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The 'Power Rangers' Autistic Superhero Is So Important

March 29, 2017

This article highlights the fact that in the Power Rangers movie, the Blue Ranger is depicted by a teen who is on the autism spectrum. The director notes that this was important to showcase diversity among the characters. Billy who is the blue ranger is an integral part of the team and "without Billy and without the qualities he has, this team would never be victorious" (Bergado, 2017).  It is extremely important for movies to show visibility in terms of disabilities, so that young people can relate and see themselves within the characters. There is starting to be a general push towards including more people with autism on screen, because a lot of people don't see themselves represented in pop culture.

I believe that it is so important for younger people with disabilities to see themselves represented in films, because it helps them build their self-esteem.

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The Power Rangers generated plenty of buzz leading up to its premiere last weekend (March 24). Some were skeptical about the gritty reboot, while others were excited to see an update to the iconic show that was part of so many of our childhoods. Much of the chatter regarding the movie has also been with regard to the diversity of the characters, featuring a racially diverse main cast and an LGBTQ-identified Yellow Ranger played by Becky G - aspects that have long been lacking from big-budget superhero movies.

But another major win for representation in this movie has been the rewriting RJ Cyler's Billy character the Blue Ranger as a teen on the autism spectrum. By including this element of Billy's character, Power Rangers committed to more than the typically discussed forms of diversity (racial, gender, and sexuality), introducing an integral team member who just so happened to be a little different from his peers. Some have also pointed out the intersectionality of Billy's character, who is autistic and black. As Charles Pulliam-Moore notes, portraying a character who's both autistic and a person of color is significant because often in pop culture, people with autism are only depicted as white.

"What was important to us from the very beginning was to make sure this movie felt diverse," movie director Dean Israelite tells Teen Vogue. "Not just diverse in terms of ethnicity, but diverse in terms of representing voices. We wanted to take a character like Billy and celebrate those abilities and manifest in a movie the idea that without Billy and without the qualities he has, this team would never be victorious."

Whether or not someone enjoyed the movie, it's clear that having this sort of visibility is super important and awesome for young people with autism. Considering how common diagnoses are - according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 68 children are on the autism spectrum - it's unfortunate that this community doesn't often get to see itself in popular culture. But thanks to characters like Billy (along with a new addition on Sesame Street), it looks like entertainment is making more of a point of increasing visibility of people with autism on both the big and small screen. Creators are finally realizing that there are a lot of people out there who don't see themselves in the movies and shows they watch, and that it's time they aren't left out.

In the movie, there's a couple of signs that Billy's autistic. For example, Billy's seen perfectly lining up his colored pencils while in a classroom (being particular about the exact order and lining up certain objects is sometimes a signifier). Later on when Billy's doesn't fully comprehend Red Ranger Jason's jesting, sarcastic tone of voice, he just lets his friend know matter-of-factly that he's on the spectrum and that he doesn't get the joke.

Israelite explained that the writers chose to rewrite Billy as autistic because the original character (along with RJ's version) was always very mathematical - a skill that some autistic kids hold because of how their brain organizes information. When John Gatin started to write the script, he and Israelite decided that they shouldn't be vague about Billy's diagnosis.

"We think it's really important that the community at large begins to see some of the strengths that people with autism have," Lisa Goring, head of Family Services at Autism Speaks, tells Teen Vogue, "as well as some of those challenges, and how the community can support them when those challenges arise."

Representing children and young people who have autism with the Blue Power Ranger has already proved to be valuable for those people living it. Co-star Becky G posted an emotional Instagram tribute that gave her brother Alex, who has autism, a shoutout because he was positively impacted by RJ's character. And people who have seen the movie have also posted on social media their feelings about the character. One person wrote, "Blue ranger's portrayal of autism made me bawl. Can't wait to tell my siblings there's a power ranger like them."

https://twitter.com/KayCeeEliz/status/846150546868264960

In the end, it's not just one of the Rangers that can save the day. It takes all of them working together, coming to terms to who they are. and embracing what makes them different to save the world. Of course, having a ginormous Megazord also helps.

"I think why in this superhero movie, part of what this movie is about thematically is kids owning who they are and really celebrating who they are and what they have and who their tribe is," Israelite says. "It's great to represent someone on the spectrum and let character are diagnosed in that way realize that they too can be superheroes metaphorically."

Related: The 'Power Rangers' Cast Wants Another Female Ranger
Check this out:

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Why the 'Power Rangers' Featuring a Superhero with Autism Is SO Important

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The Power Rangers generated plenty of buzz leading up to its premiere last weekend (March 24). Some were skeptical about the gritty reboot, while others were excited to see an update to the iconic show that was part of so many of our childhoods.

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"Everyone in this province has value': Disabled Surrey man challenges party leaders on social media"

May O5, 2017
CBC News

This article talks about a young man," the 21-year-old Surrey man was diagnosed with cerebral palsy quadriplegia shortly after he was born, confining him to a wheelchair and limiting the movement of his limbs. He says If he wanted to move away from his mother, it's unlikely he could survive on the province's current $1,033 per month disability allowance."

21-year-old Nathan Shipley takes to social media at election time to vent his frustration."I've done what I can to get a paying job — however, it's difficult for me to find something that I can do," he pleaded on a video he sent to B.C.'s provincial election candidates."

"Shipley knows he can contribute: he graduated high school with honours, he volunteers and has even worked as a community ambassador." (Hernandez, 2017).

I really believe that the government should focus and implement more aid, programs and services to people with disabilities. They need help more than anyone else and they should be well take care of.

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Nathan Shipley is worried he'll never be able to move away from home.

The 21-year-old Surrey man was diagnosed with cerebral palsy quadriplegia shortly after he was born, confining him to a wheelchair and limiting the movement of his limbs. He says If he wanted to move away from his mother, it's unlikely he could survive on the province's current $1,033 per month disability allowance.

"I've done what I can to get a paying job - however, it's difficult for me to find something that I can do," he pleaded on a video he sent to B.C.'s provincial election candidates.

Shipley knows he can contribute: he graduated high school with honours, he volunteers and has even worked as a community ambassador.

But with little attention paid by all the party leaders during their campaigns to people living with disabilities, he says he fears he, and many others, will never get the chance.

An online plea

B.C.'s monthly disability rate falls below the poverty line. Over the last year, the province has increased the rate twice. Many fought hard for the extra dollars - and were equally disappointed with the end result, amounting to just dollars a day.

"In a perfect world, [we'd] like to see a little bit more funding ... so, its not so you have to fight for every dollar just to live," Shipley told CBC News.

Shipley took to social media in hopes of getting the message out to B.C.'s party leaders.

He put together a short video urging leaders to consider people with disabilities during their campaign and sent it to each party over Facebook. He's not holding his breath for a response - but still hopes it will make a difference.

"I challenge you to think of me, my friends, the families, the people who are struggling or the people who have kids who are waiting months on wait lists for much needed services," he said in his message to the candidates. "Remember, everyone in this province has value. Ask yourself, will your promises truly help all British Columbians?"

Party platforms

According to disability advocate Jane Dyson, Shipley's concerns are well founded.

"I watched the debate ... and the word 'disability' was not mentioned once by any of the parties," said Dyson, director of the Disability Alliance B.C. "We're concerned by the lack of focus on disabilities, from any of the parties."

Each party's commitment to people with disabilities is limited. The B.C. Liberals' platform promises to double the home renovation tax credit to make buildings more accessible for people with disabilities, while highlighting their recent income assistance increases.

Meanwhile, the NDP platform promises to increase rates by an additional $100 and restore the B.C. Bus Program for people living with disabilities.

The B.C. Greens platform promises to increase rates by 10 per cent this fall, with a goal of a 50 per cent increase by 2020.

But Dyson questions what life will be like for people with disabilities following the election.

"The rates absolutely need to be improved ... and frankly, even with the NDP's commitment to $100, it's still not enough for people to live with a bit more dignity and independence in the community."

​With the cost of living in the Lower Mainland well beyond what's affordable for people living on assistance, Dyson says there needs to be greater emphasis on career development.

"Most [people receiving income assistance] would much prefer not to be on benefits and would prefer to be working."

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'Everyone in this province has value': Disabled Surrey man challenges party leaders on social media | CBC News

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Nathan Shipley is worried he'll never be able to move away from home. The 21-year-old Surrey man was diagnosed with cerebral palsy quadriplegia shortly after he was born, confining him to a wheelchair and limiting the movement of his limbs.

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Via Rail changes policy on wheelchairs, mobility aids on trains

May 21,  2017

A “Toronto couple Martin and Marie both use mobility scooters. Via Rail has changed its policy on wheelchairs and other mobility aids to comply with a federal order demanding it makes its trains more accessible to those who use the devices” (McQuigge, 2017a)
This change allows the couple to “travel together, but in the bigger picture, it shows that the rail travel guidelines need to be looked at and expanded to meet capacity” (McQuigge, 2017a).

I didn't realize  that Via Rail didn't have the accommodations for more than one scooters. The new changes will make it much easier for individuals that uses these scooters.

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Via Rail has changed its policy on wheelchairs and other mobility aids to comply with a federal order demanding it make its trains more accessible to those who use the devices.

The national rail provider had been fighting an order from the Canadian Transportation Agency to allow more than one mobility device at a time to be tied down on its trains, and unsuccessfully took the case to court, but decided last week to alter its stance.

Previously, trains featured only one tie-down area for someone travelling in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, and other passengers using such devices were forced to dismantle the aids and store them in the luggage compartment, risking damage to the equipment.

The new policy- which is already in effect but is being reviewed by the CTA - states that trains will still feature one tie-down area but will allow two mobility devices to make use of it if the passengers have the capacity to transfer to a regular seat for the trip.

The change means two passengers travelling in wheelchairs or other mobility devices can take the same train without having to stow their devices in the baggage compartment.

The policy also features a new clause that gives a mobility aid user the right to bump another from a reserved tie-down spot based on the severity of their disability.

A Toronto couple whose complaint to the CTA prompted the policy change called Via's decision a "small victory," but noted there are details that could limit its effectiveness.

Both Marie Murphy, 54, and her husband Martin Anderson, 47, have cerebral palsy and rely on mobility scooters for their day-to-day travel.

They argued the old regulations often prevented them from travelling together, as Via allowed only one of them to use the tie-down area, forcing the other to get on their hands and knees and physically dismantle their scooter so it could be stowed away.

The mobility aids were sometimes entirely covered by suitcases by the time they reached their destination, Murphy said, adding they both saw their scooters damaged over the years.

Guidelines need to be looked at, woman argues

While Via's revisions would address their specific case, Murphy questioned whether the new policy does much to remove broader accessibility barriers.

"It allows Martin and I to travel together in the same spot," she said in an interview. "But in the bigger picture, it shows that the rail travel guidelines need to be looked at and expanded to meet capacity."

Since the tie-down area will only be used for two mobility aids if both users can transfer to a regular train seat, in a case where one can transfer and the other cannot, the one who can transfer must still store their device in the baggage area as before.

Murphy said that detail makes her feel Via is "pitting one disabled population against another," adding she believes the
company is not adhering to the spirit of the CTA order.

When she tried to book a trip to Windsor, Ont., this past week, she found the tie-down spot had already been reserved by a person who did not have the physical capacity to transfer to a regular train seat during the trip. She opted to cancel the trip rather than risk the damage that could be caused to her scooter in the baggage area.

Via says policy can apply to 2 strangers

The policy, as submitted to the CTA, also explicitly states the two-in-one use of a tie-down area is for passengers who are travelling together, but Via spokeswoman Mariam Diaby said it will be applied more broadly.

"It doesn't need to be two people who know each other," she said. "It can be two strangers."

The CTA had ordered Via either to allow for the use of two mobility aids in one tie-down area, or add an additional tie-down area to its trains.

Murphy said she hopes Via will pursue the latter option down the road to make the rail service accessible to more passengers with a physical disability, a demographic set to expand in the coming years as the population ages.

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Via Rail changes policy on wheelchairs, mobility aids on trains

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Via Rail has changed its policy on wheelchairs and other mobility aids to comply with a federal order demanding it make its trains more accessible to those who use the devices.

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Canada’s new accessibility laws should focus on employment, inclusive buildings, transport

May 29,  2017

After “eight months of consultations the people who participated in this consultation wanted to see laws that would lower high unemployment rates for those with disabilities. The minister, Carla Qualtrough, her task will be to craft laws to make Canada more accessible to people with disabilities, says employment will be a key focus” (McQuigge, 2017b).

When the barriers are removed individuals with disabilities can have the access they need to move around and contribute to society.

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Public consultations on Canada's first national law for disabled people have identified high unemployment rates, inaccessible buildings and barriers in transportation as some of the key issues that need to be addressed.

The priorities were laid out in a report, released by the federal government Monday, summarizing eight months of consultations held with Canadians from coast to coast.

It says participants wanted to see laws that would help lower stubbornly high unemployment rates for those with disabilities, reduce the number of buildings inaccessible to those with physical and intellectual disabilities, and remove accessibility barriers for the country's air, rail, ferry and bus transportation systems.

Those consulted also named government program and service delivery, information and communications and procurement of goods and services as key areas of focus.

The report also says Canadians have voiced a strong preference for the government to set up an independent body to oversee compliance with the new laws, which are expected to come before the House of Commons in early 2018.

Minister for Sport and Persons with Disabilities Carla Qualtrough said the consultations have laid the groundwork for her to begin crafting the legislation.

"It's definitely marching orders for me in terms of what Canadians want to see in accessibility legislation," Qualtrough said in an interview. "My goal now is to figure out how we write into law these concepts and these principles and these specific ideas."

The prospective act, which disability rights advocates have been seeking for years, would govern areas that fall under federal jurisdiction, such as banks, telecommunications, and interprovincial transportation.

The report currently estimates one in seven Canadians has some form of disability and projects that number will increase as the population ages.

Those are not confined to visible conditions such as blindness or paralysis, but include mental health disorders, learning disabilities, and episodic ailments such as epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

The sweeping new legislation will attempt to eliminate barriers for this growing demographic, taking an equally broad view of what a barrier entails.

"My definition of 'barrier' is anything that impairs or prevents access, physically or mentally, to any physical movement, learning and/or acceptance by others," the report quotes one contributor as saying. "Ergo, 'accessibility' successfully counters or eliminates the barriers."

The report said 6,000 Canadians participated in the consultations between June 2016 and February 2017. An additional 90 organizations also offered input.

Employment issues were the top priority identified by the report.

Data has long shown that Canadians with disabilities are greatly under-employed compared to their non-disabled counterparts. Two years ago, Statistics Canada released figures putting the employment rate for disabled Canadians at 49 per cent, compared to 79 per cent for the general population.

Qualtrough noted that many smaller issues are also contained within the broad categories highlighted by the report, citing immigration as an example.

Current legislation effectively bars many people with disabilities from securing long-term status in the country, and Qualtrough said the government is looking to make changes. Such efforts, she said, would fall under the umbrella of programs and services.

So could policies such as those in place at Passport Canada, which currently forbid staff from helping a person with a disability complete their forms.

Transportation regulations could help address situations such as one that arose at Via Rail and culminated in a federal agency ruling that the company had to allow more than one mobility device at a time to be tied down on its trains.

Advocates, however, are hoping the government's plans become more concrete as the legislation takes shape.

James Hicks, National Co-ordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said the consultations were more an airing of grievances than a forum for tabling ideas on how to bring about change.

He said the process was important, but hoped the legislation will go beyond aspirational statements.

To that end, the council is joining other community-based groups that will continue soliciting feedback from Canadians. Hicks said the government is paying for the additional feedback and will hopefully put it to good use.

He said one suggestion the government will hear involves forcing provinces to consider disability issues when applying for federal funds.

He said all proposals submitted to cabinet today must include a gender analysis to account for the impact on women, adding he'd like to see the new law require something similar for the disabled.

"Why is there not a disability lens that has to be done on every single request for funding that goes to cabinet?" he said. "That way every department has to look at it and has to say 'this is what we need to do to ensure equal access for people with disabilities."

Qualtrough said the report was firm on one concrete measure - once the law is in place, an independent body must be set up to ensure people are complying with it.

Currently, discrimination complaints come before provincial or federal human rights commissions only after an offence has taken place.

"We shouldn't have to wait until someone's discriminated against to help them," Qualtrough said. "It's not enough. Loud and clear I heard that it's not enough."

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Canada's new accessibility laws should focus on employment, inclusive buildings, transport | Toronto Star

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Public consultations on Canada's first national law for disabled people have identified high unemployment rates, inaccessible buildings and barriers in transportation as some of the key issues that need to be addressed. The priorities were laid out in a report, released by the federal government Monday, summarizing eight months of consultations held with Canadians from coast to coast.

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Ont. residents with disabilities to see major changes in provincial programs

September 1, 2017
The Canadian Press

The article mentions new regulations that could benefit people with disabilities who can now receive higher incomes that will allow them to have a better standard of living.
"Singles receiving ODSP will see their asset limits jump from $5,000 to $40,000, while limits for couples will climb from $7,500 to $50,000."

This is good news for people with disabilities that have low income. They had restricted their chances of a decent life, having to spend a high percentage of their income, special care, services and medicines that are expensive. The possibility of a better income improves the quality of life, not only in the physical aspect but also in the psychological aspect.

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TORONTO - Ontario residents with disabilities are seeing major changes to provincial programs offering financial support and medical coverage.

Effective Friday, the government is loosening some of the stringent rules governing the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW). The two are the primary social support systems for disabled residents, although Ontario Works assists non-disabled residents as well.

One of the most notable changes significantly relaxes the rules concerning how much money recipients are allowed to have as assets or savings before having their benefits clawed back.

Singles receiving ODSP will see their asset limits jump from $5,000 to $40,000, while limits for couples will climb from $7,500 to $50,000.

Individuals using Ontario Works will see those limits quadruple from $2,500 to $10,000, while couples' limits triple from $5,000 to $15,000.

The government is also increasing the limits on how much ODSP or OW recipients can receive in a year as cash gifts.

Among other changes going into effect is a two per cent increase in monthly social assistance benefits for both programs.

Program users and advocates hailed the changes as definite progress for a system they say had long lagged behind the needs of those who relied on it. But they said the changes still fall short of what's needed.

In particular, they cited the small increase to social assistance benefits.

Individuals on ODSP, for instance, receive just $1,151 per month, including a maximum shelter allowance of $489. The total monthly income for couples on ODSP is currently set at $1,688.

Kyle Vose, chair of the ODSP Action Coalition, said the changes that took effect Friday represent a necessary and welcome first step to overhauling the program.

"We are grateful for what we're getting and for the changes that are being made," said Vose, who cited the increase to asset limits and cash gifts as among the most exciting of the changes.

Those were long-standing sore points within the community, he said.

Ron Malis, a financial advisor focusing on people with disabilities, agreed.

With the previous limits, if a social assistance recipient were to receive an inheritance that would put them over those low thresholds, they would have to isolate the money in a registered disability savings plan or other exempt asset in order to keep receiving monthly aid, Malis explained.

Going over the limit, he said, could result in short or long-term suspension of benefits.

If people wanted to access some of those funds for reasons not related to their disability, they would then run afoul of another set of rules - those governing cash gifts and voluntary payments.

Under the old system, both ODSP and OW recipients were barred from receiving any cash gifts greater than $6,000 over a 12-month period. Malis said this would include withdrawals from trusts or other exempted savings vehicles.

The new rules are raising the cash gift limit for both groups to $10,000. But Malis said the change is not in line with the more substantial increases to asset limits.

"You increase the size of the water barrel, but you do not allow people to open the tap much more than is currently possible today," Malis said. "It makes things so complex for people who are struggling."

Still, Malis praised the measures as significant progress, though he argued the Ontario government could have followed the lead of provinces such as British Columbia. Asset limits there were recently raised to $100,000 without limits on cash gifts.

Graeme Dempster, a spokesman from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, said Ontario is looking to B.C.'s approach to see if it's an appropriate blueprint for future changes.

"We do not know yet how that affected clients or if that is the appropriate amount to which the limit should be increased," he said. "This policy change in British Columbia gives us an opportunity to see how results there can inform future changes to ODSP, which we are always looking for ways to improve."

Dempster said the ministry recognizes the need to "fundamentally change social assistance." A reform group is slated to release recommendations on the issue this fall.

At least one group is calling for more drastic improvements than those that went into effect Friday.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty called the two per cent boost to monthly payments "measly" and said it falls well short of what's needed, particularly when contrasted with the roughly $1,900 people with disabilities could expect to receive under Ontario's basic income pilot program.

Other changes taking effect are modest increases for ODSP recipients living in remote communities, relaxed ajudication rules for people re-entering either ODSP or OW, and the addition of batteries and mobility device repairs to the list of items covered under the ODSP health benefits plan.

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Ont. residents with disabilities to see major changes in provincial programs

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TORONTO - Ontario residents with disabilities are seeing major changes to provincial programs offering financial support and medical coverage. Effective Friday, the government is loosening some of the stringent rules governing the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and Ontario Works (OW).

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"For Italians with Disabilities, a Place in the Sun".

September 3, 2017
The New York Times

This is an interesting article in Europe published by New York Times. It talks about an open public swimming pool for people with disabilities located on the beach at Focene, West of Rome. It focuses on accommodating people in wheelchairs. "What the disabled guests tell us is that  here they feel normal, they feel welcome, they don't feel as though they're being observed". (Povoledo, 2017)

I think that this is a great idea that people with disabilities particularly those using wheel chairs are able to enjoy and experience  such activities. I really believe in equality of all.

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Maria Stella Garonne, whose son Alessandro, 36, has multiple sclerosis, said that he had not gone to the beach in years - until they came across La Madonnina last year.

"I can see that he's already happier being here," said Ms. Garonne, gazing lovingly at her son. "It's not easy, but we do everything possible to make his life better."

In theory, all of Italy's beach establishments - around 12,000 according to the Confesercenti business association - are supposed to guarantee accessibility to everyone. It is a precondition of getting a license from the government.

But actual accessibility is far more variable, said Sebastiano Venneri of Legambiente, Italy's largest environmental association.

"There are situations of excellence, but they are episodic and the overall situation is deficient," he said. Many establishments offer generic accommodations like washrooms for people with limited mobility, but "access to the sea" is the real issue, he said.

SWITZ.

"It's typical of our country, which doesn't pay much attention to disability issues," he said. "There's a general indifference - it's enough to walk around cities to see that. Why should beaches be an exception?"

Bruno Galvani of Anmil, Italy's largest association for people with disabilities, said Italy is "very progressive from a legislative standpoint, but it's difficult to ensure that these laws are applied."

Mr. Galvani, a paraplegic since a work accident 36 years ago, added: "It's not just about going to the beach. These are policies that touch on equality, human rights and integration."

Fondazione Cesare Serono, a private foundation focused on health issues, has been mapping accessible beaches in Italy. Last year, it published results online for the Lazio region - it found five, including La Madonnina - and this year it has been looking at Tuscany.

Access to water has been made easier by special chairs called JOBs, shorthand for "J'amme 'o bagno" or "Let's go swimming," in the Neapolitan dialect of the Italian company that makes a popular brand here. Beaches are supposed to provide such chairs, but those accommodations and others, like ramps, are often missing.

And there's the bigger question of mentality.

"Many beaches have the right kind of bathroom and a JOB chair, but disabled people - not just paraplegics but also older people who can't walk well - are seen as a nuisance, an additional obligation that will bother the other guests," said Marco Marcotulli, who has been visiting beaches for Fondazione Cesare Serono.

"There isn't willingness to accept someone who is different," he said. "In summer, many people want to go on holiday and shut off their brains. They don't want to see a disabled person who makes them face a reality that they don't want to see."

To be included in the foundation's list, lidos have to be "inclusive, not just accessible, without barriers of any kind," said Simon Basten, who oversees the project. "One JOB chair does not make a lido accessible - there's a lot of stretching of what the reality is."

La Madonnina strives to be inclusive. At first, Father Consolaro said, it was criticized by some for creating a "ghetto for the disabled." But everyone, he said, is welcome.

At La Madonnina, plastic and wooden ramps crisscross the sand to reach rows of umbrellas, many equipped with platforms for wheelchairs. The ramps also lead just short of the water's edge, where wheelchairs are swapped for JOBs, whose oversized wheels easily master the sand.

Running a seaside resort when it isn't your primary line of business is daunting, said Father Consolaro, who relies on volunteers and donations of things like wooden beams and beach chairs. "It's an enormous amount of work because the winter destroys everything, and every April we have to restart."

Last winter, water damaged many of the plastic ramps, and part of the spring was spent building what he hopes will be more permanent wooden ramps.

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For Italians With Disabilities, a Place in the Sun

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Maria Stella Garonne, whose son Alessandro, 36, has multiple sclerosis, said that he had not gone to the beach in years - until they came across La Madonnina last year. "I can see that he's already happier being here," said Ms. Garonne, gazing lovingly at her son.

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"UK slammed for media portrayal of people with disabilities".

September 19, 2017
CNA/EWTN News

This article points out  about the  United Nations committee addressing the rights of disabled people has rebuked the U.K. for how people with disabilities are portrayed by the government and seen in the media, with one expert expressing concern for attitudes which may lead to euthanasia.

“Disabled people being portrayed as parasites, living on social benefits, and welfare and the taxes of other people” is dangerous, Theresia Degener told BBC in an unpublished interview, according to Disability News Service.

This attitude “will later on lead to violence against disabled people … if not to killings and euthanasia,” said Degener, who chairs the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). As part of an economic plan to recover from the 2008 recession, the UK began a social security reform in 2010, intended to achieve financial sustainability and curb abuse of the welfare system.

This article reflects about the role perceptions of people with disability. The way they are looked down as "burden of charity", etc.
I hope that soon the government would focus to the needs of people with disabilities more, and educate the community about their perceptions to the individuals with disabilities.
I think and hope that humanity should be implemented and  prioritized

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.- A United Nations committee addressing the rights of disabled people has rebuked the U.K. for how people with disabilities are portrayed by the government and seen in the media, with one expert expressing concern for attitudes which may lead to euthanasia.

"Disabled people being portrayed as parasites, living on social benefits, and welfare and the taxes of other people" is dangerous, Theresia Degener told BBC in an unpublished interview, according to Disability News Service.

This attitude "will later on lead to violence against disabled people ... if not to killings and euthanasia," said Degener, who chairs the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). As part of an economic plan to recover from the 2008 recession, the UK began a social security reform in 2010, intended to achieve financial sustainability and curb abuse of the welfare system.

In a report delivered last year, the UNCRPD expressed concern that the steps taken to restrict abuse of the system were affecting 26,000 people who were eligible for disability allowances.

Among many other issues, the UNCRPD stated that the reform has negatively impacted poorer neighborhoods, reduced disability services, and increased negative stereotyping.

However, a spokesperson for government disagreed with the report and explained that the UK currently spends over $67 billion a year on disabled people - the second highest in the G7. She noted that the report didn't effectively see the progress made by the country.

In a 2012 survey, Disability Rights U.K. found that three quarters of the disabled people included in the study had recently seen news media which depicted disabled people negatively. Nearly half of the people in the survey attributed responsibility for negative perceptions about disabled people to the U.K. government.

"Although we would never as a human rights treaty body favor censorship, we think that media and the government have some responsibility in this regard," Degener said.

Disability News Service referenced headlines such as "75 per cent of incapacity claimants are fit to work" and "Disabled benefit? Just fill in a form," which do not adequately represent a majority of disabled people. Last month, the UNCRPD gathered to discuss the standards for the dignity of the disabled person in society, and Degener specifically emphasized education inclusion and work discrimination.

"I would like to ask the UK government, please explain why in 2015-16 80% of children with disability were without a statement of special education needs within the required 26-week period prescribed by law."

In June 2016, Pope Francis called for greater social support and inclusion of disabled people, calling discrimination against the disabled "one of the ugliest things" we can do.

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UK slammed for media portrayal of people with disabilities

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A United Nations committee addressing the rights of disabled people has rebuked the U.K. for how people with disabilities are portrayed by the government and seen in the media, with one expert expressing concern for attitudes which may lead to euthanasia.

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Thousands share their invisible disabilities on Twitter

October 25, 2017

This article talks about how social media has created more awareness surrounding people living with hidden disabilities. A lot of the time people with disabilities that cannot be seen are often judged. The author highlights that many of them have to deal with the frustration and false perceptions that arise from people's attitudes towards their condition. A hashtag titled #InvisibleDisabilitiesWeek was started by Annie Segarra to raise awareness of hidden conditions. The hashtag was used by thousands of people around the world in order to share their own photos and experiences.

I think social media is proving to be a powerful tool to raise more awareness to people who lack the knowledge and understanding of hidden disabilities

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Using the hashtag #InvisiblyDisabledLooksLike, Twitter users across the world with hidden disabilities have been sharing pictures and stories to challenge society's perceptions.

Many people live with hidden disabilities - a physical, mental, sensory or neurological condition which don't have physical signs but are painful, exhausting and isolating.

They must also deal with the frustration, misunderstandings and false perceptions arising from the unseen nature of their conditions.

A billion people around the world live with some kind of disability according to the World Health Organization, and one US survey found 74% of those with disabilities do not use a wheelchair or anything which might visually signal their disability.

Image Copyright @annieelainey @annieelainey Report

Image Copyright @annieelainey @annieelaineyReport

The hashtag, started on Monday by Florida-based activist Annie Segarra, is part of Invisible Disabilities Week, which took place last week, to raise the awareness of hidden conditions.

So far, the term has been tweeted more than 3,000 times, peaking on Wednesday morning and used by deaf actor and model Nyle DiMarco.

The hashtag prompted many people to share their selfies and experiences.

Image Copyright @abby__sams @abby__sams Report

Image Copyright @abby__sams @abby__samsReport

Image Copyright @buckybits @buckybits Report

Image Copyright @buckybits @buckybitsReport

Image Copyright @fliktony @fliktony Report

Image Copyright @fliktony @fliktonyReport

Dani Barley, from Sydney, Australia, told the BBC she "can walk around a bit," but uses a wheelchair to help others be "comfortable with the idea of me as a younger person being disabled.

"If I tried to self identify as disabled due to mental health and chronic pain issues, people would minimise it, saying, 'Oh, I don't see you as disabled,' as if it were some kind of self-slur rather than a valid identity.

"Now, as a mum and university student, people assume the only access issues I have are stairs, not course content, weather, timing of classes, etc., related to PTSD and chronic pain.

"And the reason I love these hashtags, and have started to participate in them, is they are so educational for those of us inside and outside of the disability rights community."
You may also like:

Meet the mum tackling depression one photo at a time

From Baghdad to the bar: A blind refugee's journey

Hairdressers refuse to shave depressed teen's matted hair

Meanwhile, Mark Falconer shared his story of having an invisible disability and his experience of how others have seen him.

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_Falconer Report

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_FalconerReport

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_Falconer Report

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_FalconerReport

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_Falconer Report

Image Copyright @Mark_Falconer @Mark_FalconerReport

Danielle, studying in Cambridge, UK, has a combination of myalgic encephalopathy (ME), fibromyalgia, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, and tweeted she was "terrified of using a walking aid, asking for priority seats," and being "judged."

"My disabilities mean that some days I can attend lectures, and be functional," she told the BBC. "Others, I am bed bound, unable to shower, make meals, and am consistently being physically sick from pain.

"The only support I've had is cognitive behavioural therapy, which obviously is not helpful for pain, just for learning to live with the disabilities. It is frustrating, because I know that there is incredible research going on in private medicine and treatments that could possibly change my life, but I can't access them. All I am offered is more and more painkillers; tramadol and codeine, gabapentin - at my worst, I was on upwards of 20 tablets a day.

"I decided to be open on twitter because I have a moderately large following. ME is such a stigmatised and misunderstood illness - even with professionals.

"I want to use my platform to the best of my abilities, especially as I am very aware many have it much worse than me."

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Using the hashtag #InvisiblyDisabledLooksLike, Twitter users across the world with hidden disabilities have been sharing pictures and stories to challenge society's perceptions. Many people live with hidden disabilities - a physical, mental, sensory or neurological condition which don't have physical signs but are painful, exhausting and isolating.

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Judge Denies 'Naive' Nova Scotia Mother With Mild Intellectual Disability Custody Of Baby

November 3, 2017

“A mother with a mild intellectual disability has lost custody of her 18-month-old son after a Nova Scotia judge found she does not have the capacity to parent the child. The 40-year-old mother opposed the order, arguing that she sincerely loves her son and that her mild intellectual disability is not a risk to his safety” (The Canadian Press, 2018).

I felt really sad for this mother who had her child taken away from her due to her disability.

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SYDNEY, N.S. - A mother with a mild intellectual disability has lost custody of her 18-month-old son after a Nova Scotia judge found she does not have the capacity to parent the child.

Nova Scotia's Community Services Department has been caring for the boy since shortly after his birth, and earlier this year sought a permanent care order because of protection concerns.

The 40-year-old mother opposed the order, arguing that she sincerely loves her son and that her mild intellectual disability is not a risk to his safety.

"The mother's limitations ... will continually cause parenting deficits that will place the son at a substantial risk of physical harm. Justice Theresa Forgeron of Nova Scotia Supreme Court

In a written decision, Justice Theresa Forgeron of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Sydney found the child would be at a "substantial risk of harm" in his mother's care because she cannot adequately supervise and protect him.

Forgeron said a parental capacity assessment found the mother's mild intellectual disability impairs her parenting abilities, and although she would meet her son's basic needs, she would have difficulty solving the "novel" problems that will inevitably arise as the child matures.

"I infer that the mother's limitations with cognitive functioning will continually cause parenting deficits that will place the son at a substantial risk of physical harm," the Oct. 23 written decision said.

Father has history of violence

The decision said the woman lacked insight, noting the child's father has an extensive child protection history involving substance abuse and violence and that the mother had previously refused to dissociate with him.

"The mother does not truly appreciate the risks associated with a dysfunctional and abusive relationship. The mother's recent vow to sever all ties with the son's father rings hollow," it said, adding that the woman also has a 22-year-old son with ongoing addiction issues and a 15-year-old daughter who lives with her father.

The automatic assumption of the system is that they couldn't possibly be an appropriate parent. People with an intellectual disability are human beings. Krista Carr, executive vice-president of the Canadian Association for Community Living

Krista Carr, executive vice-president of the Canadian Association for Community Living, said she could not comment on the case specifically, but said the system has traditionally discriminated against people with intellectual disabilities.

"The automatic assumption of the system is that they couldn't possibly be an appropriate parent. People with an intellectual disability are human beings, the same as everyone else, and they have the right to be parents," said Carr in an interview.

Ruth Strubank, executive director of the Nova Scotia Association for Community Living, said more supports are needed for parents with intellectual disabilities - such as home visits with health care workers - rather than discounting them as parents altogether.

"That requires a level (of) education and training for social workers and others," said Strubank.

Ruth Strubank/LinkedIn

Carr agreed, saying that supports are provided to parents with issues such as addiction so that children can stay in the home, but people with intellectual disabilities are often not helped in the same way.

"It's about recognizing the individual's right to be a parent and providing the support that's necessary to ensure that they get the support they need to be a good parent. There's no evidence to prove that a person with an intellectual disability can't be a parent."

The mother is a naive and vulnerable person ... Her friendships are often conflictual and at times abusive. Justice Theresa Forgeron of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court

The judge noted the mother allowed a young homeless person that she had just met to stay overnight in her home, and later realized that person was stealing. Forgeron said the mother does not appreciate the risks associated with her older son's addiction issues, and "makes poor choices in friends."

"The mother is a naive and vulnerable person ... Her friendships are often conflictual and at times abusive," it said, noting she told a doctor she was seriously assaulted once by two friends.

It also said the woman does not have the capacity to parent on her own, and would require a supportive network to safely parent the child, which she does not have. It said the mother argued the maternal grandmother would help care for the child, but the court said the 78-year-old woman could not offer the required support.

Mother also denied ongoing visits

"The maternal grandmother does not appreciate the extent of the mother's challenges, often brushing off concerns that were raised by counsel. (She) stated that she would be there to babysit and occasionally direct, but would otherwise allow the mother to parent the son," it said.

"Second, the maternal grandmother has her own limitations arising from age and health concerns.''

Forgeron also denied the woman ongoing visits, saying that "access would impede adoption and permanency planning.''

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Judge Calls Mom With Intellectual Disability 'Naive,' Denies Her Custody

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SYDNEY, N.S. - A mother with a mild intellectual disability has lost custody of her 18-month-old son after a Nova Scotia judge found she does not have the capacity to parent the child. Nova Scotia's Community Services Department has been caring for the boy since shortly after his birth, and earlier this year sought a permanent care order because of protection concerns.

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WHY JUSTICE LEAGUE'S CYBORG IS SO IMPORTANT TO DISABLED FANS

November 14, 2017

This article talks about the portrayal of Justice League's Cyborg. He is portrayed as a person of colour who happens to have a disability that is visible. Cyborg helps to shed light into underrepresented groups of people who are otherwise overlooked within society. What sets Cyborg apart from other characters is that he was not born with a disability, and so the author describes that he is
"constantly forced to choose between who he was before and after transforming" (Langley, 2017). He is considered dangerous by society because of his artificial limb, which the author notes that many people with disabilities can relate to.

This article was very interesting because it focused on some real issues that people with disabilities would be able to understand. Especially for those who sustained an injury later on in life, which caused their disability. They may not be able to come to terms with their new life, which is something that Cyborg is going through.

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Comics and related media have a long and complicated history with the portrayal of disability. The most positive and well-known example is, of course, Marvel's Daredevil; but for every Matt Murdoch there is a Hector Hammond or Dr. Poison. Then there are the missed opportunities such as Legion and Hawkeye, whose respective disabilities have either been lumped under an ill-defined umbrella of mental illness or ignored altogether, respectively.

Victor 'Cyborg' Stone is, despite what the forums might say, a very important character. He might not be John Stewart or Vixen or even the Martian Manhunter. But Cyborg is a hero of color whose condition is visible, two things that many disabled characters in comics will never experience. He has more than earned his place in the Justice League through a combination of innate heroism and giving a voice to severely underrepresented groups, especially people who are coming to terms with a new diagnoses.

What sets Cyborg apart from many disabled characters is that he is constantly forced to choose between who he was before and after transforming. Is he a man or machine? Unlike Daredevil or Professor Xavier, he is not given the opportunity to simply incorporate his condition into his identity. His artificial half is seen as something dangerous. Something a reader with a disability can very easily relate to -- ableism is deeply entrenched in our society, and we are bombarded with messages every day, some well-intentioned, some not, to be more human. To be normal.

Interestingly enough, Cyborg's attempts to pass as "normal" often end in failure. Prior to the New 52 relaunch of the DC comics line, Cyborg was given an organic body through the efforts of Nightwing and alien Omegadrome powers, but a battle with the Thinker left him back in his silver form. A variant on the Omegadrome abilities have returned in the current Rebirth run, with Cyborg being able to shift between human and machine with the aid of motherbox technology and basically all his processing power. However, this new power relies heavily on his emotional state-if he becomes agitated and loses focus, he quickly reverts to his cybernetic self.

While this could be seen as yet another example of ableism in comics-the message being that no matter how hard you try to be part of the world, you will always fail -- a part of what makes Cyborg such a great character is that he never stops trying. Speaking from the perspective of someone with autism, it is very hard to keep a disability in check when you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Heroes like Daredevil fight through sensory overload and resume punching Bullseye as though nothing happened. Cyborg, meanwhile, with his overt "otherness" suffers actual consequences for losing focus. Cyborg questions what all this says about him, whether he is weak or a monster, and if he will ever be capable of fitting in. And while he may suffer setbacks, while he might over think and feel insecure, Cyborg battles through and slowly carves an identity that incorporates all aspects of himself.

Being part of this journey is incredibly important for disabled readers, because this is our journey. Too often disabled characters are "ready-made"; they've had the years of self-doubt and self-identification off-panel and off-screen. Cyborg is going through it as we go through it. We can truly feel represented.

We can feel represented even if, like Cyborg, we don't necessarily identify ourselves as disabled. In researching this article, I came across conflicting viewpoints. Some people choose not to let their disability affect their view of themselves; some feel it has changed how they see themselves due to the amount of support they need in their daily lives. And there are disabled people who spend their lives invalidating their conditions because their conditions can't be seen.

Cyborg provides an anchor to people who might be unsure about their status by finding a home in the Detroit disabled veterans community. He might not explicitly consider himself disabled, but he still finds kindred spirits in the disabled community. This is a very important message; the idea that no matter your situation or how you view yourself, there are always going to be people willing to help. You are not alone. No matter how isolated your disability might make you.

The character has come a long way since his introduction in 1980. He was the cool big brother of the Teen Titans; he was a mentor to young heroes and ally to the Flash; he became an alien battle mech and got better; he was one of the stars of the Teen Titans animated series. Now he's in the Justice League and showing us that we are not defective or broken. We are different.

Plus his arm is a sonic cannon. What more could you want?
The following people helped in the creation of this article. Thanks to all of them. Please follow: Lydia Rivers (@planet_bork), James Cole (@jcole00), Erin Hawley (@geekygimp)

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Why Justice League's Cyborg is so important to disabled fans

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Comics and related media have a long and complicated history with the portrayal of disability. The most positive and well-known example is, of course, Marvel's Daredevil; but for every Matt Murdoch there is a Hector Hammond or Dr. Poison.

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" You're not DISABLED! You're just an obese lazy cow abusing handicap parking..."

November 16, 2017
CBC News
This article talks about a "stranger left an angry note on the windshield of a woman's car
accusing her of being lazy and not really having a disability to use an accessible parking spot."

It is a  disgraceful  behaviour to accuse and treat someone with disability.We have to be considerate  and not judge them. It is very saddening that a lot of people lack compassion and  knowledge about people with hidden disabilities.

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A Vernon, B.C., woman is reminding others to be considerate of those with disabilities after someone left a hateful note on the windshield of her mother's car that was parked in an accessible parking spot.

Bailey MacDonald said her mother Medea Gunnip lives with fibromyalgia and chronic pain following a car accident.

On Oct. 29, Gunnip was parked outside of the Walmart Vernon Supercentre with a properly displayed accessible parking permit when she found the note.

She handed the paper to MacDonald and jokingly referred to it as a "love note."

You can see the full note below:

Outraged, MacDonald took to social media, posting an image of the note and a plea to the public in defence of her mother and others like her with disabilities.

'My first reaction was definitely to be angry'

"My first reaction was definitely to be angry. It was only in stepping back that I calmed down and really decided that I needed to think about this in a different way," MacDonald told CBC in an interview.

"Anytime that something like this happens, we have the opportunity to really address the issue in a positive light."

In her Facebook post, MacDonald gave the author of the note the benefit of the doubt saying, "I imagine you rationalized that you were doing a noble thing. That you were advocating for people with 'real disabilities."

She then pointed out that many chronic illnesses are invisible and urged the author to be more considerate going forward.

"That note could've done a lot of damage to somebody, and I'm so lucky that my mom is so brave and was able to shake it off the way that she did," said MacDonald.

Her Facebook post has since received hundreds of likes and positive comments.

'You can't just assume'

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities says such accusations of people abusing the accessible system happen "from-time-to-time," though most instances are not reported.

"You can't just assume that someone is abusing the system or not," said Bob Brown, chair of the council's transportation committee.

"If somebody has gone through the trouble of getting a bona fide disabled parking permit ... they're entitled to it."

Brown said there are more drivers with heart conditions who have accessible permits than there are drivers who use walkers or wheelchairs.

He also said if a bystander is convinced a driver is breaking the law, they should record the licence plate number and report it to local authorities rather than confronting them directly.
With files from CBC's Radio West.

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Nasty note on Vernon, B.C., windshield accuses woman of abusing accessible parking

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A Vernon, B.C., woman is reminding others to be considerate of those with disabilities after someone left a hateful note on the windshield of her mother's car that was parked in an accessible parking spot. Bailey MacDonald said her mother Medea Gunnip lives with fibromyalgia and chronic pain following a car accident.

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How a cup of coffee becomes a 'human rights movement'

December 17, 2017

This article talks about a Woman named Amy Wright who opened up a coffee business which employs about 40 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was inspired by her own children Beau and Bitty who have Down Syndrome. Wright states that the coffee shops has created an opportunity for the community to interact and get to know the staff working at the shop. Wright believes that the coffee shop has given its staff a chance to feel respected and valued members of society.

I really enjoyed reading this article because the mother was trying to provide an opportunity for people with disabilities to thrive in society. She not only was helping them feel valued and respected but the community also benefits from learning more about how to be accommodating and accepting.

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At the heart of the shop's popularity is its unique staff: Almost everyone who works there has an intellectual or developmental disability, ranging from Down syndrome to autism to cerebral palsy. For many employees, it's their first job, and their joy fills the air.

It's the vision of Wilmington resident Amy Wright, inspired by two of her four children -- Beau and Bitty, who have Down syndrome.

When Wright and her husband discovered that nearly 70% of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not have jobs, they resolved to do something about it.

"It hit me like a lightning bolt: a coffee shop!" Wright said. "I realized it would be the perfect environment for bringing people together. Seeing the staff taking orders, serving coffee -- they'd realize how capable they are."

The shop opened in January 2016 and immediately had lines out the door. National press attention followed, and six months later, it had to move to a larger space.

Today, the Wilmington store employs 40 people with disabilities, as well as two managers who have degrees in special education. The team works like a well-oiled machine.

"Our wait time is no longer than any of our competitors," Wright said. "They've all gotten really good at their jobs and step up if somebody else needs help."

All the profits from the coffee shop go to Wright's nonprofit, Able to Work USA. But she's most proud of the bridges it's built in the community.

"Creating this has given people a way to interact with people with disabilities that (they) never had before," she said. "This is a safe place where people can test the waters and realize how much more alike we are than different. And that's what it's all about."

CNN's Kathleen Toner spoke with Wright about her work. Below is an edited version of their conversation.

CNN: The coffee shop wasn't your first effort. What else have you done to help people with disabilities?

Amy Wright: When Beau was born, we were thrust into the world of special needs. So, we've been trying to advocate in different ways since then, and that intensified after (we had) Bitty. But it's so hard to get people to change their perceptions. It felt like we were swimming upstream. People are scared of what they don't know, so that's why we've decided to live out loud and to show people what our lives are like.

With employment, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities aren't valued the way typically-developed people are. So, Ben hired a few people (with disabilities) at his office and then I started a nonprofit to help (them) find employment. But I had hundreds of people who wanted jobs and could barely find an employer who would even give one of them an interview. Yet, what I have seen is when you just give them a chance, they can do anything you ask them to do.

CNN: How much do these jobs mean to your employees?

Wright: Having a workplace that makes you feel proud of yourself and gives you a sense of community is something we all want. For our employees, I feel like it's the first time they've had that. We figured out what their skill set was and we plugged them in. They're proud to be employed by Bitty and Beau's Coffee, and they will shout it from the rooftops. It's given them purpose and a sense of being valued in ways that we take for granted.

We always say, it's more than a cup of coffee. It's a human rights movement; the coffee shop is just a vehicle for making that happen. It's given our employees the respect that they deserve.

CNN: How do customers respond?

Wright: Every single day, people say, "You made my day. Thank you." There's something so pure about our team. They genuinely are happy that you're there, and they make you feel that way. That's a feeling most people don't get anywhere that they go, and I think it's what draws people back.

We have become a destination. We have a map up on the wall where people can pinpoint where they've come from. We started with a national map, and we have people that have pinpointed all around the border because they've come from outside the country.

CNN: What's your next step?

Wright: Right now, people come to Bitty and Beau's Coffee because they know what we're doing and they want to experience it. We want to take that to a place where people don't know what they're about to step into, which is why we're opening a second location in Charleston, South Carolina. We are hoping to employ 20 more people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

By opening another shop in a real high-tourist area, people (will) think they're going to get a cup of coffee, and they're going to get so much more. It's taking our mission to another level, and we feel like that's when we're really going to start changing hearts and minds.

Want to get involved? Check out the Bitty & Beau's Coffee website and see how to help.
To donate to Bitty and Beau's Coffee click the CrowdRise widget below.

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coffee shop brews opportunity for people with disabilities - cnn

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Brewing opportunity for people with disabilities

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At the heart of the shop's popularity is its unique staff: Almost everyone who works there has an intellectual or developmental disability, ranging from Down syndrome to autism to cerebral palsy. For many employees, it's their first job, and their joy fills the air.

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People accept that I’m gay, but not that I’m disabled

January 13, 2018

This article looks into the experience of Jessica Kellgreen-Fozard who is a  Youtuber with quite a few subscribers. Jessica highlights the daily struggle that she endures with people who often disregard her disability because it is not visible. She explains that people are more accepting of her being a lesbian then of her having a disability.  They often confront her for using the accessible toilets in public or yell at her for bumping into them if they happen to be on her blind side. Jessica talks about society's misconceptions about disability and dating. Too often she explains that people would often say to her wife that "she is a saint for marrying me or that she must be such a good person" (McFadden, 2018). As if Jessica is a constant burden on the relationship. This article really brings to light society's lack of acceptance towards people with disabilities.

I thought it's really unfortunate that people are less accepting of individuals with hidden disabilities. Just because it is not visible does not mean that the person should be treated differently.

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I am not sure that I had a true moment of realisation when it comes to being gay; it is just something I have always been.

I assumed that what I felt for certain girls was just what every other girl felt for her special friends ... and didn't we all want to marry Pocahontas? My parents teased me mildly about having "intense" friendships with a different girl every few months, but they are incredibly liberal and have enough gay people in their lives that it never felt that special when I hit my early teens and started wanting to kiss girls.

I don't think my family expected me to be one way or the other, so being an out lesbian was probably the least interesting part of my teenage years.

Being aware of my disabilities was also gradual - I had a lot of problems with my hearing as a baby, including my eardrums bursting on a number of occasions. After a few operations on my ears and eardrums, I was able to hear relatively well from the ages of five to 15 - so the songs I know best are, sadly, very late-90s/early 00s - although adults often complained that I was "dreamy" and "not listening" when I realise now I just couldn't hear them. I started to lose my hearing again at 16, but didn't realise it until I began university three years later.

It seems funny to think that I didn't realise, but I was struggling with a lot of other health problems at the time and as I spent most of my time in bed - either at home or in hospital - the only thing that noticeably changed was the volume at which I watched TV.

When I finally managed to make it to university and started interacting with people who were not my immediate family, it was painfully obvious that I couldn't hear what they were saying and that, when it came to conversation, I had pretty much been operating on guesswork for quite a while.

I am not profoundly deaf and, obviously, can hear more with my hearing aids in, although they only make things louder, not clearer. I can't hear any high-pitched sounds and, with my hearing aids in, I only properly catch one word in three.

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with hereditary neuropathy with liability to pressure palsies ( HNPP), which results in extreme palsy in my arms as well as patches of skin being numb, difficulty gripping things, weakness in limbs and severe fatigue. I also have mixed connective tissue disorder (MCTD), an autoimmune disease in which the body's defence system attacks itself. MCTD causes chronic joint pain, muscle inflammation, hypermobility and pulmonary hypertension alongside a long list of other symptoms.

My disabilities can hamper everything I do, but they are often invisible, although I don't think the days I have to use a wheelchair or wrist splints make them visible - they are just my aids.

I often have to explain myself when strangers think I am just being difficult. I get scoffed at in the street when I don't hear someone behind me or I walk into them because they are on myblind slide. I have been called out loudly by non-disabled people for using disabled toilets or parking spaces, challenged for being a picky eater when I cannot eat an ingredient in their food and yelled at for being inconsiderate. It doesn't matter when I explain that I am not just dozy or silly, but have a disability, because they have already worked themselves up into a self-righteous rage and nothing I can say will stop that.

It also hurts to have to explain painful, long and complicated reasons behind injuries when people expect a light-hearted story. "What happened to your hand? Accident while out on the town?"

"No." Deep breath ... "I have a disability that affects my nerves and ..." Although, to be honest, often I just lie.

When someone confronts you, asking what right you have to use a disabled toilet or why you were so stupid you didn't hear them asking you to get out of the way, your only options are to stand there and let them yell at you (plus points of being deaf: turn your hearing aids off and you only have to see the yelling) or you attempt to explain that you are disabled, which can be a pretty personal thing to share with a mean stranger who might not believe you anyway.

I understand that I look fine, but when most of the difficulties in my life come from the very fact that I look fine while actually needing help, that is not really a bonus.

Telling someone I am gay is instantly accepted, no questions asked, generally with a smile. Telling someone I am disabled comes with, "No, really? You don't look it", and a scrutinising look. Nobody has ever accused every single gay person of "scrounging off the state", but people have openly said that about disabled people, in front of me.

I definitely feel that there is a desexualisation of disabled people. When I was still dating, I could see the moment in my date's eyes when I explained my condition and suddenly stopped being an interesting potential prospect. I think disabled people are not just taboo when it comes to sex, but also dating, relationships and life in general. My wife is often told that she is a saint for marrying me or that she must be such a good person - as if I am a terrible burden and not the woman she loves. Businesses, the media and politicians need to start seeing disabled people for what we are: useful members of society who have something to bring to others.

I have always been an out-there dresser. I have probably toned it down now - I am less eccentric than I was. It has always felt important to spend time on my style because it is one thing about my body that I can control.

I believe in soft activism rather than shoving a message in people's faces and telling them they should change their opinion. I think it is better to subtly insert small changes into our everyday lives, such as having more disabled characters featured in the media - and in instances where being disabled is not the main story. We should have more disabled MPs, because although almost one in five people in the UK are disabled, we are underrepresented, especially since the Conservatives shut down the access to the elected office fund, which helped people with disabilites to go into political jobs.

I missed most of my teenage milestones because I was either in hospital or lying in the dark. I was too ill to open my eyes, to sit up or to eat, and I was made to feel like a burden, as if my presence was a hindrance to other people's lives.

I was never a problem to my parents or brother, but they would be told, "How good you are to look after her" while I was in the room. But there were some amazing people who stepped into my lonely space, took my hand and helped me through those rough years. They didn't mind helping out physically or spending time making me laugh and always let me know it was no big deal. I was never a burden to them.

I am so much better than I was but I still need help and I know the best way to repay that help is to live the best life I can - to be brave, to be bright, to be happy. I am proud of everything I have achieved and where I am now.
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People accept that I'm gay, but not that I'm disabled

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I am not sure that I had a true moment of realisation when it comes to being gay; it is just something I have always been. I assumed that what I felt for certain girls was just what every other girl felt for her special friends ...

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Ontario homes for disabled ‘in real trouble’ because of minimum wage hike

January 19, 2018
THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The article mentions that the new regulations for increasing the minimum wage have damaged the functioning of homes for people with disabilities. Apparently, the budget of these households is difficult to pay for operating expenses, which means that they have to lay off staff in order to increase the salaries of the remaining personnel.

I consider that the previous minimum wage was very low and that it was not enough to cover the basic needs of the families. I also understand that for small employers it is difficult to maintain the same number of employees that they had previously

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The recent spike in Ontario's minimum wage is creating financial hardship for cash-strapped private care homes for people with special needs, some of which face closing without immediate government assistance.

"This has been devastating to our industry," Connie Evans, president of the Ontario Homes for Special Needs Association ( OHSNA) says of the impact of the 21-per-cent increase in the minimum wage, to $14 from $11.60, which took effect on Jan. 1. Ontario is set to increase the minimum wage another 7 per cent to $15 in 2019.

"We are already operating close to the bottom line ... and that was before this increase in minimum wage," says Ms. Evans, who also owns the Queenview Residential Home for Special Care in Queensville, Ont., about 60 kilometres north of Toronto. "I don't know how they expect us to do it ... How can we provide the same care to our clients when our expenses will be more than 30 per cent higher?"

Ms. Evans says care homes, which house people with physical and mental-health problems, have a unique business model with fees and staffing levels fixed and mandated by government. These for-profit companies receive a government per diem, but Ms. Evans says those rates have for years lagged behind the increase in service costs, even before the recent hike in minimum wage. She says a handful of homes across the province have closed in recent years as a result.

The industry is calling on the government to at least increase the per diem it pays operators to reflect the increased cost of the minimum wage.

"If the government does not increase our per diem, I have no doubt we will see more home closures and vulnerable people will lose their housing," Ms. Evans says. "We depend on this government to recognize that, when they bring in changes like this, they have to follow up and give us enough to cover these increased costs, which to date they have not."

For precedence, she points to the Ontario government's decision to give licensed child-care centres $12.7-million to help cover the higher labour costs. The government has earmarked an extra $24.3 million for Indigenous and community agencies, as well as for individuals and their families to fund services for adults with developmental disabilities. The Canadian Press reported on Wednesday that Premier Kathleen Wynne is looking across government at other sectors that receive public funding to see if more needs to be done.

Ms. Evans says she has been reaching out to officials in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, asking for some financial relief in light of the minimum-wage increase. On Wednesday, she received an e-mail back from the department with no response to the request. Instead, the department pointed to a 6-per-cent increase in the per diem provided for the 2017-18 fiscal year and the recent reduction in the small-business corporate income tax rate from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, effective Jan. 1. A ministry spokesperson also told The Globe it "will continue to review funding levels for the 2018-19 funding year."

Ms. Evans says the 6-per-cent increase was announced before the minimum-wage hike and comes after years of no increase. "And the tax savings does not help if you have very little profit," Ms. Evans says.

It's not just the sudden wage increase that is hurting the private home-care industry either, says Ms. Evans, but also the rising price of food and other products and services from suppliers also affected by the wage increase.

"Everyone is raising their prices to cover the higher labour costs," says Ms. Evans. "In our industry, we don't have that luxury like other small businesses. We can't just raise our prices to cover this cost. We can't lay off staff because they look after vulnerable people and we have a set ratio of staff we have to have ... and set hours ... We are very dictated."

Rose Hrncie, owner and operator of Victoria Manor in Hamilton, says a higher per diem is needed but is also seeking more immediate funding "like the daycares got" to cover the higher payroll costs that began on Jan. 1.

Ms. Hrncie has written a letter to the City of Hamilton and the provincial government seeking "immediate emergency assistance," and warned that without a cash injection "800 residents will be immediately affected, exacerbating the homelessness problem and affecting 500-600 employees."

"The province must accept responsibility for this initiative and the resulting damage," she wrote, calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to "please prevent this crisis before it happens."

A City of Hamilton spokesperson says it has "a long history" of working with residential-care facilities (RCF) in the municipality. "We will continue to work with them to help find operational efficiencies to ensure that residents are housed and receiving appropriate levels of care," the spokesperson said in an e-mail. "This is a downloaded issue, and we are encouraging our RCF partners to continue to advocate to the province on behalf of all RCFs in Hamilton."

"We are in a unique situation. We can't go to the residents and say, 'We are going to pass this cost off to you,' like other businesses can," Ms. Hrncie says. She warns more homes could close, which would be "catastrophic" to both her city and the province.

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Ontario homes for disabled 'in real trouble' because of minimum wage hike

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The recent spike in Ontario's minimum wage is creating financial hardship for cash-strapped private care homes for people with special needs, some of which face closing without immediate government assistance.

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Cornwall accused of 'taxing disability' with £3,800 parking fee

January 23,  2018
The Guardiam

"People with disabilities are being charged almost £4,000 by Cornwall council for a designated parking bay outside their homes."

Although this is not a Canadian news, it is interesting to see how people with disabilities in other countries are also fighting for the respect of their rights.

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People with disabilities are being charged almost £4,000 by Cornwall council for a designated parking bay outside their homes.

The council has been accused of in effect taxing some of the most vulnerable in society by charging for a disabled parking spot.

Other authorities - including neighbouring Devon - set up disabled bays for free or charge only a nominal fee.

Among those calling for Cornwall council to drop the charge is Debs Race, who has multiple sclerosis and struggles to park outside her home in St Austell.

She said: "I've had MS for 20 years but, after breaking my hand, walking with a stick while carrying shopping is just about impossible. I have to park in front of my house."

Race reserves her slot with traffic cones - and her neighbours do not make a fuss - but when she looked into the possibility of getting a disabled bay she was shocked at the cost.

"They expect you to find that money yourself. I wouldn't mind paying something but that seems an outrageous cost. Having a parking spot is not a luxury for me but I can't justify spending that amount of money."

Race pointed out that even if she did pay for a parking spot it would not be hers but would be available for anyone who had a disabled badge.

The issue was raised at a council meeting on Tuesday when her local councillor Richard Pears called it a "tax on disability". He said the most he had found other councils charging was £100 and others created disabled bays for free.

Pears said: "We all have to deal with busy streets across our county and the parking difficulties this causes. For most of us this is an inconvenience, we may have to park on another street and walk home with the shopping.

"But for people with some specific disabilities, this is just not an option. Without a guaranteed space outside their house they have no way to access their car, and we all know that in a rural area like ours a car can be a lifeline, the difference between having a job and losing it, the difference between being mobile and being confined to your home."

He continued: "Just across the border in Devon, accessible bays appear to be free. Here in Cornwall, one of the most deprived areas in Europe, we charge £3,800. We are charging 30 times more than the most expensive council we could find in Britain.

"The council's current policy on accessible bays amounts to nothing more than a tax on disability."

Genevieve Edwards, director of external affairs at the MS Society, said: "Not only is this charge extortionate, it doesn't make sense that the cost would differ so widely based on where you live. Ultimately this is a decision to tax society's most vulnerable people and it's incredibly unfair.

"MS affects 100,000 of us in the UK and symptoms like pain, fatigue and mobility problems can have a huge impact on people's lives. Disabled parking bays can make a difference in coping with them so we hope Cornwall council rethinks this charge."

James Mustoe, a councillor for the fishing village of Mevagissey, said: "We are urging Cornwall council to end this unfair and discriminatory policy and have cross-party support for these proposals."

The issue will now be considered by the cabinet of the council, which is led by an Independent-Liberal Democrat coalition.
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Cornwall accused of 'taxing disability' with £3,800 parking fee

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People with disabilities are being charged almost £4,000 by Cornwall council for a designated parking bay outside their homes. The council has been accused of in effect taxing some of the most vulnerable in society by charging for a disabled parking spot.

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"A deaf woman is suing the promoter of a Little Mix concert alleging it failed to provide adequate sign language provision."

January  25, 2018
The Guardian

This article mentions the intention of a person to sue a musical group for not providing equal opportunity to the public with difficulties to listen. They claim that the organizers of the concerts should be more inclusive to accommodate deaf people.

I think it would be important that not only the concerts were accessible to people with disabilities, but all public events. It is important to advocate the elimination of physical and communication barriers.

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A deaf woman is suing the promoter of a Little Mix concert alleging it failed to provide adequate sign language provision.

Before attending the concert at Sussex's South of England Event Centre last September, Sally Reynolds petitioned the organiser, LHG Live, to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter so that she and her two friends, who are also deaf, could enjoy the concert with their daughters, who are able to hear, the BBC reports.

Initially LHG offered Reynolds carer tickets and said she could bring her own interpreter. Citing the Equality Act 2010, which states that any organisation supplying a public service has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that a disabled person receives as similar as possible an experience to a person without a disability, Reynolds applied for a court injunction to oblige LHG to supply a BSL interpreter.

Before the hearing, LHG agreed to provide an interpreter, who appeared during Little Mix's set.

However the interpreter did not appear during supporting performances, by Ella Eyre and the Germein Sisters. Reynolds is now suing LHG for failing to make reasonable adjustments for the entire performance.

"People with sensory impairment actually want to attend musical and sporting events just as anybody else does," her solicitor, Chris Fry, told the BBC. "So it is important that venues and promoters recognise the legal duties to make reasonable adjustments extend to them."

In a statement, LHG Live said: "We consulted with [Reynolds'] recommended agency and agreed to provide the professional interpreter of her choice for the Little Mix show. This included specific staging and lighting, and a set list in advance."

A spokesman for the band said: "Little Mix strongly believe their concerts should be completely inclusive for all. The band welcome all fans to their shows, including those with hearing impairment, and encourage the promoters they work with to make provisions to ensure their fans can enjoy the concert experience."

Attitude is Everything, an organisation dedicated to improving deaf and disabled people's access to live music, were unable to comment on the specificities of the case, but added: "We will be following the case highlighted today regarding BSL interpretation of concerts. We welcome Little Mix's statement and will be consulting deaf audiences, artists and the industry to establish best practice in this area in 2018."
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Deaf woman sues Little Mix concert promoter over sign language provision

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A deaf woman is suing the promoter of a Little Mix concert alleging it failed to provide adequate sign language provision. Before attending the concert at Sussex's South of England Event Centre last September, Sally Reynolds petitioned the organiser, LHG Live, to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter so that she and her two friends, who are also deaf, could enjoy the concert with their daughters, who are able to hear, the BBC reports.

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"Hong Kong’s wheelchair users face many obstructions – even at the best hotels."

January 29, 2018
Hong Kong Free Press

This article points out how Hong Kong, one of the busiest progressed city in the world has no wheelchair accessible in most places even at best hotels. Hong Kong is known as one of the most expensive city in the world.  “People on the street discriminate against us, hate to see us, or hate to find us around,” said Ko.
Part of the problem lies in the city’s uneven terrain and steep slopes. Some streets and roads are so steep that the pavement has to turn into stairs.
But another part of the problem is caused by lack of proper legislation. Not all public buildings and businesses are required by law to provide access to people with disabilities. Most of the restaurants and shops in Hong Kong are on a raised platform with no barrier-free access.

The government tend to forget and ignore the needs of the society because they are not focused or looking the over-all needs of the society. The people with disabilities are always forgotten. Again, equality should be emphasize in this whole world so that no one would feel so different and left out.

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When Siu Leong Ko, a wheelchair user with paraplegia, went to a restaurant in 2015, he was greeted by reluctant staff who refused him entry. They insisted that they would set up a table outside for him.

The restaurant had enough room for his motorized wheelchair, but they did not allow him inside because they feared his wheelchair might take up space that would otherwise be available for other customers.

Ko who is now working as an advocate for the rights of people with disability wants society to show more respect to handicapped people.

"People on the street discriminate against us, hate to see us, or hate to find us around," said Ko.

A few months later, Paul Letters, a novelist and historian in a mobility scooter, had a similar problem. He could not find a single accessible toilet on the ground floor of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

To use an accessible toilet, he was asked to go out to a supermarket next door or go up to different levels of the hotel that boasts itself as "a masterpiece of contemporary design" on its website.

"I just thought, for a five-star hotel, which has recently been made, that was amazing," Paul said sarcastically.

As I listened to him, I found myself recalling my own experience in Hong Kong as a wheelchair user. Just two weeks ago, while I was going somewhere to hang out with my friends, I found that the only lift at the Central MTR Station was broken. I had no choice but to go to the Hong Kong MTR Station and kept my friends waiting for more than an hour as I searched for a way to join them.

The fact that some parts of Hong Kong are inaccessible baffled me when I first arrived here. My country, Myanmar, has worse conditions for people with disabilities but I thought as a developed place, Hong Kong would champion disability rights. The gleaming towers lining the shore of Hong Kong stand in stark contrast with the hardship faced by people with physical disabilities.

Part of the problem lies in the city's uneven terrain and steep slopes. Some streets and roads are so steep that the pavement has to turn into stairs.

But another part of the problem is caused by lack of proper legislation. Not all public buildings and businesses are required by law to provide access to people with disabilities. Most of the restaurants and shops in Hong Kong are on a raised platform with no barrier-free access.

The Design Manual released by the Buildings Department in 2008 requires new buildings to be wheelchair accessible. However, restaurants and shops are exempted from providing reasonable access in the Manual. In addition, old buildings are also exempted from the requirement unless major renovation is done to them.

According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Handicapped Youth, over 74 percent of the restaurants in the commercial districts of Hong Kong were found to have inadequate access. Over 11 percent of the restaurants surveyed claimed they are accessible, but the survey team found this was not the case.

When it is not mandatory to provide access, even healthcare centres tend to ignore the needs of their own patients.

"Lots of medical clinics in Causeway Bay and Central, and the ones I go to regularly, most of them don't have ramps. So there are steps into medical clinics. It's crazy," Letters said.

When he asked the staff at the clinic, they put a portable ramp on the stairs so he could go inside the clinic. But he would be a few minutes late for the appointment with his doctor as he waited for the staff to bring the ramp.

"The accessibility into buildings in particular, I think, could be easily fixed through legislation. But the government won't do it," Letters said.

According to Dr. Simon Yung Yau, an Associate Professor of the Department of Public Policy at the City University of Hong Kong, the regulations that oversee buildings in Hong Kong need to be more specific.

"Generally speaking, we have laws and guidelines regulating building design to ensure accessibility for the disabled. However, there are many cases that the accessibility facilities are designed and provided but they are not properly managed. There is no specific guideline for the management of accessibility facilities in Hong Kong ," said Dr. Yau.

He cited a 2015 court case where a wheelchair user took a legal action against a restaurant that turned its disabled toilet into a temporary storeroom as an example resulting from lax regulations.

He also said it is not clear which government department is responsible for checking accessibility standards.

"If a wheelchair lift is out of order but the property owner or manager does not repair it, which public authority is responsible for enforcement is unclear. Currently, the Buildings Department is not concerned about this kind of issue."

Although the Hong Kong government has capacity to draft and enact legislation to tackle discrimination against people with disabilities, they seemed reluctant to make laws that force businesses to provide access.

Lillian Lei Li is a Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise branch of the Direction Association for Handicapped People. When I asked her why businesses are given a free pass, she suggests that this is more to do with the values upheld by the government.

"[The] Hong Kong government does not want to set up laws. They protect the commercial sector more than the minorities. So they just don't want to push laws." said Li. She said that the government encourages instead of forcing businesses.

Both Ko and Letters agreed that the Hong Kong government is gradually but slowly improving the accessibility for people with disabilities. It is reflected in public housing and government buildings. Over 90 per cent of the buses are wheelchair-accessible low-floor buses. The government is also negotiating with the minibus companies to import wheelchair accessible buses.

Despite the lack of legal requirements, some of the restaurants and shops have responded well to the needs of their disabled customers when the customers raised their voices. During a period of more than ten years as a scooter user in Hong Kong, Letters has seen some development in the places he has been visiting.

"Since I wrote about it in an article and I wrote to them, my experience more recently is much better," said Letters.

But Letters admitted that he still could not go to most of the shops and restaurants in his neighbourhood because they are not accessible. For these private sector firms, there is no incentive to change.

It is not clear how the government would encourage establishments to be disabled friendly and urge employers to hire disabled workers.

In Singapore, firms that hire disabled employees are offered subsidies. In mainland China, companies with disabled workers enjoy tax exemptions. But Hong Kong companies do not see such benefits from the government.

The effect is visible in people like Ko. Having no university degree, he finds it hard to compete in the job market and relies on his disability pension to survive.

"It is not that I am too lazy to work. The employers in Hong Kong want their employees to multi-task. They don't want someone who will sit behind a computer all day," Ko said.

The Hong Kong Government introduced a subsidy scheme in 2013 to encourage employers to hire people with disabilities. The scheme offers one-off subsidy of up to HK$20,000 for improving facilities in the workplace.

As the Hong Kong government keeps raising benefits and incentives for the employers and business owners, the private sector might adopt a more inclusive approach. But when I asked Ko how long it would take before Hong Kong becomes a fully accessible and inclusive society, he said: "A long time."

Comments

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Hong Kong's wheelchair users face many obstructions - even at the best hotels | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

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When Siu Leong Ko, a wheelchair user with paraplegia, went to a restaurant in 2015, he was greeted by reluctant staff who refused him entry. They insisted that they would set up a table outside for him. The restaurant had enough room for his motorized wheelchair, but they did not ...

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"Long-term disability (LTD) incidence rates will be 4.7% higher compared to 2017, driven by a strengthening Canadian economy, finds an RBC Insurance report."

January 30, 2018
ADVISOR.CA

This article mentions some alternatives so that employers can more efficiently handle demand or licenses for disability.
I consider it important for the economy, that the companies consider it as the level of stress or other factors that can affect the employees, it can also affect the economy of the businesses. This can lead to the creation of employee self-care procedures, which reduces medical and hospital expenses for the nation.

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Long-term disability (LTD) incidence rates will be 4.7% higher compared to 2017, driven by a strengthening Canadian economy, finds an RBC Insurance report.

Using a proprietary algorithm, the firm has discovered that new claims are linked to GDP growth rates. Understanding the correlation between GDP and claims can help businesses manage costs related to claims, says the firm.
Read: Essential tax numbers: updated for 2018
"Businesses in Canada spent $7.5 billion for long-term disability coverage in 2016, which is the third largest cost to a group benefits plan after health and dental," said John Carinci, vice-president and head of operations and client experience at RBC Insurance, in a release. "Knowing that rates are expected to rise is important information that businesses can use to help manage those costs, support their employees and ensure their operations continue to run smoothly."

How it works

As GDP accelerates and the economy grows, RBC Insurance says there is a corresponding increase in the incidence of long-term disability claims. Conversely, when the rate of GDP drops, so does the incidence of claims.
Read: What happens when advice breaks up with investments
At the start of 2017, the model successfully predicted an increase in incidence for the year (relative to 2016) that was fairly close to the actual rate experienced. During challenging or uncertain times, RBC Insurance says workers are concerned about job security and performance, creating significant mental or physiological stress. As the economic outlook brightens and GDP rises, workers may begin to feel more secure and the pent-up stress and anxiety can take its toll, making them more likely to succumb to illness and taking a leave from work to recoup.

"With the anticipated rise in long-term disability claims, businesses should proactively create awareness of the support available to employees and create contingency plans to ensure adequate staffing," says Julie Gaudry, senior director of group insurance at RBC Insurance.

Here are some tips to help businesses manage claims.

Create additional focus on Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to support employees as GDP rises. These programs can help employees manage certain conditions and work-life issues before spiraling to the point of disability.

Create contingency plans to ensure adequate staffing levels during times of positive economic growth including a buffer for potential claims.

Look for flexible group benefit plans that have options, such as allowing employees to return to work on a part-time basis while still receiving benefits.

Ensure employees understand the coverage in their plan and make use of any "Return to Work Benefits," such as financial planning, rehabilitation and other services to help make a smooth transition back into the workplace.

Also read: Managing assets for a parent with Alzheimer's Registered plans and lifetime benefit trusts IFIC requests creditor protection for RDSP beneficiaries

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Economic growth will mean higher LTD claims: report

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Long-term disability (LTD) incidence rates will be 4.7% higher compared to 2017, driven by a strengthening Canadian economy, finds an RBC Insurance report. Using a proprietary algorithm, the firm has discovered that new claims are linked to GDP growth rates. Understanding the correlation between GDP and claims can help businesses manage costs related to claims, says the firm.

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"Bus driver fired after disabled student locked in school bus for 6 hours".

February 1, 2018
CBC News

This article talks about a student with disability was locked in a school bus for six hours long. "Mother of student, 19, says the incident last week left her daughter 'traumatized'.
"A Toronto school bus driver has been fired after a young disabled woman was locked inside a bus for six hours, something the school board calls "completely unacceptable" and that has angered the mother of the 19-year-old student".

The bus driver was first suspended after Laura Mastache complained about how her daughter, Wendy Mastache, was left inside it last week.

This incident shows how some people are not aware of their surrounding. I really believe that people should be more sensitive when working or supporting students with disabilities.

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A Toronto school bus driver has been fired after a young disabled woman was locked inside a bus for six hours, something the school board calls "completely unacceptable" and that has angered the mother of the 19-year-old student.

The bus driver was first suspended after Laura Mastache complained about how her daughter, Wendy Mastache, was left inside it last week.

Laura Mastache told CBC Toronto that the incident has left the student "traumatized," and "she doesn't want to get in the bus."

Wendy Mastache, who has both autism and epilepsy, has difficulty communicating. She can't read or write due to developmental delays, and doesn't talk much.

Mastache said her daughter has refused to return to school since the incident happened last week.

Stock Transportation is the bus company contracted by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

Bus driver initially suspended, now terminated following investigation

The company released a statement, after a story by CBC News.

"The safety of our students is our top priority; our drivers are required to conduct a child check to look for students at the end of each route."

The statement continues: "In this instance, the procedure was not followed and the driver has been terminated."

'What happened during those 6 hours?'

Early Jan. 23, her mother says, a school bus driver somehow didn't see her daughter on the bus, where she was left for six hours after locking the vehicle and walking away.

"I was panicked," said Laura Mastache, her voice shaking. "What happened during those six hours? No one really knows."

What she does know is that at the end of the school day, she received a call that Wendy hadn't been in class all day.

Strangely, however, the girl did appear outside her school - York Humber High School, which is on Emmett Avenue near Jane Street and Eglinton Avenue West - after classes ended.

A teacher saw the student getting off the bus at that time, her mother said.

The bus driver then drove the teen home.

Student spent day alone on bus

After Wendy arrived home, her mother immediately questioned the bus driver, but said she didn't receive any answers, so she headed to the school.

She said school officials viewed security video and confirmed her daughter never entered the school that day, despite other students confirming she had been on the bus in the morning.

Every morning, the bus driver first dropped off the other students at York Humber's main doors. They are all part of the school's main programming stream.

Then, the driver would normally drive around to the back of the school to drop off Wendy Mastache for her specialized program.

But that didn't happen on Jan. 23, and the student spent the day alone on the bus, which was left parked outside a building in an industrial area.

Toronto Police found the incident was not criminal

Toronto police confirmed they initially investigated, but found that the case did not warrant criminal charges. They said the driver was in tears and apologetic. She told them she was headed to a funeral following her morning bus run and was distracted as she locked the bus.

The temperature was just above freezing that day, rising to a high of 4 C. Mastache said during the bus ride, her daughter wasn't wearing gloves, a hat or a scarf.

Mastache shuddered, thinking about the cold and still wondering if her daughter may have had an epileptic seizure that day. More than a week later, she has pieced together some parts of what likely went wrong, but still has questions.

"So how was my daughter in the bus? Six hours. No drinking, no eating, not going to the bathroom."

As she spoke to CBC Toronto, Mastache's daughter reached over and grabbed her mother's hand or touched her face. The teenager at one point put her head down on the kitchen table where the two sat side by side.

Concerns about 'vulnerable' students

Mastache says the school board has offered other options, such as sending a van to pick up her daughter. But Mastache says Wendy, once eager every morning to go to school, now refuses.

Her mother says she has only succeeded once since the incident in persuading Wendy to put on her school uniform, after which the teen burst into tears.

Mastache had one piece of advice for the TDSB.

She said a call to parents is needed as soon as it's noticed that a child is not in school.

Until now, board policy only resulted in an automated call for students under the age of 18.

"That's wrong," she says. "Especially because [these students] are vulnerable."

TDSB spokesman Ryan Bird says as a result of this incident, the board has now changed its policy.

Parents of all students with special needs will receive an automated call if the student does not show up for school regardless of age.

Bird says all companies with contracts to the school board have been reminded that drivers must do a full visual check of their bus before locking it.

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How did this student with a disability get forgotten on a school bus for 6 hours?

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A Toronto school bus driver has been fired after a young disabled woman was locked inside a bus for six hours. The 19-year-old student's mother says her daughter has been left so "traumatized" that she refuses to return to school.

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Gerber baby: Child products company chooses Lucas Warren as first 'spokesbaby' with Down syndrome

February 7, 2018

The article sheds light on Lucas who is the winner of the 2018 Gerber Baby contest. Lucas's mother never imaged that her baby would win, because she submitted his photo just on a whim after she was notified of the contest by her friend. The author noted that Lucas was the first baby with Down Syndrome to win the contest. This contest has been going on for 8 years and it's great to see companies trying to show more diversity. The CEO Bill Partyka, wants the world to understand Gerber's "longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby" (as cited in Shugerman, 2018). Lucas's mother hopes that through his win, it will help to raise more awareness about Down Syndrome.

I think that Gerber is taking a step in the right direction. All babies should be celebrated and represented in the media.

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Gerber has announced its first spokesbaby with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects some 6,000 babies born in the US every year.

The popular baby food company awarded the coveted prize of 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby to Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia. Lucas was diagnosed with Down syndrome when he was born, but his parents say it never affected their love for him.

"My biggest concern always with Lucas was how people were going to treat him. I was always afraid he would be bullied or people would be scared of him," his mother, Courtney, told the Today Show. "It's never once changed how we felt about him. He was always our son."

Ms Warren said she submitted her baby's photo to the Gerber Baby Photo Search "on a whim," after a friend tipped her off to the social media contest. She posted a photo of Lucas on Instagram with the contest hashtag, and says she was "shocked" when she found out he had won.

"We had just walked into the house and we opened the mail and she started screaming," Ms Warren's husband, Jason, said. "She's like, 'He won! He actually won!'"

Gerber selected Lucas out of more than 140,00 contest entrants. He is the first baby with Down syndrome to be selected in the contest's eight-year history. Along with being featured on Gerber's social media pages, Lucas will be awarded $50,000, which his parents hope to put towards his education.

"Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognising that every baby is a Gerber baby," Gerber CEO and President Bill Partyka said in a statement. "This year, Lucas is the perfect fit."

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental delays and intellectual disability. People with Down syndrome also commonly experience low muscle tone and a small stature. Approximately one in every 700 babies in the US is born with Down syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ms Warren said she hopes Lucas's win can raise awareness about Down syndrome and those living with it.

"I hope it shines light to the special needs community, showing that they are just like you and me," she said. "They should be accepted, not based on their looks, but based on who they are."

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Child becomes becomes the first with Down syndrome to be selected as the Gerber baby

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Gerber has announced its first spokesbaby with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects some 6,000 babies born in the US every year. The popular baby food company awarded the coveted prize of 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby to Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia.

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Ontario’s education system is failing students with disabilities

February 7, 2018
Community living

The article mentions a study carried out with parents who have children with disabilities. Explains how parents have difficulty keeping their children in school due to barriers or lack of programs that meet the educational needs of students. He also talks about the need to create safe schools for students with disabilities.

I believe that despite the advances and initiatives to make schools more inclusive for people with disabilities, there is still a long way to go to completely eliminate the physical and social barriers that exist in schools. It also needs to continue working to make them safer environments

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Ontario's education system is failing students with disabilities
Research partnership finds systemic barriers to inclusive classrooms persist
As part of February's Toronto, ON - National Inclusive Education Month, a research partnership involving Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education, Community Living Ontario, University of Western Ontario, Brock University, ARCH Disability Law Centre, Brockville and District Association for Community Involvement, and Inclusive Education Canada is releasing some of the preliminary results of a research study recently undertaken to, among other things, assess the effectiveness of Ontario's education system for students with disabilities.

Approximately 300 parents of children with disabilities from across the province were surveyed as part of If inclusion means everyone, why not ME? The survey results found that students with disabilities still experience inordinate barriers to accessing a meaningful academic and social engagement in this province. As a follow up to the survey data, 33 parents agreed to participate in in-depth interviews that allowed researchers to add greater context to the reported statistical data. The results show that Ontario's commitment to equality, inclusion and full access to students with disabilities remains far from realized.

On many occasions children with disabilities experience educational barriers so significant that they are unable to attend school. 45% of parents reported they have had to keep their child home as a result of a lack of accommodations and/or services. Even more troubling, 11% of them reported that their child had been expelled from school for disability-related reasons and 23% of these parents reported that their child had been suspended for disability-related reasons. This is in keeping with statistics released by the Ministry of Education in 2015-2016, which reported that 46.9% of all suspensions and 48.4% of all expulsions involved a student with a disability.

Furthermore, in many cases children are excluded from school outside of the normal suspension/expulsion process; 25% of parents surveyed reported that they had simply been told not to bring their child to school. Parent narratives highlighted the additional hardships that these types of exclusion decisions exerted on families and students. The loss of work, financial strain, conflict, and a concern about the lack of collaborative cooperation in problem solving are only some of the difficulties brought to light.

The barriers do not end with exclusion from the classroom. Even when students with disabilities are able to attend school, parents often report that their children do not receive proper accommodation for their disabilities. 53.2% of parents reported that their child was not receiving proper academic accommodations. With this in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that 68.2% of parents reported that schools were meeting half or less than half of their child's academic needs. Parents emphasized in their interviews the devastating effects of low expectations and lack of opportunity for engagement.

Despite relatively recent initiatives by the Ministry of Education to create a safe and diverse space in the classroom, many students with disabilities continue to be bullied at school. 64.9% of parents surveyed reported that their children experienced some form of bullying related to their disability. Parents reported that this was often done by other students, parents and, at times, even school staff. While parent interviews noted the ever-present reality of their child in these types of situations, they also brought to the forefront the amount of bullying parents and families experience from school systems across multiple levels.

Finally, a majority of parents reported that there had been conflict with the school over their children's education and that the conflict resolution process available to them fell short in many ways. For instance, 69.1% of parents involved in a conflict reported that they were not given access to necessary information during the process and 63.7% of parents reported that their knowledge of their own child was not properly recognized by decision-makers.

Even more disturbing, a majority of parents involved in a conflict situation reported that at one time or another, no appropriate conflict resolution process was available to them for accommodation issues (52.5%) or inclusion issues (58%). Parental narratives tell the story of poor information, misinformation or no information at all. A critical lack of productive, shared decision-making and collaboration seemed to be characteristic of the experiences of parents.

Overall, from this sample of the data collected, it is clear that the goal of providing excellence in education for all students in Ontario remains elusive. Much more needs to be done to eliminate the attitudinal and policy barriers that prevent full engagement for our students with disabilities and parents, and the research partnership looks forward to publishing a more fulsome report of its findings in April of 2018.

The research study If inclusion means everyone, why not ME? was conducted beginning in February of 2017 in partnership with ARCH Disability Law Centre, Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education, Community Living Ontario, University of Western Ontario, Brock University, Brockville and District Association for Community Involvement, and Inclusive Education Canada. Parents of students of who have a disability attending elementary and secondary schools were asked to share their children's school experiences. There are 72 Boards of Education in Ontario and most continue to segregate students through self-contained classes where they spend the majority of their day.

For additional information, please contact:

Ron Laroche, Director of Communications, Marketing and Fund Development for Community Living Ontario, M: 416-707-4907, rlaroche@communitylivingontario.ca.

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Ontario's education system is failing students with disabilities - Community Living Ontario

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Research partnership finds systemic barriers to inclusive classrooms persist As part of February's Toronto, ON - National Inclusive Education Month , a research partnership involving Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education , Community Living Ontario , University of Western Ontario, Brock University, ARCH Disability Law Centre , Brockville and District Association for Community Involvement , and Inclusive Education Canada is releasing some of the preliminary results of a research study recently undertaken to, among other things, assess the effectiveness of Ontario's education system for students with disabilities.

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Ontario appoint two from U of T to key roles on accessibility

February 13, 2018

“Ontario has appointed David Onley to lead a review of the Accessibility for Ontarian's with Disabilities Act (AODA). The AODA’s goal is to make Ontario accessible for people with disabilities by 2025, helping to build a fair society in which everyone can contribute their skills to our economy. Since the act was unanimously passed, standards have been developed in five key areas: customer service, information and communications, employment, transportation, and the design of public spaces. About 1.85 million people in Ontario have a disability” (University of Toronto, 2018).

This article was uplifting. I hope they will reach this goal of having Ontario accessible for people with disability by 2025. I think this can happen.

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Ontario appoints two from U of T to key roles on accessibility

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Ontario has appointed David Onley, senior lecturer in the department of political science at the University of Toronto Scarborough and Ontario's 28th lieutenant governor, to lead a review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

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Disability Activists Crash Congress to Stop a Bill That Would Undermine Their Civil Rights

February 16, 2018
Truthout

"Harriotte Ranvig, 71, is escorted out of the House chamber on February 15, 2018, after she and a group of protesters disrupted the vote on the ADA Education and Reform Act, which makes it harder for disabled people to sue for discrimination. (Photo: Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call)"
This article mentions a protest against a law that allows establishments that have barriers for people with disabilities, to have even more time to remove them before being able to be sued. Protestants mention that establishments have already had 28 years to comply with the law and have not yet done so.

I consider it important that people can exercise their right to protest if their rights are violated. Advocating for the rights of people with disabilities is a right that must be respected and laws should ensure that the most vulnerable people are heard.

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Anita Cameron remembers the Capitol Crawl like it was yesterday. It was the spring of 1990, and Congress was dragging its feet toward a vote on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark piece of legislation protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities. To call attention to the bill and the accessibility challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis, Cameron and dozens of other activists left their wheelchairs and walkers at the steps of the Capitol building and crawled their way to the top before filling the rotunda with their chanting voices.

Cameron and more than 100 others were arrested that day. The protest had an impact: President George H. W. Bush signed the ADA into law a few months later.

However, the ADA has not been a magic bullet and is now under threat. Cameron, a Black feminist and LGBTQ activist, was back on Capitol Hill this week protesting a bill in the House that advocates say would gut the ADA in favor of businesses that have failed to accommodate people with disabilities.

As the House members voted 225-192 to pass the bill on Thursday, dozens of activists made their way into the chambers and could be heard chanting as surprised lawmakers turned to look over their shoulders. Cameron was arrested again along with 16 other people, marking her 134th arrest as a disability activist, according to organizers on the ground. The bill, known as HR 620, would make it more difficult to file lawsuits under the ADA against public accommodations like restaurants and stores that are not accessible to people with disabilities.

"You're not going to get your rights because some politicians thought it would be a good thing, and you've got to fight to keep them," Cameron told Truthout in an interview. "So, here it is, almost 28 years later and the ADA is in danger of being gutted ... once again the onus falls on us."

Earlier this week, Cameron was arrested with nine other activists from the direct-action wing of the disability movement as HR 620 moved out of committee. Videos posted on social media show police dragging activists across the floor and carrying one away in a wheelchair.

House Republicans generally supported the bill, and votes from a handful of Democrats secured its passage, to the dismay of progressive activists. Proponents backed by retail lobbyists argue the legislation is needed to stop frivolous lawsuits against businesses such as hotels, stores and restaurants with architectural barriers that make their facilities difficult for people with disabilities to access. The bill would require people with disabilities to give advance notice before filing a lawsuit under the ADA, and give businesses up to six months to outline a plan for removing the barrier and make "substantial progress" toward doing so, although what exactly constitutes "substantial progress" is unclear.

"So, this is basically saying to disabled people, 'You can wait indefinitely for your rights to be honored,'" said Gregg Beratan, an activist with the grassroots disability rights group ADAPT and manager of government affairs at the Center for Disability Rights, in an interview with Truthout. "We are approaching the 28th anniversary of the ADA and they still want us to beg for our rights. It's appalling."

The legislation would saddle people with disabilities with "additional time-consuming and exhausting" red tape when asserting their rights and deal a "devastating blow" to the ADA, according to ADAPT. The ADA allows people with disabilities to sue public businesses if they fail to make their facilities accessible to people in wheelchairs, for example. Such lawsuits are permitted to force compliance with the ADA and pay for legal fees, but not to demand monetary damages.

These types of lawsuits -- along with plenty of voluntary efforts made by forward-thinking institutions and business -- have been instrumental in expanding equal access to public life for people with disabilities since 1990. HR 620 would make it more difficult to file lawsuits and remove incentives for voluntary compliance, according to the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

Cameron said she uses wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility devices to get around, and today, she can go to nearly any city in the country and use public transportation similarly to people without disabilities, thanks to the ADA. She argues that businesses have had almost 28 years to come into compliance with the law, and there is no reason to give those that haven't extra time to do so now.

"I can get on a lift, and people generally don't stare anymore.... I can get on a bus and go wherever I want to go," Cameron said. "I can go to the movies, I can go to restaurants, I can go into banks, I can go places that everyone else can go.... This is why it is really distressing and disturbing that you have some of these places that are not accessible, and if [HR 620] passes, then they will have that much longer to remain inaccessible."

Beratan, who was arrested along with Cameron at the initial protest in Congress this week, said there has been a problem with frivolous lawsuits filed under the ADA, but only by a small number of lawyers operating in just a few states. He said that if lawmakers really wanted to fix the problem, they would write legislation that targets those attorneys, not the ADA and people with disabilities.

The House rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Jim Langevin (D-Rhode Island) that would have removed the most controversial elements of the bill. Langevin, who was paralyzed by a gunshot while helping police teach gun safety to Boy Scouts, is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress. Now that the bill has passed the House, disability rights activists will turn their attention to the Senate, where Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), who lost her legs to a rocket-propelled grenade attack while flying an Army National Guard helicopter in Iraq, is rallying lawmakers against the bill.

Cameron said the legislation fits into a larger pattern that the disability movement is all too familiar with. When people with disabilities are unable to access public spaces and resources like everyone else, the onus falls back on them to challenge whatever business or institution is responsible for making a change. When politicians attack and undermine hard-fought civil rights, it's up to the disability movement to raise public awareness and organize in protest.

"To me, if [HR 620] passes and they get away with that, then what other parts of the ADA are they going to come for?" Cameron said. "They are not going to stop. It seems that this administration is taking away the hard-earned rights for people with disabilities that we fought for."

Cameron said it's important to remember that disability rights are civil rights, and activists are demanding equal rights, not "special" rights for certain people.

Businesses should make their facilities accessible because it's the right thing to do, but that's not the only incentive. One in three households in the United States has a member with a disability, and together they represent $1 billion in spending power, according to the commercial analytics firm Neilson. Every shopper has their own needs that drive spending habits, and people with disabilities tend to spend more on common retail items than non-disabled consumers.

"You really don't want our money?" Cameron asked.

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Disability Activists Crash Congress to Stop a Bill That Would Undermine Their Civil Rights

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Anita Cameron remembers the Capitol Crawl like it was yesterday. It was the spring of 1990, and Congress was dragging its feet toward a vote on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark piece of legislation protecting the civil rights of people with disabilities.

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London Fashion Week: Is disability hidden in fashion?

February 20, 2018

In this article it talks about how the fashion world is truly lacking in its representation of women with disabilities. Kelly Knox describes that in today's society we see more and more diversity through race, age, and body shapes, however disability seems to still be a subject that is not being addressed. A fashion journalist by the name of Caroline Baxter was interviewed and asked why it was so difficult for women with disabilities to be used in magazines. Her reply described how the reader would feel compelled to question the model with a disability and it would end up taking away from the fashion. Baxter states "the reader would need an explanation. Who is this person? It would stop being a fashion story." (as cited in Knox, 2018).

I think the fashion journalist's comments were not completely true. Having a model with a disability will not take away from the fashion itself. The viewer will look at the clothes regardless of who is wearing them.

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Last year, Kelly Knox became one of the first disabled models to feature at London Fashion Week. Together with BBC Radio 5 live, here Kelly investigates why people with disabilities find it so hard to make it in the fashion industry...

I was born without my left forearm.

All my life I've known that my body may be 'missing' a bit, but my soul is whole, all-powerful and limitless.

I never considered myself disabled until I started modelling. In 2008, I beat seven other women with disabilities to win BBC Three's Missing Top Model.

I did not see anybody like me in fashion magazines, advertising campaigns or gracing the catwalk. I could've easily given up, but I don't break that easily!

I wanted to change the way society perceived disability and beauty. To make a difference in the world.

But a decade later, not much has changed. We see diversity in terms of shape, size, colour and age, but disability seems the last taboo.

For BBC Radio 5 live, I headed to the London College of Fashion to talk to people from the fashion industry.

Fashion designer Catherine Teatum - one half of the British design duo Teatum Jones - is one of my heroes.

Last year, she cast me and Jack Eyers, whose leg was amputated when he was 16, for the opening show of London Fashion Week.

Amazingly, it was the first time disabled models had ever appeared at London Fashion Week.

I felt so powerful and strong strutting down the runway wearing their gorgeous creations. One of my career highlights.

Crammed next to the sewing machines and mannequins in the London College of Fashion, I asked Catherine what she wanted people to feel when she cast Jack and me.

"Seeing you on the catwalk, making a powerful stride down the runway is a powerful image," said Catherine.

"That's something another young girl with a disability who's aspiring to be a model can think, 'Wow, she's doing it. Maybe I can do it too.'

"You don't see that imagery enough."

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My next interview was with Caroline Baxter, a fashion journalist and stylist with more than 25 years' experience on glossy magazines.

I wanted to understand why it was so difficult for magazines to use disabled models.

"My job in putting these shoots together is thinking how I can get all these assets in the right place," explained Caroline. "[Sometimes] I've got to get people over three cliffs, down a ravine and over a little bridge to get the perfect shot.

"You have to look at the insurance implications. You have to think about the transport.

"It's not an excuse; it just hasn't come up in conversation."

Caroline said using a disabled model would also throw up questions for the reader and stop it being about fashion.

"The reader would need an explanation. Who is this person? It would stop being a fashion story."

I questioned why it would become a disability story? Disabled people are human too.

This is why it's so important that people see what it means to be a person with a disability in 2018 - someone who is beautiful, strong, worthy, able and fashionable!

Let's talk about the purple pound. With an estimated 12 million disabled people living in the UK, spending capacity is worth around £249 billion per year to the economy.

It is a large untapped consumer market. I was keen to chat about this with fashion blogger Clara Holmes.

Clara has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a form of Hypermobility Syndrome, which is an inherited connective tissue disorder.

It's a very painful condition and Clara has been a full-time wheelchair user for more than 10 years.

Through her Rollin Funky blog, she charts her adventures in fashion - challenging the idea that disabled people can't be stylish.

Clara told me she had experienced problems if she ventured away from the main shopping areas.

"It's when you start going off the main track, the little boutique-y places down the side streets, that there's a problem: They have a step; there's no ramp, the shop is too narrow.

"I don't want a hoo-ha getting into a shop. I don't want to feel like I've got to buy something because of all the help you've given me getting in.

"I don't want four people lifting up my wheelchair. I don't want a standing ovation. I just want to get in.

"If I face that once, I'm not going to do it again."

Clara's experience is not unique. A recent study by the Extra Costs Commission has found that 75 per cent of disabled customers have left a shop because of poor service or access, and that British companies risk losing £420m a week in sales.

When it comes to online stores, Clara said the feelings of exclusion come more from the models they choose to use.

"My whole outfit was bought online. Definitely we need to be represented on there. You see models sat down - why can't you have a wheelchair user?

"Why not have disabilities in their online campaigns? It would be the perfect platform."

I completely related to what Clara said.

Our bodies are not an apology. We should not feel ashamed or guilty about them.

We are not going anywhere and deserve representation.

It's now time to embrace people as individuals and celebrate uniqueness, not defining or labelling them by their differences.
Listen to Kelly's full report for BBC Radio 5 live.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

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Last year, Kelly Knox became one of the first disabled models to feature at London Fashion Week. Together with BBC Radio 5 live, here Kelly investigates why people with disabilities find it so hard to make it in the fashion industry... I was born without my left forearm.

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Canadian GDP stands to gain $17B by 2030 by improving disability access: report

February 23, 2018
Global News

"The report states that improving workplace access for people with disabilities would increase Canada’s GDP by $16.8 billion by 2030 and allow 550,000 Canadians with disabilities the opportunity to work more. In addition, improving disability access would boost consumer spending by $10 billion and would generate an additional $3 billion in revenue for the federal government."

I think it's good for the country's economy, to eliminate physical barriers that prevent people with disabilities from having access to places, services and businesses, in which they can not only participate like any other member of society but also to enlarge the economy in general.

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The number of Canadians living with a physical disability is set to grow at twice the rate of Canada's total population over the next dozen years, and according to a Conference Board of Canada report and several experts, businesses are not ready.

The report states that improving workplace access for people with disabilities would increase Canada's GDP by $16.8 billion by 2030 and allow 550,000 Canadians with disabilities the opportunity to work more. In addition, improving disability access would boost consumer spending by $10 billion and would generate an additional $3 billion in revenue for the federal government.
WATCH: Accessibility still an issue at Toronto Coach Terminal
Accessibility still an issue at Toronto Coach Terminal

"Basically, if they were out of the workforce, those surveyed said that with improvements to accessibility, many of them thought they would be in the workforce," explained Ruth Wright, director, HR and inclusive talent management research, The Conference Board of Canada.

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According to the findings, the number of Canadians living with a physical disability that impairs their mobility, vision, or hearing, will rise to 3.6 million from 2.9 million over the next 13 years, and 60 per cent of those surveyed said they faced barriers to finding a job due to their disability.

Wright states that a combination of physical improvements to workplace environments, as well as changes in attitude, would go a long way toward improving the workplace experience of Canadians with disabilities.

"These are things that can be enabled with just a little more modest investment. But it's not just bricks and mortar and physical accessibility. It's also about attitude. Having employers that see them as individuals," explained Wright.
WATCH: Wheelchair user highlights accessibility issues in Montreal
Wheelchair user highlights accessibility issues in Montreal

Canada's aging population is a big factor in the increase in the country's disabled population, as Wright explains "there is a correlation between age and disability."

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The report recommends that workplaces use handrails, widened doorways and hallways and updated accessibility computer technology.

However, several experts told Global News that Canada lags far behind other countries in terms of ensuring that disabled citizens have access to meaningful employment.

"This is something we need to address urgently," explained Marcia Rioux, a professor at York University's school of health studies and expert in disability law. "The figures are quite shocking in terms of how few individuals with disabilities are working in non-precarious work."

She added that while there are definite social benefits to improving employment access for people with disabilities, these go hand in hand with economic benefits.

"Social integration is greater if people have work, but social and economic inclusion are very closely tied," said Rioux. "People with disabilities have not been considered a viable part of the labour force, which is problematic."
WATCH: University prof fears she could be forced to leave Canada because of son's disability
University prof fears she could be forced to leave Canada because of son's disability

Canada's first national disability legislation is slated to be unveiled sometime early this year, and had been demanded by disability advocacy groups for years before that. David Lepofsky, a lawyer and disability advocate, said that Canadian citizens with disabilities need legislation like this "because, both as employers and in goods and services, we're lagging behind."

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He explained that in addition to not having national accessibility legislation, seven of 10 provinces don't have provincial legislation either. He agreed that the growing population of disabled people in Canada and around the world means that inaccessible businesses hurt us on a social and economic level.

"Our business sector wants to sell our goods and services to markets around the world. Well, the disabilities market is one billion strong. We're hurting our international competitiveness."
The Conference Board of Canada surveyed nearly 500 Canadians with physical disabilities to identify factors that are creating barriers for them and to assess what changes are necessary to improve their inclusion in the workforce. The report also used the Canadian Survey on Disability from Statistics Canada, conducted in 2012 and other data from StatsCan.

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Canadian GDP stands to gain $17B by 2030 by improving disability access: report

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The number of Canadians living with a physical disability is set to grow at twice the rate of Canada's total population over the next dozen years, and according to a Conference Board of Canada report and several experts, businesses are not ready.

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"Communication is a basic human right' : How this man with nonverbal autism found his voice."

March 02, 2018
CBC radio

"The system was gamed against me. If I showed intelligence, my mucked up motor system took over."-  Ido Kedar
Ido Kedar uses an iPad to communicate.
"Ido Kedar was told as a child that he would never be able to communicate independently." Now as an adult, through the help of technology, he has found his voice through his iPad and keyboard.
" He did not have the motor skills to hold a pencil on his own, and she was resting her hand over his." "I was kind of talking out loud and I said 'Oh shoot, I forgot this word' and under my hand I feel his hand spelling it out. And I hadn't said any of the letters," Tracy says.

This is an amazing story of Ido Kedar, through technology, every thing is possible. A great story to share especially to families and individual  who has communication disability.

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Ido Kedar is a 21-year-old man with autism, who cannot speak (also known as nonverbal autism). He was told from a very young age that he would never be able to communicate independently.

But when he was 7 years old his mother, Tracy Kedar, says Ido communicated with her for the first time in a way she knew for sure that he understood her.

They were making invitations for Ido's birthday party. He did not have the motor skills to hold a pencil on his own, and she was resting her hand over his. As they wrote, it seemed to her that he had a flash of recognition.

"I was kind of talking out loud and I said 'Oh shoot, I forgot this word' and under my hand I feel his hand spelling it out. And I hadn't said any of the letters," Tracy says.

The system was gamed against me. If I showed intelligence, my mucked up motor system took over. - Ido Kedar

People assumed that Ido didn't know how to read or spell, but by prompting different words, it was clear that he knew more than they had thought.

"I put away the invitations and ... I remember asking him 'Why didn't you show me before?' and under my hand I feel him writing 'I didn't know how to,'" Tracy says.

She was delighted, but that feeling was accompanied by the realization that he didn't just have the capacity to communicate and understand in that moment. He had for years prior.

"(I was) overjoyed and very guilty," she says. "There was a lot of regret for not having discovered it sooner."

Catching up on lost time

Ido talked to us using his iPad, typing out words one letter at a time. It takes him about three seconds to type each letter. Due to the amount of time involved, we sent him questions in advance.

Ido says that he was just as shocked when his mother discovered that he could communicate.

"I had no hope that my intelligence would be discovered. The system was gamed against me. If I showed intelligence, my mucked up motor system took over," he says.

Experts often treated his attempts to show intelligence as an accident, he says, which made it harder for him to believe that he could prove it. So once his mother did understand, Ido shared her joy, but had another, more complicated reaction.

"Honestly I was mad too. I had a lot of resentment inside because of my frustrating experiences being a smart kid trapped in a dumb body," he says.

Tracy says that some people remain skeptical about his ability to act independently. Even professionals who worked closely with Ido didn't believe it. However, she says she can live with the need to convince some people that he's intelligent because their reality prior to her discovery was worse.

"I could deal with them thinking I was a delusional mom in denial. That was far less difficult than believing my son was not ever going to progress," she says.

Learning to type

As for Ido, being able to communicate opened a whole new world to him.

"My mom and dad found me a teacher who taught me to type independently. Then it became really hard for the experts to refute. But it took time to get to this level of proficiency," he describes.

He learned at first using a cardboard alphabet chart, moving on to a keyboard and then eventually an iPad.

"Communicating has enabled me to break free, to not be as trapped by my disability, to help others and to correct scientific understanding of non-speaking autism." he says. "Communication is a basic human right."

Both mother and son now work to help people who are nonverbal make the same progress that Ido had.

In 2012, he released a book about his experiences called Ido in Autismland: Climbing Out of Autism's Silent Prison. He has a second book, this one fiction, coming out soon.
This story appears in the Out in the Open episode "Divides".

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'Communication is a basic human right': How this man with nonverbal autism found his voice | CBC Radio

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Ido Kedar is a 21-year-old man with autism, who cannot speak (also known as nonverbal autism). He was told from a very young age that he would never be able to communicate independently. But when he was 7 years old his mother, Tracy Kedar, says Ido communicated with her for the first time in a way she knew for sure that he understood her.

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Saying Stephen Hawking Is "Free" From His Wheelchair Is Ableist

March 14, 2018

This article highlights the way in which society still views disability as a limitation. When Stephen Hawking died, a lot of the discourse surrounding his passing was related to him finally being free from his physical disability. the article notes that despite the many accomplishments that Hawking's achieved, he is still held back by society's ableist attitudes towards disability. Some of the images that were circulating around social media was "of him standing, out of his chair, and gazing at the stars" (Brown, 2017).

I thought it was shocking to see the amount of tweets that referenced Stephen Hawking finally being free. Most of them did not mean it in a negative way however, it really shows just how society views people with disabilities, as a limitation.

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When I die, I hope that I am remembered for the work I have done. I hope that all of the times I have discussed ableism, joy, grief, sadness, and joy is what people remember.

The work I do has everything to do with the fight for proper representation - something I did not see a lot of while growing up. If I saw disabled people in a film, they were so angry about their disability and body that by the end of the movie, they were granted their wish of dying. As a young girl, I internalized that fate and figured I should want to as well. I'll spare you the details, but it took years, tears, and real effort to get out of that mind-set and into a healthier and happier one. A lot of the effort was in turning away from the media representation and into myself and the people who loved me. When I started my journey, I wrote down a list of names of people in the limelight who are disabled and examples of proper, positive representation for people with disabilities. Stephen Hawking was at the top of my list.

I won't sit here and tell you that I idolized him as a child or knew everything about him. I can tell you that his passing on March 14 left me heartbroken for a variety of reasons. The first being that the world has lost one of the smartest and most notable intellectuals we have and will ever have. Stephen Hawking was a professor, cosmologist, theoretical physicist, father, friend, and much more. But he was also the first representation I had of someone thriving and changing the world with a disability - of being respected and loved with a disability. I can imagine that it was not easy. I know firsthand that disability never is. I live with cerebral palsy, and I find myself frustrated most when my body is in pain. Still, my disability is a part of me and Stephen's was a part of him. Knowing that, the other reason I am heartbroken over his death is because of aspects of the response to it. When the news broke that he had died, social media was flooded with condolences, as it should have, but tacked on the end of these messages were sentiments that Stephen was "free" from physical disability, along with pictures of him standing, out of his chair, and gazing at the stars.

You might be wondering what is wrong with that. Everything. Stephen himself said, "My disabilities have not been a significant handicap in my field, which is theoretical physics. Indeed, they have helped me in a way by shielding me from lecturing and administrative work that I would otherwise have been involved in." So why is everyone so eager to erase his disability in discussions of his life's work? Odds are, it's because disability makes our society uncomfortable, so much so that instead of embracing him for all that he was to able-bodied and disabled people alike, upon his death, people on social media are focusing on how "good" he must feel outside of his body.

Sentiments like this are ableist and harmful. It tells other disabled people that we should be excited for the opportunity to be "free" of our bodies, but it also reduces Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest intellectuals ever, to his disability and nothing more.

https://twitter.com/Keah_Maria/status/973912998602559488

The fact of the matter is that Stephen did all of his amazing work with his disability - not in spite of it. To erase that fact of his life as we mourn the loss of him in our world is to ignore part of who he was simply because it wasn't something that could be easily understood. He did not need to be free of his disability and wheelchair to change the world, so why must he be freed of it now that he has passed on?

Stephen Hawking was a hero to many, and he deserves to be respected and regarded as one in death as much as he was in life.

Related: Stephen Hawking Dead at 76

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When I die, I hope that I am remembered for the work I have done. I hope that all of the times I have discussed ableism, joy, grief, sadness, and joy is what people remember. The work I do has everything to do with the fight for proper representation - something I did not see a lot of while growing up.

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For spectators with disabilities Pyeongchang’s Paralympic Game posed a challenge

March 18, 2018

The article talked about many people with a disability spoke about the problems with the accessibility at the Paralympic Games in South Korea. They mention that “organizers described a “perfectly” organized event that provided the “highest level of access” (Tong-Hyung, 2018).

I was a bit sad when I read this article. People in authority need to make sure that buildings and roads etc. are accessible for people with disability. This 2018 these things should not be happening.

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GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of-As the world's top disabled athletes competed on ice and snow, Erica Mitchell steered through her own obstacle course on Pyeongchang's narrow and uneven streets.

The 31-year-old from Chicago was one of many people with disabilities who spoke to The Associated Press this week about accessibility problems at the Paralympic Games in South Korea's rural east, despite what organizers described as a "perfectly" organized event that provided the "highest level" of access.

"I felt like my walker was on waves," laughed Mitchell, an accomplished women's sled hockey player who came to the games as a spectator. "There were other people with crutches and they were struggling to walk because of uneven surface. Some of the (sidewalk) stones were falling out - that wasn't the best."

When the Paralympics ended Sunday with the closing ceremony at the soon-to-be-demolished Olympic Stadium, South Korea faced questions about the event's legacy.

Officials had said the Paralympics will help transform one of the nation's poorest and most underdeveloped areas into a safer and more accessible place for disabled people. That would be a meaningful statement in a country where, even in richer areas like ultra-modern Seoul, the disabled continue to face what critics say amount to social segregation. Inaccessibility to quality education and jobs and even basic functions such as transport has made it extremely difficult for many to maintain lives outside of institutions.

But to many of the disabled visitors at Pyeongchang and nearby Gangneung, which hosted the hockey and curling events, the games felt like a missed opportunity.

Their long list of complaints illustrated a harsh space for people dependent on devices like wheelchairs, crutches and prosthesis:

Cramped and bumpy sidewalks; poorly-designed curb cuts; steep stairs; remote bus stops; tiny bathrooms; absence of handrails or back support on toilets; narrow and steep ramps; steps in front of stores; small doorways; clogged pathways; lack of tables and chairs at traditional floor-seating restaurants.

"Not one thing has been comfortable," said Lee Tae-shik, 63, as he waited for a game outside the Gangneung Hockey Center. Lee, who travelled from the western port city of Incheon with his wife, has been using a wheelchair since 1988 when an injury impaired his legs. He talked about the difficulty of moving between Pyeongchang and Gangneung, the far-flung bus stops, the exhausting trips up the steep slopes where the stadiums were.

South Korea has spent about $13 billion (U.S.) on the Olympics and Paralympics, including millions of dollars to redesign dozens of public bathrooms with ramps and handrails. Kim Sung-soo, a 54-year-old Gangneung resident, didn't think the money was well spent. He fumed about the public bathrooms near the stadiums, which he said barely fits conventional wheelchairs but not larger motorized chairs like his.

"Once I get in, there's not enough space for me to turn and move into the stall," said Kim, who lost the use of his legs after contracting polio as a child. "It's been like this for decades - this city never budges for an inch beyond what it's legally required to do when it comes to disabled people. How hard could it be to make bathrooms just a little bit bigger?"
Read more: Canada loses in overtime to U.S. in Paralympic hockey gold-medal game Canadian Paralympic team picked up Olympic baton, capturing record 28 medals
Finding a place to eat can turn into a frustrating adventure.

"We have people with us with spinal cord injuries - they can't get out of their wheelchairs, they can't eat at that restaurant," said Mitchell, who was born with a condition that resulted in an inability to walk without assistance. "Getting into restaurants, no one really has a ramp to help them get in. If there's one step, they can't get in."

She also saw lapses in safety standards among workers, such as transport staff throwing or cramming wheelchairs into buses.

"Not everyone's brakes were working, so wheelchairs were like flying everywhere," she said.

Koo Ja-cheon, an official from Gangwon Province, which governs Pyeongchang and Gangneung, said the games have been a learning process. He said the provincial government will explore ways to use the experience to improve the lives of its disabled residents. Future steps may include strengthening accessibility requirements for buildings and facilities, acquiring more low-floor buses to accommodate wheelchair users and creating more "accessibility maps" for smartphones, he said.

"The games have been an opportunity for us to think about things we never knew or previously never thought about," said Koo. "We used to just walk upright into a restaurant and eat, but now we are thinking about ramps and tables. It will be a matter of getting that different perspective into policy."

Gangwon had offered up to 7 million won ($7,000 U.S.) each to restaurants and motels to revamp for the Olympics and Paralympics, such as renovating bathrooms and hallways, converting floor-seating to tables and chairs, widening doorways and adding other features to accommodate wheelchair users. But many local businesses refused to make the changes, saying that the money officials were offering wasn't enough. Others questioned why they need to change so much just for a few weeks in February and March.

The places that did make the changes weren't always accessible, according to the Human Rights Forum of Persons with Disabilities in Korea. After reviewing 251 restaurants and motels in Pyeongchang, Gangneung and neighbouring Jeongseon that used the government subsidies to renovate from December to January, the forum rated only 94 of them as accessible to wheelchair users. When counting out the places wheelchair users couldn't realistically enter without a helper - because of steep ramps and stairs, narrow doorways and passageways, uneven floors and other obstructions - the number of accessible businesses dropped to 27, according to the forum's report published earlier this month.

Moon Ae-rin, a Seoul-based activist who spent several days at the Paralympics, said South Korea has failed to use the games to make lasting changes that would truly raise awareness of disability rights issues and highlight the bigger role people with disabilities can play in an inclusive society.

Moon, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, is one of the country's most vocal advocates of accessibility rights for the disabled. She has been arrested or thrown off her wheelchair several times during protests at bus terminals and subway stations calling for safer and more accessible transport for disabled people.

In Pyeongchang, she found it insulting that nearly all of the low-floor buses used to transport wheelchair users and other disabled spectators around Paralympic areas were borrowed from the capital Seoul. This likely caused serious inconvenience to disabled people in Seoul who mainly rely on such vehicles amid limited transport options, Moon said. According to Paralympic organizers and Seoul City, 44 of the 48 low-floor buses operating for the games were from Seoul.

"Gangwon didn't want to make permanent changes - all it wanted to do is get through a temporary event," Moon said. "Once the buses leave town, there will not be a single thing left for the area's disabled residents that's good."

Not everyone was unhappy.

Tomoko Inujima, a wheelchair user from Tokyo who came to the games with her husband, said she ran into trouble entering restaurants and stores. However, she said the help from volunteer workers and local residents, who she found attentive and supportive, more than made up for it.

"I am quite satisfied," she said.

Park Mi-ae, a 53-year-old Gangneung resident who came to a hockey game on crutches while recovering from a foot injury, hoped that the experience of accommodating a large number of disabled people and athletes will help make her city a safer and friendlier place for the disabled. The thousands from across the country who volunteered for the games could help initiate changes at their homes too, she said.

"The injury has forced me into the life of a disabled person and I think I am really beginning to understand what they go through," said the school teacher. "The bus stops are always too far. There are not enough automatic doors. The curb cuts are badly done. The steps are too high."

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For spectators with disabilities, Pyeongchang's Paralympic Games posed a challenge | Toronto Star

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GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of-As the world's top disabled athletes competed on ice and snow, Erica Mitchell steered through her own obstacle course on Pyeongchang's narrow and uneven streets.

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World Down Syndrome Day under the theme ‘What I bring to the Workplace’

March 21, 2018

“People with Down Syndrome, their advocate and supporters gathered at UN Headquarters in New York to rally employers and make sure they saw the benefits of enabling people with Down syndrome and disabilities to make meaningful contributions in the workplace” (UN News, 2018) One speaker spoke about “refusing to listen when experts said her daughter Sara, born with Down syndrome  would be lucky to be able to push  shopping carts at the local grocery store” (UN News, 2018).

I think individuals with disabilities can contribute to society, all they need is the opportunity to do so without being looked at as someone who are not able to contribute.

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The event, marking the 2018 edition of World Down Syndrome Day under the theme 'What I bring to the Workplace,' was a chance to show everyone people with Down syndrome can and should contribute and live valued working lives, and to be fully included in their communities.

"Inclusion within the normative and valued pathways of family and community life is one of the primary means to a life of meaning, belonging and possibilities," said Bruce Uditsky, Chief Executive Officer of Inclusion Alberta Canada.

In the afternoon, a range of employers engaged in an open dialogue on the benefits and challenges companies face in employing people with disabilities.

One speaker, Debra Ruh, CEO of Unites States-based CEO of Ruh Global Communications, told the event that she refused to listen when experts said that her daughter Sara, born with Down syndrome, 'would be lucky just to be able to push shopping carts at the local grocery store.'

With such comments ringing in her ears, Ms. Ruh left the banking industry and created TecAccess, a company with the core mission of making information and communication technologies (ICT) more accessible, notably to those with disabilities. Some 80 per cent of her employees are technologists with disabilities.

"Employees with disabilities in most sectors stay on the job longer, resulting in up to a 6 per cent turnover rate improvement," she noted in her presentation, adding: "People with disabilities who are employed have less overall absenteeism and the number of compensation claims are no different."

A parallel event was held at the Palais des Nations, the home of the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, where people with Down syndrome spoke up on "What I bring to my community."

The hashtag #WhatIBringToMyCommunity encompasses how people with Down syndrome can and make meaningful contributions throughout their lives - whether in schools, workplaces, the community, culture, media, and sports.

Among other things, the campaign also draws from the Sustainable Development Goal ( SDGs); Goal 10 sets out to reduce inequalities within and among countries, Goal 10.2 aims by 2030 to empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

All the SDGs that ensure the opportunity of persons with Down syndrome to participate and contribute fully in society by 2030, including for quality education ( SDG 4) and decent work and economic growth ( SDG 8) are relevant to the campaign.

Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been a part of the human condition, exists in all regions across the globe and commonly results in variable effects on learning styles, physical characteristics or health.

World Down Syrndrom Day is commemorated annually on 21 March.

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People with Down syndrome can drive positive changes in their workplaces, communities and beyond

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People with Down syndrome, their advocates and supporters gathered at UN Headquarters in New York on Wednesday to rally employers and make sure they saw the benefits of enabling people with Down syndrome and disabilities to make meaningful contributions in the workplace.

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Voluntary Euthanasia Is a Complex Topic

March 21, 2018

This article talked about voluntary euthanasia (VE), also known as physician-assisted suicide. The article talked about “someone who was severely disabled by an accident. This person wanted to end their own life using VE, but the legalities prevented him to get it done” (Dwyer, 2018).

It was difficult to read this article. I know people are allowed to make their own choices when they are face with difficult circumstances.

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I'm going out on a limb here to talk about one of those controversial issues that tend to get skated around a lot in disabilities communities: voluntary euthanasia (VE), also known as physician-assisted suicide.

Last year, I met someone who was severely disabled by an accident. I found out that he had wanted to end his own life using VE, but legalities prevented him from following through. I instantly felt angry that this man thought he had no choice but to end his life because of his newfound disability. It made me want to get up on my high horse and scream, "Disability is not the end of the world!"

It took me a long time to realize that this man's choice was his own to make, and although I chose a different path than him, that does not mean I should have attacked his decision. VE is a complex issue with many different viewpoints to consider.

Many debates are sparked between "pro-life" religious fundamentalists and secular progressives who believe we all deserve the right to choose the manner in which we die - especially those who are terminally ill. The latter group sees it as a basic human right. On the other side of the fence, most, if not all, religions (fundamentalist or not) believe all human life to be of value, so they firmly reject the notion of suicide.

Putting aside the moral implications of depression and suicide, we also see disability groups and political organizations picking sides in the fight, arguing that the legalization of VE will mean the death of disability rights. The Australian Family Association wrote, "Incurably or profoundly disabled people as well as elderly people also often qualify for having their lives deemed 'not worth living' whether or not they have asked, or can ask, to be killed." While the truth of these statements may be questionable (no proof is offered to substantiate them) in today's world, there is no denying the possibility of it becoming a reality at some point.

One only has to look at the response of the disability rights community to last year's Hollywood movie, " Me Before You," to see how touchy of an issue VE is. The romance movie depicts a disabled man's decision to end his own life. People in the disability rights community were outraged and even staged a red carpet protest at the premiere.

Rebecca Hawkes wrote in The Telegraph, "The message of the film is that disability is tragedy and disabled people are better off dead. It comes from a dominant narrative carried by society and the mainstream media that says it is a terrible thing to be disabled."

But is it true that the legalization of VE poses a legitimate threat to disability rights? Will our lives be deemed worthless and our choices be taken away?

In late 2015, Australian TV presenter Andrew Denton created a podcast called " Better Off Dead,"which concluded in 2016. He used his podcast to discuss the stories and moral arguments involved in VE. He explored euthanasia laws around the world and traveled the globe with his microphone to visit places where euthanasia is legal. He wanted to let his audience listen to interviews from both sides debating VE, and listen to firsthand accounts of what the effects have been from euthanasia legalization. Denton wanted to see whether the safeguards worked and whether the elderly and disabled were threatened like anti-euthanasia organization HOPE said they were.

VE is a multifaceted issue, not a black and white one like the media often portray it. VE seems like a humane choice in some situations, whereas in others, it seems like suicide. Every individual case is different, and not all of them involve a disabled person. VE should be a hard choice to make, and whether or not we agree with it, we need to make an effort to understand the decision instead of judging without knowledge or firsthand experience in the matter.

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Friedreich's Ataxia News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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Friedreich's Ataxia and Disabled Rights Controversy: Voluntary Euthanasia

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I'm going out on a limb here to talk about one of those controversial issues that tend to get skated around a lot in disabilities communities: voluntary euthanasia (VE), also known as physician-assisted suicide. Last year, I met someone who was severely disabled by an accident.

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“I knew I was different. I knew I wasn’t keeping up with everyone else,” says Billy. “It's isolating, in every sense of the word.”

March 21, 2018
Fox 45 news

This story is about Billy who has a severe dyslexia, never been diagnosed at early age until his mother discovered he has learning disability.He  struggled going to school but persevered and now taking his Doctorate. An amazing story that the  family want to share to other families that there are resources and funding available to help their child with disabilities.

This article inspires me that having a learning disability is not a hindrance to success. This is a great motivational story to influence others.

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BALTIMORE (WBFF) - A mother helping her young son with his homework makes a stunning discovery. It was an ordinary moment that put one local family on an extraordinary path.

Billy Vermillion is now a student at Catholic University in Washington, DC. But some 20 years ago, he was sitting at the family dining room table doing his third-grade homework assignment.

"He couldn't spell the word 'was,'" says Bonnie Vermillion, Billy's mother. "I'm like, 'Billy, was. It's a first grade word.' His face got red. He balled up the papers, and he started throwing his homework papers on the floor. I just didn't understand what was happening. I was freaking out."

Billy went to Anne Arundel County Public schools and had an IEP, or individualized education program, for his disabilities. That night, at the table, would set them off on a long and frustrating fight against the school system and the stigmas.

"I knew I was different. I knew I wasn't keeping up with everyone else," says Billy. "It's isolating, in every sense of the word."

Bonnie's mother says her son was bullied in school.

"He banged his head against the wall repeatedly," she says. "And he said this, 'I'm dumb. I'm stupid. I wish I were dead. I wish I were never born.' My eight year old son."

Billy's parents pulled him out of public school and went in search of help. They found it at the Summit School in Edgewater, which specializes in helping students with disabilities.

"They tested him. They said, 'Mr. and Mrs. Vermillion, Billy has lots of holes in his reading. He doesn't even know he's supposed to read from left to right. If you don't do something, he'll never learn to read,'" recalls Bonnie Vermillion.

Billy was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, which the family says Anne Arundel County Schools never diagnosed. Armed with this new information, the family hired an attorney and took on the county. The Vermillions argued the public school system failed Billy and couldn't provide what he needed. But the Summit School came at a price, which the family couldn't afford.

"When we sat down with the county for mediation, I was asked, 'How far are you willing to take this?' I said, 'I'll tell you what. I just bought a house in this county. I'm willing to lose it. I'm willing to lose everything I own and everything I will own, because I'm not gonna look at my son when he's 18 and tell him, we didn't have the money to get you help that exists.'"

It wasn't easy, and it took years. But Anne Arundel County eventually paid for all of Billy's tuition at The Summit School, where he thrived. He got the extra help he needed, where software reads electronic documents to him and where classes group students based on ability not age.

"When he graduated from the Summit School in eighth grade, I cried," says Bonnie. "When he graduated from high school, I cried. When he graduated with his undergrad, he said, 'Mom, you didn't cry.' I said, 'That's 'cause you made it Billy.'"

But Billy isn't done. Back at Catholic University Billy is studying to get his phD in Biomedical Engineering.

"It is absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't be happier," says Bonnie. "But Billy has the drive."

A drive he discovered two decades earlier, at that dining room table, where an 8-year-old boy doing a third grade assignment, learned a much bigger lesson.

"Fight," says Billy. "As hard as you can, for every scrap that you can."

The Vermillions want other families to know there are resources available, which includes funding, if your child has a learning disability.

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From Dyslexia to Doctorate - Lessons Learned from one family's struggle

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BALTIMORE (WBFF) - A mother helping her young son with his homework makes a stunning discovery. It was an ordinary moment that put one local family on an extraordinary path.Billy Vermillion is now a student at Catholic University in Washington, DC. But som

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March 25, 2018

A mother talks about having a child with a a disability and how “we appear to have come a long way from the days of referring to people with a disability as the ‘village idiot’, ‘slow’ or ‘retarded’ (Crowford, 2018). This mother talks about how her “son embraced life with all the challenges and obstacles life flung at him. She became less aware of his special needs and more aware of the impact that society has on a person with a disability” (Crowford, 2018).

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Column: 'I have been asked if I mourn the healthy, normal son that I could have had'

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There is still the belief that having a disability means that you are only half the person that you could have been, that it is not 'normal' and should be 'cured', writes Hesline Crawford.