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Assistive technology is a critical component of maintaining health, wellbeing, and the realization of rights for persons with disabilities. Assistive technologies, and their associated services, are also paramount to ensuring individuals with functional limitations have access to important health and social service information, particularly during a pandemic where they may be at higher risk than the general population. Social isolation and physical distancing have further marginalized many within this population. We have an opportunity to learn from the COVID-19 response to develop more inclusive and resilient systems that will serve people with disabilities more effectively in the future. We present a starting point for discussion, based on our experiences working to promote access to assistive technologies through inclusive and sustainable systems and policies.

Disability and Society, vol. 36, 2021

https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2020.1829558

This paper addresses the epistemological dissonance created by the growing movement to impose universal templates of disability and disability-related practices to countries in the Global South and the subsequent erasure of indigenous understandings of disability. Underlying this dissonance, we argue, are the deeply problematic beliefs in universal notions of disability and global development that are anchored to colonial frameworks of understanding and approaching human differences. We explore the presence of these colonial frameworks in three specific areas: the language of disability; understandings of personhood; and notions of inclusivity. We propose that bringing about transformation in these areas would mean using alternative indigenous strengthsbased frameworks of thinking and practices that uncover and value local epistemologies, understanding the complexities of local cultural, historical, and material contexts, and resisting colonial modes of thinking that label these practices as backward.

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2020, Vol. 7 No. 1

The primary aim of this documentation is to provide a deeper understanding of how Save the Children projects have applied more inclusive concepts in not only changing the lives of children with disabilities, those living in poverty or children from ethnic minority populations, their families and communities, but in catalysing changes in policies and practices to the education system to benefit all learners. The stories follow a common structure describing the background of the project, a description of an approach that has worked especially well in the project, followed by stakeholder and partner engagement, participation of children, key milestones and significant challenges, scalability and sustainability, recommendations for replication and contact links for project tools and materials. A selection of practical tools and models have been attached as annexes.

Purpose: People with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) generally live independently among the wider community. This can result in social exclusion and feelings of loneliness. Therefore, social work organizations aim to socially include people with MID through organizing activities in neighbourhoods that should lead to enlarged networks and increased societal participation. The “Communal Table” is such a, group-orientated, intervention that organizes monthly dinners in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Because little is known about the effective- ness of interventions aiming to bring about social inclusion for people with MID we explored which types of participants were reached and whether and how the intervention brought about the intended outcomes.

Methods: We performed a theory-based evaluation, using participatory observations and qualitative interviews (n = 19). The Communal Table attracted a diverse and loyal group of participants.

Results: We distinguished four types of participants—lonely participants, activist participants, satisfied participants and calculating participants—whose pre-existing networks played a significant role in their individual needs for support and the outcomes of the intervention. Outcomes reported included experiences of conviviality and warmth, temporary relief of underlying problems and an overall positive opinion about the intervention, but network enlargement or increased societal participation were not reported.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that social network interventions for people with MID should be tailored to participants’ pre-existing networks and related individual needs to be successful.

This guidance, and the associated toolkit, are designed to support frontline workers, community volunteers, and mobilizers and their supervisors who are working in GBV prevention and response to foster inclusion of persons with disabilities in their community activities. It includes guidance, key actions and tools to improve accessibility of existing community processes and activities relating to GBV. This resource has been developed based on the findings of a needs assessment conducted in 2017 which confirmed that women, children and youth with disabilities in Lebanon and their caregivers are facing a range of GBV-related risks.

In 2015, Humanity & Inclusion HI began the project: “Empowering persons with disabilities to contribute to equal access to basic social services and local policymaking processes in under-resourced areas of Ayeyarwady and Mandalay”. The project supported Disabled Peoples Organizations and other civil society groups to participate in the development of inclusive regional policies and programmes, and to promote good practices contributing to greater access to services for persons with disabilities. An aim was also to document, publish and disseminate these good practices throughout Myanmar, increasing awareness and understanding in order to sensitise people to disability inclusion and influence policy change. Rather than focusing on what is not working, this report seeks to shift attention to what has worked locally and how it could be replicated in other parts of the country, providing constructive, practical recommendations to decision-makers, service providers and other community groups in Myanmar. The report is related to two projects. The second is “Advocacy for Change: Fostering protection and rights of men and women with disabilities in Myanmar”. 

There are global recommendations. There are seven good practices:

• Related to education:  Case Study I: Promoting Inclusion of children with disabilities in Middle Schools of Ayartaw. Case Study II: How the development of the teacher training promotes inclusion of all children in education
• Related to economic life: Case Study III: How partnerships between private companies and organizations of people with disabilities can improve access to employment and vocational training
• Related to social/community life: Case Study IV: Giving the Myanmar Deaf Community access to information.  Case Study V: How parental advocacy can make a difference
• Related to political life: Case Study VI: Community advocacy in obtaining the National Registration Card. Case Study VII: Supporting people with disabilities to participate in Myanmar elections

Tikule Limodzi (‘Let’s Grow Together’) was a three-year (2015 to 2018) multi-agency study that sought to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in community-based childcare centres (CBBCs) in a rural district of Southern Malawi. The main purpose of the project was to explore ways of developing the skills of caregivers to support children with disabilities in CBCCs through the use of inclusive strategies and resources. This mixed-method study also sought to share evidence that will aid the Malawi government and other stakeholders to better understand the complex dynamics that ‘enable’ or ‘inhibit’ quality early childhood development (ECD) for children with disabilities. 

This report presents the baseline pre-intervention data from a cluster-randomised controlled trial (CRCT) of a caregiver training intervention targeting CBCCs in Thyolo district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The trial involved 48 CBCCs randomly allocated to the control and intervention arms (24 CBCCs each). The training (intervention) consisted of a two-week training programme based on the basic National ECD Caregiver Training Programme, with additional modules on how to improve the inclusion and participation of children with disabilities in CBCCs. The baseline data was collected between December 2016 and May 2017. The aim of the trial was to measure changes in child development outcomes (equal to actual age), school readiness, caregiver satisfaction and motivation, changes in CBBC environment and routine and structure, as well as caregiver retention.

This reports looks at the main barriers to the realisation of disabled people’s right to live independently and be included in the community, which is set out in Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). They are grouped in seven broad areas: (1) misunderstanding and misuse of key terms, (2) negative attitudes and stigma, (3) lack of support for families, (4) prevalence of institutional services, (5) barriers related to community support services, (6) barriers in mainstream services and facilities, and (7) barriers, concerning other CRPD provisions, with effect on Article 19. A set of recommendations is also provided, outlining measures required to address these barriers.

The recommendations in this report – presented below - were shared with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when they were drafting the General Comment on Article 19. They can be used by governments and civil society organisations, alongside the General Comment, to identify actions needed to implement Article 191 CRPD.

This toolkit is intended primarily for use by CSO's at the community level in India for use with field workers and local governments for challenging stigma and discrimination against people affected by leprosy/disabilities. The toolkit uses simple activities and pictures and is based on a participatory approach which requires active involvement of the group being trained. There are 6 modules:

What is leprosy

What is stigma

How we stigmatise others

How it feels to be stigmatised

Understanding human rights

Action towards inclusion

There are 10 appendices providing supporting information for the toolkit