Welfare Reform on the Web (March 2003): Services for the Disabled - Overseas

DISABILITY

C Barnes and G Mercer

Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003

Providing a concise and accessible introduction to the concept of disability, book highlights the areas in which disabled people are often marginalised and excluded from social activities and participation. It touches on areas such as family life and reproduction, education, employment, leisure, cultural imagery and politics. In addition, it discusses key issues such as:

• theorising disability;
• historical and comparative perspectives;
• experiencing impairment and disability;
• professional and policy intervention in the lives of disabled people;
• disability politics;
• social policy and citizenship;
• disability culture.

INDIVIDUALISED SUPPORT AND FUNDING: BUILDING BLOCKS FOR CAPACITY BUILDING AND INCLUSION

J Lord and P Hutchison

Disability and Society, vol. 18, 2003, p.71-86

The paradigm in support for disabled people is shifting away from institutional services and professional control towards an emphasis on self-determination and community involvement. Article reports findings of a Canadian study that investigated individualised funding projects for disabled people from Canada, Australia and the USA. Results show that individualised support and funding, when embedded in the new paradigm of disability and community, build capacity in individuals, families and communities