Fulfilling Potential- EmergingThemes
Theme 1 – Realising AspirationsThe Government is committed to encouraging appropriate support and interventions for disabled people at key life transitions, to realise disabled people’s potential and aspirations for education, work and independent living.
The Problem
Disabled children and young people have the same aspirations as their non disabled peers for education, work and independent living – but have a lower employment rate and lower educational attainment.
Emerging themes from stakeholder discussions
- The educational expectations of disabled children need to be realised. Education is fundamental – not just in school, but in higher and further education, and lifelong learning. There needs to be genuine choice in education.
- There needs to be a clear route from education into employment, linked to individual’s career aspirations.
- The low employment rate for disabled people needs to be addressed, particularly for specific groups, and there needs to be more support for disabled people to become self-employed or set up cooperatives.
- The aspirations of older disabled people should not be overlooked.
- There needs to be better support at transition points, for example onset of disability.
- There needs to be better support for parents, as they have a big influence on children’s aspirations.
Emerging themes from the written responses to the discussion document
Education opportunities
- Easier access, help with fees
- Flexible learning - distance learning
- Retraining opportunities
- Inflexible funding - not available for training wanted
- Funding for disability courses (e.g. lip reading training)
- Lack of part time / flexible working – homeworking, workplace support,
- Employers need to be disability aware
- Need for ad hoc voluntary work
- Prioritising young at expense of others
- Continuity of financial support
- E- accessibility - cannot afford computers/internet access
- Ring fenced funding - councils claim they have no funding for support
- Impact assessments needed when DWP local offices close
Theme 2 – Individual control
We are committed to enabling disabled people to make their own choices and have the right opportunities to live independently. We want to ensure that disabled people have personal control over the services they receive and that support is delivered in the way they want it, across every area of their day to day lives, e.g. accommodation, travel or employment.
The Problem
Disabled people tell us that that decisions about their lives are still too often made for them – not by them, and they also report barriers to accessing many services and activities including education, transport, health, social care and sport, social and recreational activities.
Emerging themes from stakeholder discussions
- Disabled people’s ability to make their own choices should be strengthened. Particularly in health care and support from local authorities.
- Choice and control isn’t only about personal budgets. There also needs to be a focus on infrastructure, which often hinders choice and control – in particular inaccessible buildings, transport, and information. Processes to involve disabled people in decision making also need to be considered, for example in residential care settings.
- Better joined up services are needed. There also needs to be greater clarity about who is responsible for providing services, and greater accountability. With an increasing focus on Big Society and localism, it needs to be clear how disabled people will be engaged in service delivery and able to play a full and active role in designing services.
- Advocacy programmes need to be improved, and disabled people’s user-led organisations need to be strengthened.
Emerging themes from the written responses to the discussion document
Information
- Sharing of information provided by peers
- Receiving relevant training to help overcome barriers
- More awareness and publicity for local disabled groups
- Access to basic communication/pc internet training
- Clear signposting for support and longer term assistance
- Ability to self refer for NHS services
- Special sessions at swimming pools for disabled children
- Provision of services must be transparent
- Disability awareness training for professionals
- Accessible activities to encourage disabled people to participate
- Personalised social care assessments - not tailored to existing services
- Provision of funding when needed e.g. for specialist footwear/ home adaptations
- Ability to self refer and pay for services directly
- Independent agencies are financially supported for long term projects
- Availability of software updates/internet at reduced cost
Social/support services
- Support services need to be local, not determined by council/county boundaries
- Territorialism between services/support
- Services limited to those in critical need only (limited budgets)
- Recognition of my needs and provision of appropriate support
- Change can be difficult to assimilate, need time
- More help with taxi and other fares
- Lack of suitable public transport (especially in rural areas)
- More aid for vehicle modifications
- Need faster access to medical services
- Need more support from GPs
- NHS seem more interested in making savings than helping disabled people
Theme 3 – Changing attitudes and behaviours
We want to promote positive attitudes and behaviours towards disabled people, to enable participation in work, community life and wider society, tackling discrimination and harassment wherever they occur.
The Problem
Nearly 8 in 10 people feel there is still prejudice against disabled people and many disabled people have told us they continue to experience discrimination on a daily basis. If unchecked preconceptions and unfounded prejudices against disabled people can lead to antisocial behaviour, harassment, hate crime and in extreme cases, murder, as well as being a barrier to participation in communities and wider society.
Emerging themes from stakeholder discussions
- Positive images of disabled people and appropriate use of language need to be used, particularly in Government communications and in the media.
- There should be a greater focus on implementing and enforcing the Equality Act – and greater leadership from Government in communicating that discrimination and harassment are wrong, and challenging non-compliance.
- Awareness of disabled people’s rights and their needs should be raised among non-disabled people, professionals and service providers, in particular among health care professionals. There also needs to be better representation and visibility of disabled people working in the professions, eg teachers, healthcare professionals, councillors, etc.
- Improvements are needed to remove the possibility of inappropriate treatment, particularly in prison, health care and residential care situations.
- Disabled people’s access to justice needs to be improved, particularly in light of reforms to legal aid provision.
Emerging themes from the written responses to the discussion document
Current media portrayal of disabled people
- Branded as benefit scroungers and cheats
- Government press releases on fraud seen as unhelpful
- Disabled people see link between this and increased hate crime
- Include disability education in schools
- Awareness - anybody can become disabled
- More disabled people representing themselves/their work organisations in public
- Encourage disabled people to become teachers and role models for the young
Need for strong positive media portrayals
- Publicise positive case studies
- Focus on what disabled people can do, not what they can’t
- Creation of positive role models in children’s TV and books
- Publicise the numbers of working disabled people
- Publicise the number of disabled people who volunteer/ help others
- Publicise disabled people’s contribution to the economy
- Move away from concept that some impairments are more deserving than others
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