it would seem wise to start employing disabled Black actresses and to strenuously avoid endowing them with angry/deviant mental health-related impairments for the foreseeable future, especially if we are to avoid the re-creation of old tropes of angry/hysterical Black women as the deviation from 'the norm'.

Second, I was quite dismayed when I saw a recent storyline featuring Maureen Lipman as Evelyn Plummer. It may seem picky but some of the most insidious disabling portrayals can often be found in the fine detail, without a disabled character being present. Evelyn was put into a potentially romantic situation with a character named Arthur where the eventual drama is caused by the existence of Arthur's unmentioned and unseen wife who is very ill.

I have seen too many repeats of this storyline in films over the last few years, where we are invariably encouraged to empathise with the husband who is cheating on his wife, by pitying his 'burden of care' and understanding his need for affection. Although this would be an entirely different tale if these people were in polyamorous relationships (none of them were), I always find them chilling in the blatant disregard for the value of the life of the disabled 'other', especially as the happy ending is only made possible by the spousal death (e.g. the 2020 film 23 walks). Arthur's wife has now died, and he has gone to Canada; I hope there is no reunion.

Well, that's my two-penneth, as Evelyn might say. All in all, I think Corrie has achieved much over the last twenty years, especially in the last ten, but inclusion is always a work in progress where we learn from our mistakes and strengths. I don't know how I'd have got through the pandemic, so far, without Coronation Street, but a commitment to inclusion means that there is always room for improvement.

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Coronation Street and its changing approach to disability - Disability Arts Online

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Alison Wilde takes a glance across two decades of Coronation Street in an analysis of the ITV soap's representation of Disability, highlighting characters whose storylines portray an understanding of the social model of disability. I am a long-time fan of Corrie, despite some occasional despair at over-extended storylines that sometimes stretched the credulity as well as patience of the audience (e.g.

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7 hilarious comedians who happen to be disabled

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7 hilarious comedians who happen to be disabled

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7 hilarious comedians who happen to be disabled

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These funny people all have disabilities, but none of them let their respective condition affect their ability to make people laugh.

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Micro-credential course (£75) Online Teaching: Accessibility and Inclusive Learning: Make your online teaching accessible and learn how to plan, design, and deliver inclusive learning and teaching online.

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Micro-credential course (£75) Online Teaching: Accessibility and Inclusive Learning: Make your online teaching accessible and learn how to plan, design, and deliver inclusive learning and teaching online.

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This microcredential provides teachers and professionals working in education with the skills to understand, design, and deliver online learning that is accessible and inclusive.

Under the guidance of online teaching experts at The Open University, you'll develop the pedagogical, technological, procedural, and legal knowledge you need to enhance the accessibility of your online courses.

Discover the benefits of a blended learning approach

Although online teaching presents new challenges, online learning can provide a truly accessible and flexible mode of study with proper insight and planning.

This course will provide you with blended teaching strategies that combine the benefits of online study with face to face teaching.

You'll explore how current technologies and emerging innovations are improving study for millions of learners with disabilities such as hearing impairments, visual impairments, speech, language and communication needs, and physical disabilities.

By supporting all students to study effectively using technology at a distance, you'll learn how to mitigate the major challenges to teaching in an unpredictable world and create a more inclusive environment in your online classroom.

Improve your practice for teaching students with disabilities

From evaluating good examples of online learning practice to responding to feedback that learners have found elements of teaching inaccessible, you'll explore inaccessible teaching examples from across all forms of education and discuss scenarios with broad applications.

The final assessment offers you the chance to improve the accessibility of materials or activities that you've created or that are relevant to your practice.

How do The OU champion improvements in equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)?

Education should be about creating opportunities for everyone.

According to HESA, 331,170 students (14%) declared a disability to a UK Higher Education Institution in 2018/19. Given these figures, almost all educators will engage with disabled students as a regular part of their work.

For over 20 years, The Open University has been teaching wholly online courses and supports over 20,000 students with declared disabilities every year.

You'll benefit from the OU's world-leading expertise in accessibility practice and research that underpins all of the principles and content covered in this course.
For learners based in Northern Ireland, fully funded (free) places are available for those whose employment has been impacted by COVID-19. Applications for funded places close on 9 March 2021 at 13:00. Places are limited so we recommend you apply as soon as possible. More information: http://www.open.ac.uk/northern-ireland/fully-funded-microcredentials

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Accessibility and Inclusive Learning - Teaching Online Course - FutureLearn

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This microcredential provides teachers and professionals working in education with the skills to understand, design, and deliver online learning that is accessible and inclusive. Under the guidance of online teaching experts at The Open University, you'll develop the pedagogical, technological, procedural, and legal knowledge you need to enhance the accessibility of your online courses.

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Education for All: Disability, Diversity and Inclusion

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Education for All: Disability, Diversity and Inclusion

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When we think about education for all. What is inclusion? Why discuss it? Inclusion is important because it implies an acceptance and a celebration of human diversity. It is about all of us. We need to contribute and participate and know that we're making a difference in our communities and in the lives of others. It is through inclusion that we achieve education for all children in all their diversity. In this course we'll focus on a particular aspect of diversity which is disability. We'll learn more about how our educational systems can adjust to welcome children with disabilities into schools and we'll also look at how the student can be supported to be, to participate, and to belong.

When my son was born we were told that he had a genetic syndrome, and words like 'mental retardation', 'developmental delay' were thrown at us. And this meant all our dreams for his future were shattered. And we had no idea what education would look like for him. But as he started growing and as we started hearing about what the options were, this idea of inclusion really appeal to us. The idea that Matt could be accepted for who he was in a every day government school where he could learn alongside the children from the community, and not segregated to a school for children with special needs. You do not have to be a well resourced school to make inclusion happen.

The three main resources you actually need are passion, commitment, and cooperation. What is amazing about inclusion is that when it is successful, it is beneficial to everyone who participated in making it happen. So this is what the course is about. We come together to engage and to explore proven ways of making inclusion happen, and in this way we further the goal of education for all.

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Making Education Inclusive - Online Course

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When we think about education for all. What is inclusion? Why discuss it? Inclusion is important because it implies an acceptance and a celebration of human diversity. It is about all of us. We need to contribute and participate and know that we're making a difference in our communities and in the lives of others.

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Global Disability: Research and Evidence: how to conduct and interpret findings from global disability research

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Global Disability: Research and Evidence: how to conduct and interpret findings from global disability research

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Understand why and how to do research in the field of global disability

Around 15% of the world's population, or one billion people, live with some form of disability. With ageing populations, the global number of people with disabilities will continue to grow over the coming decades. Disability often affects vulnerable groups, and is more common among women, older people, and households that are poor. People with disabilities often have higher health care needs, but may find it difficult to access services. They face a range of exclusions, from employment, education or other aspects of society.

These exclusions are contrary to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) which calls upon all countries to respect and ensure the equal rights and participation of all persons with disabilities to education, health care, employment and inclusion in all aspects of society.

Evidence on disability is needed for a range of reasons - to measure the magnitude, highlight inequalities in access, and evaluate interventions that aim to improve the lives of people with disabilities. This evidence can be used to advocate, inform policy, plan services, and address the exclusions that people with disabilities face.

In this course you will learn from researchers, persons with disabilities and policy makers as we look to enhance our understanding of the importance of evidence, and how research can be conducted, interpreted and used to inform policy and practice.

What topics will you cover?

What is disability and why is it important

Why we need evidence about global disability

Identification/measurement of disability in surveys

Measuring the impact of disability

Data disaggregation

Analysing qualitative and quantitative data

Interpreting findings of research studies

Assessing the quality of research studies

Including people with disabilities in research

Decolonizing global health

Disseminating data

Using evidence to inform practice

Learning on this course

You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

Who is the course for?

The target audience are researchers, NGO workers, disability advocates, and health professionals across a range of sectors who have an interest in gathering or interpreting evidence on disability.

No prior experience or qualifications are required; however, we will encourage people with some research experience who want to learn about disability, or people who work in NGOs focussed on disability or DPOs who want to learn about research. We will focus predominantly on research from low and middle income country contexts, however the themes are also applicable to learners from high income countries.

Endorsers and supporters

funded by

funded by

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps, but you can complete them as quickly or slowly as you like

Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities

Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners

Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course

Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning

Whenever you're ready, mark each step as complete, you're in control

Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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Around 15% of the world's population, or one billion people, live with some form of disability. With ageing populations, the global number of people with disabilities will continue to grow over the coming decades. Disability often affects vulnerable groups, and is more common among women, older people, and households that are poor.

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Disability and comedy: a personal perspective | Ted Shiress

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BBC Sounds - Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

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iPhone Screenshots

The fastest way to email a voice memo to yourself or to someone else and optionally include a photo, movie and map location.

No in-app purchases.

Don't type it!
Just Say it & Mail it.
The fastest way to email a voice memo to yourself or to someone else and optionally include a photo, movie and map location.

You can optionally turn on Auto Email.
(Then you can Say it and Mail it with no need to tap the Send button)

No In-App purchases.

"Say it & Mail it" has been designed with simplicity and speed in mind. It remembers your name and an email address, which makes it very fast and easy to send yourself an email memo.

Four methods of recording to fit your style:

* Method 1: Tap 'Say it' then tap 'Mail it'

* Method 2: Hold the iPhone to your ear and speak. When you move the iPhone away, recording stops and the email window opens

* Method 3: Shake it to start recording and shake it to stop

* Method 4: Tap on the microphone to start recording and tap it again to stop

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE :-)

EMAIL TO GROUPS
Uses the groups you already have set up in your Contacts

INCLUDE A PICTURE OR MOVIE IN YOUR EMAIL
Take a photo or movie or select from the album.
Pictures are full resolution compressed jpg format
and the picture size can be adjusted.

INCLUDE YOUR MAP LOCATION IN YOUR EMAIL
When someone receives your email with an iPhone,
they will be able to click on the link to launch the map application, see your location and get directions.
When someone receives your email with a Mac or PC,
they will be able to click on the link to launch their browser to see your location
and get directions.

So, what else can you do with 'Say it & Mail it'? Lots of things!

*Recommend a good restaurant, including location map and photo

*Email a reminder to yourself, a friend or preset groups

*Document when, why and where you took a great photo

*Update your blog via email

*Track a real estate tour with info about each home (agent or buyer)

*Send a customer the location and details of a house for sale

*Record scientific notes with map location and photo of findings

*Add content to your podcast

*Communicate with elderly relatives who have difficulty typing

*Send product information or newsflashes to clients

*Email great vacation photos, footage, maps and commentary

*Let people know where you are when you need help

*Email your messages in any language (no QWERTY keyboard limits)

*Document where you park your car so you can easily find it again

*And a whole lot more!

Emailed voice memos are compatible with Mac, PC and any other computer O/S (uses compressed wave format).

No file maintenance on your iPhone/iPod Touch, since audio files are not stored there.

NO ADVERTISING in your emails.
Just a 'Say it Mail it' signature, which you can optionally remove in the 'Info' setup.

Send yourself reminders when you are away from your computer. No typing required. Your email address and subject are autofilled.

If you are using an iPhone, your message is sent off immediately, thanks to cell towers. iPod Touch devices store the email and send as soon as they are able to make a Wi-Fi connection.

Great way to send anyone a detailed email without using the keyboard.

Send an MMS Instant Message

So many uses, we can't imagine them all. You will think of many more

NOTES: iPod Touch requires headphones with microphone and a Wi-Fi connection.
The iPhone has a microphone built-in.
Camera may only be available on iPhone.
Not all devices can take movies.

Version 1.0.1

App icon updated to show plus version

The developer, Carnation Software, indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Seller

Carnation Software

Compatibility

iPhone

Requires iOS 15.0 or later.

iPod touch

Requires iOS 15.0 or later.

Mac

Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip.

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

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‎Don't type it! Just Say it & Mail it. The fastest way to email a voice memo to yourself or to someone else and optionally include a photo, movie and map location. You can optionally turn on Auto Email. (Then you can Say it and Mail it with no need to tap the Send button) No In-App purchases.

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Skip to main content

Our Disability Smart Suite (generously sponsored by Unilever) is designed to help your organisation know how well it is doing in being disability smart

View our Disability Smart Suite!

Join us

Become a Business Disability Forum member to access a wealth of advice and guidance to help you support your disabled staff and customers as well as helping us promote best practice and influence policy to benefit both organisations and disabled people.

Stay up to date, sign up for our newsletter

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© Business Disability Forum 2013. Business Disability Forum is a registered charity in England and Wales (no 1018463). Our company is registered in England (no 2603700).

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Close

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Disability inclusion in your organisation in 2022

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Disabled people's rights: UK Government 2021 follow-up report to UNCRPD 2016 inquiry

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Disabled people's rights: UK Government 2021 follow-up report to UNCRPD 2016 inquiry

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This is the government’s latest response to the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016. It covers both 2020 and 2021.

Reports and different formats - large print and BSL films on this page.

Personally, I'm struggling a bit with the claims in this and the reality of enacted government policies.

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Disabled people’s rights: UK 2021 follow-up report to UNCRPD 2016 inquiry

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This report responds to the recommendations issued to the UK by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

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©AbilityNet 2020. AbilityNet is a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No: 3469653. AbilityNet is a Charity, registered in England and Wales, registration number 1067673, and in Scotland registration number SC039866. Registered Office: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER. VAT No. 380597914.

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https://www.waterstones.com/book/crippled/frances-ryan/9781788739566

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My current favourite is in the free Future Learn course 'CreatingAudio Description" 

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My current favourite is in the free Future Learn course 'CreatingAudio Description" 

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Why FutureLearn?

Learn anything

Whether you want to develop as a professional or discover a new hobby, there's an online course for that. You can even take your learning further with online programs and degrees.

Learn together

Join millions of people from around the world learning together. Online learning is as easy and natural as chatting with a group of friends.

Learn with experts

Meet educators from top universities and cultural institutions, who'll share their experience through videos, articles, quizzes and discussions.

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Page from Creating Audio Description - Royal Holloway, University of London

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In 2019-20, we launched our flagship Centres for Excellence in SEND offer and by March 2020, over 700 of you had joined the Centres to access support. We're delighted to announce that the Centres for Excellence in SEND will continue in 2020-21.
Centres for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Our three national Centres for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) offer expert support for leaders, managers and practitioners who wish to put learners with SEND at the centre of their organisation.

Corrienne Peasgood, City College Norwich, Mandie Stravino, Derby College and Dr Paul Phillips, Weston College offer free confidential, one-to-one support to leaders who are striving to make their own organisations more inclusive and successful. Managers and practitioners should tap into the support offered by each Centre's communities of practice.
SEND area on the Excellence Gateway
By March 2020, almost 70,000 people had accessed the SEND area on the Excellence Gateway. The SEND area is the one stop shop for all the resources we've produced together or you've told us are useful since the inception of the ETF's offer for Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in 2015. If you haven't already, please do take a look. The site is updated regularly with new resources, news and events and training opportunities.

We are continuing with our Essential SEND Managers and specific needs programmes as inhouse offers and are currently working on developing online versions of these programmes so that you can access learning at your desks.

Further support and free toolkits can be also accessed on Foundation Online Learning, including a self-assessment tool for practitioners and organisations, guidance regarding best practices for supporting dyslexic learners and The Right Place toolkit developed in partnership with Royal Mencap Society to help learners secure the most meaningful work placements. So that you can support your learners to achieve their career aspirations you should check out IAG Skills which brings together into one place the information that career practitioners need to offer support to learners with SEND. The Sources of Support toolkit provides further information on helping SEND learners achieve their aspirations, including information on access to work, traineeships, supported internships, etc.

And don't forget that many of our courses offered via other programmes might benefit you so do keep an eye on our booking system for new dates.
Download the SEND brochure.
If you have any questions or there is something you would like us to offer, please contact Teresa Carroll.

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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Resources

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In 2019-20, we launched our flagship Centres for Excellence in SEND offer and by March 2020, over 700 of you had joined the Centres to access support. We're delighted to announce that the Centres for Excellence in SEND will continue in 2020-21.

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Intersectionality: Kimberlé Crenshaw first used the term "intersectionality" 33 years ago.  In this TEDtalk, she calls on every one of us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

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Intersectionality: Kimberlé Crenshaw first used the term "intersectionality" 33 years ago.  In this TEDtalk, she calls on every one of us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice.

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Get a daily email featuring the latest talk, plus a quick mix of trending content.

By subscribing, you understand and agree that we will store, process and manage your personal information according to our Privacy Policy

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Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality

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For a disabled artists' view of disability and deaf arts culture

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These blogs provide an informative and entertaining insight into how disability and impairment are experienced from a disability perspective.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in these pages are not necessarily those of DAO.

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The blog section of the DAO website provides disabled artists and writers with a space to give our readers an inside view of their art practice, share thoughts and receive comments and feedback. These blogs provide an informative and entertaining insight into how disability and impairment are experienced from a disability perspective.