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Disability and social inclusion – Task One
Disability it is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Disabilities cover medical conditions such as asthma and progressive or fluctuating conditions (depression), learning difficulties (dyslexia) and learning disabilities (autism). Certain medical conditions (cancer, HIV infection) are classified as disability as well (Jisc, 2013).
Congenital disabilities – they are presented at the birth. Because is developing different to disabilities that people have it later in life, the sociological issues involved are different as well. Congenital disabilities are caused by genetic inheritance or mutation, or of environmental aspects during pregnancy or the perinatal period, such as mother’s alcohol intake or oxygen deprivation during delivery (Oxford Bibliographies, 2017).
Acquired disabilities- has developed during the person’s life time. Usually is caused by an accident or illness, not as a case that someone was born with. There is about 85 % of working-age people with a disability that obtained their disability over their lifetime (Jisc, 2017)
Examples of acquired disabilities:
Accident injuries:
-head trauma
-spinal injuries
-loss of vision or hearing
Illness and health related:
-post stroke
-post-traumatic stress
-motor neuron disease
-stress, Employer disability information (2019) Acquired Disabilities
People with disabilities have to face difficulties and exclusion every day from life and social activities. Exclusion comes in many forms. It has a big impact on the individuals and their families. It reflects in many aspects of life as work place, social life, schools, education. Less attention is paid for people to help them to get a job with their health condition, the social security is limited as well in some cases. Public support for the rights of disabled people is not like should be. Disabled people are not invited to all social events, as there is no appropriate access for wheel chairs and no preparation for them made at times. This adds to exclusion and makes disabled people feel isolated.
There are also financial cuts made by government, without fully understanding disabled people’s needs and the impact that it will have on those people’s lives. There should be assessments made before any decision is made final, as it may have a serious impact on disabled people lives and their families (BBC NEWS 2012).
Children at school who are disabled should have the same rights as other children without health issues do. Some can undertake school work with support from the local authority and professionals to meet their needs. This will include how to adapt a learning area and giving them mental support as well for both children and parents (Haringey Council Services 2019).
Disabled people should be encouraged to have the same rights as people without disabilities. The organizations should make sure that the same policies and practices are given to those people. Disabled people must feel that they have the same roles and activities such as workers, students, community member and as a patient. They should benefit from of the same health promotion and social activities such as: using public resources, public transport, counselling programs. Disability inclusion means to understand the way how people function and how they would like to be involve in society and making the same opportunities for them and identifying and eliminating barriers (Centers for disease control and prevention 2018).
Financial help for people with disabilities.
People with disabilities are entitled to get a financial help from the government and other institutions. It might depend on the situation of the individual, it could be related to the age, family circumstances and level of disability present. There are charities as well that can provide some financial help that are available for people with disabilities, which they can apply for online. Reference Financial support for people with disabilities (Gov UK, 2019).
It includes a benefit, tax credits, payments, grants and concessions.
-Universal Credit
-Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance (is for people aged between 16-64)
-Disability Living Allowance (for children under 16)
-Attendance Allowance (65 and over)
-Employment and Support Allowance (apart from the financial help gives an access to trainings and other range of services
Vehicle and transport- exemption from paying vehicle tax
-parking benefits
-disabled persons bus pass or railcard
Home and housing
Disabled Facilities Grands
low income:
-housing benefit
-council tax reduction
If employed:
-Universal Credit
-Income Support
-Working Tax Credit (for people working on the low income)
-Access to Work
(GOV.UK. 2019).
There are many issues with funding however one difficulty people may face is that they might find it hard to claim or gain any support. They might find it difficult to evidence or constantly prove they have a disability. There are obstacles put in the way for anyone seeking support. If you have a learning disability for example you might need help completing forms and may not understand the complicated processes without further support. Another example can be a Housing Associations, which are not always helpful, and people with disabilities often have to suffer from a place to live that is not adapted to their needs. Because disabled people are usual unemployed or they paid less for them, there is more difficult to apply for a credit from institutions and banks which will reflect on people ability for getting better chance to change their standard of living (Unison, 2019).
The Equality Act 2010.
This Act is about how to protect the rights of individuals it involves legislation and discrimination law. It could be considered a guide as to how to protect people from unfair treatment. It contains guidance for employers, workers and other institutions for a better understanding of the rules and regulations (Equality and Human Rights Commission 2017).
It replaced and previous anti-discrimination laws with the single Act, making it easier to understand. It assists disabled people when they are treated unfavorably because of their health issues. Discrimination as the result from disability is different from direct discrimination. Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favorably because of the disability itself.
It contains the structure of protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, work, education.
There are some changes about the definition of:
-gender reassignment
-protection for people discriminated against, because they understand they disability
– clearer protection for breastfeeding mothers
-coordinate provisions allowing voluntary positive action
This Act is about as well how to provide goods, facilities and services. It gives an important information and guidelines for community sectors and changes that can have an influence on people. There is a useful guide that might be convenient for employers, business and individuals.
The Act does not always cover all these aspects for an individual with a disability. For example, many people with a disability still find it hard to access public spaces and transport. In a real-life case, a woman was recently thrown off a train because of her disability.
The disabled woman was treated unfairly and not in a humane way. She was blamed for the delay to the train and causing problems for other passengers. This 37-year-old lady was using a mobility scooter. She was asked to move from the unreserved space as well, to give the space to another woman with a pram in the wheelchair area, which made her feel totally humiliated.” I cried for most of the journey home”, she said. They had been recording her on video as well and threating her by stating that they would put it on the internet, which made her feel very uncomfortable and awful (The Telegraph 2018).
This example shows that the Act does not always covers people’s disability in some areas in everyday life and can be very unfair as well. When considering this, the way people should treat individuals with disabilities needs to improve. People should be treated with compassion and their dignity should be upheld regardless of their disability. There needs to be more understanding for people with special needs. Under the Equality Act this lady could pursue a legal case against the train company for discrimination as she was targeted due to her disability which is a protected characteristic.
There are many sectors that have failed to make progress and some areas have not been developed enough to support many individuals. Disabled people are being left behind in comparison with others in society. Many families with a disabled person experience a lot of barriers, especially with a mental health problem and learning disabilities. The access to medical care is inadequate as well, transport and housing is not friendly or accessible in the way to provide clear support for disabled people (Equality Human rights 2017).
Word count 1426.
Reference list:
BBC NEWS (2012) Protesters show anger over Welfare Reform Bill (Online) www.bbc.co.uk
Equality Human Rights (2017) Being disabled in Britain (Online) www.equalityhumanrights.com
Centers for disease control and prevention (2018) Disability and Health (Online) www.cdc.gov
Employer disability information (2019) Acquired Disabilities (Online) www.employerdisabilityinfo.ie
Equality and Human Rights Commission (2017) An introduction to the Equality Act 2010 (Online) www.equalityhumanrights.com
Equality Act 2010: guidance (2015), Government Equalities Office and Equality and Human Rights Commission. (Online) www.gov.uk
Nidirectgov (2019) Financial support for people with disabilities [online] www.nidirectgov.uk
Jisc (2013) The legal definition of disability ( Online) www.jiscac.uk
Oxford Bibliographies (2017) Congenital Disabilities (Online) www.oxfordbibliographies.com
The Telegraph (2018) Disabled comedian Tanyalee Davis ‘humiliated’ by train staff rejects apology (Online) www.telegraph.co.uk
Unison (2019) The Public Service Union, Disabled people and cuts (online) www.unison.org.uk
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