Welfare Reform on the Web (January 2005): Services for the Disabled - UK

CAPABILITIES AND DISABILITY: THE CAPABILITIES FRAMEWORK AND THE SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY.

T. Burchardt

Disability and Society, vol.19, 2004, p.735-751

Article seeks to show that the social model of disability and the capabilities framework developed by Amartya Sen and others are complementary. The capabilities framework provides a more general theoretical framework in which to locate the social model of disability; the social model of disability provides a thorough-going application of the capabilities framework. Each can benefit from exposure to the other.

GIFT HORSE WITH ROTTEN TEETH

J. Muir

Society Guardian, Dec. 8th 2004, p.2-3

The author, whose is severely disabled, relates her experiences of going to a charity for help. You can often end up feeling patronised, humiliated and exploited. It is time, she argues, that charities recognise the error of their ways.

ON THE ROAD TO NOWHERE: YOUNG DISABLED PEOPLE AND TRANSITION

B. Beresford

Child, Vol.30, 2004, p.581-587

Literature review identifies and describes the evidence about the experiences and outcomes of transition from child to adult services for young disabled people. Available evidence provides a clear picture of how transitions are currently experienced by disabled young people and their families. However, there is limited evidence on what works to ensure smooth transitions and positive outcomes of transition for the young people themselves.

THINK PARENT: SUPPORTING DISABLED ADULTS AS PARENTS

R. Olsen and H. Tyers

National Family and Parenting Institute, 2004

Study drew on discussions with parents and visits to four local authorities which have begun to develop services in this area. It found that:

• effective support for disabled parents is still thin on the ground;
• valued support can involve substantial packages of assistance, but can also comprise imaginative solutions devised with parents;
• direct payments may be particularly appropriate for this group;
• good joint working between health, social services, housing and education is much needed but insufficiently developed for disabled parents.