The following article was forwarded from my friend at www.disabilitydirect.org  and though I have as yet not been able to confirm it contents, I thought it was important enough to pass on to readers. You can view the original by following the link below ( The Ed. )

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 08:31 AM PST
http://disabilitymessageboard.blogspot.com/2010/03/tory-proposals-would-turn-clock-back-30.html
Submitted by Jonathan Bartley on 2 March 2010

I was shocked to discover in the Conservative Party’s draft manifesto on schools the following line (pp 7) pledging to: "end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools"

It shows how entirely out of touch the Conservative party is with the wishes of disabled people, but also how willing it is to endorse segregation which campaigners have spent decades challenging.

I wrote about our own battle to get my son, who is a wheelchair user, into a mainstream school in the Telegraph in 2007. It cost us personally  thousands of pounds. We ended up at a tribunal, which we won. But even then the Local Authority and school refused to accept him. It was only when Ed Balls intervened that we finally won. But this was after a battle which took over two years, and a huge emotional toll.

Groups representing disabled people have warned that the Conservative proposals attempt to ‘turn the clock back on inclusion 30 years’ to when the idea of segregating children was acceptable.

Simone Aspis, campaigns and policy co-ordinator for the Alliance for Inclusive Education, said she was "absolutely shocked" by the "tone and hostility" of the policy, as well as its content.

"What surprises us is the attack on the ideology of inclusion” she said. "It undermines people's clear human and civil rights to participate not only in education but also in society as a whole.

"What does it say in 2010 if we are moving disabled children out of mainstream society and into segregated provision?

"The more you segregate disabled children, the less people understand disabled people as complete human beings."

Caroline Ellis, joint deputy chief executive of RADAR, has also noted: "A key plank of any progressive education policy must be to work towards all schools being willing and able to include, value, support, care for and respect all children in their diversity, including kids with complex, high support needs and serious health conditions.

"Human difference is a strength and a great learning resource - it  shouldn't be the basis for segregation and exclusion."

What kind of society is it that the Conservatives want to create which creates further barriers, rather than removing existing ones, to the social inclusion of disabled people?

Further information on inclusive education at - http://www.allfie.org.uk/
 

Twelve therapy rooms for children with disabilities and learning difficulties are to be created.

One of the the multi-sensory rooms is to be based in Stratford, east London, where the 2012 Olympics will be held.

Another room, partly funded by BT as part of its London 2012 sponsorship, is planned to open in Manchester in May.

The rooms will contain stimulating areas based around sight, sound and texture to help children develop communication skills.

'Benefit thousands'

Matthew Pattern, The Lord's Taverners chief executive, predicted the rooms would have "a lasting impact on so many lives".

BT Group chairman Sir Mike Rake said they will "benefit thousands of children across the UK".

Dominic Tinner, from the Royal School Manchester, which helps children with learning difficulties and disabilities, said: "For some of our children, the experience of the sensory room will stimulate reactions not witnessed before by teachers and carers.

"Lighting, sound effects, mirrors, bubble tubes, fibre optic multi-coloured strands, a warm-water mattress, music and aromatic oils will all help to enhance the experiences of the children."

Let us hope that the South West doesn't get overlooked in this initiative !! .. The Ed.
 

A hospital in Essex has pleaded guilty to health and safety failings over the death of a disabled man who died after getting his head stuck in the railings around his bed.

Kyle Flack, 20, from Stanford-le-Hope, who had severe cerebral palsy, was found dead at Basildon University Hospital in October 2006.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital Trust at Basildon magistrates’ court today claiming it had failed to ensure the patient’s safety.

The case has now been sent to the crown court for sentencing with the trust due to learn its fate on March 15th.

An inquest into Mr Flack’s death heard how he died of asphyxiation after his head became trapped in the railing round his bed during the night and was only discovered the following morning.

Reacting to the prosecution, Nigel Ellis, head of national inspection at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said: "The death of Kyle Flack was an absolute tragedy. It is clear that Kyle did not receive care appropriate for his needs, and this should never be allowed to happen again."

He added the CQC had been looking "extremely closely" at the quality of care for people with learning disabilities at the trust, to gain assurances lessons have been learned.

Mr Flack’s mother Gillian also said he son’s death had been "wholly unnecessary".

The Times quotes her as saying: "All of this has shown how the needs of the most vulnerable in society are often not treated with the respect they deserve or their needs met."
 

A LEADING charity is inviting people with a hearing loss in Mid Devon to join its campaigning work.

The RNID wants to improve hearing aid users’ access to local businesses, shops and services.

The charity, which is “working to create a world where deafness or hearing loss don’t limit opportunity”, is looking for people to help raise awareness of how fully operational induction loops, which amplify speech over background noise, can significantly improve communication for hearing aid users.

According to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), service providers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to allow access to disabled people but the two million hearing aid users throughout the UK are often unable to access services because of problems with, or absence of, loops.

RNID Director of External Affairs, Emma Harrison, said: "We’re looking forward to speaking with people in Mid Devon interested in finding out more about RNID’s induction loop campaign and how they can highlight the importance of providing fully operational loops, which are essential in enabling hearing aid users to access local shops and services."

For more information about RNID’s campaign, which is asking hearing aid users in Mid Devon to report their experiences of both best practise and poor induction loop provision, visit ....

 www.rnid.org.uk/inductionloops  or email: campaigns@rnid.org.uk 

Many supermarkets are still failing to meet the needs of disabled customers, according to disability groups. A survey finds that an increasing number of selfish motorists are hogging parking bays allocated for disabled customers.

This is in spite of awareness campaigns and measures by stores, which have described the findings as very disappointing. Disabled people report unhelpful responses from staff over parking.

The survey of more than 800 supermarket car parks across the UK found the rate of abuse - where people park in disabled spaces without a valid badge - has risen since last year.

In more than a third of car parks belonging to Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Sainsbury disabled people could not park in a designated space because these were occupied by non-badgeholders.

Disabled people also reported a poorer response from many stores to their complaints.

Disability groups have formed what they call the "baywatch campaign" with the aim of stopping people they describe as lazy and selfish abusing parking bays reserved for disabled customers.

They say that parking when shopping is not a luxury but is a necessity for maintaining independence.

The supermarket chains have said they take the issue very seriously and that the survey findings are disappointing.