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The transition from school is an important period. All young people should be supported throughout this time to access options which allow them to meaningfully participate and contribute to our society as adults. Many young people with disability however have extremely poor post school transition experiences.

This report is based on the direct experience of young people with disability. The paper highlights key issues from current research, legislation and consultations with key stakeholders. It explores present and past school transition practices, barriers faced by students with disability and presents recommendations for improving outcomes and options for post school transition of students with disability

“This study was conducted with the aim to explore the experiences of mothers in dealing with children having disabilities in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Through random sampling method 154 mothers of physically handicapped children studying in pre-schools and primary schools were selected as respondents…The data highlights that the disability of the children had been unexpected for all the mothers who participated in this research. The mothers reported to have been shocked (56%) and apprehended about the future of the children (41%)… The data demonstrates that measures taken by mothers to facilitate their children included seeking help from internet and engaging with support groups and friends”

European Scientific Journal, Vol.11

This document is the Sightsavers’ inclusion strategic framework 2015. It explains their rights-based approach of mainstreaming disability inclusion throughout their health programmes and their operations regarding education, organisational diversity and equal rights. It also shows their strategy focusing on the empowerment of people with disabilities in electoral process and in the financial sector

This thought article was a hermeneutic inquiry into the experiences of informal caregivers of the elderly who are also physically disabled. The experiences of some Ghanaian informal caregivers were examined in three clinical cases and laced with the lived experiences of the author as an informal caregiver and clinician. Two processes were explored. The first relates to how a caregiver is changed through the experience of caregiving by examining the intrapersonal and interpersonal dynamics affecting caregiving. Secondly, the positive ‘shifts’ that occurred in therapy were explored. In the present Ghanaian society it appears that care for the elderly disabled is compounded by the rapid migration of many Ghanaians to ‘greener pastures’ in search of a brighter future, with consequent empty homesteads and fragmentation of the socio-cultural practices that hitherto buttressed informal care for the aged. In the absence of well-established professional care facilities, informal caregiving with its numerous challenges has become the norm for many. This article posited that caregiver self-care is the most important, and yet often forgotten, aspect of informal caregiving. When this is neglected, caregiver burnout is sure to occur, which results in poor physical, mental and emotional health for the caregiver. In this state caregivers may injure both themselves and the care recipients.

Background: The needs of caregivers of children with disability may not be recognized despite evidence to suggest that they experience increased strain because of their care-giving role. This strain may be exacerbated if they live in under-resourced areas.

Objectives: We set out to establish the well-being of caregivers of children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) living in high-density areas of Harare, Zimbabwe. In addition, we wished to identify factors that might be predictive of caregivers’ well-being. Finally, we examined the psychometric properties of the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI) within the context of the study.

Method: Caregivers of 46 children with CP were assessed twice, at baseline, and after three months, for perceived burden of care and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using CSI and EQ-5D respectively. The psychometric properties of the CSI were assessed post hoc.

Results: The caregivers reported considerable caregiver burden with half of the caregivers reporting CSI scores in the ‘clinical distress’ range. Many of the caregivers experienced some form of pain, depression and expressed that they were overwhelmed by the care-giving role. No variable was found to be associated with clinical distress. The CSI demonstrated good overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.8), stability over time (Z = 0.87, p = 0.381) and was significantly and negatively correlated with the EQ-5D VAS (Spearman’s rho = −0.33, p = 0.027), demonstrating concurrent validity.

Conclusion: Caregivers must be monitored routinely for their level of distress and there is an urgent need to provide them with support. The CSI is likely to be a valid measure of distress in this population.

This blog post  by Diana Samarasan, executive Director of the disability Rights Find and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, focuses on the disadvantages faced by the disabled community in the sphere of human rights and charitable funding. The central argument is that the current system of disability funding is too fragmented, and that only a more holistic approach to funding will be able to cater to the varied needs of people with disabilities across the world

Purpose: Based on a sample of employees with disability, this study aimed to: (1) evaluate the construct validity of work ability index (WAI), core self-evaluation scale (CSES) and job in general index (JIG), in order to make a valid and reliable assessment of their work ability, job satisfaction and core self-evaluation; (2) assess their levels of work ability, job satisfaction, and core self-evaluation; (3) investigate the associations of work ability with job satisfaction and core self- evaluation among them; and, (4) determine which demographic characteristics significantly affect the work ability of employees with disability.

Methods: The sample consisted of 275 employees with disability. Data was collected using a self-administered survey.The analysis focussed on: (1) CFA- for evidence of the construct validity of the employed scales; (2) Descriptive analysis - for evaluating the variables of the study; (3) Pearson correlation analysis – for understanding the simple correlation between variables of the study; and, (4) One-way ANOVA- for identifying the demographic factors that influence the work ability of employees with disability.

Results: The findings indicated that 29.5% of the participants had poor levels of work ability, while 35.3% reported moderate levels of work ability. Also, 49.1% of the participants reported moderate levels of core self-evaluation, and 70.5% exhibited high job satisfaction. In this study, work ability was found to be associated with core self-evaluation and job satisfaction. Significant differences in work ability levels were found in terms of age, level of education and employment status of the respondents.

Conclusion: Work ability among employees with disabilities did not seem to be influenced merely by individual health status. Attitudinal and dispositional factors appeared to have a significant impact on their levels of work ability. Thepotential positive impact of education and employment status on employees’ levels of work ability are highlighted in this study.

This is the second Technical Report in a three part series, 'Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia'. This Technical Report details the Capacity Building component of the Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia project. This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australian Development and Research Awards Scheme 2013-2015. This award scheme promotes research and development programs through collaboration between researchers in Australia and elsewhere and INGOs and NGOs in country

Relevant to capacity building, two aims of the Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia project were:

1. To increase the understanding of people with disabilities of Disaster Risk Reduction and their capacity to engage with Disaster Risk Reduction policy; and,

2. To understand and subsequently inform the knowledge base of village volunteers (Kaders subsequently referred to as cadres) and DRR administrators about DiDRR at local and national levels in Indonesia

This is the third Technical Report in a three part series for the two year DFAT Australian Aid funded project (2013-2015), Promoting the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Disaster Management in Indonesia. This report details the development, refinement and field–testing of the Disability Inclusive Disaster Resilience (DiDR) tool. The purpose of the DiDR tool is to identify the resilience and capabilities of people with disabilities to natural disasters in their family and community setting. The tool is designed to be used by people with disabilities, their families or carers and thereby to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy making and strategy implementation. The tool assesses the resilience of people with disabilities by bringing together four components known to be fundamental to disaster risk reduction: the individual’s functioning status, their level of participation in their communities, the physical vulnerability of their place of residence, and individual risk predictors known to influence the behaviour of the general population before, during and after a natural hazard emergency. In February and March 2015, the survey teams administered the DiDR Tool by interviewing 289 people with disabilities or their carers in four Indonesian Districts affected by diverse natural hazards