This follows on from my previous blog and contains my experience of a Twitter Party

Now - this is where Twitter comes into its own when you add a hashtag ( # followed by a word e.g. #equality) to the end of your message. If you go on Twitter, you can search for everyone in the world who has added the same hashtag to the end of their message and it will be displayed in a time-line. Hence people can see what others are saying on the same topic - and join the conversation.

The most used hashtag for my account is #mhlparty (over 430 Tweets) and it's my first experience at a Twitter Party I am going to share with you today - from a disabled person's perspective.

Accessible Parties.

I like the idea of parties - being around friends, having a laugh, good music and a bit of dancing. On the other hand I feel very uncomfortable in environments like these. For starters, crowded areas where everyone is standing up or dancing/falling over drunk is not my idea of fun. Perhaps because I can't stand up (use a wheelchair) and need some space to move, perhaps because people always used to fall over me as they wobbled to and from the bar. Maybe it was the drunken games of 'who dares chat the cripple up' or the fact that I could commit suicide on less than 1 Unit of Alcohol. Add to this the noise and the fact that my voice is sometimes little more than a whisper does not a conversation make.

All in all, I'm just not cut out to do the Party thing - even though the idea of loud music and waving a glow stick around all night has huge appeal!

Then I started tweeting whilst watching Most Haunted on the television, having a love of all things ghost like since the Ghostbusters first came out in my childhood. Prior to University I was so interested in the Paranormal because of personal experiences that I was originally going to do a Parapsychology degree. I guess you would say I'm a skeptic believer i.e. I believe in paranormal activity but don't believe every sound or bump in a spooky place is spirit activity. So, I take things like Most Haunted with a huge pinch of salt and a good dose of entertainment. Whether you believe or not, Most Haunted as a series has a huge fan base and I saw that some people who watched the show were Tweeting about a Most Haunted Live Party (mhlparty). I had to find out more - so I did and although the show brought us together we all agreed that it was our party and interactions with each other that made the night a fantastic one.

Left: My attempt at psychic art. This picture tweet was my prediction that paranormal findings related to WWII planes might feature (as they were at an old RAF base). Just as I thought - my prediction came true - must indeed be psychic!!

What is a Twitter Party?

Well for mhlparty, it was the idea of the lovely @JuicyJulesRocks and anyone who watches the show can join in. Each Tweet carries the hashtag so we can focus on just party tweets and we have a core group of about 12-20 people with the party theme being based on the show. We all seem to hold the same viewpoint - pretty darnn skeptical about the show but still loving it (and occasionally something does happen which makes us all go a bit quiet and reach for a pillow to hide behind!).

A party is held for every Live event - that's 3 hours of tweeting for 3-7 nights and can best be described as virtual role play. For example, someone will run a bar and make sure we are all well topped up if not getting a bit tipsy by the end of the night and others will let people know what music is playing (our favourite of course being on replay is usually Ghost Busters or for devillish investigations Road to Hell has been known to pop up on the old Jukebox). Not forgetting the party nibbles, lots of chocolate and I tend to supply glowsticks! We have a mhlparty website hoted by the lovely @MrRant and party games include competitions such as 'best costume' and the ever popular 'guess how many times they will swear on live TV'. In fact, our party has had a few mentions on air and we have had an official drop in who monitors the swearing from the broadcasting perspective and helps with the official 'count'.

If you have ever listened to Audio Description of a party scene on a TV programme - Tweets read a bit like that! Our own, virtual, interactive party world. Yes, people probably think we are all quite mad but essentially, we have a laugh and a chat, we've made some good friends and have a great night.

The best sort of party for me?

Yes, most definitely.

• To start with, I didn't have to phone up and check for wheelchair access or
• figure out inaccessible transport/parking.
• I didn't have to explain to anyone why I can't drink alcohol.
• I didn't need to feel 100% well to join in.
• I get a giggle because of my crazy party costume and not in a hurtful way because I've tried to cram my funny shaped body into party clothes.
• I have no fear of bullying or harrassement - or of being safe from some of the terrible disability hate crime of today.
• In all reality I am comfy and warm in my living room and not worrying about hot, claustrophobic environments.
• I can eat and drink what I want at a virtual party - unlike real life.
• I don't have to worry about trying to use a toilet that is inaccessible and wet underfoot with alcohol, vomit and urine - especially when I can only transfer in bare feet.
• I don't need to worry about getting home safely and
• best of all, I can communicate with people rather than words remaining as frustrated thoughts when I haven't the strength to get them out. Without communication, life can be lonely and it's easy for people to pre-judge me as anti-social.

Of course wheelchair users and people with all sorts of impairments go clubbing and enjoy the night life - but my choice is to stay in and party in an alternative way.

A sign of equality?

Nobody knows I have an impairment in most virtual parties - it's not relevant. I don't hide my impairment from anyone but I don't make a point of telling everyone I meet that I use a wheelchair unless it is relevant to the message or situation. I found it interesting that I could Tweet about every day life for months before people started asking if I used a wheelchair because otherwise a tweet didn't make sense! It's not everyday that someone can say they rolled down a hill when out for a walk. It's perhaps testimony to just how far equality has gone. I'm loving my virtual world - so drop in for a chat or a cup of tea anytime you wish :-)

* Dedicated to all the wonderful mhlparty goers.

Tags:disabled | access | socialising | twitter | Mhlparty | disablism | social networking | blogging against disablism day

Twitter - my new best friend.


Twitter has been a global phenomenon for a while now. Until last year I had no idea, what it was or why I was hearing about Tweets everywhere. I wasn't inspired to give it a go thinking it can't be much different to the Face Book Status concept. That was until one day around this time last year I became a little too curious - and now I need therapy, really I do!

Hello everyone. My name is @crip_tic and I'm a Twitter holic.

To find out how I enjoyed a party for the first time in my life using Twitter - continue to the next blog post!


Twitter v. Facebook Status.

Twitter is definitely my social network of choice where I have made real friends and work contacts. I do a lot of work from home and TweetDeck (my free Twitter mission control software for reading and sending Tweets) is on all day on my desktop and on my iPhone when I'm away from my desk. I am only Twitter free when I'm teaching or asleep.

My hundreds of 'friends' on Facebook are largely people who are 'used' for the sake of playing games rather than actually forming friendships and some of the posts are quite frankly annoying, self pitying or self indulgent congratulatory messages about how clever they are, how drunk they were or how much Jesus loves them. Either that or people share their misery in good old Country and Western style 'Dogs dead, divorce papers came through, teenage daughter is pregnant and worst of all the price of cider has gone up'. Much more of that and I'd have to add depression to my list of ailments.

Interestingly, I have some friends with bi-polar who refuse to get involved with Facebook so perhaps they had been tipped off beforehand!! On the other hand, some of the status messages do make me wonder if it's just one big peer support group FOR people with varying mental health problems and it could be argued that due to the therapeutic and supportive benefits of Facebook - perhaps it should be funded by the NHS?

What's Twitter all about and is it accessible to disabled people?

The moment I created my account and typed my first message into the 'what's happening' box I was hooked. Essentially that is the start and end of all that Tweeting is about - these tiny glimpses into life, lovingly known as Tweets. People share what they are doing, where they are, photographs, drawings, links, what they like/don't like, what they think or talk about a TV programme they are watching ... you get the idea.

The concept is amazingly simple. No annoying adverts, no games - just a list of Tweets. You tell the world what you're doing in less than 140 characters. Others will be doing the same in real-time rather like instant messages. If you follow people, you will see their Tweets appear in your time-line. Likewise, if they follow you, they will see your Tweets.

Accessible Twitter

Twitter, could be used by virtually anyone in conjunction with assistive technology that might be needed to use a computer/phone or learning support to master the basics.

People can Tweet in so many different ways and one of my favourites is by drawing pictures. It's not that I can't type or read, but more because I use a graphics tablet instead of a mouse and like to be more creative with communicating my message (and sometimes it's a lot funnier because I can't draw for toffee!) On my desktop I use Wacom Minis which is free tablet software for Wacom tablets. It allows you to run an application called Draw Tweet on either a Mac or PC. It's really easy to use and could suit someone who prefers to communicate for whatever reason by drawing with some basic pens and colours. My pictures are saved in TwitPic which is a free photograph and drawing website linked to my Twitter account.

Using photographs to share what you are doing is another none-text way of getting your message across and something I use quite a bit. Video is also an option allowing BSL users to tweet signed messages to each other. Visually impaired people (amongst millions of sighted people) might consider audio tweets as an option. For people who prefer text input, there is a website which makes tweets easier for visually impaired people and a range of desktop software and phone applications to try out. On TweetDeck for example you can alter the colours of text against the background which might be useful if you're dyslexic but doesn't allow for changes in font size within the application or a change in the font itself.



To find out more about how I enjoyed a party for the first time in my life using Twitter - continue to the next blog post!

Tags:disabled | access | socialising | twitter | disablism | social networking | blogging against disablism day

My Zoo provides casual gamers with insight into disability equality.

My Zoo is a casual game from Eyrewood Studios for the Facebook platform. With 659,924 monthly users and a portion of profits donated to wildlife charities it’s something that is appealing to all age groups across the globe.

The game is based around creating a zoo through buying land, staff, enclosures and of course the animals themselves. Players can choose to breed endangered animals and make improvements to their zoo to keep visitors coming back and increasing profits.

A little while ago I approached Scott Carney from Eyrewood Studios and asked if some disability equality features could be added to improve the ‘visitor’ experience. After some suggestions around the types of features and language, I was delighted to see that equality has become part of the game experience and players now have to build in disability features to progress in the game.

As a way of making equality mainstream, building equality into gaming is a fantastic way to engage with people. I have approached other companies on similar issues but they have so far declined to include disability equality features into their games.



So far, features include:

• Disabled facilities to increase guest satisfaction

(Text reads “Accessible restrooms, surface improvements, easy-to-read signs and wheelchair/scooter ramps yield more visitors and higher satisfaction.")


• Employee Training (which requires the disabled facilities upgrade)

(Text reads “Customer service and equality training improves interactions between employees and with visitors.)

Future plans include stroller and wheelchair rentals and a zoo train to improve getting around the zoo.

Scott said, “I'm really glad that you contacted me and brought this important aspect of building a public facility to my attention. It wouldn't have occurred to me on my own and I think it's a great addition to our simulation. Because of the limited scope of facebook applications, I wasn't able to incorporate all of your suggestions, but I was happy to add as many as I could. Feedback was very positive when the items showed up.”

Tags:business | access | facebook | casual games

Monday the 8th of June 2009 - remember that day.

Why?

Two amazing things happend.

1) Firstly Apple showcased a thunderous new iphone - iphone 3Gs with additional accessibility features and
2) Disabled people in the UK finally have rights to equality under the new UN treaty.

Wait - shouldn’t the second one be at the number one slot?

Seriously though, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability is a landmark piece of legislation.

On Monday it was adopted by the UK government and could lead to better daily lives for all of us in the UK who have impairments. Sadly, and true to form, the signing of this has made few headlines. If disabled people are not aware of their rights - then how can we know when to challenge common breaches of equality and dignity?

Disabled people need to know about it and use the legislation to challenge inequality. We want to be treated with dignity, respect, fairness and equality.

Tags:rights | discrimination | disabled | gadgets

It’s blogging against disablism day and here is my round up of top gadgets and innovative products that, in my opinion, are not to be missed.

Just the other day I was Oooo-ing at an iPhone that a BSL interpreter had on one of my courses. Now there’s a phone that I can’t wait to get my hands on. But wait, I hear your cry. What about blind people - how are they going to manage in a world that is going touch screen? To which I replied, well actually... did you know that people with visual impairments CAN access a whole range of apple products with some interesting innovations and built in design

It’s true, technology can be life enhancing and access features for disabled people are at risk of being left out of the top ten things to include in new devices.

Being a total tech head I’m always on the lookout for the next gizmo and gadget that I can’t possibly live without - and many of them are offering life enhancing capabilities and good accessibility.

Innovation:

1) Lip-reading computers developed at the Unversity of East Anglia. Many disabled people lose their voices but retain lip movement so this would be perfect. Think of the business applications - especially when it can read several different languages. More about lip-reading computers

2) Phones. Other useful tech includes the ability to translate sign language to audio for mobile phones. If you have no vision then this concept case for the iPhone is interesting.

Moving on - you can now control your light switches from your iPhone! I have so many remotes for switching plugs and lights that to have one cool gadget as a universal control - now that’s progress.

So, my next one is home automation (environmental controls).

3) Home automation is now affordable outside of ‘special disabled equipment’ from the NHS. In my dream world, one command would open the curtains, bring the lights up from dim, set the radio going with soothing sounds whilst my coffee and breakfast was being made for me in the kitchen by yet more fab gadgetry. Oh wait, actually I suppose I do have this in the form of a PA... hmmm.

4) Brain waves for blogging and tweeting. Yes if you can’t move a muscle then use your noggin to keep up with your bloggin (I always knew I was a poet???) and use of Twitter (if you don’t mind wearing a mad cap full of electrodes - hey I’d try it).

5) Brain waves for controlling wheelchairs. Yes working prototypes are available. You programme your chair to move left or right according to thinking about a particular object. What happens when you’re weaving about the newsagents thinking Left Left Left and your distracted by a top shelf magazine I don’t know - perhaps you start spinning round or something!

6) Gadget web-sites - I’ve found many a useful invention on these sites.

http://www.coolest-gadgets.com

is my favourite one but there are lots on the web - go and see if you can find something that could change your life!

Tags:disabled | independent living | gadgets

My topic this year - gadgets (ohh let me think, will Apple feature or not....)

Join me and chat on facebook.

Tags:disabled | website | discrimination

Yesterday, the Royal Bank of Scotland had to pay the highest compensation payout of its kind to a 17 year old wheelchair user.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission took on the case when the person had been unable to gain access to the bank in Sheffield.

The bank were ordered to install a lift for wheelchair users and the man was awarded £6,500 for embarrassing treatment.

----

I went to a HSBC bank once (only one that was near to me) and couldn’t get in because of a step. I eventually got a member of staff to do my transaction outside, on the pavement in the pouring rain and freezing cold. My case was virtually identical to this one.

This is our reality.
---

Tags:DDA | access | rights

New web standards have been issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) with regards to access for disabled people.

This is WCAG 2.0 and applies to all web content (text, images, sound, video etc).

(Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

There is also standard BS 8878 - a British draft standard on process.

What does this mean to my business?

Firstly all businesses (including voluntary organisations) must ensure their web-site is accessible to people with a range of different impairments including people with impairments which effect:

• Movement (alternatives include using a mouse, graphics tablet, switches (singe button, head control etc) and adjustments to keyboards).
• Ability to read e.g. someone with dyslexia, learning difficulty or visual impairments.
• Hearing and vision (alternatives include design changes, subtitles/captions, audio description)
• Concentration or cognitive ability.

“These guidelines also make Web content more usable by older individuals with changing abilities due to aging and often improve usability for users in general.” [W3C:2008]


Any person who experiences difficulties using your website (to the level of functionality that is offered to those without impairments) may fall within the Disability Discrimination Act.

Failing to ensure accessibility is unlawful in the UK under the DDA.

What should I do?

You should ensure that you meet the British Standard on web accessibility:

http://drafts.bsigroup.com/

and international W3C standards on:

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

and the DDA.

Tags:disabled | discrimination | access | website

As a freelance trainer, I have been doing some courses lately at the sorts of night stay hotels you see at motorway stops (without naming names....).

Anyway, about 1/2 of those I visit for the first time do the following.

I report to reception.

‘Hello, I have a group for training booked by [x] can you tell me which room I am in please]’.

they then either lead me into a foyer and say ‘sit here the trainer will be out soon’, or turn to my PA and proceed to introduce themselves as if she is the trainer.

So I thought, I will clearly introduce myself as the trainer next time I do a course.

Method 2

I then went to a company and on arrival about 45 mins before the course started, I said to the receptionist:

‘Hello, I’m here to do the training.....’
“Oh I think there is training in there, but I’m a bit concerned because the trainer hasn’t turned up yet’.

Ehm... let’s start that again, I thought.

“No, you don’t have to worry - I AM the trainer....”

“OOOOOH. Your the trainer... oh oh oh.”

This company also made a ten minute toilet trip a 30 minute one because my PA had to clear the corridor of material being stored, to open the WC door, and put it all back afterwards. So 0/10 for access.

Tags:disabled | attitudes

Insight: Work fit for all - disability, health and the experience of negative treatment in the British workplace.

This is the title of a new publication by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

You can download this EHRC document here.

It explains how Britain (compared to other countries) has large numbers of disabled people with proportionately fewer in employment.

Incapacity Benefit claims have doubled in the past 20 years and the Government wants to reverse this trend.

So why aren’t disabled people getting jobs?

Research shows that disabled people perceive themselves as being subject to negative treatment at work - it is the fear of discrimination.

On a personal level, I can understand that when you are discriminated against time and time again in many parts of your life - why should work be any different?

Is this perception accurate?

Well, those surveyed who had attempted work agreed that negative treatment at work was experience and that for many it had made them ill (and many developed long term illness).

Negative behaviours and attitudes were not just from managers or supervisors - but work colleagues and customers.

What did the figure show:

25.4% of disabled people experienced intimidating behavior compared to 13.4% of those with no impairment.

14.4% received hints and signals that they should quit their job with only 8.7% of those with no impairment.

37.3% experience being shouted at or someone losing their temper with them compared to 25.9% of those with no impairment.

Disabled people felt more threatened, treated in a rude way or insulted, subject to gossip and experienced more physical violence.

In fact, disabled people experienced

More information:

For people with:

• A learning difficulty, psychological or emotional condition, the likelihood of negative experiences at work was increased by 167 per cent
• ‘Other’ conditions, the likelihood was increased by 128 per cent
• ‘Physical’ conditions the likelihood was increased by 3 per cent.

In contrast, other important variables were:

• Sexuality - being gay increased negative behaviour by 55 per cent.

Multiple oppression is an important factor where a mental health survivor who is gay could experience extremely damaging effects of work and may well be healthier if they were unemployed - something the government is now forced to contemplate in its ‘work is good for you, your community and the economy’ approach.

Employers - more needs to be done within businesses to end discrimination.

Employers will be asked, under possible amendments to legislation, to prevent illl-treatment and harassment of disabled people in the work place and promote dignity and respect.

Tags:business | DDA | employment | disabled | discrimination

Today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.


It was established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and adopted by the General Assembly in 1982 (United Nations 2006) and is based on the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by disabled people.

This year the theme is:

"Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Dignity and justice for all of us".

You can read all about this years theme by following this link.

“Legislation alone will not ensure that persons with disabilities can enjoy their human rights. States will need to formulate effective policies and programmes that will transform the provisions of the Convention into practices that will have a real impact on the lives of persons with disabilities. “

Some facts:

• The UK has not signed up to the Convention.
• This day used to be called International Day of Disabled Persons in 2007 - and has taken on a Medical Model title.
• 400 million people (80% of disabled people) live in poor countries where poverty is the main cause.
• 50-70% of disabled people in industrialised countries like the UK are of working age but unemployed.
• 20 million women acquire disabilities as a result of complications during pregnancy or childbirth.
• 90% of disabled children in developing countries do not attend school.
• 650 million people in the world are disabled.
• Older people with impairments are also ‘disabled people’ - so why say ‘disabled and frail older people’?

Tags:disabled | rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) turns 60 on 10 December 2008. On Human Rights Day 2007, the United Nations Secretary General launched a year-long UN system-wide advocacy campaign to mark this important milestone. The initiative celebrates the Declaration and the promise that has made this document so enduring: “Dignity and justice for all of us”.
Disabled people are often denied their rights - both civil (DDA etc) and human rights.
To find out about ensuring disabled people have their rights within social care practice, why not visit:
Equality and Human Rights Commission - Human Rights
Topics cover:

Fair and dignified treatment
Taking part in the community
Living the life you choose
Being safe and protected from harm

Rights in different settings - essential for all social care staff to implement.


Topics include:
Health and Social Care, Houseing, Learning and Training, Criminal Justice System etc.

Disability Equality Duty - applies to all local authority workers.

Tags:disabled | rights

Jonathan Shaw, disabilities minister, has announced that the UK government will not ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities this December.
The delay could last until Spring 2009 or later due to lack of commitment to parts of the conventions.

What would this do for disabled people in the UK?

Dr Alice Maynard (Scope chair) said:
“This treaty is of huge political and symbolic importance for disabled people and will help strengthen our rights in all areas of our lives, from education to family life.”
It would give disabled people the right to go to the UN when they have exhausted the legal processes in the UK.
It also has the potential to change existing legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act and Disability Equality Duty and challenge attitudes and stereotypes.
One particular point that brushes heavily with social care is the right to life.
The articles referring to the Right to Life is emotive. It would give specific signals that the birth and continued life of disabled children should be sustained. Also that children of disabled parents should not be separated against their will purely on the basis of ‘disability’ - rather society should support disabled parents with their children and that to do otherwise would be a clear breach of their human rights as a family.
Another article (24) would ensure equal access to inclusive education - in the mainstream if this would not be to the detriment of other pupils.

Has anyone else signed up to the Convention?

On May 3rd, 2008, 127 countries brought disability discrimination into the 21st century. Disabled people in Ecuador, for example, now have more protection of their human rights than UK citizens.
More information
UN - easy to read guide to the Convention
Human rights and disability UN Convention.info- the only UK website devoted to the convention - news and information.

Tags:disabled | rights

One of the things I find quite disturbing is the number of disabled people who will openly and honestly say that they chose benefits as a lifestyle choice.

These individuals are quite accepting that even with their level of impairment, they could work - but choose not too.

I have seen four distinct groups emerging over the last year.

1) The “I can’t and never will be able to work” group.

Those that believe that they could never work because they adopt the sick role or believe ‘disabled people don’t get jobs because of discrimination so why bother’. They see work as out of the question and often refuse to engage with anything that might indicate otherwise.

2) The “I could but don’t see the need to” group.

Those who are comfortable with free housing, free support and free social activities paid for by the council. Many have had well paid jobs before they became disabled, are not contributing towards the cost of their support, have maximised their benefits and feel that their ‘income’ provides a desirable quality of life - so why change? Many have high academic qualifications and many sought after skills and experience.

3) The “I will try work if I have the right support” group.

Those that want to work, but find it difficult to get the right amount of support and a job that pays well enough to come of benefits. They accept the responsibility of citizens to seek employment - and see themselves as no different in that sense.

4) Those who truly can’t work at all because they have a very severe level of impairment.

Often individuals who have high disability related and housing costs that go far beyond what benefits will cover. Individuals for whom the benefit system is really supposed to help - and which doesn’t go far enough in it current format.

Equality - we must ensure responsible citizenship.

I have worked with many social workers and care managers who quite readily offer 2 or 3 days at a resource centre or Direct Payments to enjoy leisure activities, without exploring whether that person should be engaging with work (and may thus rule out the need for so much leisure support to make a person’s days ‘fulfilled’).

I am not saying that disabled people don’t deserve funds to enable them to access leisure - far from it.

However, as a disabled person, it grates to know that I might be slogging away for 5 days a week at work, whereas someone else with the same level of impairment can be having 5 great days worth of fun activities.

Where is the equality in that?

Tags:employment | independent living

Disability and Employment
“For the first time, this year’s Employer CD-ROM includes information on disability and employment.
Employing disabled people can help you to:

• attract and keep skilled staff
• make your workforce more representative of the community it serves
• avoid undervaluing, under-using or losing skilled staff
• avoid the costs and uncertainties of recruiting someone new
• improve staff morale and productivity
• develop good practice
• help avoid claims of unlawful disability discrimination.”

SOURCE: HMRC Employer’s Bulliten 29 issued April 2008
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers-bulletin/bulletin29/disability-employment.htm

Tags:DDA | business

BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 5 April 2008 at 1204 BST.
In the programme the lack of alternative formats was addressed. This was in relation to American Express offering bank statements in PDF formats that were not coded for visually impaired people to read via their screen readers. The issue has still not been fixed and is causing difficulties for the many people who use screen readers (Blind and visually impaired people, those with reading impairments who listen to the spoke word and people with learning difficulties who may also find it easier hearing items rather than reading them.
This is unlawful under the DDA and American Express apologized to the BBC stating that they are working to fix the problem that began last December.

Tags:alternative formats | access | DDA | disabled | discrimination | visually impaired

Yesterday a new way of making an emergency call was launched - by Text Message. I have worked with a number of disabled people within the first aid and emergency services where this would have been a life-saver for people who can't hold a phone, have a speech impairment or are Deaf. I taught a Deaf lady on a first-aid course one year where making the 999/112 call was very difficult for her to be understood.

My texting life saver.

As a person who finds it impossible to hold a mobile phone, I found myself in a predicament where a care worker was becoming drunk and about to physically abuse me - or worse. I had employed a live-in, male care worker and all was going well until I started smelling alcohol on his breath. His references had all checked out and a CRB was being carried out. I then heard that he had been dismissed because of alcohol and related problems from a previous care worker job and should not be working in this field.

I discussed my findings and he was due to leave the next day. However, by the evening he was intoxicated through consoling himself because he had lost himself another job - and things took a sudden turn for the worse. Every indication was that there was a high risk of an abusive situation but then things got even worse.

My electric wheelchair went from having a slow puncture to being being completely flat in a few seconds. I was stuck in the middle of the room with a care worker who was making advances. I also knew that he had taken a knife into his room for some unknown reason. I couldn't make a 999 call as it was too difficult and it could have pushed him over the edge. He wanted to kill himself and now there were two lives in danger.

I had, however, told a friend what was happening and if I texted a code word the police would be called. I did this silently and effectively. Thank goodness I did, just as the care worker touched my face the door went - it was the police who removed the man from my property calmly and effectively and I live to tell the tale.


PRESS RELEASE SUMMARY: 26th February 2008

Emergency SMS texting service for deaf and speech-impaired people launched

From: Kent Fire and Rescue Service and Kent County Council

A new SMS service for Deaf and speech-impaired people was launched at Kent Police Headquarters today (26 February 2008).

The launch of this partnership project coincided with a visit from Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, who was visiting Kent Police Headquarters to attend a disability action group meeting.

The initiative is a joint venture between Kent Police, Kent County Council (KCC) and Kent Fire and Rescue (KFRS), and will allow those with hearing and speech problems to 'text' the emergency services when they require help.

Those using the SMS system, will have to start their text with the word 'police', 'medic' or 'rescue' depending on which service they need, followed by the rest of their message. The text will then be channelled to the relevant organisation and dealt with immediately.

Kent Police Assistant Chief Constable Steve Harris said: 'This new service means that deaf and speech impaired people will be able to alert emergency services of concerns they have quickly and effectively, without having to face problems that could be linked to conventional methods.
'With technology moving forward all the time, it's vital that we use the latest and most efficient means of communication for everybody in our local communities.'

Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire said: 'I am delighted to see the launch of this invaluable text messaging service. It will empower deaf and speech impaired people to gain quick and easy access to emergency services where and when they need to. I would like to express my thanks and congratulations to all the organisations which have put in such hard work and dedication to make this happen. This project is a great example for the rest of the country.'

KCC Cabinet Member for Adult Social Services, Kevin Lynes said: 'I am delighted that Our Deaf Forum and staff in Deaf Services have played such an important role in the setting up of this vital system. This is an excellent example of pooling resources and together with Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue; this new initiative can quite literally save lives.'

Assistant Director of Kent Fire and Rescue, Steve Griffiths, said: 'We are delighted to be teaming up with our emergency services colleagues to launch this new service. It is really important to us that deaf people are able to contact us quickly and easily if they need our help- and this new service is a great solution.'

Posters and leaflets advertising the initiative are currently being distributed in key locations around the county.

Tags:disabled | independent living | wheelchair

PRESS RELEASE SUMMARY: Harrow Council found guilty in acting unlawfully.

From: Public Law Project. A small section is show below and the full press release is available from: Public Law Project

"20 December 2007

High Court finds that Council acted unlawfully and ignored rights of disabled people

Harrow Council forced to reconsider new policy withdrawing care services from 100s of residents

In a key case about disability rights and the provision of care services for 100s of people, a judge found a local council had acted unlawfully when introducing its new policy because it had breached its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act.


The case, brought by the Public Law Project (PLP) on behalf of three service-users in Harrow, was a challenge to Harrow Council’s decision in July this year to restrict the care services it currently provides to people with critical needs only, withdrawing care from those who had substantial needs. "

Tags:disabled | discrimination

As a dedicated family historian researching my ancestry, I purchase a popular magazine called 'Your Family Tree'.

In the last issue, they accidentally printed some of their articles in a pale font on a pale background and made it difficult for vision impaired people to read or 'those with poor eyesight' as they described.

Nice to see that not only have they apologized publicly but they have made an accessible downloadable version in a pdf for people who can access the Internet.

Congratulations to the Editor for apologizing and avoiding a potential DDA claim from it's readers. Perhaps others publications could take note... I''m off to have a read.

Read what the company said by clicking here.

I posted a comment on their website and added this note in reference to their SPAM detection:

(Apart from to publish this I had to answer a maths question which many disabled people would find difficult should they have a cognitive impairment)

Tags:disabled | discrimination | business | visually impaired | alternative formats