There are 10.8 million people in the UK with a long-term health problem or disability. Despite increasing public awareness of the problems faced by people with disabilities, inequality and discrimination still persist. Education, employment and transport are just some areas where people with disabilities might encounter problems, and disabled people are also likely to suffer higher levels of poverty than those who are non-disabled. This book contains chapters on disability issues, equality and rights and learning disabilities.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Disability Issues
Disability issues, Disability in the UK, Adjusting to disability, Benefits, Disability facts, Transport options for disabled people, Young carers, ‘Hidden Lives’, Ross’s story.
Chapter Two: Equality and Rights
Equality rights, The disability symbol, Diversity good for business, Workplace prejudice, Disabled people continue to bear brunt of UK poverty, Disability and employment statistics, The cost of poverty, Social care, The care gap, Resources for disabled children, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), The campaign for real choice, ‘Lack of choice’ for disabled children, International disability facts, Disabled treaty to reverse years of neglect, ‘Institutional disablism’ is rife in Britain, Recognising disablism, Living with a label, Disabled people on TV.
Chapter Three: Learning Disabilities
Information on learning disabilities, Managing a learning disability, Not seen, not heard, Special Educational Needs, Learning together for the better.
Key Facts
Glossary
Additional Resources
Index
Acknowledgements
• According to the 2001 census results there are 10.8 million people (of all ages) in the UK who have a long-term health problem or disability, which limits their daily activities or the work they could do. They make up 18.5% of the population. (page 1)
• Only 17% of disabled people were born with their disabilities. (page 6)
• According to the Disability Rights Commission, only 50% of the 6.8 million disabled people of working age in Britain are in employment. (page 15)
• There are now more disabled adults living in poverty than either children or pensioners. Add in the extra costs related to disability, and it isn’t difficult to see why enduring poverty for disabled people is one of the key challenges yet to be addressed by government initiatives to reduce poverty and combat social exclusion. (page 17)
• People feel that if they become disabled or develop a long-term health condition they would like to be able to make decisions about their own lives (81%) and get support from Local Authorities to stay in their own house (57%). (page 18)
• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that disabled people make up 10% of the world population. Disabled people account for 15-20% of the world’s poorest. (page 25)
• 77 per cent of those polled said they would not find it offensive to see a disabled person hosting a mainstream TV programme and only 9 per cent said they wouldn’t want to see people with facial disfigurements and ‘severe’ disabilities in programmes such as soaps or quiz shows. (page 32)
• 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. Nine out of 10 people with a learning disability get bullied. (page 33)
Coping with Disability Study Guide
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.50
ISBN: 978 1 86168 413 4
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