Same Difference

Protest ‘Scared Neighbours’ Children’ Says Nick Clegg

May 27, 2012

Nick Clegg has said the anti-cuts protest outside his London home had scared some neighbours’ young children.

The deputy prime minister and family were away during Saturday’s protest.

Mr Clegg said he respected the right to protest, and noted it was peaceful, but said it showed how difficult trying to live “a normal life” could be.

He told the BBC he and his wife Miriam had rejected the idea of moving into a flat “behind the Whitehall battlements” when he entered government in 2010.

He said the protest meant they were now in “new territory” but he hoped his family would not have to “retreat” to official government accommodation.

Mr Clegg told the Andrew Marr Show: “We have lots of neighbours who like us have small children and some of those small children were quite scared so that’s not, on a human level, very nice.

“But I have to say on the other hand the protesters, by the sounds of it, were entirely peaceful.”

He said that they “didn’t take up the offer to move into a flat behind the Whitehall battlements after the Government was formed because we wanted out children – still want our children – to lead as normal a life as possible”.

“At the same time I accept if you’re deputy prime minister in a Government doing difficult things people want to make their views known,” he added.

On Saturday hundreds of anti-cuts campaigners staged a “street party” protest, with disabled activists from UK Uncut chaining their wheelchairs at both ends of the street in Putney, south west London, where he lives.

The group said it targeted Mr Clegg as he was “one of the architects of austerity”.

Protesters put up bunting along the street and some were joined by their children. Some played music while others shared a picnic and the mood was described as relaxed.

Police said there were no arrests at the protest, which ended peacefully.

Louise Mensch, the Conservative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, took to Twitter to describe the demonstration as “intolerable bullying”.

Activists also gathered outside Mr Clegg’s constituency office in Fulwood in Sheffield where they were holding a 1940s-themed street party to “evoke the spirit of 1948” when the welfare state was created.

Government’s ‘Work For Free Or Lose Benefits’ Programme To Be Expanded

May 27, 2012

by samedifference1

Thousands more unemployed people will be forced to work for free or lose their benefits under controversial plans to be announced by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, as the government is warned its drive to get people back into work appears to be floundering.

The scheme, under which the jobless are obliged to accept an unpaid work placement for a month to keep their benefits, will be “significantly extended” within the next two weeks, according to Whitehall sources.

The government believes forcing people to work or lose their benefits is inculcating a work habit in the 10,000 people currently on the programme and will be effective for others.

Ministers are also looking at rolling out a national trial under which the unemployed must work for up to six months for free to avoid their benefits being docked.

However, The Observer has learned that a release of statistics on the outcomes of the mandatory work programme had been due this week but is to be delayed, raising concerns about its efficacy in helping the country’s 887,000 long-term unemployed – defined as being jobless for over a year.

Critics also claim the move is an indication of the panic within government over the failure of ministers’ various schemes to tackle long-term unemployment, which is at its highest level in 16 years.

Last week, the Employment Related Services Association, the trade body for welfare-to-work providers, warned for the first time that its members may not meet the government’s “minimum” targets in getting people back into work. It revealed that fewer than one in four of the people who had been on the work programme for six months had found a job.

Labour claims a House of Commons Library analysis shows that initial government estimates of Department for Work and Pensions spending on jobseeker’s allowance and housing benefit have been revised upwards by £9bn, as the number of people coming off benefits has halved in the last year.

The number of people claiming housing benefit has also shot past the five million mark for the first time, with more than 90% of new claimants since the 2010 general election being those in low-paid, part-time work.

Protesters In Wheelchairs Target Nick Clegg’s Home

May 26, 2012

by samedifference1

Hundreds of anti-cuts protesters have gathered outside Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s home in south-west London.

UK Uncut said disabled activists had chained their wheelchairs at both ends of the street in Putney where he lives.

The group, which is staging protest “street parties” in 10 UK cities, said it was targeting Mr Clegg as he was “one of the architects of austerity”.

A spokesman for the deputy prime minister has refused to comment on the demonstration.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said there were no reported arrests over the protest.

UK Uncut, which has previously targeted high profile people it believes are avoiding paying tax, said it was now targeting politicians.

Jean Sandler, 42, a UK Uncut supporter, said: “Nick Clegg is one of the architects of austerity; he’s a millionaire and lives in a £1m home.

“The cuts are a political choice of this government and the cabinet of out-of-touch millionaires, they are not necessary.

“These cruel cuts are designed to destroy our public services, the NHS, the welfare state and our future. The cuts are getting personal and so are our protests.”

Protesters have put up bunting along the street and some have even come with their children.

Participants said the mood appeared to be relaxed as protesters played music while others shared a picnic.

Simon Hope, who brought his four-year-old daughter, said: “I came to this protest because I think the government is trying to use the Jubilee next weekend to distract people from the cuts and the tough times people are facing.

“It’s brilliant that the party is on Nick Clegg’s road because he and the rest of the government are not listening to us, our petitions, our vigils or our marches.”

The group said street parties were being held in Bournemouth, Crawley, Derby, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and York.

Activists have also gathered outside Mr Clegg’s constituency office in Fulwood in Sheffield where they are holding a 1940s themed street party.

The Skydiving Servicemen

May 26, 2012

by samedifference1

Lying in a hospital bed almost six years ago Sergeant Stuart Pearson had just survived a day of unimaginable horror. Caught in a minefield in Helmand, Afghanistan, he and his fellow soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, had valiantly fought to save each other. One by one, they were hit by exploding mines. Three of them lost legs while Corporal Mark Wright died trying to help his friends, an act of such bravery that the 27-year-old was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

Days later, a bloody mess in hospital in Birmingham, Sgt Pearson knew his life was changed for ever but he refused to relinquish it all. “One of the things I said to myself in Selly Oak was, I am definitely going to get back to skydiving,” says the 37-year-old.

Sitting at the Army Parachute Association drop zone at Netheravon, he explains he knew the perils of throwing himself out of a perfectly good plane, having broken a leg more than 10 years ago, but jokes it is no longer an issue as the leg has gone.

Surrounding him, his fellow amputees span the history of modern British conflict, from the Falklands and Bosnia to Iraq and Afghanistan. Between the seven of them, they proclaim with a smile, they have just seven legs and 13 eyes.

Yet only weeks after beginning training, most with no experience of freefall, they have been transformed from a group of wounded soldiers and Royal Marines to Britain’s first ever disabled skydiving team. Undaunted by the fact that they lack the very limbs that most skydivers use to stabilise their body position in the air, they intend to bring home the medals.

The genesis behind the idea came from army commando Sergeant Dave Pacey, 30, a member of the military’s freeflying team Euphoria, and his wife Alana. “We wanted to give something back and we thought we could get a load of soldiers into the wind tunnel [which replicates the sense of freefall] and see how they fly. Then we thought we could turn them into a skydiving formation team,” he says.

The idea of allowing severely injured servicemen to pitch out of a plane at 13,000ft was initially rejected as sheer insanity by both the military and parachuting communities. “Putting amputees up in the sky, they were afraid we would hurt ourselves even more,” says former Welsh Guardsman, Lance Sergeant Allan Roberts, 32, who lost both legs in a roadside bomb. He continues: “The worst thing about being an amputee is everybody wants to protect you. They don’t want to see you injured any further. We want to show them that we can still skydive and do it well.”

Sgt Pacey and his team approached the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association (Blesma) and they agreed to sponsor the project and find seven members willing – or some might say mad enough – to give it a go. But, as they explain, fear is not a new emotion to them.

“I have had more scary situations being shot at. It is just a different sort of fear,” says Corporal Glynn McNary, 34, who recently left the Royal Marines. In 2009, he was hit by an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan, which killed a friend and seriously injured three others. He lost his right leg below the knee and, he adds with a grin, his left arse.

“Since being blown up you do get more fearful, more hesitant. The worst thing was that I thought, ‘That is my job over, that’s me done.’ It was not a job, it was my life. Most of us miss that military camaraderie, that peer pressure. It is the job we do. It is dangerous but it is exciting and it gives you that adrenaline rush. By doing this you are facing your fears and getting that confidence back.”

The first test for the new team was to put them out strapped to tandem instructors at Netheravon, Wiltshire, Sgt Pacey explains: “It was to make sure they were happy jumping out of a plane and get them used to landing a canopy. That was the bit we were worried about without legs. But they did an awesome job. Just to see the look on their faces, it felt like they had got a part of their lives back, that adventure, that freedom.”

The group then moved to the Airkix wind tunnel, a facility that replicates the feeling of dropping through the air at 120mph. Sgt Pacey, a veteran of three Afghan tours, along with Sergeant Deane Smith – a fellow medal-winning skydiver from 24 Commando Engineer Regiment who had recently returned from Helmand – were challenged by their fellow soldiers in a bet that they could not do it themselves with their legs strapped up.

Their success failed to impress, as former Major Dave Scott, 50, who lost his leg after an elective amputation following a mine accident in Bosnia, jokes: “If they had been really committed they would have hacked their legs off.” But through patience and negotiation, the team managed to find a way to balance themselves without all their limbs – a compromise between the usual training and what they could achieve. “Their attitude was extremely positive, they were always listening, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” adds Sgt Pacey.

Earlier this year they headed out to Elsinore, California, where the Americans welcomed them with baffled admiration as they progressed through their AFF (accelerated freefall) training. Despite the bravado among the group, each one had his moment of trepidation in the jumps towards achieving the coveted qualification.

“There is that fear that you are going to do yourself even more of an injury, damage what you have got left. You could see when somebody got a bit quiet. Everyone went through it. We would just start joking like typical squaddies,” explains former L/Sgt Roberts.

He was on just his sixth jump out of a plane when he faced every new skydiver’s greatest nightmare. His parachute malfunctioned, he was spinning and had to go through his drills to pull the reserve canopy. “There was no flapping. I just realised I was going to have to buy the beers,” he says with a nonchalance that seems inconceivable until you hear about the day in March 2010, while working as a private military contractor assisting reconstruction projects in Baghdad, that a bomb hit his vehicle.

“It was like slow motion, the bang, the heat and then I looked down and thought, one out of two legs isn’t bad.” But the second leg was beyond saving.

“During the trip, their stumps would start swelling and their prosthetic would be uncomfortable. They would be tender and sore,” adds Sgt Pacey. “But they have all been through more than that before so they could cope, keep fighting through it.”

“As an amputee you are in pain constantly. But the best thing about this sport is there is no pressure on your legs, you are pain-free,” explains L/Sgt Roberts. “Once you are up in the sky you forget about the disabilities you have. I forget I have my leg,” adds Sgt Pearson.

Now back in the UK they have a long battle ahead, not only in hours of training but in finding more sponsorship. But the team Blesma Trans4mers – which also includes former Marines Vince Manley and Jez Scarratt as well as Para John Reeves – are adamant they will compete at the Armed Forces Parachute Championships in July, four as a formation skydiving team and three others performing accuracy jumps. Then they will be ready for the national championships in August and, they hope, the podium. It is simply another hurdle for men who have had to teach themselves to dress again and learn to walk once more.

As L/Sgt Roberts insists: “I thought I would give skydiving my best shot. When I was injured I was going to prove to the world that I could set these goals that seemed out of reach and actually reach them and go beyond. And, when you get there you think you can do anything.”

Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BLESMATrans4mers

Harriet Riley

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

The family of a nine-year-old girl has won a multi-million pound compensation package for devastating injuries suffered at birth.

Harriet Riley cannot speak or walk after developing cerebral palsy when she was starved of oxygen at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

The High Court ordered Aneurin Bevan Health Board, which made a public apology, to pay a £2 million lump sum.

Harriet will also receive £325,000-a-year for lifelong care.

Both Harriet’s parents, Christopher and Louise Riley, were at the court to hear Mr Justice Walker approve the life-long settlement.

The judge paid his own tribute to Harriet for “coping in her own fashion with all that has befallen her”.

He also commended her parents for making “great sacrifices to give her the best possible quality of life”.

During Friday’s hearing, the health board’s barrister, Paul Rees QC made a public apology to Harriet and her family for “failings” in relation to the management of her birth.

‘Smilely Riley’

“The defendants accept that aspects of the care provided were not to the required standard,” he said.

“They accept that there should have been an earlier delivery.”

Speaking outside the court, Harriet’s mother said her daughter had a formidable and sparkling character, and was known as ‘Smiley Riley’.

“She has a smile which lights up the room,” added her father, golf professional Mr Riley.

He said his daughter is immobile and “relies on us for absolutely every part of her care”.

Although unable to speak, she makes herself understood with a “smile or a moan”, and has musical tastes which include Take That, he added.

The couple, who also have two younger children, said the compensation would make a massive difference to Harriet, and Mr Riley commented: “This will put us firmly in control of her care”.

Georgia Davis- The Carer Weighing 63 Stone

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

Here’s the Sun’s take on what happened to her yesterday- the most polite one I could find.

AN army of firemen, engineers and medics demolished part of a HOUSE to save Britain’s biggest teenager yesterday after she had a seizure.

It was the only way 19-year-old Georgia Davis, said by friends to be 63 STONE, could be hauled from her room in Aberdare, South Wales, and taken to hospital.

The amazing operation to save Georgia lasted eight hours and involved a 40-strong team.

It was launched when Georgia collapsed with breathing problems and chest pains in the bedroom that has become her prison.

She was taken to hospital only after the rescue squad:

DEMOLISHED the top half of her mum’s semi-detached house with sledgehammers and circular saws, making a 10ft by 10ft hole.

TORE down an internal dividing wall so Georgia could be removed from her back bedroom.

ERECTED a scaffold-supported 20ft-long ramp reaching up to the gaping hole from the pavement, which runs past the sunken house at ground-floor window level.

FITTED supports to prevent the roof collapsing, and LIFTED Georgia on to the ramp with a CRANE.

The teenager was in a special stretcher that itself weighed 11 stone — and was gently eased to a waiting ambulance that was reinforced to take her weight.

Georgia was taken to hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, with an oxygen mask over her face. She was said to be seriously ill last night with her mother Lesley by her side.

The anxious mum told The Sun: “There’s a lot going on right now.”

Paramedics quickly realised Georgia was too big to be taken out through doors following her collapse at Lesley’s housing association home in Aberdare.

And their alarm triggered the incredible rescue operation.

It was led by the fire service who sent 28 officers to the scene, including specialists.

Staff from the local council’s Emergency Planning and Social Services Team were on hand together with police, health officials and scaffolding workers.

Traffic was diverted as cops imposed a 300-yard cordon.

At one point some 25 vehicles packed streets near the house, including two fire engines, four fire service vans and a health authority minibus.

Huge tarpaulins were put up to protect Georgia’s dignity from curious locals as she was put in the ambulance. Days before her seizure Georgia told Facebook friends: “I’m in bed but problem is can’t get up.

“Earlier I was blocked in the toilet for 20 minutes and if you sit on the loo for that long it bloody hurts.”

Local Jonathan Price, 41, told how Georgia first fell ill on Wednesday.

He said: “She texted my daughter to tell her she was in agony with chest and back pains and they were waiting to get her to hospital. She hasn’t been out of bed for months and they couldn’t shift her.”

A neighbour added the teenager’s weight had rocketed this year and she had been “effectively immobile for six months”.

Georgia is a registered carer for her mum, who has heart problems and arthritis.

But in effect the mother looks after her — as well as her stepdad Arthur, who has lung cancer.

The Sun first told of Georgia’s battle with bulk when she weighed in at 33 stone at just 15.

She was suffering from crippling aches and Type 2 diabetes. And medics warned her: “Lose 20 stone or die.”

Georgia checked into a kids’ weight loss camp called the Wellspring Academy in the US state of North Carolina.

After nine months there she lost an impressive 14st 6lbs. The first six stone vanished in weeks as she ditched her normal diet of cheese, biscuits and chocolate for lean buffalo meat burgers.

The teenager, who took TWO plane seats on her flight across the Atlantic, enjoyed hikes in the Blue Ridge mountains, basketball and tennis.

After shrinking from Size 38 to Size 22 she was able to wear fashionable clothes for the first time. But within 20 months of her dramatic transformation she was back up to 40st 6lbs on a 13,000 calorie-a-day diet. She said: “When I arrived home my mum said she hadn’t had time to prepare any healthy food, so we had fish and chips instead.”

By August last year she hit 45 stone, saying she was ravaged by worry over the poor health of her mother and stepdad.

She added: “I was looking after them all the time. I was feeling so sad that they were both going downhill so fast and I stopped taking care of myself.”

Pregnancy Eases Symptoms Of MS

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

Good for women, but what do men do!

Researchers are carrying out clinical trials to find out if women with a range of autoimmune diseases could be helped by hormones found in pregnancy.

Women with a range of conditions, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disease report dramatic improvements in their symptoms during pregnancy.

However many say their conditions return, or worsen, after childbirth.

Two clinical trials are being held in France and California.

Researchers want to find out whether increasing levels of progesterone or oestrogen could protect women from relapses after childbirth.

The MS Society has welcomed the study but urged some caution.

Chief executive Simon Gillespie said: “This is encouraging. Some of the research going on, particularly the research in France at the moment, gives a potential clue and a potential way forward on treatments but long-term use of hormones is problematic. It does cause risks.

“So therefore the research needs to be done properly to identify what the benefits are and what the risks are before there can be any genuine therapeutic use.”

The results from the French study are due in October.

Claire Oliver, 36, from Peebles in the Scottish Borders, is a mother to two boys aged 10 and three.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 19, but noticed a startling difference when she became pregnant for the first time, at 25.

“It was fantastic, almost like my symptoms completely disappeared,” she said. “I felt completely well. Even after he was born I could lift him out, move him about the house, which I didn’t think would be possible.”

She enjoyed five years without a relapse, and when she became pregnant for the second time, found a similar effect.

‘Big difference’

Lindsay Ross, a teacher from Aberdeen, is the mother of an eight-month-old baby boy. She has rheumatoid arthritis.

She said: “Before falling pregnant I had a lot of trouble with hand, feet and knee joints shoulders.

“On falling pregnant I did notice a big difference, really it seemed to disappear.”

Continue reading the main story

Cases in Scotland

About 8,500 women live with MS in Scotland.
About 87,000 women live with a thyroid condition in Scotland.
About 45,000 women live with rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland.

She added: “But six weeks after giving birth it did come back, slowly to begin with, then worse than ever.”

Ms Ross is on a strong drug which is also used in the treatment of cancer, and hopes eventually a treatment will be found which is milder.

Anne Hart, a mother of two, lives in Fife. She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2007.

This means the “under-active” thyroid gland in her neck does not produce enough of the thyroxine hormone.

She said: “It affects so many things but tiredness is the big one, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, always being cold – even in the summer I have the heating on, brittle nails, headaches.”

However, a year after she was diagnosed, Ms Hart found her symptoms suddenly lifted.

She said: “To be given a break from it for nine months, you just wish there was some way you could get that every day, but without having to have another baby.

“It does make you wonder what is it in your body, is it the pregnancy hormone? How is this happening? It’s hard having had that break from it for things to get worse again.”

BBC Radio Scotland Investigates The Miracle of Pregnancy? will be broadcast on Sunday May 27, at 16:30.

Cornwall To Hold First Learning Disability Surfing Event

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

A surfing competition for people with learning disabilities is to be held in Cornwall.

It is believed to be the first such event in the UK and will include about 80 participants who will be assessed on their skills by judges from Surfing GB.

Organisers, The Wave Project, said it expected surfers from across the country to attend the event at Newquay’s Fistral Beach in June.

It provides surfing lessons for young people with learning disabilities.

Project co-ordinator Joe Taylor said: “It is open to anyone with a learning disability from across the UK.

“I understand that the competition has already attracted the attention of people from Swansea, London and Newcastle.”

The organisation uses surfing and the natural environment to help young people with learning disabilities and emotional difficulties.

Cornwall Council and Surfing GB are among those supporting the event, which will be held on 22 June.

Rebecca McKeown: Sexual Assault Did Not Contribute To Death

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

Northern Ireland’s state pathologist has conceded there was a “reasonable possibility” an alleged sexual assault injury sustained by a disabled teenager did not contribute to her death.

Professor Jack Crane has been giving evidence for a second day at the trial of 88-year-old David Johnston and 86-year-old Sarah Johnston.

The pair from Carwood Drive in Newtownabbey are charged with the manslaughter of their grand-daughter Rebecca McKeown. They deny the charge.

They also deny a further charge of child cruelty.

The prosecution claim an alleged sexual assault by one or both grandparents led to Rebecca’s death from pneumonia.

Under cross-examination on Thursday, Professor Crane ma1intained it was his professional considered opinion that the injury he found on 14-year-old Rebecca did contribute to her death in March 2001.

But after an extended discussion on the topic where a defence lawyer asked the scientist repeatedly if there was a possibility the injury did not contribute to Rebecca’s death, Professor Crane said: “I concede the point you are making – all I can do is give my opinion to the best of my ability.”

He denied, however, the suggestion put to him that after a consultation with senior barristers and police “someone wanted you to tighten up their case” or that he “moved from a guarded proposition to a much more aggressive proposition”.

He explained that he had made a further statement to “clarify” his first report from 2001.

The lawyer suggested: “It’s very, very difficult to have a proper conclusion in a case like this.”

Professor Crane agreed: “It was a very complex case, yes.”

The trial will resume on Monday when the jury will hear evidence from the consultant neurological paediatrician who had ‘lifelong’ care of Rebecca.

Cameron Wants Dementia Fightback Support From Businesses

May 25, 2012

by samedifference1

David Cameron has called on businesses to join his “national fightback” against dementia.

The Prime Minister said that companies should do more to make their services dementia-friendly.

Mr Cameron declared that tackling the disease, which is thought to affect 670,000 people in England, was one of his personal priorities.

During a meeting with a group working to help sufferers in their communities, Mr Cameron said changing the “national culture” surrounding the disease should be the first step.

He said: “Dementia is a terrible, heart-breaking disease – and tackling it is a personal priority of mine. Two months ago I promised that we’d lead an all-out, national fightback against dementia – and it’s happening. We’re putting more money into research and more thought into dementia care.

“We’re also encouraging more businesses to join this fightback. I’m delighted to see the progress being made here.

“Already 20 big organisations like Lloyds Group, Tesco and E.On have signed up to become more dementia-friendly – and over the coming months I want to see many more follow suit. Throughout this fightback I am staying heavily involved – driving forward new ideas, mobilising action and making sure we make real progress.

“For the sake of millions in our country we’ve got to keep this spirit of energy and defiance alive: we’re going to keep searching for treatments, keep looking for ways to make life easier for those with this disease – and keep taking the fight to dementia.”

Various business leaders were present at the meeting in east London as were two of the Prime Minister’s dementia champions – presenter Angela Rippon and Alzheimer’s Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes.

In March, Mr Cameron said that funding for research into dementia is to be more than doubled by 2015.

Virtual Street Party For The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

Are you sick or DisAbled? Will you be alone and bored over the Jubilee Bank Holiday?

I have just read about a virtual street party, being organised by Holidays From Home. What a brilliant idea!

Transformers Actress Gets Compensation From Film Company

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

The family of an actress injured on the set of Transformers 3 has been awarded an $18.5m (£11.7m) settlement.

Gabriela Cedillo was left brain-damaged when she was hit during a stunt sequence by a piece of metal, in what the studio called a “tragic accident”.

An investigation found a weld which connected a car to a tow cable failed when filming was taking place in Hammon, Indiana, in 2010.

The 26 year-old actress now needs constant care, her lawyer said.

Cedillo was driving a car in the background of the shot, when the stunt vehicle broke lose on set of the blockbuster sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon in September 2010.

Following the accident, a portion of her skull was removed and she now suffers from memory loss, seizures and is blind in one eye, her lawyers said.

Robert Lawson, spokesman for the film studio Paramount Pictures, said: “We are pleased that the Cedillo family has agreed to move forward with the settlement. This was a tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers remain with Gabriela.”

A judge in Chicago, where Ms Cedillo resides, approved the settlement this week after the actress sued Paramount Pictures in October 2010.

A fourth Transformers film is scheduled for release in 2014.

Earlier this year director Michael Bay revealed he has been working on an idea with executive producer Steven Spielberg, which he called “a whole new re-imagining of Transformers”.

CP Boy, 11, With A* At Maths GCSE Refused Place At Academy

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

This is part of the Inclusion Rules! Debate at Same Difference.

His amazing academic achievements are enough to make a non-disabled genius do a double take. They only make it all the more unbelievable that the academy doesn’t want him.

Case of 11-year-old with cerebral palsy and A* maths GCSE fuels wider concerns over education reforms and accountability

Two of the government’s flagship academy schools are facing legal challenges over their refusal to admit children with statements of special needs.

One of the cases involves Mossbourne academy in Hackney, east London, which has become one of the most celebrated schools in the country for its academic record.

The school has refused to admit an 11-year-old boy with cerebral palsy, arguing that it would compromise other children’s education and that it already has a higher than average number of pupils with special needs.

The case has highlighted the fact that academies may not have the same legal obligations to children with special needs as maintained schools. While parents of children with special needs have the right to appeal against a decision at any other school, lawyers are concerned that academies can turn them away with no legal right of recourse.

There are up to 30 cases of children with special needs who have been refused a place at an academy, according to Ipsea, the special needs advice service. They include eight against Mossbourne. The London Oratory school, which converted to become an academy under the coalition, is also facing a special needs legal challenge.

The legal cases could have widespread implications as more than half of secondaries in England are now academies.

Mossbourne was one of the first academies and has won praise from both Labour and the Tories for its pupils’ achievement. In last year’s A-level results, seven pupils from the school won places at Cambridge.

The Learning Trust, which is responsible for education services in Hackney, has refused to name Mossbourne in the boy’s statement, the official document setting out a child’s needs and the help they should receive, including the name of the school they will attend. Such statements are given to children with the most severe special needs and 2.7% of schoolchildren in England have them.

While he is academically gifted – he has already sat his maths GCSE and got an A* – his condition can make him unsteady on his feet. It also affects his ability at practical tasks such as using a ruler.

The boy’s mother, Sarah Creighton, said: “We said, ‘In what way can you possibly say [he] is going to interfere with the other children’s education?’ He’s top of the year in all his subjects, he’s got GCSE Maths A* already, he’s won the pan-Hackney debating challenge two years running, he’s a prefect and a reading mentor at his school. Obviously, I’m his mother, and I’m very, very proud of him. But I think I’m justifiably very proud of him.”

The Creighton family’s lawyers say that Mossbourne has refused to accept that the special educational needs tribunal – a court which hears school place appeals by parents of children with such needs – should hear the case. They say the school claimed it was not governed by the legislation that covers other state schools but only by its own funding agreement with the education secretary.

The Learning Trust applied successfully to have the case struck out but the family has now lodged an appeal with a higher court.

Elaine Maxwell, a partner at Maxwell Gillott solicitors, who is representing the family, said: “The academy may have good grounds for refusing to take a particular child in an individual case, but that should be an argument they make before a tribunal – they shouldn’t have it struck out before they get there.

“When you get a school saying it’s full, that’s not an end to it. The child or his parents should be able to say: does our disadvantage outweigh the disadvantage to other children? There’s a balancing act that has to be struck.”

She added: “How are academies accountable? This has been inherent in academies from the beginning. If academies aren’t bound by SEN provisions and the tribunal system, then the parents of a child with a statement have fewer rights than anyone else.”

Mossbourne has told the family that their son’s admission “would be incompatible with the efficient education of other pupils at the academy”. A local authority can legally decline to name a school in a statement if the child’s presence would have a negative impact on the education of existing pupils. This could mean, for example, reducing the level of pastoral care available to other children.

The academy argues that it had nearly 1,600 children applying for 200 places in its September 2012 intake. Of those applicants, 53 have statements. Of the 53, 28 named Mossbourne as their first preference. Nationally, 21% of schoolchildren have some form of special needs but at Mossbourne the proportion in each year is 26%-28%.

The boy’s family argue that his statement comes with funds that would help the school to provide for him.

Creighton said: “Part of me feels that this seems so blatantly wrong: that a school can say, ‘These regulations set up to protect disabled people don’t apply to us, so we don’t have to live by them.’ That seems so wrong, that anyone would be able to do that.”

A spokesman for the Learning Trust said: “As a matter of policy we do not comment on cases of this nature. Depending on the terms of the funding agreement between an academy and the secretary of state, the academy may not have to admit a child even if the school is named in the child’s statement.”

The case against the London Oratory, a Catholic school in Fulham which became an academy last year, concerns an 11-year-old boy from Croydon. The school has declined to be named in his statement, and again cited the argument that it would compromise the “efficient education of other children”.

Chris Barnett, lawyer for the family concerned and head of the education and disability law department at Levenes, said: “If it hadn’t been an academy, the authority would have named it [in the statement]. Croydon’s position seems to be that it doesn’t accept the arguments the school has put forward, but they still won’t name it. It seems to me that the LA [local authority] doesn’t quite know how to deal with it because it’s an academy.”

A tribunal hearing in the London Oratory case is due next month.

DLA Fraud Man Was Working As Window Cleaner

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

A Bootle man who was caught on camera working as a window cleaner while claiming disability benefits has been jailed for a £33,000 benefit fraud.

Thomas Kenny, 53, of Park Lane, Bootle, was filmed lifting ladders despite telling the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) he was disabled.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he failed to notify that his circumstances had changed and made a false statement to obtain benefits.

He has been jailed for eight months.

Universal Credit To Be Rolled Out Six Months Early

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

Be scared, my dear readers, be very scared…

The new single benefit, which the government claims will simplify the welfare system, is to be introduced six months earlier than planned.

The streamlined Universal Credit, which replaces a range of existing benefits, will be trialled in Tameside, Oldham, Wigan and Warrington from next April.

Up to 1,500 new claimants are expected to take up the benefit in those areas.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that this will be followed by a roll-out in October 2013.

This new benefit replaces the current income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income support, working tax credits, child tax credits and housing benefit.

New system

Its roll-out will initially be on a small scale in each region but with new claims for the existing benefits entirely phased out by April 2014.

The transfer of millions of existing claimants to the new system is intended to be completed by 2017.

Mr Duncan Smith said: “By sweeping away the complexities of the current benefit system, Universal Credit will be simpler and more straightforward for people to claim and this early roll-out marks a significant step in the delivery of our welfare reforms.

“The early introduction of Universal Credit demonstrates our ongoing commitment to transforming the welfare system and will improve the lives of millions of claimants by incentivising work and making work pay.”

Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud said feedback from the first claimants next April would be used to make “final improvements” before it is launched nationally.

“This will ensure that we have a robust and reliable new service for people to make a claim when Universal Credit goes live nationally in October 2013,” he said.

Third Of Parents Of Disabled Children Took Out Loans For Basics, Finds Survey

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

Almost a third of families with disabled children have taken out loans in the past year to help them afford basic everyday essentials such as food and heating, research has revealed.

For those families where parents are in work, one in six say they cannot afford to heat their homes. For those families where parents are not working because of their caring responsibilities, almost a third (32%) have difficulty paying heating bills and almost a quarter (24%) told the survey that the extra costs of bringing up a disabled child meant they occasionally went without food.

The survey of 2,300 families conducted by the charity Contact a Family, which supports families with disabled children, also shows that 58% of these families fear their financial situation will worsen over the next year, with 73% of them saying they believe welfare reforms will make them poorer.

The charity’s Counting the Costs 2012 report gives a sharp insight into the extra financial pressures faced by families bringing up disabled children, at a time when changes to the welfare system, central and local government cuts and dwindling revenues to charities are making support harder to access.

Around 41% of families have fallen behind with payments for gas and electricity bills, council tax, rent and mortgage, the survey revealed. Some 86% said they had gone without leisure activities and days out because of financial pressures. Of those families who had been forced into debt, 20% had taken out high-interest internet payday loans.

The charity estimates that it costs three times more to raise a disabled child, usually because of the extra cost of transport and specialist clothing, food and equipment.

“In 2012, the need to reduce the budget deficit has created new pressures on vital benefits and services for families with disabled children already experiencing persistent poverty,” the report states.

The report details the extra costs of raising disabled children excluding care, citing, among a long list, the cost of a specially adapted bicycle (£800) compared with a regular child bike (£79); the cost of a specialist computer mouse (£200) compared with a regular mouse (£20); and specially measured sandals (£120) compared with a high street pair (£34).

It also notes that parents are complaining of rising popular hostility towards people with disabilities. “I am fed up with people accusing me of making my son’s disability up. Some even go as far as to accuse us of having a wheelchair, not because he needs it but so I can scrounge off decent people. The negative comments and hostility have got a thousand times worse in my experience,” says one parent quoted in the report.

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “This government is committed to supporting disabled people and continues to spend over £40bn a year on disabled people and their services. However, too many people have been systematically failed by the current benefits system. That is why we are driving forward our welfare reforms to simplify the system and offer more targeted support to improve the life outcomes for disadvantaged children.”

Postcards From The Past

May 24, 2012

by samedifference1

Social media is being used in a project to help people being treated for dementia.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust is asking people to share photos and stories of the area to form collages used to trigger memories in sufferers.

Postcards from the Past marks Dementia Awareness Week, organised by The Alzheimer’s Society.

People can share photos on the hospital’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Retain old memories

Nurse Liz Keirnan said: “Memory is almost like a filing system and the last thing you put in, unfortunately, is the first thing you forget, so people remember things further back.

“It [looking at familiar photos] is a way of coping, but it’s a way of that person feeling that they’re valued and making their last days enjoyable.”

The collages will help patients, many of whom retain old memories long after their short-term memories begin to fail.

This year’s campaign is the second in a series of social media initiatives by the trust.

The trust is also using Twitter and Facebook to provide and share advice on how to care for people with dementia.

Rebecca McKeown: Bleeding Was Caused By Injury

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

The Rebecca McKeown manslaughter trial has been told that the teenager had started to bleed due to a laceration injury, and there was no other cause.

The state pathologist for Northern Ireland, Professor Jack Crane, carried out a post mortem examination on the disabled teenager in March 2001.

He told the court that she died from pneumonia but blood loss from the laceration was “a significant contributing factor” to her death.

Her grandparents deny her manslaughter.

David and Sarah Johnston, who are 88 and 86, and from Carwood Drive in Newtownabbey, are also charged with child cruelty.

The 14-year-old died in hospital five days after the elderly couple had looked after her.

Giving evidence at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, Professor Crane said, in his opinion, Rebecca was not menstruating in the days before her hospitalisation and death.

A prosecuting lawyer asked the professor what had caused the bleeding before GP Dr Mary Donnelly examined Rebecca at home.

The pathologist confirmed that he had found no cause for the bleeding other than the laceration.

Professor Crane also said that a bruise on Rebecca’s knee could have been caused by the knee being “forcibly grasped”.

The trial continues.

GPs Call For WCA To Be Scrapped

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

Today’s Guardian reports a little piece of progress.

GPs have voted unanimously in favour of scrapping the controversial work capability assessment, the test that determines who is eligible for sickness benefits, to prevent harming “some of the weakest and most vulnerable in society”.

At the annual GPs’ conference, the doctors backed a motion stating that the computer-based assessments were “inadequate” and “have little regard to the nature or complexity of the needs of long-term sick and disabled persons”. They called for the tests to be replaced with a more “rigorous and safe system”.

The vote reflects rising concern within the medical profession over the government’s use of the work capability assessment (WCA) to reassess the recipients of the outgoing incapacity benefit to determine whether they should receive the replacement benefit, employment and support allowance (ESA).

Since the test was introduced in 2008, hundreds of thousands of people have gone to tribunal to appeal against decisions to refuse them the benefit; around 40% of appeals are successful. Large numbers of patients with terminal and incurable conditions have been found fit for work after undergoing a 30-minute assessment, carried out by a private company, Atos Healthcare.

Andrew Holden, a GP from Petersfield in Hampshire, said the system was not able to distinguish between patients who really needed help and those who did not.

“Since the system was introduced in 2008, people with terminal cancer have been found fit to work, people with mental health problems have complained their condition is not taken seriously and people with complex illnesses say that the tick-box system is not able to cope with the nuances of their problems,” he told the conference, proposing the motion.

“The computer-based assessments are carried out by a healthcare professional but one not necessarily trained in the field of the patient’s disability, which is particularly important when it comes to mental health issues.”

Laurence Buckman, chair of the BMA’s GPs’ committee, said: “When 40% of appeals against the assessments are successful at tribunal hearings, something is clearly very wrong with the system. Being in work is good for people’s overall health and wellbeing, but GPs are seeing too many patients who genuinely need to be on incapacity benefit coming in very concerned and confused by the system.

“The government needs to look again at the whole assessment process and replace it with one that is fit for purpose.”

Dean Marshall, chair of the Scottish general practitioners’ committee, which has already passed a similar motion, welcomed the vote. “These assessments can have a devastating effect on our patients’ mental and physical health. There has been a dramatic increase in the numbers being assessed as fit to work and a massive number of appeals have been made against these decisions. The frequency of successful appeals seems to us to demonstrate the mechanism’s shortcomings,” he said.

“Our patients are very concerned and confused about these assessments. Many are in fear of how they will cope with the removal of, or cuts to, their benefits. Evidence appears to suggest that people with serious health conditions are sometimes being declared fit for work.”

Labour MP Tom Greatrex, who has raised a number of concerns about the WCA, said: “The government should not dismiss the strength of feeling being expressed by the medical profession in this motion – the very people the DWP are reliant on to carry out the assessment.

“As the motion reflects, assessing whether people are able to work is right in principle, but in so many respects the practice has been appalling. Thousands of people have suffered because of the decisions Atos get wrong time and again, costing the public purse millions.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said improvements were being made to the system. “We’re absolutely committed to the reassessment of people on incapacity benefit and helping those who are fit to move back into work. Under the old system too many lives were written off.

“The work capability assessment introduced in 2008 was not fit for purpose, which is why we are implementing all the recommendations made by our independent reviewer to make this a better and fairer process. We want to keep improving the WCA,” the department wrote in an emailed statement.

The vote means that calling for the WCA to be scrapped is now the policy of the BMA GPs’ committee, which represents 44,000 family doctors across the UK, and the committee will now attempt to make its views clear to the DWP.

Kylie Grimes Gets Paralympic Call-Up

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

Surrey’s Kylie Grimes admits she was surprised to be named in the ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby squad for the London Games.

The 24-year-old from Farnham is only the second woman selected for a Great Britain squad in the sport.

“I didn’t expect it. A year ago I wasn’t even training with GB or in contention to be selected,” she told BBC Surrey.

“To be at the Paralympics is a pretty amazing achievement.”

Grimes only took up the sport two years ago but helped Great Britain to a silver medal at the European Championship in Switzerland last year.

Despite being one of six players in the 11-strong squad who have not played at the Games before, Grimes believes they have a chance of picking up a medal on home soil.

“We’re sixth in the world at the moment but we’ve been playing so much better than that,” she continued.

“We’ve beaten fifth-placed Canada and Japan, who are sitting third. We’re a very young squad who have been playing extremely well.

“We’re training hard and I believe we have every chance of a medal.”

Parkinson’s Study Finds Molecule ‘Switch’

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

A molecular “switch” that could explain how certain genes protect the brain from Parkinson’s disease has been discovered by scientists.

A team from the University of Dundee said they have mapped the molecular pathway between the Pink1 enzyme, produced by the Pink1 gene, and a protein called Parkin. Mapping the link means they now know that the Pink1 gene works to control the Parkin gene, paving the way for a potential treatment for the disease.

Parkin’s main job is to keep cells healthy by removing damaged proteins, and mutations in the gene that makes it can also cause inherited forms of Parkinson’s in younger patients.

Around 127,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s, a progressive neurological condition for which there is no cure.

Scientists have already discovered 20 genes, including Parkin and Pink1, that cause Parkinson’s disease – but they did not know what the role of the genes was or why the mutations caused the disease.

They looked at the way the Pink1 enzyme reacted with the Parkin and the 18 other known genes. A “staggering” result took place between Pink1 and Parkin but nothing happened with the 18 other tests. Scientists now hope that a drug can be developed that mimics Pink1 in switching on the Parkin gene.

The team was led jointly by Dr Miratul Muqit and Professor Dario Alessi at the Medical Research Council protein phosphorylation unit at the University of Dundee.

Dr Muqit said: “Parkinson’s is a devastating degenerative brain disorder and currently we have no drugs in the clinic that can cure or slow the disease down. Over the last decade many genes have been linked to Parkinson’s but a major roadblock has been determining the function of these genes in the brain and how the mutations lead to brain degeneration.

“Our work suggests this pathway can’t be switched on in Parkinson’s patients with genetic mutations in Pink1 or Parkin. More research will be needed to see whether this also happens in Parkinson’s patients who do not carry these mutations.”

The research, published in the latest edition of the journal Open Biology, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Parkinson’s UK, the J Macdonald Menzies Charitable Trust and the Michael J Fox Foundation.

LeanerFasterStronger

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

BBC Ouch carries this very interesting post:

Disabled playwright and author Kaite O’Reilly, who is one of the guests on the next edition of Ouch!’s disability talk show (due online towards the end of May), was approached by Chol Theatre to write a play about sport and the human experience as part of imove, Yorkshire’s cultural programme for the London 2012 Olympics. The resulting play, LeanerFasterStronger, opens at Sheffield’s Crucible Studio theatre today, Wednesday 23 May, and runs through to Saturday 2 June.

For background research, Kaite carried out detailed interviews with scientists and elite sportspeople, and also experimented in motion capture labs – where disabled and non-disabled performers saw their bodies moving as a sequence of animated dots which she says were “freed from the preconceptions that go along with viewing the same body moving in the real world”.

She became very interested in genetic and bio-engineering of humans as a species – even the idea of a ‘cyborg’.

In this guest post for Ouch!, Kaite O’Reilly looks at how this emerging science could influence the possible future of both disabled and non-disabled elite sport – which is also the focus for her play, LeanerFasterStronger.

Will we ever reach the point where impairments are ‘cured’, or ‘fixed’ in vitro? People have asked me about my stance on these developments and, as someone who culturally identifies as a disabled person and a disability artist, I know well how complex and emotive the subject can be. Yet in the context of elite sport – and the fictional world of the play I have written – other avenues open up.

As the strapline for the show goes: How far would you go to be the best? Cheat? Dope? Enhance yourself biologically to be LeanerFasterStronger than your competitors? The reality is that we may fast be approaching a glass ceiling about what humans can ‘naturally’ achieve. Elite sport is big business, and the play asks whether we can expect to continue breaking records and ‘improving’ every year without a little ‘help’?

In the 1980s, women’s athletics went through a golden period when phenomenal records were set. Decades on, those records have not been matched or beaten. The turnaround came with the introduction of dope testing. Since those (cheating?) halcyon days, women’s athletics have apparently slipped down the scale in popularity. In athletics, it seems that spectators want a spectacle, to be inspired and excited. Watching people fail to come anywhere near a world record set thirty years ago just doesn’t cut it.

There is an argument that sport tests what is possible for humans to do – it favours the ‘Übermensch’ – the idealised, ‘perfect’ human being. The commercial side of sport is reliant on new records being broken, showing more thrills and spectacle, to keep the fans involved. Various sports journalists I spoke with while researching the play said that the real excitement and focus in 2012 will be on the Paralympics. Coverage of Oscar Pistorius and his carbon ‘blades’ fills many column inches, and he has become a poster-boy for the future – the next exciting development in sport.

This then offered a perspective to me: what if, in the future, the ‘ideal’ athlete is one who has impairments and who can benefit from the speed of Pistorius, ‘the fastest man in the world on no legs’ as the New York Times described him? Developments in wheelchair racing and cycling have the bone inserting directly into the frame – ‘bone melding with steel’. LeanerFasterStronger asks whether, for a spectacle-seeking audience, the future ultimate sportsperson may in fact be a disabled one.

NICE Issues New Pain Relief Guidelines For Doctors

May 23, 2012

by samedifference1

Comments very welcome, as always.

Many patients with advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions are being “under-treated” for their pain, new guidance from the health watchdog says.

NICE wants doctors in England and Wales to make more use of morphine and other strong opioids – the only adequate pain relief source for many patients.

The guidelines recommend doctors discuss patients’ concerns.

These may include addiction, tolerance, side-effects and fears that treatment implies the final stage of life.

The guidance deals with five opioids: morphine, diamorphine (heroin), buprenorphine, fentanyl and oxycodone. They come either from the opium poppy or are synthetically produced versions.

NICE says “misinterpretations and misunderstanding” have surrounded the use of strong opioids for decades, which has resulted in errors “causing under-dosing and avoidable pain, or overdosing and distressing adverse effects”.

There is also the legacy of Dr Harold Shipman who used diamorphine to murder his victims. It has made many doctors wary of prescribing strong opioids.

NICE says the aim is to improve both pain management and patient safety.

Mike Bennett, St Gemma’s professor of palliative medicine at the University of Leeds, said: “Almost half of patients with advanced cancer are under-treated for their pain, largely because clinicians are reluctant to use strong opioids.”

Prof Bennett said the issue also applied to the late stages of other conditions such as heart failure and neurological disorders.

In a summary of the guidance in the British Medical Journal, he said doctors should address patients’ concerns and reassure them that addiction is “very rare”.

Doctors are also told to advise patients about side-effects, including constipation, which can be treated with laxatives.

Dr Fiona Hicks, chairwoman of the Royal College of Physicians’ recent working party on improving end-of-life care, said she welcomed the new NICE guidelines with its “emphasis on strong communication with patients, including how to help patients cope with both taking opioids and deal with the side-effects.”

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Compassion in Dying, said: “This guideline will support healthcare professionals in providing good end-of-life care across all settings, and will help to ensure that many people have what they consider to be a good death with their pain properly managed.”

Extracts From Benefit Scrounging Scum Published In Society Guardian

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

The blog of my favourite disabled blogger, Kaliya Franklin, has been shortlisted for this year’s Orwell Prize For Blogging. Ahead of tomorrow’s announcement of the winner, the Guardian have published extracts from it. These will also be in tomorrow’s paper Society supplement.

The very best of luck to Kaliya for tomorrow and forever.

Love’s Labours Lost In British Sign Language

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

https://twitter.com/#!/London2012Fest/status/204935072074313728

Obama’s Adviser On Disabled Young People Gives Opinion On UK SEN Changes

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

In this article in the Guardian.

Make Time For Loved Ones With Dementia

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

Says Nicky Clark in a very moving article at Comment Is Free.

Stuck At Home

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

Thanks to Society Daily.

New research from Mencap, which finds that one in four adults with a learning disability are stuck at home due to cuts to day services. Nearly a third of local authorities have closed day services in the last three years, says Mencap, which issued a freedom of information request to 151 local authorities in England that provide day services. The charity also conducted a survey of 280 people with a learning disability and their families and 194 professionals working with people with a learning disability for its report, Stuck at home: the impact of day service cuts on people with a learning disability . Mencap says 88% of the people with a learning disability who took part in thei research did not feel that they were adequately consulted about changes to services, with 64% not having been asked for their views at all, even though local authorities have a legal duty to consult service users when closing or significantly changing services.

Theresa May’s ASBO Overhaul Misses The Point On Disability Hate Crime

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

Says Katharine Quarmby at Comment Is Free.

Plan B And Chris Martin Back The Loud Music Campaign

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

Tinnitus sufferer Plan B is supporting a charity campaign which urges music fans to protect their hearing.

Tinnitus, a constant buzzing in the ear, is often caused by loud music and is prevalent among musicians and frequent concert-goers.

The Loud Music campaign aims to make people aware of the dangers.

“If you’re listening to music a lot, producing music or performing live, then always wear earplugs,” said Plan B. “You’re not Superman!”

“When I first developed it, I thought it was trains rushing by my house as I live near a railway line – it was really loud and an extremely high-pitched ringing in my ears,” the 28-year-old singer says.

“There’s no doubt it’s been caused by years of being on stage and subjected to very loud decibels of music.”

The Action on Hearing Loss campaign includes adverts and a video featuring people’s ears being attacked by a drill or hammer.

Earplugs will be handed out during London’s Camden Crawl this weekend, which showcases new music talent and is credited with bringing artists such as Amy Winehouse into the limelight.

“Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there’s a problem,” said Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who is also backing the campaign.

“I’ve had tinnitus for about 10 years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse. But I wish I’d thought about it earlier.

“Now we always use moulded filter plugs, or in-ear monitors, to try and protect our ears.”

The campaign includes five tips on how music lovers can avoid permanent damage to their ears, including standing back from speakers and using chillout zones in clubs.

Judge Jules, Jazzie B and DJ Smith have added their backing, while 70s chart-topper Gary Numan said he wished he had taken advice earlier.

“I didn’t look after my ears and I’m in trouble,” said Numan, 54. “It’s getting serious, to the point that I can’t mix my music properly anymore, so it’s majorly impacted on my career.

“If I’d just looked after them when I was younger then this would never have happened, so I very much regret it.

“I would often be at gigs, standing at the front next to the speakers, not wearing earplugs, thinking I’m cool and being manly, but that’s just rubbish, it’s stupid.

“So look after your hearing and wear earplugs.”

Herefordshire Asked To Nominate Paralympic Flame Ambassador

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

People in Herefordshire have been asked to nominate a torchbearer to collect the Paralympic flame from London.

There is no nationwide relay for the Paralympic torch – instead a flame with be lit in the capital cities of each home nation.

Councils are being encouraged to stage their own events using a torch lit from one of these flames

Herefordshire Council wants an ambassador to bring back a lantern lit from the London flame on August 24.

Paralympic flame celebrations are being held in Hereford the next day at the Royal National College for the Blind.

Demonstrate support

The four torches will leave the capital of each of the home nations and be taken to Stoke Mandeville, the home of the Paralympic Movement, where they will be combined into a single flame.

Continue reading the main story

London 2012 – One extraordinary year

The BBC’s home of 2012: Latest Olympic news, sport, culture, torch relay, video and audio

A 24-hour relay will take the combined torch from Stoke Mandeville to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games on 29 August.

Locog has announced the first 332 people chosen to carry this flame.

Hertfordshire council said the person chosen to be their ambassador will attend the London flame lighting event on 24 August in Trafalgar Square to collect part of the flame in a lantern and transport it back to Herefordshire.

Herefordshire’s legacy officer for the 2012 Games Steve Ashton said: “Herefordshire has a number of athletes competing at the Paralympic Games and it will be a great opportunity to demonstrate our support for them”.

The council has asked for nominations to be submitted by Thursday 31 May.

Wife Stabbed Dementia Husband, Spared Jail

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

A “devoted” 79-year-old woman who was shot by police with a Taser after stabbing her husband 17 times has been spared jail.

Florence Thomson, then 78, had been having difficulty coping with her husband’s Alzheimer’s disease, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Thomson, of Sturton Way in Long Sutton, admitted a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

She was given a two-year community order and indefinite restraining order.

The restraining order means she can only visit her husband Keith, who now lives in a care home, under supervision.

Speaking after the sentencing, Lincolnshire Police defended the decision to Taser her twice.

Injured herself

Det Insp Dave Rimmer said: “When officers arrived at the address, Mrs Thomson was holding a knife, she was acting aggressively towards the officers and raised the knife as she approached them.

“Despite being told to put the knife down on more than one occasion, she failed to do so. She had already caused injuries to herself with the knife.

“Had the officers not acted so quickly it was possible that the injuries to Mr Thompson may have proved fatal.”

The incident happened on 11 November last year, just days after the couple moved into their bungalow.

The court heard Thomson grabbed a carving knife and repeatedly plunged it into the chest of her husband, leaving him lying on their bedroom floor covered in blood.

The 79-year-old was taken to hospital with 10 stab wounds to his chest as well as wounds to his shoulder, hands and right thigh.

‘Extremely sad case’

Thomson, who was also treated for cuts, told police at the hospital: “I love my husband. I love him to bits. I lost it. I just flipped my lid.

“You always hurt the one you love and I hurt my husband. It was because of the stress. The pressure of moving house got to me. Please, please, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I’m not an evil person.”

She was charged with attempted murder but denied this, and the charge was not pursued by the prosecution.

Before being sentenced, she had spent five months on remand in prison.

Judge Michael Heath said: “This is a highly unusual and extremely sad case. They had been happily married for 40 years and were devoted to each other.

“Caring for anyone with dementia should not be underestimated. She found herself under a great strain and contracted a depressive illness.

“There are very exceptional cases where justice should be tempered with mercy. This is one of them.”

Mr Thomson spent his working life employed by the electronics firm Ferranti.

Edna Leonard, defending, said: “Mrs Thomson is anxious to see her husband. The information is that Keith Thomson would like to see her as well.”

Paralympic Organisers Defend Atos Sponsorship

May 22, 2012

by samedifference1

Paralympic organisers have defended the sponsorship of the games by Atos, the multinational company whose UK healthcare arm is responsible for delivering controversial “work capability” tests for hundreds of thousands of disabled people on sickness benefit.

Atos Healthcare, tests around 11,000 incapacity benefit claimants a week under a £100m a year contract with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The company has been criticised by MPs for its “flawed” approach which has left thousands of disabled people wrongly denied benefits and has become a lightning rod for criticism of the government’s welfare reforms.

Disability activists have protested at Atos’s involvement in the games, and some have called for a boycott. But Sir Phillip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said he valued its links with Atos as a “top sponsor”. He said: “I am very happy with our relationship.”

Speaking at a press conference of the eve of the BT Paralympic World Cup – which will see 200 athletes from 30 countries compete in athletics, basketball and football and is the last major competition before the Paralympics this summer– Craven added that Atos were “very much a part of the International Paralympic Committee”.

Craig Spence, communications director for the IPC, dismissed fears that the company’s sponsorship deal – it is spending an estimated 100m USdollars over 10 years – could lead to protests and boycotts. “I think the majority of people watching will be marvelling at the fantastic performances of our elite athletes as opposed to a small minority who will be protesting,” he said.

Any criticism of the company should be directed at the DWP, not the IPC, he added. “The paralympic games is the biggest ever platform for showcasing what people with an impairment can achieve,” he said. “So for people to suggest that people should boycott the Paralympics because of an issue between the DWP and the Atos, I think is really bizarre.”

But Tom Greatrex, Labour MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said: “It is a cruel irony that the company causing so much distress to thousands of disabled people across the country is now sponsoring the Paralympics.

“Thousands of people have suffered because of the decisions Atos get wrong time and again, costing the taxpayer millions.

“It is, of course, important for the government to secure sponsorship for the Paralympics. But we must ensure that he who pays the piper doesn’t call the tune, and allow the fears and anxieties of people all across the UK to be swept under the carpet.”

Last summer, the Commons work and pensions select committee said the very mention of Atos Healthcare triggered “fear and loathing” among claimants, and concluded that there had been “failings” in the service provided by the company, which had “often fallen short of what claimants can rightly expect”.

Disability charities, meanwhile, have been critical of the company’s record. Some terminally ill cancer patients have been told they are fit for work, while other claimants have died from their conditions shortly after being found fit for work.

In a statement the British Paralympic Association (BPA) said it was “aware” that Atos’ Healthcare’s involvement with the DWP was garnering attention. “However our role as the BPA is to concentrate on promoting British Paralympians as positive role models rather than to comment on wider, non-sport related disability issues,” it said.

he BPA has vowed to use the momentum of this summer’s London Games to help improve the grassroots provision of disabled sport and “inspire a better world for disabled people”.

Its chief executive, Tim Hollingsworth, appointed last year with a brief to modernise the organisation, said it should play a wider role. “Our mission is clear in terms of being a leading Paralympic nation, but our vision speaks to a higher purpose – through sport, to inspire a better world for disabled people.

Britain’s most famous paralympian, Tanni Grey-Thompson warned yesterday (Monday 21) that disability benefit cuts will affect the development of top athletes and undermine the Games’ key legacy aim of widening access to sport for disabled people. She said changes to disability living allowance (DLA) would take vital day-to-day financial support away from many disabled people – including athletes.

Atos is in the running to win a series of multi-million pound contracts to deliver eligibility assessments for Personal Independence Payments, which replace DLA in 2013. Up to 500,000 people are expected to lose this benefit over four years as eligibility criteria are tightened.

Laurie Williams, a member of of the GB women’s basketball team said she was aware of athletes who had lost part of their benefits, though she hadn’t been personally affected. “I think with political issues like this, as an athlete you just have to focus on your performance,” she said. “We are there to win and not get involved in disagreements.”

South African sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, who hopes to become the first amputee sprinter to run in both the Olympics and paralympics this summer, told reporters that this summer’s Paralympics could transform perceptions of disability around the world.

“People in Britain are very educated and open to disability and there will be many people around the world who might not yet be at that speed or level of openess. [T]he perception around disability will change in a lot of countries.”

A Letter To Maria Miller

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

At the Violet’s Diary blog, which I was asked to share.

https://twitter.com/#!/ClaireBenjamin4/status/204550864881463296

Claire Lomas’s New Cycling Challenge

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

A paralysed Leicestershire woman who walked the London Marathon route in a “bionic” suit says she is planning a “more ambitious” challenge.

Claire Lomas from Eye Kettleby near Melton Mowbray, hopes to cycle from London to Paris using a bike powered by legs and arms.

She said she was not even sure if the design existed and talks with a biking firm were in the early stages.

But she is aiming to be ready for the cycling challenge next spring.

The 32-year-old said she usually trained on a static version of the sort of bike she hoped to use.

Pedalling motion

“I’ve always trained on this bike, an FES bike, which stands for functional electrical stimulation.

“It’s basically pads on my legs which make my legs work. It sends a signal and makes my muscles contract and make the pedalling motion.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Your life changes, but what doesn’t change is your personality”

Claire Lomas

“It’s still as hard as anyone else pedalling, it just it doesn’t go via my spinal cord, the signal goes straight to my muscle,” she said.

She said her priority was building up her legs, but she still wanted to have the option to use her arms incorporated in the design.

“Although I will have a long time to get my legs really, really strong, it will be good to mix both up, to help me get all that way.

“I’ve been in touch with the biking firm, and I’m hoping they’ll support me with the challenge and provide a bike.”

No medal

Mrs Lomas was left paralysed when she broke her neck, back and ribs and punctured a lung in a riding accident at the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire.

“Spinal injuries happen in a second, it could be anyone.

“You’re fit and everything at the time of the accident, then suddenly your life changes, but what doesn’t change is your personality.”

Mrs Lomas walked up to two miles a day to complete the London Marathon course, accompanied by her husband Dan, mother Joyce and 13-month-old daughter Maisie.

She crossed the finish line 16 days after starting the race.

Organisers were criticised for insisting she would not appear in the official results or receive a medal for finishing, as rules state competitors must complete the course on the day the event starts.

She said she would continue to raise money for the charity she supported when she completed the marathon.

Donations are still coming in, but she estimates she has raised nearly £200,000 for Spinal Research.

What London Can Learn From Beijing And Sydney

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

Guardian reporters have been finding out what organisers of the London Paralympics can learn from the Games in Beijing and Sydney.

British Paralympic Association’s Five Year Vision Unveiled

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

The British Paralympic Association has vowed to use the momentum of this summer’s London Games to help improve the grassroots provision of disabled sport and “inspire a better world for disabled people”.

Against a backdrop of renewed concern from Paralympic luminaries including Tanni Grey-Thompson that wider changes to the welfare system could harm sporting chances, the BPA has unveiled a new “five-year vision”.

It will seek to use the profile of London 2012 to help improve grassroots sport provision, change attitudes towards disabled people in society and improve accessibility.

The BPA has traditionally focused narrowly on its role in preparing Britain’s team for the Paralympics but its chief executive, Tim Hollingsworth, appointed last year with a brief to modernise the organisation, said it should play a wider role.

“Our mission is clear in terms of being a leading Paralympic nation, but our vision speaks to a higher purpose – through sport, to inspire a better world for disabled people.

“Our contribution to that is to make sure our athletes are best prepared and successful; to use our brand, our profile and our ability to shout louder from the rooftops than anyone else about the amazing spectacle that is Paralympic sport and the amazing achievement that is disabled sport.”

The BPA on Monday unveiled the strategic plan titled Maximising Momentum that he said would show how it could help spearhead lasting change.

Hollingsworth said that the BPA wasn’t attempting to move on to the territory of other organisations but felt it could play a key role in co-ordinating their work and acting as a high-profile standard bearer.

“We’re not walking away from the understanding that we’re there fundamentally to support the team. But the secondary purpose of challenging perception and seeking to influence the way people think, feel and behave towards disability is something we’re now trying to define. What we bring fundamentally is the voice and the brand that can inspire.”

The BPA chairman, Tim Reddish, said the five-year plan was designed to codify its wider role in society: “We recognise that the Paralympic movement, and specifically the Paralympic brand, can be a powerful agent for change. Our vision seeks to create a clear link therefore between our core responsibilities and the wider impact we can have.”

Hollingsworth said that the primary focus of the BPA was maintaining second place in the medal table in the face of increased competition from across the world, and earning more medals in more sports than in Beijing – when Team GB secured 102 medals.

But he said it should not shy away from considering how that success could inspire wider change.

“The success of our athletes can be quite challenging for people in terms of their perceptions and the way they think, feel and act towards disability. What we bring, fundamentally, is the voice and the brand that can inspire,” he said.

“More than ever before we have tried to connect the means and the ends of our activity. The means are taking our athletes to the Games and making sure they can perform, the ends are much wider.”

Around 1m tickets to the Paralympics went back on sale on Monday, to coincide with the fact there was 100 days remaining until the opening ceremony.

Hollingsworth said that he felt Paralympic bodies and politicians should stop talking about the “legacy” benefits of the Paralympics, which are partly staged with £95m of public money, and focus instead on “momentum”.

“It is absolutely inappropriate or wrong to talk about legacy from the Paralympic Games. If you talk about legacy, you’re talking about the belief you’ve reached the point you’re aspiring to and you’re looking for ways to sustain it. That’s not right for the Paralympics,” he said.

“This is a moment in time where, if we capture it, we can do much more with disability sport and the wider agenda around disability than was possible before. The term that suits is momentum. It’s a beginning not an end.”

‘Politicians Want Us To Believe There Are Two Disabled Populations’

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

This is Peter Beresford’s very interesting point of view on politics, disability and the Paralympics.

Councils Failing To Assess Needs Of Autism Carers, Finds Survey

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

From today’s Guardian:

Only one in five carers of people with autism have ever received the local authority assessment of their needs to which they are legally entitled, according to a major survey of carers’ needs.

Of more than 5,500 carers who filled in an online survey for the National Autistic Society (NAS), 80% said they had never been through the assessment process, which local authorities are obliged to provide and which helps them obtain the right assistance. Only 26% of those who responded said they received any help at all from a council or health authority.

More widely, campaign groups warn that poor information about support services coupled with spending cuts and wider economic worries have caused significant difficulties. “We call it a perfect storm for carers,” said Emily Holzhausen, policy director for Carers UK.

“Those juggling work and care feel more under pressure at work, benefits are under review and we also have rising charges and changes to services. The pressure is really loading up on families, and we see that through our helpline – we’re getting calls from very distressed people.”

The NAS figures, part of a wider study that also examined the problems faced by people with autism, found more than three-quarters of carers said they had been obliged to battle to receive support services.

The survey highlighted the extreme toll placed on those placed in such situations. More than 80% of the carers said the lack of support had caused them anxiety, with 64% saying it was a cause of depression. More than half said being a carer had directly affected their own mental health.

The study tallied with carers’ accounts given the NAS helpline and to individual branches, said Sarah Lambert, head of policy for the charity.

She said: “People say they are having to fight to get the help they need, and that has quite a significant effect on their own mental health and their relationships. Increasingly, with cuts to local services there will be gaps, for example fewer short breaks or respite services available, which can make that even more challenging.”

While it could be tempting for local authorities to view carer assessments as an expensive obligation, this was wrong, said Holzhausen.

“It might be easy for someone to say, this is another bureaucratic process – what does it add? It adds a huge amount. Not taking into account how the carer is doing is really a false economy. A lot of people really are pushed to breaking point, and then the cost to a local authority really rockets, for example if someone needs residential care.”

Carers’ groups are calling on the government to address the situation in the upcoming social care bill, one of those highlighted in this month’s Queen’s speech. They particularly want the bill to include recommendations from a three-year study into adult social care by the Law Commission, also published this month.

The commission report recommends that assessments also “focus on the carer’s ability to provide and to continue to provide care for the person cared for”, taking into account factors such as whether the carer can balance their duties with enough time for work, education and leisure.

Wheelchair Users Test Access In Preparation For London 2012

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

Please click here to watch the video.

Wheelchair users David Slater and Anna Alston travel from Trafalgar Square in central London to the Olympic Park in Stratford using only public transport to see how long it will take disabled people to travel across the capital during the Olympic Games.

Blind, Deaf, Severely Disabled, And… Found Fit For Work

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

Christina Martin, I haven’t heard more, but thanks very much for info. This is absolutely shocking and scary and should be spread everywhere possible.

https://twitter.com/#!/christinamartin/status/204475932608708608

Dementia Awareness Week

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

A poll has suggested more than four out of 10 people know – or have known – someone with dementia.

The Yougov survey indicates strong concern about dementia across all ages.

It suggests young adults are most likely to want to learn more about the condition.

The Oscar-nominated actress, Carey Mulligan, whose grandmother has Alzheimer’s, has become an “ambassador” for the Alzheimer’s Society to help promote awareness of the condition.

Carey’s grandmother – who she calls Nans – was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s eight years ago. The actress, who is now 26, spent many happy childhood holidays staying with her, and says they were very close.

‘Inspirational support’

Witnessing her grandmother’s confusion and distress as the disease took hold was painful for the whole family.

Carey says there is now almost no communication or recognition from “Nans”, but that she still delights in music.

She says the “inspirational” support provided at her grandmother’s care home in south Wales shows how people with dementia can be helped to live well.

“It’s based on time, and remembering that those with dementia are still people and they still have stories and they still have character and they’re all individuals and they’re all unique. And they just need to be interacted with on a human level.”

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

I’ve seen the amazing dignity of life, and an amazing love that people can have, and amazing generosity”

Carey Mulligan Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador

The actress, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the film “An Education”, will promote this message through her new role with the Alzheimer’s Society.

She hopes to make a particular impact with younger people.

“Because they have their family members being affected they want to know more, they want to understand it and they want to find a way to cure it or find ways to prevent it, so there’s just a lot more interest.”

There is some evidence of this in the Yougov poll, commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Over 4,200 people took part in the online poll, designed to be representative of all UK adults.

Of those, 44% said they knew or had known someone with dementia.

And 61% said they worried about themselves or someone they knew developing the disease, but overall only 16% wanted to know more about the condition.

Among 18-24 year-olds, 25% wanted to know more.

Reach “new audiences”

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Society, expressed concern over the poll’s findings.

“Dementia is the biggest challenge facing the UK today so it’s not surprising that people are so worried.

“There is currently no cure and people aren’t getting the care they deserve. However we know that with the right support people can live well with the condition for a number of years.”

He said Carey Mulligan’s support would help the charity to reach new audiences and get people talking about the condition.

The Alzheimer’s Society is running events across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, during Dementia Awareness Week.

Carey Mulligan says she still goes with her mother to see “Nans” when she can. She says the dementia has caused her great sadness, but that the visits have sometimes been very positive.

“It’s always so wonderful to see a glimpse of her, and have a moment where she responds or where you can see her really at peace or happy. I’ve seen the amazing dignity of life, and an amazing love that people can have, and amazing generosity.”

Ade Adepitan On The Paralympics And Their Legacy

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

There’s a sense of fizzing excitement around this summer’s Paralympics. The games are “coming home” – the first forerunner to the Paralympics took place in Stoke Mandeville in 1948 – and for Team GB supporters there are expectations of an avalanche of golden moments to match the second place in the medal table achieved in Beijing.

But it’s not just about sporting spectacle, human drama and podium glory in what are predicted to be the biggest Paralympics, with 165 countries set to compete, compared to 146 in Beijing.

As with the Olympics, the Paralympics bears responsibility for a series of expansive legacy promises, including a vow to “change the lives” of 10 million disabled people by “increasing participation in sport and physical activity”; and to transform “attitudes and perceptions of disabled people” in wider society.

“It will change people’s perceptions of disability, and not just able-bodied people,” predicts Ade Adepitan, the wheelchair basketball Paralympic medallist who will help anchor Channel 4’s coverage of the games.

“If you are a disabled kid and you see someone like you competing, who also happens to be a great athlete, imagine the confidence boost that will give and the impact on your life.”

Sprinter Sophia Warner, who is targeting medals in the 100m and 200m at the Paralympics, and is ranked no 2 in the world, is equally optimistic. She says the games can address the “lack of understanding in society” that she believes represents the “biggest challenge to being a disabled athlete or being a disabled person”.

She says: “[The Paralympics] will educate people and … will intrigue people. Instead of disabled people taking a backseat, we’ve all chosen to put ourselves out there in the limelight, in an exhibition if you like. The Paralympics will put us all out there for people to make their own judgment and their own understanding.”

Such optimism is widespread. But athletes and disability campaigners alike are also wary of the weight of legacy expectation placed on the games. “It’s an amazing spectacle, there’s a good message, it shows what disabled people can do,” says Lady Grey-Thompson, Britain’s best-known Paralympian. “But it puts a lot of pressure on the Paralympics to change attitudes.”

Grey-Thompson, who as a cross-bencher in the Lords, spoke out against the government’s welfare reform bill earlier this year, points out that the games take place at a time when financial pressures have increased on many disabled people as a result of widespread cuts to disability benefits and social care budgets – the social supports that give disabled people the opportunity to participate not just in sport but in society generally.

She says that changes to the disability living allowance (DLA), a payment worth between £20 and £131.50 a week which helps disabled individuals meet extra costs of transport, food and other special requirements, could undermine the legacy aim of involving more disabled people in sport. Government figures suggest that up to 500,000 disabled people will lose out when DLA is replaced by Personal Independence Payments in 2013. DLA is essential to meet the higher costs of transport and sporting equipment so vital to sports participation, says Grey-Thompson.

Adepitan says DLA enabled him to acquire an otherwise unaffordable car through the Motability scheme to get himself to training and competitions. Public transport was largely inaccessible, and when early in his career he temporarily lost DLA he was forced to propel himself to training by wheelchair, a 12-mile daily round trip along the pavements of east London. “Without DLA I would not have been able to do what I did, or be a top athlete,” he says.

On Monday, Grey-Thompson will help to launch an £8m Sport England fund to improve levels of participation in grassroots sport among disabled people. While about 38% of non-disabled people aged over 16 participate in at least 30 minutes of sport a week, that figure drops to 18% for disabled adults.

Sport England chief executive Jennie Price admits that it is “an uncomfortable truth that disabled people enjoy fewer opportunities to get involved in sport”.

If the UK is to capitalise on the potential surge in interest generated by the games it has to overcome the access problem that Sport England identifies, says Ben Rushgrove, a Paralympian sprinter and silver medallist at the Bejing games.

Not just access to leisure facilities and sports clubs, but to the kind of expert coaching and knowledge of the emotional and psychological needs of disabled youngsters that he received at his specialist school. “That’s the biggest barrier,” he says.

He adds: “I have been lucky. I had a great school, and my parents were amazingly supportive. I’m afraid that others won’t get the help and support that they need.”

Geraint Richards, GB wheelchair tennis head of performance, hopes that the games will “open the eyes not only of the public but of local authorities”, which run or fund many public sporting facilities.

Council leisure services budgets are coping with unprecedented cuts. But it will be local grassroots facilities that deliver the games’ legacy.

“The big beauty of wheelchair tennis is that you don’t have to play against other wheelchair players. I’d like to see every tennis club in the country open its doors to disabled players … It’s the most inclusive sport around and there’s no reason why existing facilities can’t be opened up to wheelchairs,” says Richards.

Changing wider public attitudes towards disabled people, generally regarded to be deteriorating, will be a tough legacy task.

Liz Sayce, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, says: “The Paralympics could be a real opportunity, a great platform for showing what disabled people can achieve and contribute to society. But it’s not a panacea. Attitudes towards disability are hardening.

A recent survey by the MS Society of 2,000 British adults revealed that a fifth of those surveyed felt disabled people “need to accept they cannot have the same opportunities in life as non-disabled people”. One in seven disabled people felt that negative public perceptions of disability had hardened as a result of the use of the phrase “benefit scroungers” by politicians and the media, according to The Papworth trust, a disability charity.

Some Paralympians, such as nine-times dressage gold medallist Lee Pearson, have called on their fellow athletes to use the games as an opportunity to educate the public about their disabilities and the challenges they face.

But others argue that their only responsibility is to their sport. They hope that by bringing home medals, they can inspire change. Asked about Paralympic legacy aims, Jamie Burdekin, a Liverpudlian wheelchair tennis player who won a bronze in the doubles in Beijing and is ranked fifth in the world, says: “I don’t get mixed up in any of that kind of stuff. I just turn up on the day and play tennis. It’s a healthy lifestyle, you go around the world and I’m delighted to be in it.”

Sporting achievement, understandably, is the primary focus of the athletes.

For two exciting weeks this summer, legacy concerns will evaporate. As Adepitan says: “Life does not get much better than when you are competing in front of thousands of people, you are wearing your country’s shirt, and playing the sport that you love.”

Cuts Threaten Paralympic Legacy, Warns Tanni Grey Thompson

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

Britain’s greatest Paralympian, Lady Tanni Grey-Thompson, has warned that disability benefit cuts will affect the development of top athletes and undermine the Games’ key legacy aim of widening access to sport for disabled people.

Hundreds of thousands of working age people will lose disability benefits over the next four years as a result of the government’s controversial welfare reforms.

Grey-Thompson, who won 11 Paralympic gold medals as a wheelchair athlete, said disability living allowance (DLA) had been crucial in enabling her and many other disabled athletes to participate and compete. “It’s important to recognise that the cuts will affect Paralympians, who have higher living costs as a result of their impairment.”

Her comments come as the starting gun is fired on the 100-day countdown to the Paralympics, which take place at the end of August.

She said that although the very top disabled athletes might get financial help from sponsors, many others would find it difficult to compete if they lost the benefit. “I know someone who is on the edge of qualification who has had her DLA removed. It impacts on her ability to get involved in society, not just sport.”

DLA is a non-means tested benefit, worth between £20 and £131.50 a week, paid to disabled people to help with the extra costs of transport, equipment, care and other specialist needs.

The government plans to replace DLA, which goes to about 3.2 million people at an annual cost of £12.6bn, with personal independence payments (PIP) from 2013. It estimates that up to 500,000 people will lose entitlement to the benefit over the next four years as eligibility criteria are tightened and claims reassessed.

Disability benefit cuts are proving increasingly controversial for ministers. The Royal British Legion has called for disabled ex-service personnel to be given special treatment after it emerged that many limbless war veterans with mobility impairments would not qualify for disability benefit under the proposed new PIP rules.

Grey-Thompson added that it was not just an issue for elite athletes but would affect the health and wellbeing of thousands of disabled people whose ability to participate in sport would be curtailed if they lost financial support. This would drive up social care and NHS costs in the long term. Ministers hope an increase in sporting activity among disabled people, and improved wider public perceptions of disability, will be key long-term legacies of the Games.

Grey-Thompson is spearheading an £8m Sport England programme, launched on Monday, that is aimed at increasing participation in sport by disabled people. At present only about 18% of disabled adults undertake physical activity for more than 30 minutes a week, compared with 38% of non-disabled adults.

Her comments were backed by other Paralympians. Ben Rushgrove, a sprinter and silver medallist at the Beijing Games, said that while he had no problem with the principle of welfare reform, the loss of disability benefit would be an obstacle to sporting participation for many people. “Because of cuts people are going to go back into themselves a little. They won’t have the funds to get out and about.

He added: “We have to ask what type of society people want. In the UK years ago we made a decision to support those people who are the most vulnerable in society and we would not let them fall by the wayside. I feel that idea is being eroded away.

“There will always be people who game the system. But most disabled people are living hand to mouth. It’s about getting the change right and the pace of change right.”

Ade Adepitan, the Paralympian wheelchair basketball medallist, who grew up in the East End of London, said disability benefit had been vital to enable him to travel to training and competitions. “Without DLA I would not have been able to do what I did or be a top athlete.”

Adepitan, who is co-presenting TV coverage of the games for Channel 4, said that people “need to get their facts straight” on disability benefits. Politicians’ rhetoric about benefit cuts was in danger of “turning people against each other” and leading people to think incorrectly that “everyone on benefits is a scrounger”.

The rower Alan Crowther, who won four world championship gold medals and has competed in able-bodied teams, said DLA had been crucial to his development as a top disabled athlete: “If you took disability benefit away from me I’d be sat in the house unable to go anywhere.”

Crowther, who is blind, warned that disability benefit cuts, along with cuts to council social care budgets, would prevent many younger disabled people from participating in grassroots sport. “The government has played DLA totally wrong,” he said.

Sport England said challenges facing disabled people wanting to take part in sport included a lack of specialist equipment, transport issues, difficulty accessing sport facilities, poor information about sporting opportunities, and a lack of self-confidence among disabled people.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said DLA was outdated and the new PIP support would be focused on those disabled people “who need it most”.

Coldplay Will Close The Paralympics

May 21, 2012

by samedifference1

Coldplay will be the star act at the Paralympic closing ceremony, London 2012 have announced, while more than a million unsold Paralympic tickets go back on sale from Monday at 11am.

The announcements have been made to mark the 100-day countdown to the start of the Games.

Paralympic closing ceremonies artistic director Kim Gavin said: “The closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games is essentially a celebration of the achievements of amazing athletic endeavour of Paralympians from around the world over the previous 11 days.

“What better way to demonstrate our respect and commitment to these athletes than by celebrating with Britain’s most internationally renowned band.

“Working with Coldplay for the closing ceremony will be a great way to close the Paralympic Games and audiences will have the chance to see and hear their music in a totally unique way.

“Our show will be a celebration of the UK as a centre for festivals, which is a fitting finale to the amazing festival of sport that is the London 2012 Games.”

And London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: “The London 2012 Paralympic Games are going to be spectacular. I am delighted that Coldplay are going to be helping us celebrate not only the end of a fantastic Paralympic Games, but also the end of a seven-year journey.

“With tickets back on sale I can guarantee that whatever ticket you decide to go for that Paralympic sport will leave a deep and lasting impression on you.”

Prices start at Â£10, or Â£5 for young people and seniors. There are Paralympic day pass tickets where spectators can see up to five sports in the Olympic Park or at ExCeL.

Tickets will be available online at http://www.tickets.london2012.com.

When Your Sibling Has A Disability

May 18, 2012

by samedifference1

This is a guest post by Kate Croston. Thanks to Kate.

Growing up was relatively a walk in the park for me. School naturally came easy for me, as well as sports. I excelled on many different levels and accomplished a lot. You would think I was proud of my abilities and proud of what I had made for myself. Except I wasn’t.

I have a twin sister and everything that came easy for me was difficult for her. At a young age she was diagnosed with learning disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD. My family did not educate me on what this meant. As I excelled through school and fell behind. I was constantly being put in charge of helping her with her homework and getting questioned on why her grades were lower than mine. Through the years I began to get frustrated with her disabilities.

I saw it as her not trying and being lazy. I would watch her struggle through a paper and just give up after a few moments. I couldn’t comprehend what was so difficult. As a twin you are constantly being compared to the other. As much as family, friends and teachers tried not to. It happened. She had special tutors, appointments and classes. The few classes we shared, I would cringe when she was called on by the teacher. I would look at her and she would throw me a panicked look and stutter with an incorrect answer. Other students would snicker and the teacher would then call on me to correct her.

I didn’t realize or understand her problem until we arrived to our final year of high school. All sorts of tests were being taken, college essays written and campus tours. We received a call from the school counselor and said that she would not be graduating because of her low scores. She expected the news, I did not. I didn’t realize how hard things were for her. It hit me like a ton of bricks. All these years I didn’t know she truly was struggling because no one told me what it meant. I guess I could have asked or picked up a book. I constantly live in regret thinking about all the times she cried or was made fun of and how I just walked away.

It is so very important that families teach and educate their children on disabilities. I know I could have helped her more or at least been there emotionally through her tough times if I had known what these big terms actually meant. Parents need to sit down with the siblings and talk it out. It’s not a bad thing or a disease. Disabilities shouldn’t be kept a secret or not explained. Families need to embrace and do their best to guide them positively.

Kate Croston is a freelance writer, holds a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She writes guest posts for different sites and loves contributing business internet service related topics. Questions or comments can be sent to: katecroston.croston09 @ gmail.com.

Education Secretary Loses High Court Battle Over Disabled Nursery Grant

May 18, 2012

by samedifference1

Surely Secretaries of State shouldn’t be involved in court battles? Should he now consider resigning?

Education Secretary Michael Gove has lost a High Court battle with Essex County Council over government cuts to nursery funding.

The council claimed Mr Gove breached equality laws when he slashed part of its budget by £10m in 2010 – hitting the county’s disabled children.

The High Court ruled Mr Gove’s decision was unlawful and must be reviewed.

Mr Justice Mitting found Mr Gove had not met his legal obligations under equality laws.

Andrew Sharland, for Essex County Council, told the court the council was told its budget for nursery and primary school building projects would be about £27m for 2008 to 2011.

‘Duty of equality’

It said it had allocated more than £26m of that money, by June 2010, to building projects aimed at improving pre-school education, particularly for the disabled.

But when Mr Gove announced his cuts in July that year, the council was told to review its spending and identify any “uncommitted” funds, the court heard.

A dispute then arose between Westminster and Essex over how much money had been allocated – with government accountants estimating more than £12m was still in the pot, but the council insisting they had less then £2m left.

Essex County Council argued that by not consulting it before cutting funding by £10.7m, Mr Gove breached his “equality duties”.

Mr Sharland told the court: “The grant was expressly aimed at meeting the needs of disabled children. Further, the level of funding was calculated taking into account the level of deprivation in a particular area.”

He added: “It is clear that equality issues were neither ‘central’ to the decision making process nor exercised in substance with rigor and an open mind.”

‘Greater knowledge’

Government lawyers insisted the decision making process was correctly handled.

Mr Justice Mitting ruled: “Local authorities obviously would have greater knowledge of the impact the cuts would have on families in their areas and it would be reasonable for the Secretary of State to assume that any such detailed assessment would be carried out by the local authority.”

He added: “Accordingly, I do not accept that the Secretary of State, either personally or through his officials, fully discharged the duty upon them.”

The Department for Education has yet to comment.

Spinal Cord Injuries Awareness Day

May 18, 2012

by samedifference1

Is today, May 18th, 2012. If you have a spinal cord injury, celebrate yourself in some way today.

Rebecca McKeown Doctor Admits Withholding Details

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

The doctor who examined a disabled girl days before she died following an alleged sexual assault has admitted she may have withheld details of a medical examination to protect her reputation.

Rebecca McKeown’s grandparents are on trial accused of her 2001 manslaughter.

Dr Mary Donnelly admitted in court that for 11 years, she had failed to report full details of the intimate exam.

She said two of her fingers had “unintentionally” slipped inside the teenager’s vagina.

The 14 year old died in hospital in March 2001, five days after she had been looked after by her grandparents.

Rebecca, who was severely disabled, could not walk, talk or feed herself and needed 24-hour care.

She died after contracting pneumonia which, according to the prosecution, came as a direct result of a sexual assault she suffered at the hands of one or other grandparent.

David and Sarah Johnston, from Carwood Drive in Glengormley, deny the charges.

Nervous

Dr Donnelly, who was working as an out-of-hours locum GP at the time, was called to examine Rebecca on 19 March 2001 after the teenager started bleeding from her vagina.

Under cross examination at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday, the doctor admitted that she did not reveal full details of what happened during the medical exam either to the police investigation or to a medical review of the treatment Rebecca had received.

Defence QC Gavan Duffy told Dr Donnelly that she had not given “candid and clear and complete” answers to the medical review and he asked if she had failed to do in order to protect her own interests.

Dr Donnelly said: “It might have been, yes”, after she was urged to answer by the judge.

During her earlier evidece on Thursday, the doctor said the police came to her surgery to take a statement from her less than 24 hours after she had carried out the examination.

She said she felt it was “completely out of the ordinary” to make a statement without any notes available to her but said she “wasn’t given an option”.

She told Mr Duffy that she felt “nervous” about making the police statement but denied it was because she felt she had done something wrong.

Dr Donnelly said she had never given a statement to police before and added that it would be “quite intimidating for anyone”.

Mr Johnston, 88, and his 86-year-old wife, are accused of Rebecca’s manslaughter on 24 March 2001 and a further offence of child cruelty five days previously on 19 March.

The teenager was registered blind and suffered from a number of medical conditions including cerebral palsy, scoliosis of the spine, and severe epilepsy.

David Blunkett Calls for VAT Break For Guide Dog Food

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

This actually sounds like quite a good idea. Some guide dog owners may not have chosen to be dog owners if they had full eyesight, so their dog could be seen as disability related ‘eqiupment’ in a sense.

David Blunkett has thrown his weight behind a campaign to exempt guide dog food from VAT saying the issue is “far more serious than hot pasties”.

Special high protein food eaten by racing greyhounds and other “working dogs” is VAT exempt.

But the tax break does not extend to guide dogs – costing the Guide Dogs charity an estimated £300,000 a year.

The former home secretary has called on the Treasury to reclassify guide dogs as “working dogs” for tax purposes.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association – to give Guide Dogs its full title – is angry that the Treasury appears to consider guide dogs to be in the same category as “pets”.

Labour MP Mr Blunkett, who is accompanied everywhere by guide dog Cosby, a black curly coat retriever, says it is a greater injustice than the “pasty tax” – the levy on hot food that landed Chancellor George Osborne in trouble in his March Budget.

Toilet breaks

But his call for reform was this week rejected by Treasury minister David Gauke, who said HM Revenue and Customs definition of a working dog was based on the type of food it consumes rather than the role it performs.

And, he appears to suggest, there is nothing to stop guide dog owners buying high protein food if they want to benefit from the tax break.

“If this specially-formulated food is suitable for guide dogs and other assistance dogs, it will already benefit from the zero rate,” said Mr Gauke in a written answer.

Guide Dogs says high protein food – formulated to give working dogs an energy boost – is not suitable for guide dogs as it lessens the owner’s “control over their dog’s toilet habits”.

The association pays for the majority of food given to guide dogs in the UK and in 2010 was responsible for supporting 8,000 animals, including puppies in training.

It tends to supply owners with premium dry dog food to allow the dog to work in public with fewer toilet breaks.

‘Unjust regime’

Mr Blunkett told BBC News: “The Treasury appear to have got themselves into a complete bind.

“The nature of the food given to certain working dogs does not define the nature of the work they do but rather the historic feeding patterns.”

He said it was “ludicrous to suggest that because guide dogs can use commercially available high-energy food, they should not be designated in the same way”.

“This is far more serious than hot pasties. It’s about costing those using the cutting edge of the skills of working dogs 20% more than those whose activities, no matter how interesting, are much less critical to the wellbeing of their owners which, after all, should be the objective of government,” added the former minister.

Guide Dogs says it intends to keep pushing for an end to what it sees as an “unjust regime” and was seeking advice from VAT experts on the government’s position.

Head of campaigns David Cowdrey said: “For guide dogs to be charged VAT on their food is unfair when gundogs and racing greyhounds get a tax break.

“This is an injustice in the tax system and we are asking that food for working guide dogs is zero rated as they are working dogs, not pets.

“Guide Dogs pays more than £300,000 in VAT on our dog food each year, which could be used to help more blind and partially sighted people.”

Mr Cowdrey added that even rabbit food was VAT exempt “as they are classed as a food source, even though most rabbits are kept as pets”.

The campaign to exempt guide dog food from VAT was launched last year by SNP MSP Linda Fabriani.

Government Offers Wage Subsidies to Remploy Bidders

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

Employers who take over any of the 36 state-owned Remploy factories facing closure will be offered a short-term subsidy of up to a third of the wages of the units’ disabled workers, the government has announced.

The £10m concession has been announced by ministers in an attempt to firm up bids for the factories, which have been declared unviable in their existing forms. The deadline for submission of business plans has been extended.

There have already been 44 expressions of interest, but many of the potential bidders have asked for some financial support if they are to take on the risk of the loss-making units.

The government announced in March that the 36 factories, which provide sheltered employment for 1,500 disabled people, would close by the autumn unless they were taken over. The future of Remploy’s remaining 18 factories, considered potentially viable, would be reviewed on the assumption that all options would be “outside government control”.

The announcement came in response to a review which found that the average subsidy for each job in a Remploy factory was £25,000, and that the money could achieve more if spent helping disabled people find and retain jobs in the mainstream labour market.

Most disability organisations support the decisions in principle. But trade unions representing Remploy workers have launched a campaign to save the factories, arguing that disabled people stand little chance of finding other jobs at a time of high unemployment.

The wage subsidy concession follows an earlier offer of funding worth up to £10,000 a time for Remploy staff who may be developing plans to take over any part of the business.

Under the terms of the wage concession, new employers would be able to claim up to £4,800 for each employee in the first year of operation, £1,000 in year two and £600 in year three. The average annual pay of Remploy shopfloor workers is £13,800.

The new deadline for submission of business plans by prospective bidders is 25 June.

Maria Miller, minister for disabled people, said: “We’ve always said we wanted to safeguard as many jobs as possible and we have listened to those who have already come forward and bid for the factories. That is why we are now offering this extra support which will add to the variety of innovative and enterprising bids.”

Remploy was established after the second world war to provide employment for people disabled in the conflict.

Computer Game For Stroke Rehabilitation

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

Scientists at Newcastle University have developed a computer game designed to help stroke victims recuperate.

The Circus Challenge game, created with a computer game studio, aims to help patients recover motor functions.

Players use wireless controllers to perform virtual circus acts such as lion taming and plate spinning.

It is hoped the PC-based game will serve as a cheaper and more effective alternative to existing treatments, with patients able to play at home.

The project received a £1.5m grant from the Health Innovation Challenge Fund, a partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, to allow further development.

‘Trapeze artist’

One patient, who suffered a stroke in February, said the game was “something different which encourages me to keep going with my therapy”.

Danny Mann, 68, from Dudley, Northumberland, said the game compared favourably with the “dull” exercises he had previously been instructed to complete.

“This is the first time I’ve ever played a video game – I mean, I don’t even own a computer.

“When I got the controllers I tried being a trapeze artist – something I never expected to try at my time of life,” he said.

Mr Mann said he was looking forward to furthering his recovery by playing the game with his grandchildren.

‘Engrossed in competition’

Janet Eyre, Professor of Paediatric Neuroscience at Newcastle University, said the game would help meet the shortfall of trained therapists who stroke victims must normally work with on a frequent basis as part of their rehabilitation.

“With our video game, people get engrossed in the competition and action of the circus characters and forget that the purpose of the game is for therapy.”

Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer and chief medical adviser at the the Department of Health, said the newly-developed technology was a “remarkable innovation in the NHS”.

“The government is committed to supporting such work and bringing breakthroughs from every area – even video gaming – to the front line of patient care,” she said.

Circus Challenge becomes more difficult as players gain more strength as their recovery progresses. The tasks require both gross and fine motor skills and can be performed by people in wheelchairs.

About 80% of stroke patients do not fully regain their arm and hand functions, however it is hoped there will be some improvement on this figure as patients are able to continue their rehabilitation at home.

In the UK, 150,000 people suffer a stroke every year, costing the economy an estimated £4bn in care and loss of income.

Maria Miller On #bbcqt Tonight

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

https://twitter.com/#!/bbcouch/status/203063320968835072

What would you ask her?

Donation For New Nottingham Cystic Fibrosis Unit

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

A Nottingham charity has welcomed a major donation towards a new £6.6m cystic fibrosis centre.

The Wolfson Foundation has pledged £700,000, which almost completes the Nottingham Hospitals Charity’s £2.1m part of the funding package thanks to other funding raised.

The centre, at the City Hospital, helps make extended stays more comfortable.

A charity spokesman said the donation underlined the project’s importance to patient wellbeing.

The rest of the funding to make up the final cost of £6.6m will come directly from the NHS.

The new centre, which aims to treat 250 patients each year, is intended to create a more homely environment.

It will include video phones so patients can speak to each other without the risk of infection and a specially designed outdoor exercise area.

Building work is due to start this year, with work estimated to take approximately one year.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder which causes thick secretions in the lungs, inhibiting breathing.

Cheshire Dial-A-Ride Charity Closes

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

A charity providing transport for elderly and disabled people in part of Cheshire has stopped trading for financial reasons after 25 years.

East Cheshire Community Transport said it had a monthly Cheshire East Council grant cut from £10,506 to £6,186.

The group, formerly Crewe, Nantwich & Congleton Dial-a-Ride, said it was “very, very sad” about the closure.

The council said it was told trading would end on Tuesday despite its “generous” £81,000 grant on 1 April.

Co-founder Bill Scragg said his organisation, which covered east Cheshire apart from Macclesfield, estimated it had more than 900 memberships.

‘Cup of tea’

He said it introduced a membership scheme of £12 a year in 2011, which was “helping to top up reserves, but it wasn’t enough”.

He added: “Our drivers would often carry shopping in for them [passengers] and make a cup of tea.

“There will be a replacement service by Cheshire East Council, but it won’t be the same as our service.”

Mr Scragg said the group claimed concessionary fares back from the council and these amounted to £73,000 annually, but that stopped from 1 April.

However, he added: “Every council has got to save money. I haven’t got a complaint about that.”

‘Alternative providers’

The council said it was “disappointed” to hear that the independent operator could “no longer sustain Dial-a-Ride in Crewe”.

A spokesman added: “We can confirm that we have swiftly sought other providers to ensure that schoolchildren affected will receive home-to-school transport immediately.

“Around 60 adults who rely on the transport to access social care establishments will be catered for in the short term by our own fleet of buses.”

The spokesman said customers who booked a journey for this week would have to make other arrangements, adding: “We are urgently seeking alternative providers and the charity’s current membership will be contacted immediately, once new arrangements have been secured.”

He said the council had been informed that the transport charity’s trustees were talking to professional advisers about the current financial position and “only then will we be able to glean a better picture of why this situation arose”.

Memory Bank

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

Old home movies are being used to help trigger the forgotten past of people with dementia and other memory loss.

It is part of a new project called Memory Bank developed by the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA) along with healthcare professionals and carers.

Old films have been carefully selected to help participants remember the past.

YFA director Sue Howard said one user had said: “It’s like peeling back the years – the memories are still there, its just needs a trigger.”

The majority of the films being used are home movies shot in and around Yorkshire from the 1940s to 70s, all of which are housed at YFA which is based at York St John University.

The six-minute clips feature familiar subjects such as holidays, sports, school days, shopping and working life.

The YFA said they focus on everyday activities that participants will have experienced at one time or another in their youth.

Fashion mistakes

The films come in a resource pack, complete with notes and tips on what to discuss at various points.

Memory Bank follows an 18-month research project.

Organisers of the study said the films prompted conversations with the participants on everything from knitted bathing costumes, free school milk and 1960s fashion mistakes and clocking on at work.

Ms Howard said: “Memory Bank is about opening up our collections to a huge range of old people, many of whom face a number of age-related challenges, and who often have very few opportunities to see and enjoy films such as these.

“Reminiscence therapy and memory work play an invaluable role in improving a sense of personal identity and well being, and stimulating communication and sociability.

“Memory Bank is a unique proposition – it uses films taken largely from our home movie collections, which are a fantastic visual record of everyday life over the decades.

“It is these films that trigger our collective memories.”

Social gerontologist Professor Dianne Willcocks, emeritus professor at York St John University, said: “Memory Bank offers older people a compelling and fun tool to reclaim their lived past and to share it with family, friends and carers.

“It works both for those living with dementia and for those simply living with rich memories.”

The project has been supported by the Screen Heritage UK programme, which is a partnership between the British Film Institute, Screen Yorkshire and English Regional Film Archives, to safeguard the future of the UK’s national and regional film collections funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Human Cost Of Disability Cuts

May 17, 2012

by samedifference1

Yesterday’s Guardian letters page, for anyone who’s interested.

Katie Hopkins Tweets Disablist Scribble… I Respond From Experience

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

For a disabled person, Katie Hopkins has some very strange views on disability. She may have had her first epileptic seizure after she finished her perfect, private mainstream education… but still… there’s no excuse for a disabled person Tweeting this:

https://twitter.com/#!/KTHopkins/status/202680750854782976

To which I responded:

https://twitter.com/#!/samedifference1/status/202853464307531776

So take that Katie Hopkins… now F*** off and join the BNP… oh wait, you’re disabled…

Two Paralysed Patients Use Thoughts To Control Robotic Arm

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

Two patients in the United States who are paralysed from the neck down have been able to control a robotic arm using their thoughts.

It allowed one to drink unaided for the first time in nearly 15 years.

The technique, described in the journal Nature, links a sensor implanted in the brain to a computer, which translates electrical signals into commands.

In years to come, scientists want to reconnect the brain to paralysed limbs to enable them to function again.

The project was a partnership by Brown University and the Department of Veteran Affairs, Rhode Island, and the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston.

In 2006 in a previous Nature paper, the team showed that the same neural interface system could be used by a paralysed patient to control a cursor on a computer screen.

The key is a tiny sensor implanted on to the surface of the motor cortex.

‘True happiness’

Thinking about moving an arm or hand activates neurons in this part of the brain and the electrical activity is sent via a cable to a computer, which translates them into commands.

Both patients in this latest research project were paralysed many years ago by strokes and have no viable movement below the neck.

Video footage shows 58-year-old Cathy Hutchinson using the neural interface to control a robotic arm and bring a flask of coffee to her mouth. It was the first time in nearly 15 years that she had taken a drink unaided.

She communicates by picking out letters on a board using eye movement and wrote: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I was able to drink coffee without help. I was ecstatic. I had feelings of hope and a great sense of independence.”

That was echoed by Prof John Donoghue, a neurologist at Brown University.

He said: “There was a moment of true joy, true happiness. It was beyond the fact that it was an accomplishment. I think it was an important advance in the field of brain-computer interfaces that we had helped someone do something they had wished to do for many years.”

Practical use

This research shows that the part of the brain that deals with movement continues to function more than a decade after paralysis.

Furthermore, the chip continues to function long-term – Cathy Hutchinson had the sensor fitted six years earlier.

The technology is years away from practical use and the trial participants used the system under controlled conditions in their homes with a technician on hand.

Nonetheless, another of the report authors, Prof Leigh Hochberg, said the team had four goals:

To develop effective communications systems for people with locked-in syndrome, giving them control over a cursor on a computer screen
To create improved neural control of robotic-assistive devices for patients with paralysis
To use the system to allow amputees to control a prosthetic limb by the neural interface
To enable paralysed patients to reconnect their brain to their limbs using this system so that they could use their own hand to pick up a coffee cup.

Prof Hochberg freely admitted that the third and fourth goals were distant ambitions but they were the “real dream” for people with such disabilities. The researchers say it is impossible to put a timescale on when this might be achieved.

Story Landis, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which part-funded the work, said: “This technology was made possible by decades of investment and research into how the brain controls movement.

“It’s been thrilling to see the technology evolve from studies of basic neurophysiology and move into clinical trials, where it is showing significant promise for people with brain injuries and disorders.”

New campaign calls for safer wheelchair accessible vehicles

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

A press release I’ve just received:

Disabled Motoring UK is gearing up to campaign for a change in legislation that will improve the safety of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs).

The charity believes it is a moral and human right for people who travel in a wheelchair to be able to purchase a converted vehicle that has been properly tested and is as safe as the original car.

The ‘No Compromises!’ safety campaign will urge buyers of wheelchair accessible cars to demand sled testing certificates – the only way to check a vehicle is as safe as possible. The campaign will also seek to change legislation so that only ‘sled tested’ vehicles can be sold.

Worryingly, the industry has seen up to 50 per cent of conversions that have passed other less significant tests fail the vital sled test.

A sled test is similar to the crash testing seen on TV – a dummy is strapped into a wheelchair within the car, which is then put through head-on collisions to check that both the belts and their fixings are strong enough to withstand a real-life accident and keep the wheelchair user secure.

The reason testing is so vital after conversion to a wheelchair accessible vehicle is because converting a car is a complex process involving significant structural changes to the vehicle such as lowering the floor. If this is not done properly, and by experts, the car may be unsafe.

Helen Dolphin, Director of Policy and Campaigns for Disabled Motoring UK, said: “It is amazing that vehicles are being sold that may not be safe for the drivers and their disabled passengers and we feel strongly that this most stop. We will be calling on the Government to change legislation so that people don’t unknowingly purchase unsafe vehicles. Alongside this we will be educating people to make sure they ask the right questions before purchasing a converted car.”

Constables Mobility’s Managing Director David Constable, one of the experts supporting the campaign, explains: “People who travel in wheelchairs have a right to a vehicle that has been properly tested so they are as safe as possible in the event of an accident. I strongly believe that all companies who convert cars should only be allowed to sell them if they have been successfully tested after conversion – including being sled tested – so the vehicle meets and exceeds the latest European safety standards. It’s a moral and human right to have a car that has been converted safely.”

From 29 April 2012, wheelchair accessible vehicles have to meet both the European standard for the car before it is converted and pass additional tests which check the changes made during the conversion process. However, not every conversion will have passed the same tests and it doesn’t guarantee that sled testing has been carried out.

Disabled Motoring UK (DMUK) campaigns on behalf of all disabled motorists, passengers and Blue Badge holders. The charity represents their interests at both local and national levels, and engages with government and industry to ensure that the voice of disabled people is heard.

DMUK is the only UK charity that campaigns on behalf of disabled people in this way. Without DMUK and its parent charities the Disabled Drivers’ Association and the Disabled Drivers’ Motor Club, there would be no Blue Badge scheme, no Motability cars, and no mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to help disabled people defray some of the extra travel and transport costs that they incur.

Four Men Jailed For Harrassing Relative With Epilepsy

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

Four men from Lancashire have been jailed for harassing a family member in a three-year campaign of cruelty.

Ghalib Hussain, 27, who has learning difficulties, lived with his uncle and cousins in Accrington.

Nek Alam, 72, and his sons Zahir Alam, 33, and Zahoor Alam, 32, were sentenced to 15 months imprisonment at Burnley Crown Court.

His other son Janghir Alam, 29, was jailed for 10 months. All four men pleaded guilty.

‘Left stranded’

During the trail the jury was told Mr Hussain was effectively left “stranded” at the family home when his arranged marriage collapsed following his move from Pakistan.

Mr Hussain – an epilepsy sufferer who could not read, write or speak English – was rejected by the proposed wife, the court heard.

Prosecutor Jeremy Lasker said on one occasion Mr Hussain suffered a fractured hip and on another he was said to have had a pair of jump leads attached to his nose.

When arrested and interviewed, the men denied being responsible for his injuries, which they could not explain.

Det Sgt Julie Cross said: “The victim was subjected to years of harassment and emotional abuse and has been treated in the most dreadful manner.

“To treat a family member in this way is appalling.”

Mr Hussain, it was revealed in court, is no longer living with the Alams and is in the care of local authorities.

Children With Tumours- The UK’s First Virtual Charity

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

I’ve just read this in today’s Society Daily email:

Children With Tumours, which describes itself as the UK’s first “virtual charity”. The new charity aims to improve the lives of children with tumours. and will be raising funds to provide respite to children affected by the condition neurofibromatosis and their carers, and also contribute towards vital research. More than 25,000 people in the UK are affected by neurofibromatosis, which affects the skin and nervous system, including the brain. The trustees believe CWT is the first virtual charity as there is no office to fund and instead it will function entirely through its website.

I find the idea of a ‘virtual charity’ really interesting. Will this be the first of many such organisations?

Welsh Town Councillor Claimed Dead Wife’s Disability Benefits

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

A town councillor fraudulently claimed more than £20,000 of benefits in his wife’s name for nearly two years after she died, magistrates have heard.

Michael Mills, 64, a member of Holywell town council in Flintshire at the time, was caught following a tip-off.

Investigators found that his wife Brenda died in January 2010 but kept observations as he went to the Post Office to claim her benefits.

Mills admitted 14 fraud charges and will be sentenced at a later date.

Flintshire magistrates heard that the couple had been married 44 years but that Mrs Mills had been extremely ill for the last five years of her life, ending her days in hospital.

The court heard that the retired miner from Greenfield felt guilty at agreeing to switch off his wife’s life support machine.

Unable to come to terms with the loss, he carried on life as normal, claiming benefits and paying the household bills.

Prosecutor Henry Hills said that the Department of Work and Pensions received anonymous information that he was continuing to claim his dead wife’s benefits.

Checks showed that retirement benefits of £40 a week were still being paid out in her name together with £402 a month disability living allowance – but checks with the registrar showed that she died on 23 January 2010.

Observations showed that he was attending the Greenfield sub post office weekly, and post office records showed he was still claiming benefits as a married man caring for a disabled wife, as well as her benefits.

After Mills was arrested in January this year, it also emerged that he had failed to disclose his miner’s pension.

‘Genuinely remorseful’

Mr Hills said that the defendant had been overpaid £21,357 – made up of £2,089 pension credit, £5,239 carer’s allowance, £4,066 state retirement pension and £9,962 disability living allowance.

Brian Cross, defending, said Mills had served his local community for 20 years, helping many people in need, and felt guilt for the death of his wife.

“He faced that decision of whether or not the machine should be switched off,” said Mr Cross.

“He felt very guilty about that and went into a state of shock.

“In his own words he was in a trance like state.

“He is genuinely remorseful and wishes to apologise for his behaviour.”

Mills was granted unconditional bail pending sentence.

Lib Dem MPs’ Fury As Blind People Hit By DLA Reforms

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

Government plans which could reduce state benefits paid to thousands of blind people have sparked a revolt by Liberal Democrat MPs in the latest sign of tension inside the Coalition over cuts.

The Liberal Democrat rebels are demanding a U-turn after it emerged that many blind or partially-sighted people who currently receive disability living allowance (DLA) of up to £120 a week could lose out when it is replaced by a new personal independence payment (PIP) from next April.

Although Nick Clegg is defending the Government’s plans, he is under intense pressure from his MPs to lobby for changes before the new system is implemented. Jo Swinson, his parliamentary aide, has written to Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, urging a rethink after taking up cases on behalf of her constituents. Critics of the shake-up claim that the points system under which DLA claimants will be reassessed is biased against the blind because it puts too much emphasis on tasks such as the ability to walk and not enough on the special needs of those who cannot see.

The Government claims the two million people of working age on the benefit should be reassessed because 71 per cent of claimants remain on it for life. Opponents point out that the condition of blind people is not going to change.

The Liberal Democrat rebels may try to force a Commons vote on the changes but hope to avoid that by persuading Mr Duncan Smith to revise his draft criteria.

Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South, criticised Mr Clegg and David Cameron for bringing forward the proposals. He said: “It is manifestly unfair that blind people should be subjected to this worry so unnecessarily. Even in the worst days of the Thatcher government, we didn’t see this sort of thing.”

Mr Hancock added: “This shows a complete lack of political nous in the leadership of the Coalition. It is one thing after another. They are coming up with ideas and not looking at the consequences. I did not get elected to punish people who cannot help themselves.”

Sir Bob Russell, MP for Colchester, believed the impact on the blind was an “unintended consequence” of the reform and appealed to Mr Duncan Smith to hold urgent talks with charities representing the blind. “The Government needs to look afresh at this,” he said.

Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrats’ former welfare spokesman, said the draft criteria did not identify the needs of the blind clearly enough and hoped some revisions would be made.

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), said: “RNIB believes theproposed criteria for deciding who qualifies for PIP fail to recognise the daily challenges of living with sight-loss and risk leaving many without the support they need to live independently.

“Everyday tasks which sighted people take for granted cost people with sight-loss extra money – for example paying for assistance with cleaning and ironing. Other blind or partially sighted people may require food-labelling systems to ensure they don’t eat out-of-date food. These costs are ongoing.”

Last night the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) insisted that DLA is “an outdated benefit” with £630m of overpayments. It said PIP will be focused on those who need it most.

A spokesman said: “PIP will not be automatically claimed because of a specific condition, but how that condition affects someone’s everyday life. The assessment is not yet finalised and we continue to work with disability organisations. We are considering their views as we decide what further improvements are needed.”

Mr Clegg said: “I support reform because many people have received DLA for year upon year without any assessment about whether their circumstances have changed.

“[The test] needs to be objective and fair and rigorous so that maybe some people, far from losing it, will actually receive a higher award. But, of course, we need to get the details right.”

Survey Of Nurses Finds They Fear Cuts Are Putting People With Learning Disabilities At Risk

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

Nurses who work with people with learning disabilities have “real concerns” about the safety of their clients because of cuts in services, according to a study published on Wednesday.

A survey of 500 nurses revealed that three out of four saw spending cuts to services in their area in the past year. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said its survey also uncovered cuts in the range of services offered, such as health education and personal care packages.

Almost 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. The figure is expected to increase in the coming years, said the RCN, which has also warned of cuts among other areas of nursing, including the prospect of 60,000 job losses across the NHS.

The RCN general secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said: “The NHS has a duty to treat everyone as equals and provide the care we all require. However, when it comes to people with learning disabilities, today’s survey clearly shows that this is just not happening.

“With increasing caseloads and complexity of care, alongside decreasing staffing levels, it is hardly surprising that nurses are voicing concerns about the safety and welfare of their patients. Our worry now is that in this tough economic climate, the NHS could end up forgetting people with learning disabilities.”

The survey results were published at the RCN’s annual conference in Harrogate, where nurses have heckled the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, over staffing numbers in the NHS.

Dan Scorer, the senior campaigns and policy manager at the learning disability charity Mencap, said: “Mencap campaigned heavily for the appointment of learning disability nurses, and where these are in post they have made a positive difference to the quality of healthcare and experiences of people with a learning disability and their carers.

“However, overall improvements in the NHS for people with a learning disability have been slow, and in some cases non-existent.

“Therefore it is deeply worrying to see that any progress that has been made may be undone by cuts to services.”

Home Care Statistics By Council

May 16, 2012

by samedifference1

These tables, published in the Guardian, show which councils charge least for home care- and which ones charge the most.

Paralysed Man Regains Some Hand Movement After Operation

May 15, 2012

by samedifference1

A paralysed man has regained limited use of his hand after pioneering surgery to bypass damage to his spinal cord.

His injury meant his brain could not “talk” to his hand, meaning all control was lost.

Surgeons at the Washington University School of Medicine re-wired his nerves to build a new route between hand and brain.

He can now feed himself and can just about write.

The 71-year-old man was involved in a car accident in June 2008. His spinal cord was damaged at the base of the neck and he was unable to walk.

While he could still move his arms, he had lost the ability to pinch or grip with either of his hands.

Rewiring

The nerves in the hand were not damaged, they had just lost the signal from the brain which told them what to do.

However, the brain could still give instructions to the upper arm.

The operation, described in the Journal of Neurosurgery, rewired the nerves in the arm to build a new route from brain to hand. One of the nerves leading to a muscle was taken and attached to the anterior interosseous nerve, which goes to the hand.

Ida Fox, an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Washington University, told the BBC: “The circuit [in the hand] is intact, but no longer connected to the brain.

“What we do is take that circuit and restore the connection to the brain.”

She said it was a “really novel” and “refreshingly resourceful” way of restoring movement. However, she warned this would never restore normal function. “That isn’t going to happen,” she said.

Training

The surgery is not an overnight miracle. It takes intensive training to regain control of the hand. Nerves that used to bend the elbow are now making pinching movements.

After eight months, he was able to move his thumb, index and middle fingers. He can now feed himself and has “rudimentary writing”.

With more physiotherapy, doctors expect his movement will continue to improve.

Dr Mark Bacon, the director of research at the charity Spinal Research, told the BBC: “One of the issues with techniques such as this is the permanence of the outcome – once done it is hard to reverse.

“There is an inevitable sacrifice of some healthy function above the injury in order to provide more useful function below.

“This may be entirely acceptable when we are ultimately talking about providing function that leads to a greater quality of life.

“For the limited number of patients that may benefit from this technique this may be seen as a small price to pay.”

The technique would work only for patients that have very specific injuries to the spinal cord at the bottom of the neck. If the injury was any higher then there would be no nerve function in the arms to harness. If it was any lower then patients should still be able to move their hands.

Experts Say Landmark Judgement Will Stop Benefit System Discriminating Against Disabled

May 15, 2012

by samedifference1

A press release from DPAC:

Leading Lawyer Says Court of Appeal Ruling Confirms Government Has to Give Special Provision To Disabled People So That Human Rights Are Not Breached

Experts at Irwin Mitchell have welcomed a landmark judgement handed down at the Court of Appeal today which they say sets out clear guidance to ensure that disabled people are not discriminated against by the Government’s benefit system.

Three families challenged the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (DWP) which stated that local authorities could not provide housing benefit for extra bedrooms needed by four young disabled people who were living in private rented accommodation.

Public law experts at Irwin Mitchell, representing the lead case, said DWP breached the British Human Rights law by not allowing their housing benefit claims to be treated differently to those of non-disabled people, which would have given them the extra provision needed.

And their view was backed by the Court, who ruled that “without the benefit of the extra room rate, Ian Burnip would be left in a worse position than an able bodied person living alone”.

Polly Sweeney, Solicitor for Ian Burnip at Irwin Mitchell said, “This Judgment has widespread implications for policy-making and is crucial to promoting equality for disabled people and assisting them to live independently. Whenever the Government introduces new policies, or reviews existing policies, they now face a duty to ensure that appropriate provision is made for disabled people to ensure that discrimination does not occur.“

The Court recognised that the object of Ian Burnip’s claim was not to give him some form of preferential treatment, but merely to ensure that housing benefit can fulfil its intended function for those who are so severely disabled that they need 24 hour care.

Lord Justice Maurice Kay, Vice President of the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, said in his Judgment that:

“Disability can be expensive. It can give rise to needs which do not attach to the able-bodied and Ian Burnip and the late Lucy Trengove provide stark examples”.

Specialists at the firm say today’s judgement will have a huge impact on discrimination in the benefits system, and will ensure that the Government now ensures there is a appropriate provision when considering disabled people’s needs.

In the lead case, Ian Burnip, represented by Irwin Mitchell, was told by Birmingham City Council that he could not claim local housing allowance (LHA) to cover an extra bedroom he needed for an overnight care worker.

A second case involved Rebecca Trengove whose daughter Lucy, who has since sadly passed away, was unable to secure the LHA she needed for an extra room for an overnight care worker from Walsall Council.

During the course of the Appeal process, the local housing allowance rules on extra bedrooms were changed by the Government and, since April 2011, extra LHA is now given to disabled people who need a bedroom for an overnight care worker.

However, a third case heard by the Court of Appeal was not affected by the coalition’s new rules. Richard Gorry, the father of two disabled children, one who has a physical impairment and the other who has autism, wanted Wiltshire County Council to provide enough LHA for his children to have separate bedrooms. This ruling will now ensure that he is awarded a rate of housing benefit which reflects his daughters’ accepted needs to sleep in separate rooms and ensure that they can afford to live in adequate and suitable housing.

The Court of Appeal found that discrimination had occurred in all three cases and that their human rights had been breached even though the appropriate provisions being sought for the disabled people required additional public expenditure.

Ian Burnip’s mother Linda, who set up the Local Housing Allowance Reform Group to campaign for changes in the system, said: “Winning this case reinforces disabled people’s right to not be discriminated against within the benefits system and also affirms their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We hope that the case will help other disabled people who feel that they have been discriminated by government policies and law”.

Brain Surgery Hope For Children With Severe Epilepsy

May 15, 2012

by samedifference1

Epileptic seizures are a frightening experience for anyone, but particularly for children who cannot control their seizures with medication.

For these children, and their parents, life can often be difficult and unpredictable.

However, if a particular part of the brain can be pinpointed as the cause of the seizures, brain surgery can be an effective treatment.

Great Ormond Street Hospital in London is currently the main centre in the UK for this type of specialised surgery, but Bristol, Manchester/Liverpool and Birmingham are set to develop similar expertise later this year.

As a result, doctors say they will be able to treat three times as many children with drug-resistant epilepsy in England and Wales – from 125 to around 350 each year by 2015-2016.

Rachel, from Essex, was nearly eight years old when surgeons at Great Ormond Street removed a piece of malformed tissue on the right-hand side of her brain.

Rachel and her family had spent years experimenting with different drugs, trying to control her sudden and distressing seizures which left her physically drained, reclusive and withdrawn.

Fix it

Her father Nick says it was a relief when doctors said they had identified the root cause of the problem.

“We thought it was amazing. We finally thought we had a way out of it all.

“The surgeons offered us a 70-80% success rate. They set out the risks for us but they were confident, they said ‘we can fix this’.”

Around 60,000 children in the UK have epilepsy.

While most children with epilepsy enjoy full and active lives, around one-third do not respond to medication and continue to experience seizures.

This can have a major impact on family life, as Rachel’s father recalls:

“At the height of it, my wife couldn’t go further than 15 minutes from school in case Rachel collapsed. Even going to the shops became a massive exercise,” Nick says.

“We got to know the paramedics by name and we even got trained in how to knock her out if we needed to, if the seizure was going on too long.”

For Rachel it meant that she could be walking along and blank out suddenly, her muscles contorting, arms and legs going rigid, eyes going up into her head.

“It was like she went into shutdown mode,” her father remembers.

“And she was constantly covered in bruises from falling flat on her face.”

‘Low risk’

Professor Helen Cross, an expert in epilepsy surgery from University College London’s Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital, says there are many different types of seizures.

“Epilepsy isn’t one condition and a person may have more than one type of seizure.

“Those suitable for surgery will have failed on at least two drugs and when we evaluate them, we should see that the seizures are coming from one small bit of the brain.”

And what are the risks of surgery on the brain?

“Surgery carries low risk. We wouldn’t offer it if it were not going to be of benefit.”

But Prof Cross acknowledges that some clinicians still see surgery as a last resort.

“Some feel that surgery is going to lead to more problems – but each individual is different.

“If they know the child is going to be resistant to drugs quite quickly then the earlier we do the surgery the better the outcome.

“That’s better than finding out 10 years down the line that surgery could have been an option.”

‘Transformed’

Simon Wigglesworth, chief executive of Epilepsy Action, says there is strong evidence that brain surgery can transform lives.

“IQ and education ability are improved by surgery, and there is evidence that the earlier it’s done the better the cognitive outcomes.

“Seizures are horrible things. Surgery can allow children to go into adulthood free of seizures, able to drive, get a job and lead a normal life.”

In her early years, Rachel couldn’t keep up with her peers and missed out on a lot of school learning and activities, such was the impact of her condition and the medication.

Looking back, her family remembers her being depressed and wanting to sleep all the time.

Since the surgery, in February 2010, Rachel’s life has totally transformed.

“It was like she had a personality transplant,” Nick says.

“Now she has energy, she’s smiling and laughing. The lights are back on in her eyes.”

It was two or three months before she went back to school, and they noticed the difference there too, Nick adds.

“She’s made up a lot of ground. The teachers are blown away by her.

“She loves horse riding now – and she can do it properly – and she swims a lot too.

“It’s the closest thing to a modern miracle. We now lead a normal life.”

Parents In England To Be Given SEN ‘Personal Budgets’

May 15, 2012

by samedifference1

I was once a SEN child with a statement, as were several of my friends. This article seems to be saying all the right things in all the right words. If the Government means this, it could be real progress for disabled children. The big question is- does the Government mean this?

What do parents of today’s SEN children think?

Congratulations To Callum Rigby, Disability Cricketer Of The Year!

May 15, 2012

by samedifference1

The ECB website says:

The Disability Cricketer of the Year award was won by Callum Rigby – a 19-year-old bowler from Telford, Shropshire who has emerged from recreational cricket to become a key member of England’s Learning Disability squad.

Rigby took eight wickets for the Learning Disability Squad during their successful Tri-Series tournament in South Africa last year and was subsequently selected for a World XI which took on a Griqua Diamonds Select XI in the final match of the South African tour.

Congratulations Callum!

Light Powered Bionic Eye Invented

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

A retinal implant – or bionic eye – which is powered by light has been invented by scientists at Stanford University in California.

Implants currently used in patients need to be powered by a battery.

The new device, described in the journal Nature Photonics, uses a special pair of glasses to beam near infrared light into the eye.

This powers the implant and sends the information which could help a patient see.

Diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa result in the death of cells which can detect light in the eye.

Eventually this leads to blindness.

Wiring eliminated

Retinal implants stimulate the nerves in the back of the eye, which has helped some patients to see.

Early results of a trial in the UK mean two men have gone from being totally blind to being able to perceive light and even some shapes.

However, as well as a fitting a chip behind the retina, a battery needs to be fitted behind the ear and a cable needs to join the two together.

The Stanford researchers say their method could be a step forward by “eliminating the need for complex electronics and wiring”.

A retinal implant, which works in a similar way to a solar panel, is fitted in the back of the eye.

A pair of glasses fitted with a video camera records what is happening before a patient’s eyes and fires beams of near infrared light on to the retinal chip.

The creates an electrical signal which is passed on to nerves.

Natural light is 1,000 times too weak to power the implant.

The researchers said: “Because the photovoltaic implant is thin and wireless, the surgical procedure is much simpler than in other retinal prosthetic approaches.

“Such a fully integrated wireless implant promises the restoration of useful vision to patients blinded by degenerative retinal diseases.”

The implant has not been tested in people, but has been shown to work in rats.

ENJOY ARTHRITIS CARE WEEK WITH YOUR PETA UK PRODUCT

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

A press release I’ve just received:

To raise awareness of Arthritis Care Week (14^th -20^thMay) and help you make the most of doing the things you enjoy, PETA UK is offering a 10% discount on its fantastic range of ergonomic tools, aids and utensils at www.peta-uk.com

PETA is dedicated to enabling those suffering from arthritis or reduced grip strength to continue living life to the full and all its products have been carefully designed in response to feedback from occupational therapists. If you love to cook, for example, but are held back because kitchen utensils have become difficult and uncomfortable to manage, then PETA’s range of kitchen equipment can help you regain your culinary prowess. Products include the Easi-Grip Carving Knife, Bread Knife, General Purpose Knife and Carving Fork – the Easi-Grip Spatula, Grater and Cheese Slice are also great assets to any kitchen.

A valued PETA customer who has arthritis commented, “having first tried them some years ago the PETA Easi-Grip Knives have become my first choice when taking a knife from the kitchen drawer and they are a ‘dream to use’. The angled handle of PETA tools keeps your hand and wrist in a natural position which is what makes using the products so smooth, simple and comfortable”.

PETA also offers an excellent range of gardening tools, including the Easi-Grip Trowel and Easi-Grip Fork, to help green fingered arthritis sufferers make the most of their gardens. One especially popular product is the innovative Add-On Handle, which can be fitted to regular garden tools to convert them to ergonomic grip, making it a cost effective solution for anyone wanting to garden in greater comfort.

If you, or a loved one, have arthritis and could benefit from using a PETA product then take advantage of your 10% online discount by entering ARTWK in the ‘coupon code’ section when ordering online at www.peta-uk.com. You will also find more information on PETA UK and its full product portfolio by visiting the website or calling 01376 573476.

Swimming champ blazing a trail for young disabled people

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

A press release I’ve just received from the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign:

Team GB Paralympic swimmer Ollie Hynd is throwing his weight behind a campaign to improve access to sports and leisure facilities for young disabled people.

Despite a gruelling training schedule after successfully qualifying for the London Paralympic Games, Ollie (17) from Mansfield, will lend his support to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers, an award-wining 400-strong campaign group of young disabled people from across the UK. He is also committed to raising awareness about muscular dystrophy, a condition which he and older brother Sam Hynd (20) are both affected by, and has vowed to work with Trailblazers parent charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign to help support those affected.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers was formed by young people who have muscular dystrophy or a related condition, which cause muscles to waste and weaken over time, leading to increasing disability. The group campaign on issues ranging from access to higher education and employment for young disabled people to problems using social facilities such as sports and music venues, cinemas and restaurants.

A previous study by the Trailblazers found that young disabled people are struggling to access local sports and fitness facilities, including gyms, sports stadiums and leisure centres.

Ollie, who is keen to encourage more young disabled people to take up sport, said:

“I’m really proud to be an ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and for Trailblazers.

“There are a huge range of sports that young disabled people in the UK have the opportunity to get involved with, and the Paralympics is really helping to show people this. It is really important that disabled people are able to use gyms, sports grounds, pools and leisure centres locally, and that the staff there are welcoming. I’ve always had positive experiences, but I know that other people aren’t so lucky.

“I want to work with Trailblazers to encourage more young people into sport and to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to get involved.”

Bobby Ancil, Project Manager of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Trailblazers, said:

“We are absolutely delighted that Ollie is joining the Trailblazers – as someone with the drive and commitment to become a champion, he is an inspiration to young people with muscular dystrophy and related conditions. We are really grateful that he is lending his voice to the many campaigners who are helping to secure better opportunities in careers, education, health and leisure for young disabled people throughout the UK”

Parents Wait Years For Diagnosis Of Autism, Finds Research

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

Parents who suspect that their children have autism face years of uncertainty and anguish because of a continuing unwillingness to diagnose the condition. Long waiting times leave more than a third of families waiting at least three years for a diagnosis, with two thirds waiting more than a year, according to new figures.

A wide-ranging survey of the experiences of adults and children living on the autistic spectrum, commissioned by the National Autistic Society (NAS) to mark its 50th anniversary, will be published this month.

It states that despite an increased awareness and identification of autism since 1962, getting a diagnosis remains a challenge and can leave families coping with uncertainty, often for years. One in 10 people end up paying for assessments privately.

The NAS says long waiting times result from a combination of factors, including a lack of awareness among GPs and a shortfall in the numbers of professionals who have the expertise to assess autism, particularly in adults. The process remains difficult and stressful, said Dr Judy Gould, director of the NAS Lorna Wing Centre for Autism, whose research with Dr Wing led to the now-accepted concept of a spectrum of autistic conditions.

“I’m not at all surprised by these findings. We’re seeing an increasing number of people coming forward, especially women and young girls, who have gone through their lives without a diagnosis and suffered quite badly as a consequence, some developing mental health issues.

“I personally don’t think the numbers of people with autism is on the rise; they have always been there. Since man has existed so have these patterns of behaviour. We have seen incredible changes in the field over the last 50 years: awareness is better, due mostly to the work of the NAS, but with service provision and diagnosis, especially for adults, there is a long, long way to go.”

However, screening for autistic spectrum disorders is far from straightforward. “There is no medical or psychological test at the moment so a diagnosis involves gathering a whole plethora of information,” said Gould. “Not everyone will want to know, if they are functioning and having their needs met, but it’s very important for others who need to access support or simply to understand.”

Of those surveyed, 61% said they felt relieved to get a diagnosis and 58% said that a diagnosis led to getting new support. But 55% said the process was long and stressful.

Those who have co-occurring disabilities can find that their autism is overlooked. “My daughter is partially sighted and I was told surely that was enough – she’d get help, so why bother adding another label? It would only stigmatise her,” said Amanda Freemantle from Haverhill, Suffolk, who is still trying to have her daughter Shannon, 6, diagnosed after four years. “But it’s important for us as a family to know.”

It goes some way to explaining why one in 10 pay for a private diagnosis, instead of waiting for the NHS. And, while paying for a diagnosis is decreasing among those looking after children, there has been a rise in the number of adults going private – it has almost doubled over the last 10 years.

Of those adults diagnosed before 2002, 12% paid for a diagnosis; for those diagnosed after 2003 that percentage rose to 22%.

Once diagnosed, only 28% of respondents said they received good information about where to go for help or support.

The situation in Wales is particularly bad, with the NAS’s Pembrokeshire branch reporting regularly seeing parents in tears after having been told they face a wait of up to seven years.

Mark Lever, the NAS’s chief executive, said: “Getting a diagnosis helps parents to understand their children better and provides adults with autism with an explanation for years of feeling ‘different’. It’s a critical milestone that can unlock the door to identifying the right support, and without it people struggle to access the help they need.

“Our landmark report shows that despite an increased awareness of autism and identification of it over the past 50 years, access to diagnosis is sadly still a significant challenge for many families, leaving them in uncertainty – sometimes for years.

“The UK and devolved governments must ensure that the NHS follows national guidelines on diagnosis and assessment so that people with autism can access the right support as early as possible. That way, we will make sure that so many more people with autism get to live the life they choose.”

A total of 2,938 people with autism completed the survey; about half were adults and half were aged under 17. A further 5,535 carers responded.

Coalition Failed To Test Fairness Of Spending Cuts, Finds EHRC Report

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

The Treasury failed to consider how crucial policies would affect women, disabled people and ethnic minorities before the 2010 spending review, according to a report by the equality watchdog.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it was “unable to establish” whether the coalition checked its proposals meant for vulnerable people – despite this being a legal necessity.

In key areas of policy, the government appeared to set aside equality legislation in the rush to push through eyecatching policies. Under the law, ministers must determine the effects of proposals, and mitigate or justify them so that outcomes are fairer.

The report says the government has not “fully grasped … the requirements of public sector equality duties”. It censures the Treasury, saying the cumulative effects of policies on vulnerable groups was not considered in a “meaningful or comprehensive way”.

For the first time tIn the first report of its kind, the commission considered nine policies and concluded that in six areas – child benefit, council tax, the pupil premium, legal aid, disability living allowance and employment support – the government fulfilled its equality obligations.

The Treasury was found lacking in three areas. In the capping of household benefits – limiting welfare to £500 a week for couples and lone parent households – the policy was announced before its impact on women was known. When 20% was cut from low fares subsidies to bus services, ministers did not examine the effect on disabled people.

The most glaring omission appears to be of an equality analysis concerning withdrawal of the education maintenance allowance (EMA), which paid up to £30 a week to poor teenagers who stayed on at school or college beyond 16.

Although almost half of children from ethnic minorities live in low-income households – compared with a quarter of white British children – the commission discovered the decision to halt the subsidy had been made without any reference to ethnicity.

The commission found the Treasury often batted away arguments on gender by saying it did not have the information required to make judgments. However, the report says, officials could “consider the impact on sub-groups of women or groups where women are over-represented … for example, just over 90% of lone parents are women”.

For the Treasury to continue to disregard these sub-groups, the commission warns, may be breaking the law by enforcing indirect discrimination.

For example the report says: “A policy which puts part-time workers at a particular disadvantage would be unlawful as proportionately more part-time workers are women … Other departments, such as the DWP [Department of Work and Pensions], conduct analysis of sub-groups as part of their equality assessments.”

In some instances, data was only made available to the Treasury shortly before the spending review. Equality data for controversial legal aid cuts – which included removing support for victims of domestic violence – was given to the Treasury “days before” the review was published.

The commission’s report follows a legal case brought by the Fawcett Society, which campaigns on women’s rights, in August 2010. Campaigners argued the government could not show it had assessed whether the emergency budget in June that year would increase or reduce inequality between women and men.

In court Justice Ouseley refused a judicial review, saying analysis of the government’s spending plans would be better carried out by the EHRC. Trevor Phillips, its chair, agreed. He said the report would lead to “more targeted spending, more effective use of public money, and above all greater fairness all round”.

Labour has calculated that 75% of the £15bn in spending cuts since 2010 has fallen on women’s shoulders. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary and shadow minister for women and equalities, said: “This report shows ministers didn’t even properly consider the impact of their plans on inequality in advance … The government didn’t stop to consider the overall impact on inequality, and ministers didn’t insist on proper information about whether measures would be unfair before they took their decisions.”

Campaigners welcomed the report but said it had taken too long – the commission started its work in November 2010.

Ceri Goddard, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: “We are now seeing the impact that was entirely predictable: women’s unemployment is at a 25-year high, women are being worst hit by cuts to benefits and women are also acting as shock absorbers for cuts to public services.”

The Treasury said it had cooperated fully with the commission. A spokeswoman said: “In the spending review the government had to take tough decisions to cut the deficit and put the public finances back on a stable footing. But the government has made these decisions in the fairest way possible.”

Half A Million People To Lose DLA Says IDS

May 14, 2012

by samedifference1

Half a million people are set to lose disability benefits as the Government pushes ahead with plans to rid the system of abuse and fraud, Iain Duncan Smith says.

In an interview with today’s Daily Telegraph, the Work and Pensions Secretary says that he is determined to introduce radical reforms to disability benefits which will see more than two million claimants reassessed in the next four years.

Iain Duncan Smith says that the number of claimants has risen by 30 percent in recent years “rising well ahead of any other gauge you might make about illness, sickness, disability”. Losing a limb should not automatically entitle people to a pay-out, he suggests.

The cost of disability living allowance, which is intended to help people meet the extra costs of mobility and care associated with their conditions, now outstrips unemployment benefit and will soon be £13 billion annually.

Under the reform plans, the existing benefit will be replaced with a simpler “more focused” allowance and only those medically assessed to be in genuine need of support will continue to qualify.

An official impact assessment of the plans, released this month, reveals the scheme will cut benefit payments by £2.24 billion annually – and lead to about 500,000 fewer claimants.

The rigorous new process being introduced by Mr Duncan Smith could lead to those without limbs, including former soldiers, having their payments reduced as their everyday mobility is not undermined by their prosthetic limbs.

The Work and Pensions Secretary says: “It’s not like incapacity benefit, it’s not a statement of sickness. It is a gauge of your capability. In other words, do you need care, do you need support to get around. Those are the two things that are measured. Not, you have lost a limb…”

The reform of disability benefits will be the next major challenge in the Government’s welfare reform programme and is expected to lead to high-profile protests from disability campaigners.

Tony Blair was forced to abandon a plan to reduce disability benefits after people in wheelchairs chained themselves to the gates of Downing Street.

Mr Duncan Smith says that the current system has been exploited and abused because of political fear over reforming a benefit for the disabled.

His department will now replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (Pip) which will have tighter criteria and a simpler approval system.

“We are creating a new benefit, because the last benefit grew by something like 30 percent in the past few years,” he said. “It’s been rising well ahead of any other gauge you might make about illness, sickness, disability or for that matter, general trends in society.

“A lot of that is down to the way the benefit was structured so that it was very loosely defined…Second thing was that in the assessment, lots of people weren’t actually seen. They didn’t get a health check or anything like that.

“Third problem was lifetime awards. Something like 70 per cent had lifetime awards, (which) meant that once they got it you never looked at them again. They were just allowed to fester.”

Ministers are currently consulting on the new eligibility criteria which will be announced in the autumn but they now appear keen to begin discussing publicly the need for reform.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to lose the benefits which are worth up to £120 a week. Others will have them cut while some of the most severely disabled Britons are expected to be awarded higher benefits. The mentally ill may also benefit from the changes.

Each of the two million people of working age claiming the benefit will have to see a medical expert and everyone will have been assessed by 2016. There are then expected to be regular reassessments. Currently, only about half of claimants have ever been medically assessed.

Mr Duncan Smith is also working on plans to encourage and help more disabled people to return to work. Many people wrongly believe that they will lose their disability benefits if returning to work, but they are not means tested. However, officials believe that other benefit bills may fall if more disabled people return to work once the new system is explained personally to them.

The changes only affect people of working age, not children and pensioners.

The planned assessments for disability benefits are similar to those underway for incapacity benefit. The Government is currently in the process of reassessing millions of incapacity benefit claimants and has judged that almost 80 percent are either fit for work immediately or in the future.

The level of potential abuse in the incapacity benefit system has shocked ministers, who now believe that many people are also being wrongly categorised as “disabled” by the benefits system.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said: “It’s like incapacity benefit, we’ve got to be careful because these are vulnerable people. There has been a lot of nonsense talked about it in the last few months, lots of letters asking about it. It’s now just beginning to seep in what we are doing. There are all sorts of scaremongering going on about how we are getting rid of it, slashing it, cutting it. The reality is that for the most part that’s not true.”

He added: “There is a big difference between what Tony Blair tried to do and what we are doing. Tony Blair’s government tried to attack DLA, just to restrict it. We’re not doing that. What we’re saying is we need to address DLA’s problems, to reform it. We are creating a new benefit, which we think will be better. We are actually reforming this process to improve it.”

Sue Marsh Given Drug She’s Allergic To

May 13, 2012

by samedifference1

Disability Rights Campaigner Sue Marsh has, unfortunately, spent the last month in hospital in Cambridge, seriously ill. She’s just had major surgery and has spent today Tweeting about how she was given a drug she’s allergic to. This was intended as pain relief, but the opposite happened.

Our mutual Twitter contact, the brilliant @latentexistence, has full details in this post at his blog. I’m linking it because awareness of this must be raised to prevent it happening again. The next person this happens to might not live to Tweet the tale.

Rhys Watkins

May 13, 2012

by samedifference1

Rhys Watkins is just 11 years old but he has been forced to battle cancer twice in little over a year.

His latest operation, in the week before Christmas, was to remove a very aggressive, tennis ball-sized tumour from his lung.

His family were not expecting him home in time for Christmas Day. However, he underwent a special operation – rarely performed on children – which meant he was able to be back at his home in Seaford, East Sussex, to surprise his sisters just three days after having half of his left lung removed at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

Rhys was born with a form of neurofibromatosis, NF1. The Neuro Foundation says one baby is born each day in the UK with this genetic disease.

It causes benign tumours in the nervous system and coffee coloured “café au lait spots” to form on the skin.

Rhys was diagnosed when he was seven. His right leg was growing longer than his left and in May 2010 he had an operation to remove 2.5 inches of leg.

Cancer

However, he then developed a lump at the top of his leg.

His father, Trevor, said: “Initially we thought that it was just a muscle knot because his muscles were all 2.5 inches too long, but it didn’t seem to be going and if anything seemed to be getting a little bit bigger.”

Not all tumours that develop with NF1 are benign – some are cancerous. Rhys had developed a cancer in the nerves of his right leg, which was growing quickly and affected his ability to walk and feel anything in that limb.

It had grown to the size of a grapefruit by the time it was removed. To try to stop the cancer spreading, 10 centimetres of nerve was removed – causing permanent disability below the right knee.

Trevor said it was a dreadful moment for the family and for Rhys, who had always loved playing sport.

“To tell your kid that he’s going in for an operation and has got cancer was horrible anyway. To have to tell him that it would permanently affect his mobility was very hard.

“His attitude then was ‘well, at least I can play other things like golf, and cricket maybe, and archery’. It’s an incredible attitude, really. He’s carried that on… in everything he’s faced.”

Six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy followed. However, a routine X-ray last October showed that the tumour had spread to his lung.

“He threw up instantly and had a panic. He said ‘am I gonna die?, am I gonna die? Am I gonna have to have chemotherapy again? I don’t want to have chemotherapy again’.”

He was back in hospital the week before Christmas.

Simon Jordan, a consultant thoracic surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital, said the tumour was small when it was first picked up but “it rapidly grew and by the time we did the operation it was six centimetres in size”.

“It was starting to take over the whole of the bottom lobe of the lung.”

The bottom half of the lung needed to be removed. Mr Jordan used a technique which is rarely used on children – video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, a form of keyhole surgery.

It is used in more than one in 10 cases of lung cancer in adults and avoids the need to open up the chest and spread the ribs apart for an operation.

‘Lovely timing’

Mr Jordan said: “More and more we are impressed by the speed of recovery and how much better the recovery can be.

“The timing was lovely in the case of Rhys. Because of his quick recovery he actually went home on the day before Christmas Eve, whereas traditionally we’d have expected him in for at least another three to four days after that.”

The Watkins family had actually prepared for opening presents later.

“We didn’t think we would be [back for Christmas],” Rhys’s father, Trevor, said. “On the Thursday he was up and walking round and wanted to go. It was much earlier than anyone thought.”

He is still being checked regularly in case the cancer returns.

His father said: “I don’t think we’re out of the woodwork yet. I’m not sure we won’t have to go through those sorts of feelings again, possibly worse. That’s the sort of path we’re on.

“It’s not a death sentence by any shape of form, but it is a very, very aggressive cancer.

“If we’re lucky there’s a chance we can get through it and if anyone can he can.”

It’s Fibromyalgia Awareness Day!

May 12, 2012

by samedifference1

Celebrate yourselves!

Gordon And Sarah Brown Deny Approving Sun Cystic Fibrosis Story

May 11, 2012

by samedifference1

I thought so. No parent of a disabled child, however high profile, would give permission for such private information to be revealed at such a difficult time in their lives.

Ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah say claims they gave permission for the Sun to publish a story about their son’s medical condition are “untrue”.

The newspaper ran a story in 2006 about Mr Brown’s son Fraser being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

Rebekah Brooks, told the Leveson Inquiry she had the express permission of the Browns to run it.

But the Browns have said that “at no stage” was their permission sought.

Mrs Brooks, the former chief executive of News International, told the inquiry that the paper had not hacked into medical records to discover that Mr Brown’s son Fraser had cystic fibrosis.

Instead, she said, the information came from a male source connected to a charity for the condition. Mrs Brooks refused to name that source.

The paper has previously said that the man’s own child also had cystic fibrosis and he wanted to raise awareness of the condition.

‘Fait accompli’

Following Mrs Brooks’ testimony on Friday, Mr Brown and his wife issued a statement in which they say they were attempting to “minimise the damage” surrounding the story’s publication.

“The idea that we would have volunteered our permission or were happy that a story about our son’s health was about to enter the public domain is untrue,” they said.

“We were presented via the Treasury press office with the notification that the Sun had obtained information about our newborn son’s health a few months after his birth in 2006 and was preparing to run a story.

“At no stage did anyone from the Sun ask permission to publish this story. Given that we were presented with a fait accompli our whole objective was to minimise the damage. We handled it as best we could at the time.”

The couple say that Mrs Brown did speak at length to Mrs Brooks at that time, “to ensure that reporting was not unduly negative about the prospect for her son’s health mindful of her own family and of other CF families around Britain”.

The Browns go on to say that Mrs Brown “then quickly contacted her wider family and friends as they had not yet been notified. Every subsequent action that followed was an attempt to reduce any future coverage about our children.

“We remain concerned that there is no satisfactory explanation of how private medical information, known to very few people, got into the hands of the Sun and the possible payments involved.

“Our choice as a family was to keep our children away from the public eye as much as was possible and this is still our preference.”

Hacking denied

Last year Mr Brown publicly criticised the way the story had been handled, saying it had left him “in tears”.

During her testimony to the Leveson Inquiry, Mrs Brooks also denied getting the story through “subterfuge”.

And she rejected a suggestion that they hacked into any medical records or were given information from an NHS worker.

She said Mrs Brown was her “friend” and she felt “very sad” for the couple.

But she added: “They felt that, as prime minister, there were an awful lot of parents coping with cystic fibrosis and one of the overwhelming memories is that when the story was published they wanted us to highlight the positives.”

Man Who Blinded Girlfriend Jailed For Life

May 11, 2012

by samedifference1

A man from Cornwall who blinded his girlfriend by gouging her eyes has been jailed for life.

Shane Jenkin, 33, of Sea Lane, Hayle, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on Tina Nash, 31.

Jenkin had watched a DVD featuring eye gouging the night before the attack on 20 April 2011, Truro Crown Court heard.

Judge Christopher Clark said the attack was one of “extreme violence with catastrophic consequences” and ordered Jenkin to be detained in a secure unit.

The minimum term was fixed for six years.

Ms Nash, who had been sitting in the public gallery, said after sentencing: “I have waited a year and three weeks for this day.

Jenkin, who refused to attend court, imprisoned the mother-of-two at her house in Hayle for 12 hours after the assault, the court heard.

After the attack, attempts were made to save the sight in one of Ms Nash’s eyes.

But the efforts of medical experts were in vain and she was left completely blind.

Ms Nash also had her jaw fractured and nose broken in the assault, which Det Insp Chris Strickland, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said was the “most shocking” he had ever dealt with.

Although there had been previous violence in the couple’s relationship, Ms Nash told police she thought she could change Jenkin.

She said that she had helped him get out of trouble for hurting her on previous occasions.

The attack had left her feeling “buried alive, claustrophobic and not in control of my life”, she said.

But more than a year on, Ms Nash said she was feeling a lot more confident.

“I feel like I’m coming to terms with it now, I don’t feel as low as what I did. I’m definitely getting the old me back.

“I don’t think I’m brave, I think I’m surviving… you only get one life, so I’m not going to let him ruin it.”

Following the hearing, Ms Nash said: “Shane was not mentally ill when he attacked me, he was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. It was a silent, prolonged attack.

“Shane knows what he did to me that night and he has to live with that for the rest of his life.

“My life changed forever that night and will never be the same, but I am now able to move on, start my treatment and rebuild my life.

“I have a future and want to provide a future for my kids and be a good mum.”

JustGiving Page Of The Week Special: Holly’s Blind Drive

May 11, 2012

by samedifference1

I received this email from reader Holly Scott-Gardner:

I’ve been blind since birth and am on the waiting list for a guide dog. I found the application process great, it went so quickly and everyone at Guide Dogs was lovely. That’s why I’ve decided to give something back. On the 10^th of June I’ll be doing a blind drive to raise as much money as possible for Guide Dogs. I’ve never driven a car, it’s just not possible because of my visual impairment but this time I’ll be with an instructor and am going to give it my all.

It should be a fantastic experience for me and I’d like to know I raised as much as I could by doing this. I’m hoping to raise £500 and so all donations are appreciated.

To sponsor me please visit http://www.justgiving.com/blinddrive

For more information about what I’ve been doing and resources on blindness please visit my website. You can find my blog there as well as a lot of information I hope you find useful. http://hollylouisewashere.com.

Andrew Downes

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

A Birmingham-based composer who was left needing a wheelchair has won his negligence case against a West Midlands hospital.

Andrew Downes, 61, from Hagley in Worcestershire, was admitted to Russells Hall Hospital in 2009, after a fall at his home.

Medical staff failed to diagnose a fractured back and he later suffered a complete spinal cord injury.

The Dudley group of hospitals said more training had been put in place.

Despite complaining of severe back pain, medical staff failed to send him for an X-ray.

Mr Downes, who has composed music for orchestras across the world, as well as TV and radio scores, was instead treated for a suspected urine infection.

‘Minimise risk’

He said: “I was put on morphine for the pain which left me disorientated and drifting in and out of consciousness and one time I woke up and I had lost all feeling in my legs.

“It was a terrifying feeling. To be walking around one day, and then unable to move little more than 24 hours later was beyond belief.”

Paula Clark, chief executive of The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust said: “We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mr Andrew Downes for failing to diagnose his injury.

“The care we provided fell below the standard he should have expected.

“We accept there are lessons to be learned and have implemented additional staff training to minimise the risk of a recurrence in the future.”

Mr Downes’s solicitors said a final settlement had yet to be agreed, although the hospital trust said it would “provide financial security to Mr Downes and his family for the future”.

The hospital has already completed several interim payments to help make Mr Downes’s home wheelchair accessible.

Another Case Of Rickets Being Mistaken For Child Abuse

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

Luckily, this child is alive and has recently been reunited with his parents. Awareness of rickets really needs to be raised so that loving families are not separated in this way.

A couple accused of abusing their baby after 17 fractures were discovered have welcomed a court ruling which found that the fractures were not caused by abuse but by the bone-weakening disease rickets.

The case is the second in two weeks where a court has found rickets rather than abuse was the cause of fractures in a baby.

After the abuse allegations were made, the couple’s baby was removed from them by social services last October when he was six months old and taken into care. He has spent half of his life in care.

The couple wept with joy after being vindicated and were ecstatic when they were reunited with their baby soon after the ruling in the family court last Friday. The judge in the case has called for more research into vitamin D deficiency and rickets.

Last month, Chana al-Alas and her partner Rohan Wray had their second child, Jayda, returned to them following a hearing in the family court. The couple were acquitted at the Old Bailey last December of killing their older son, Jayden, whose multiple fractures were found to be caused by congenital rickets, not child abuse. Jayda was removed from her parents at birth because of the allegations against them.

Like Alas, the mother in this case was found to be deficient in vitamin D and has been diagnosed with osteomalacia, a condition similar to rickets. This vitamin D deficiency can be passed from mothers to their babies during pregnancy. Following the judgment the couple are calling for women to be routinely tested for vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy.

Last October, the baby fell from a sofa and his parents took him to a London hospital to be checked over. A broken leg was diagnosed. Further x-rays revealed 17 fractures and the couple were suspected of abusing the boy and police and social services were called.

“The doctor told us our son’s levels of calcium and vitamin D were very low but kept saying his broken bones were a result of non-accidental injury,” said the mother.

Although the hospital diagnosed vitamin D deficiency and rickets, social services applied to the family court for a care order and asked the court to decide whether the baby’s injuries were non-accidental.

The judge ruled that the local authority had not satisfied the court that the injuries were non-accidental. Positive evidence was given about the parents’ care for their baby and the judge acknowledged the heartache caused to the parents when their baby was taken away from them.

When the fractures were diagnosed the mother stayed in hospital with her son for 20 days. “Then they took him away from me and gave him to a foster carer. I was still breastfeeding him and had never been apart from him for even a minute before,” she said. “I was completely devastated. I had never missed a single antenatal appointment but no one ever checked my vitamin D levels.

“The whole thing was like a bad dream. How could I abuse my own child? Our baby had always been so happy. I had taken him to be weighed regularly and nobody had ever expressed any concerns. We even submitted him for a university research programme about brain development. We had nothing to hide.

“I’m pregnant at the moment and they threatened to take the new baby away from us when it’s born if the court found we had abused our first child. Doctors and social services have made a mistake.”

The family’s solicitor, Kevin Skinner of Goodman Ray, said opinion was divided among medical professionals about whether rickets could cause fractures. He said this kind of court proceeding was devastating for parents and supported the judge’s call for more research into rickets and vitamin D deficiency.

“After the miscarriage of justice suffered by Jayden’s parents it is sad and frustrating to have other parents going through a similar experience just because their child is suffering from a relatively common medical condition. To be accused of abusing a child is terrible for any parent,” he said.

Among the UK’s adult population, an estimated 50% of white people and 90% of black and Asian people have some degree of vitamin D deficiency.

Welcome To Biscuit Land- The TourettesHero Book

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

Coming soon from Souvenir Press:

OUT OCTOBER 2012

Foreword by Stephen Fry

“It is the hippies of outrageous fortune that weigh heavy on the minds of dogs,”

Meet Jess, aka Touretteshero. Jess has Tourettes Syndrome, which means she makes sounds and movements over which she has no control. Jess swears – she’s one of about ten percent of people with Tourettes who do. She also says ‘biscuit’ a lot, about 16 times per minute (that’s 6 million a year!), and then there are the sometimes life-threatening arm and leg tics…

Tourettes can be tough to live with, often bringing out unpleasant behaviour in people who don’t understand it, but it can also be inspiring and above all, funny. Jess’s verbal tics are often truly surreal – “Leisurewear Velociraptor Training Party!” or “Capital letters talk to themselves at night,” or “If all the hoofed animals could count there wouldn’t be a banking crisis.”

These excerpts from Jess’s personal blog follow a year in her life and the whole spectrum of her experiences. We’re introduced to her support network of close friends including Fat Sister, Leftwing Idiot and King Russell, as well as strangers who can be unpredictably helpful or hurtful.

Moving, funny, shocking, tender, and inspiring, Jess’s words are courageous and optimistic in the face of the major challenges she faces. Welcome to Biscuit Land.

Jess has written for the Guardian on disability issues, been featured in their magazine, and appeared in many TV and radio programmes. She was one of the most engaging contributors to Stephen Fry’s Planet Word.

In 2010 Jess set up Touretteshero, an organisation that celebrates the humour and creativity of Tourettes without mocking or self-pity – it’s about reclaiming the most frequently misunderstood syndrome on the planet and changing the world one tic at a time. Visit Touretteshero website HERE and continue the journey.

A ‘bleep free’ version of Jess’s Radio 4 Interview with James Naughtie 19th April 2012 HERE

Matthew Wright Being Investigated By OfCom Over Channel 5 Poll

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

Yuck. Channel 5 has joined the party of broadcasting offensive material.

Matthew Wright’s Channel 5 daytime show is being investigated by Ofcom over a survey that used the words “mong”, “spaz” and “retard”.

The Wright Stuff, which holds the dubious honour of airing the item which attracted the most complaints to Ofcom in 2011, is being investigated by the media regulator to see if the poll was a breach of broadcasting rules relating to harm and offence.

The 26 April edition of the show featured Wright discussing the comment made by Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson inquiry into press ethics and standards when he described prime minister David Cameron’s deceased son as “retarded”.

The show then cut to a poll where a female voiceover asked viewers: “According to one survey, what’s the most offensive term to describe someone with learning difficulties? a. Mong b. Retard C. Spaz.”

The answer, “retard”, was subsequently supplied following an ad break. In 2008, a poll by the BBC also concluded that “retard” was the most offensive disability-related word.

Ofcom’s investigation is the latest in a string of on-air gaffes that has landed Wright and his show in hot water with the media regulator.

In December he imitated a catchphrase from the TV detective series Taggart – “There’s been another murder” – to describe the death of teenager Liam Atchison in the Western Isles of Scotland.

The comment prompted more than 2,200 complaints to Ofcom and became the most complained-about TV item of 2011.

In October Wright was forced into making an on-air apology after asking viewers “Amanda Knox: would ya?”, as part of a wider debate about her successful appeal against her Italian conviction for the killing of Meredith Kercher.

Ofcom received more than a dozen complaints that the comments were sexist and objectified women.

How The Cuts Are Affecting One Woman’s Life Choices

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

As politicians shrink the state, Rose Fernandes’s life choices dwindle. Her day is sandwiched between caring for her autistic 25-year-old daughter Crystal and her 83-year-old mother, Maria, who suffers from dementia. But since 2010, she has been caught in a whirlwind of cuts, reducing her life to a series of arguments – in and out of lawyers’ offices – to preserve her way of life.

It began two years ago when her local council in Brent, north-west London, said it wanted to reduce the number of hours it would pay a carer to look after her daughter from nine hours a day to just four hours a week. But Fernandes says the day-to-day care for Crystal is constant – she needs to be washed, dressed, fed, taken to the toilet and watched all the time because she is not aware of everyday dangers.

Then her local authority told her it wanted to review her “respite care” package, worth £5,000 a year and designed to give her a break. Last year the council made noises about her mother’s care. “She gets carers five times a day. It might sound a lot but my mum cannot eat solid food. She has to be fed with a syringe. She’s helpless.”

With a degree in care management, she is painfully aware that the cheeseparing that Sir Stephen Bubb, head of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo), warns about in Thursday’s Guardian has only just begun. The respected thinkthank the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned in February that 75% of the austerity programme was still to come, including 88% of the benefit cuts.

This year, she says, her landlord will almost certainly put up the rent on the five-bed house that she, her mother, two daughters and son all live in above £500 a week, breaching the government benefit cap.

“Our house has been specially adapted for mum … we have spent thousands fitting rails and handles, and where are we to go? We work together as a unit to help look after everyone. It’s crazy to split us all up,” said Fernandes. “I don’t want my mother to go to a nursing home and I will never leave my daughter.”

The effects on the family will be dramatic. Next year Crystal could lose more than £100 a week in disability living allowance as the government says one fifth of this welfare payment needs to be cut. In 2015 the Independent Living Fund will be shut down. This pays for almost 40 hours a week of care so Crystal can live at home and not in a care home. “I really don’t know what we will do when that goes.”

It’s these complex cases where a delicate web of welfare is being furiously unravelled by the coalition but with no obvious safety net to replace it that worries the charity establishment. Heléna Herklots, chief executive of Carers UK, warns of “a perfect storm of cuts” with councils scaling back social care services, central government pruning back welfare and taxpayer cash for support groups vanishing.

“Many carers who have already been struggling silently for years now feel under attack … Families are being pushed to breaking point and they feel that no one cares,” said Herklots.

Given the speed and scale of the planned reductions, Acevo has been increasingly alarmed that the most vulnerable are bearing the brunt of the cuts. The housing charity Crisis warned last year that 107,000 people had approached their local councils as homeless, a 10% jump in a year – and the second 12 months of rising homelessness across the country.

Despite years of investment, many public services are still not up to scratch. Last year Mind, the mental health charity, found that mental health services for society’s most vulnerable people were “unfit for purpose”. Soundings taken by Acevo reveal the extent of the unease. The boss of one learning disability charity warned: “We are sitting on a time bomb and watching it tick.”

All this occurs against a backdrop of rising inequality. As the government’s adviser on social mobility, the former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, warned this week that the number of children in absolute poverty would rise by 500,000 to 3 million in 2015 and that 3.3 million children – almost one in four – would be in relative poverty by 2020.

There’s little doubt that for all its rhetoric of relying on society rather than the state to rebuild Britain, it is austerity measures that are driving change in Britain. The result is a voluntary sector exhausted by the whirlwind of thrift.

Fiona Blacke, the chief executive of the National Youth Agency, said: “I have worked with young people all my adult life but what I am seeing now is young people at the margins of mainstream society being cast adrift as the things that used to hold them safe are dismantled. I feel angry and disheartened that we seem to be just letting this happen.”

Breville HotCup

May 10, 2012

by samedifference1

When our broken kettle needed replacing, I recalled a Twitter conversation last year with a DisAbled person who bought a Breville HotCup. Off I went to Amazon to find out exactly what they were.

It instantly looked accessible as it was obvious from Amazon’s pictures that it would not have to be lifted very far for water to be poured into mugs. If you’ve ever seen a kettle tipper, you’ll know what I mean when I say I thought it was ‘a kettle tipper without the tipper.’ Just how true this was, I found out yesterday when I used the HotCup for the first time.

The conventional kettle ‘sits’ on a tray. To use it, you simply place a mug on this tray, insert tea bag/coffee beans and flick the switch. You should do this in that order though- because as soon as the kettle’s boiled, it pours the water straight into the mug all by itself!

It will take some getting used to, as until now I’ve usually made at least two hot drinks at a time. The Breville HotCup, however, lives up to it’s name- it holds enough water for one full ‘hot cup’ at a time. So, if you wanted to make more than one hot drink, you would need to refill the kettle each time and switch it on each time.

The self-pouring function is perfect for me, though, as I’ve never liked lifting full, freshly boiled kettles- mostly because I’m very scared of getting burnt by freshly boiled, steaming hot water.

The HotCup also lights up in a lovely shade of blue while it’s boiling, which may be useful for people with limited eyesight.

So if you’re DisAbled and looking for a kettle, the HotCup is safe and easy to use. I don’t know if its inventors had accessibility in mind, but it’s definitely disability friendly and comes highly recommended.

Taser Use On Dementia Man ‘Alarming’ Says Charity

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

Alarming? Scary, more like. Yet more proof that police need full disability training.

The tasering by police of a North Lincolnshire dementia sufferer after he became violent has been described as “alarming” by a charity.

The 59-year-old was shot with a stun gun on 6 March in Epworth, a report by Humberside Police Authority revealed.

Two officers physically struggled with the man.

The Alzheimer’s Society said the incident showed “a lack of understanding in society” of dementia. Police have defended their actions.

The 59-year-old farmer was “suffering from a rapid onset of Alzheimer’s disease” at the time of the incident, the report stated.

‘Very sad’

Two officers suffered minor injuries after the farmer ripped out the Taser barbed darts and had to be physically restrained until more officers arrived at the scene.

Sarah Moody, from the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “The Alzheimer’s Society is very alarmed at the use of a Taser gun on a vulnerable person with early onset dementia, which must have been a particularly distressing experience for the gentleman concerned.

“People with dementia can sometimes exhibit extreme agitation which can be difficult to understand and cope with for those who encounter it.

“This unfortunate incident illustrates a lack of understanding in society of dementia and the best way to support and help people who are affected by this devastating condition.”

The report, which outlines Humberside Police’s activity across the force, will be put forward to the Authority’s policing committee at a meeting on 15 May.

Chief Supt David Eldritch, from Humberside Police, said: “It’s very sad that this gentleman had to be restrained through the use of a Taser but the officers were faced with a significant level of violence.

“It is to their credit that they successfully restrained the 59-year-old man without injury to himself and took him to a place of safety to be treated.”

Channel 4 Commissions Full Series Of Derek

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

Channel 4 has commissioned a full series of Ricky Gervais’s comedy drama Derek, it has confirmed.

A pilot episode in April drew 3.2m viewers, including +1 and on demand figures, according to the broadcaster – the highest rating for a scripted comedy in nearly two years.

However, the programme drew some criticism over suggestions the “simple” central character mocked people with learning difficulties.

The new series is due to air next year.

It will again be written and directed by Gervais – who will reprise his role as Derek Noakes, a “simple, vulnerable man” who works in a retirement home.

Gervais’s former producer Karl Pilkington and comedian Kerry Godliman will also return as Derek’s best friend Dougie and co-worker Hannah.

Channel 4 said the new series would “further explore the relationships between this close knit group”.

“The pilot triggered an amazing response and Derek’s story had only just begun so it’s brilliant that we can explore this world and its beautifully drawn characters across a series,” Shane Allen, Channel 4’s head of comedy said.

Ricky Gervais – who created The Office for the BBC – added: “David Brent was an egotistical, failed musician and the most annoying man in the world.

“Derek is a 50 year old man with bad hair and clothes, whose best friend is a whinging, bald Manc twonk. Where do I get my ideas from?”

Gervais defended the show after some criticised the portrayal of Derek’s character.

The comedian told disability rights campaigner Nicky Clark.: “Derek is a fictional character and is defined by his creator, me.

“If I say I don’t mean him to be disabled then that’s it. A fictional doctor can’t come along and prove me wrong.”

“He’s different. But then so are a lot of people. He’s not the smartest tool in the box but he’s cleverer than Father Dougal [from Father Ted], and not as different as Mr Bean.”

New Centre For Wounded Servicepeople Opens

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

A new centre to help wounded servicemen and women recover from the trauma of war has opened in Colchester.

It has been funded by Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion and is intended to provide lifetime support.

Queen’s Speech 2012: Draft Social Care Bill Announced

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

A draft bill on overhauling care and support for elderly and disabled people in England has been announced in the Queen’s Speech.

The bill will put “people in control of their care and give them greater choice,” ministers say.

The contentious issue of how social care is paid for is still unclear.

This week, charities and the Local Government Association called for radical change to prevent people being left “living in misery and fear”.

Discussions are currently taking place between the political parties on how social care should be reformed. A White Paper was expected before Easter, but is now due to be published later this month or in June.

‘Simplify’ the law

A Department of Health source said the government was determined to push ahead with plans to tackle social care, but this would take time.

The draft bill would aim to simplify the law on social care, which is currently spread across “at least a dozen acts”.

Funding for social care remains the most divisive issue.

In 2011, an independent review recommended a cap of £35,000 on the amount people would have to pay for social care.

Only those with less than £23,250 of assets are offered council-funded home help and care-home places. The review said that threshold should rise to £100,000.

Following those recommendations would cost an extra £1.7bn a year, the report said.

Jess Thom On This Morning Today

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

Thanks for info @incurablehippie!

Jess Thom celebrates the humour and creativity of Tourette’s syndrome and wants to change the world “one tic at a time”.

Jess, 31, has suffered from Tourette’s since she was six years old, but wasn’t officially diagnosed until she was 25.

Jess’s ticks rarely cause her to swear, instead her speech is peppered with surreal phrases and currently almost every other word she says is biscuits!

Jess has made it her mission to try to reclaim the misunderstood condition and has set up her own charity and even adopted a superhero alter-ego, Tourette’s Hero, in an attempt to educate people.

She joins us today to explain why she believes it’s time to celebrate the humour and creativity of Tourette’s syndrome.

West Sussex Theraplay Could Close

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

Parents of children with special needs in Sussex have raised concerns that a support service could be closed down.

West Sussex County Council is reviewing “Theraplay”, a service which provides physiotherapy and speech and language therapy for children in the Chichester area.

Jason Bennett, whose son Max has autism, said the service was “priceless”.

The county council said “no decision” had been made about its future.

Mr Bennett said his son struggles with speaking and it would be “heartbreaking” if the service goes.

“It’s a long struggle for him to actually learn words, but Theraplay has been priceless,” he said.

‘Heartbreaking’

“The reason West Sussex County Council have given us is that it’s not because of funding or a cost exercise, it’s purely because the Theraplay centre is not available to others in West Sussex.

“It’s quite heartbreaking because you see children on a wide spectrum of disabilities and it’s great for them and the parents.”

A spokeswoman for the council said it would be meeting parents to discuss the future of the service later this month.

She said: “We are currently reviewing the way we provide services and support for young disabled children and their families across the county.

“No decision has been made yet regarding Theraplay, which provides sessions for children and parents, whilst attending therapy appointments.”

The Disability Related Bill That Should Be In The Queen’s Speech

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

From the Guardian website:

Lucy Series, PhD law student and author of The Small Places blog
The Queen should say: “My government will publish a social care bill that will ensure the UK is world leading in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It will require government and public authorities to promote independent living, to help people to live their lives the way they choose. Eligibility thresholds and charges for services will be set nationally, to end the postcode lottery on care and support. All users of care services will have a statutory right to advocacy. The bill will contain provisions to safeguard the vulnerable from abuse, but also offer effective safeguards for liberty and private life.”

Twenty Things I Would Do If I Was Not Disabled For A Day

May 9, 2012

by samedifference1

This is a guest post by Keir McCarton. Thanks to Keir.

What would I do with my day if I did not have a disability? Hmmm good question, I always think I would do loads but now that I have to write about it I can’t think of anything.

I have lived with my disability since birth. I inherited it from my father- it was not the fault of some sort of personal injury or medical negligence. Gradually as I have journeyed from the shallow waters of childhood through the ever challenging, sometimes vastly bleak, stormy waters of teenage life, and now dragged by the currents of time into the deeper waters of my late 20s, my disability has progressively become worse.

It’s because of the fact that I was not the victim of some sort of horrendous car accident or worse, that if I was made able bodied for a day I would not want the big things like skydiving, swimming with sharks or something else completely extreme that a disabled person states they would do – with just a hint of cliché. The things I would do are simple, personal to me and would mean the world if I could do them just for one day.

I suffer from an incurable, neurological condition called CMT. Failing to be a neurologist I cannot fully fill you in with all the facts, if this type of thing interests you then read up on it here. The noticeable effects the condition has on me fall into 3 main ailments; my hands shake constantly, some days ever so slightly and some days uncontrollably; I have poor balance and mobility due to certain muscles not working properly in the feet and legs; and I have developed scoliosis which is a curvature of the spine.

Taking into account the pain I get from my back, the inability to shift my legs at any speed or grace, even though my brain is telling it to and the unsteadiness of my hands. Then these are the things I would do with my day if I was able bodied.

Wake up go make a cup of coffee and walk with it into the lounge sit and drink without spilling half of it and scolding my hands in the process. My delicate typing hands as well.
Type a sentence wuickly without havng to contantly go back and coreect mis typed letters.

That was my first attempt what it should have said was

Type a sentence quickly without having to constantly go back and correct miss-typed letters.

3. Wear a pair of trainers other than the skater shoes with the large sole that helps me retain my balance.

4. Walk down a flight of stairs with ease and ability.

5. Carry a pint of beer from bar to my seat without shaking, spilling and having half the pub asking if I have the DT’s.

6. Go for a run without looking like I am Forrest Gump taking his first steps.

7. Beat someone in a running race.

8. Roller skate/Ice skate, play football, complete an assault course, walk in the countryside without stumbling all the time.

9. Beat someone at a game of ‘Operation’. I’m fed up of his red nose now.

10. Hop on my left leg – never been able to do it.

11. Walk in a straight line, I always lose balance and veer left and right as I walk.

12. Walk outside without stumbling over raised paving stones, curbs etc – due to foot drop.

13. Walk down the street with confidence because I would not think people were looking at me.

14. Use my smartphone one handed, quickly and efficiently.

15. Sit at the cinema and enjoy the film without feeling any back pain from the crammed in crappy seating.

16. Drive my car for more than an hour without my back feeling like it has just been run over by an articulated lorry.

17. Go out, get on the dance floor and do not lose my balance every two minutes and have to use strangers as stabilizers to prevent a fall to the floor.

18. To walk to the edge of a cliff or tall obstacle, enjoy the view and not feel trepidation that my balance will fail me and I will fall to my death.

19. Draw and paint to a degree of accuracy and detail that I have not been able to do for 12 years since my hands became worse and worse.

20. Blend into a crowd.

Generally speaking I would just like to feel 100% able bodied for at least one day. To do all the minor things that people take for granted. These things are not drastically important to a person’s wellbeing but living with the inability to perform simple tasks is an annoyance, an irritation, a daily frustration, a thousand ‘woe is me’ moments.

But these are all superficial problems, yes I’m not 100% able bodied like most people but I can walk, I have my eyesight etc. There’s an old Indian saying I heard watching The Soprano’s yet I found very profound.

“Sometimes I go about in pity for myself, and all the while, a great wind carries me across the sky”

Ojibwe Saying.

In other words life passes you by regardless of your situation, if you spend so much time feeling sorry for yourself you will miss life, it will pass you by and all you did in your time was feel sorry for yourself. Don’t waste your opportunity regardless of your physical, mental or financial wellbeing. We focus on our imperfections, the small trivial things and we become so wound up in ourselves that we do not realise that we are part of a bigger picture, forever part of the cosmic dust.

If I look at it practically then I am lucky, I don’t live in Iraq, Afghanistan or Syria. My life is easy it’s not a fight for survival like 90% of other living things including most humans have to undertake. I live in the UK and like most people take for granted the opportunities and security that is afforded to me. I have a partner we have been together 8 years, she is stunningly beautiful and we are like 2 peas in a pod. Moaning about a few physical imperfections is just a trivial matter when I know I’m part of something bigger. That is why I would want to feel able bodied for 1 day only, because other than that I am actually very lucky.

Daily Mail Admits ME Exists

May 8, 2012

by samedifference1

Since Sonia Poulton joined them, the Daily Fail have been passing the disability coverage test with flying colours! She should edit the paper.

Jeremy Clarkson’s Elephant Man Comment Cleared By OfCom

May 8, 2012

by samedifference1

I was away in February, so missed this when it happened. I’m upset to see that OfCom cleared it. Jeremy Clarkson remains a disablist person who should not be given a public platform to reveal his outdated views.

Ofcom has cleared Jeremy Clarkson‘s comparison of a Japanese car to the Elephant Man of breaching the broadcasting code, despite more than 40 complaints that it was offensive to people suffering from facial disfigurement.

Clarkson compared a Japanese car/camper van hybrid to “people with growths on their faces” in an edition of BBC2’s Top Gear in February.

The controversial presenter deployed gestures as if he had a disability and slurred his speech in a way that seemed to mimic Joseph Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man, saying that the car looked like something you would not talk to at a party. Co-presenter Richard Hammond called it the elephant car.

The segment prompted complaints to the BBC and to media regulator Ofcom, including one from high-profile body disfigurement charity Changing Faces, which said that the comments were offensive and likely to have a negative impact on the way people with such disabilities were perceived. Ofcom received a total of 41 complaints.

Ofcom assessed the complaints and decided that Clarkson’s comments would not have “exceeded the likely expectations of the audience” and was not a jibe designed to deliberately insult people with facial disfigurements.

“Ofcom recognises that the comments were potentially offensive to individuals living with facial disfigurement,” said a spokesman for Ofcom. “However, on balance we believe that they would not have exceeded the likely expectation of the audience, and any potential offence was justified by the context. We have informed the BBC of the issues raised by the complainants so they can be taken into consideration for future programmes.”

The expectation that Clarkson is likely to offend when he opens his mouth also got the presenter off the hook over a comment on BBC1‘s The One Show in November when he said that striking public sector workers should be shot.

His comments prompted nearly 32,000 complaints to the BBC and almost 800 to Ofcom but was cleared of breaching broadcasting regulations on the grounds that viewers should be used to Clarkson’s “provocative and outspoken nature”.

Jacob Thomas

May 8, 2012

by samedifference1

Look out for him!

A 17-year-old boccia player from Pembrokeshire has been selected for the Paralympics in London 2012.

Jacob Thomas is the Wales and GB champion in his category and is the youngest member of the nine-person squad.

He has played the target ball sport for seven years and is a member of Disability Sport Wales’ elite academy.

Jacob told BBC Wales: “It means the world. It’s been my dream to compete in the Paralympics. I’m really happy.”

In the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, Great Britain’s Boccia team won gold.

According to the GB Boccia Federation website: “Boccia is a Paralympic sport for athletes with disabilities that have a major impact on motor skills. Boccia is a target ball sport belonging to the same family as petanque and bowls.”

And the student from Bethesda, near Narberth, said there had been “a lot of hard work and dedication and training and travelling to different places” in the run-up to his selection.

With the assistance of his father Michael, Jacob uses a ramp and a head pointer to roll the boccia balls onto the court.

He explained: “Boccia is a sport similar to bowls. You have a white jack and the aim is to get as close as possible to that and try and score as many points.

“My dad helps move the ramp for me and I tell him what direction I want the ramp to go and where to put the ball on the ramp.

“I just feel over the moon really and just can’t wait for what’s ahead.

“There’s a lot of hard work and training and going to different competitions before London but hopefully it will be worth it in the end if I can get that gold medal.”

Michael Thomas said of his role in the competition: “I’m a form of aid for Jacob. I play with him on court and I do the movements that Jacob because of his disability can’t do.

“I move the ramp up, left and right while he aims then move it back down and then he tells me what part of the equipment to put on and what ball to use.

“I adjust his head pointer to where he tells me. I can’t do anything until he tells me. He takes the shots and I’m not allowed to look on court so basically I’m a robot for him.”

Focus and concentration

Mr Thomas said Jacob’s selection was fantastic, adding: “I can’t put into words how proud I am.

“He’s been playing seven years from being a thrower to moving across to being a ramper. It’s his life.

“He’s put so much work into it. Nobody would believe how much time and effort he puts in and he’s constantly thinking about what he can do to improve.”

Mr Thomas believes the sport has helped his son’s focus and concentration and has brought social benefits.

“It makes him concentrate on what he eats, his hydration, everything about it. He goes for physiotherapy. It’s just fantastic that they can compete at this level.”

Jacob gets funding from Boccia Wales and now the GB squad which helps cover travel and accommodation costs when he competes.

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News, Views and Information For People With Disabilities

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London 2012 – One extraordinary year

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