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This report presents the findings from a rapid global survey of persons with disabilities and other stakeholders which took place between April and August 2020. The organisations behind the study seek to “catalyse urgent action in the weeks and months to come,” as transmission rates of COVID-19 continue to rise in many countries and persons with disabilities are again subjected to restrictions which have already had severe consequences.

The report analyses over 2,100 responses to the survey from 134 countries around the world. The vast majority of responses were from individuals with disabilities and their family members. Within the questionnaire responses respondents provided more than 3,000 written testimonies documenting the experiences of persons with disabilities and their family members during the pandemic. The qualitative and quantitative data provide in-depth, comprehensive insights into the experiences of persons with disabilities and the consequences of government actions or inactions on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The report is organised around four themes which emerged during the process of analysing responses received to the survey. These themes are:

1. Inadequate measures to protect persons with disabilities in institutions

2. Significant and fatal breakdown of community supports

3. Disproportionate impact on underrepresented groups of persons with disabilities

4. Denial of access to healthcare

A webinar was held to mark the launch of the report

In many societies, people with cognitive disability have been pre- sumed to lack reasoned decision-making capacity. Consequently, substituted decision-making laws and practices have traditionally authorised some people such as parents, guardians or medical professionals, to make decisions on their behalf. Several countries are now moving towards an alternative supported decision-making paradigm whereby people with different cognitive abilities are supported to make decisions that reflect as much as possible their ‘will, preferences and rights’. In this paper we examine how geo- graphical thinking about temporalities might illuminate some of the legal, ethical and practical complexities of supported decision- making. The paper draws on qualitative data from interviews with people with intellectual disabilities or acquired brain injury, and those who support them in making decisions. We examine how temporal scales and boundaries shape the determination of decision-making capacity; how decision-makers’ ‘will and preferences’ are interpreted by supporters; and how the labour of support for decision-making is organised. We argue that further geographical engagement with supported decision-making can help significantly advance this important disability rights agenda.

Background: People with disabilities often participate in income-generating activities (IGAs) in sheltered workshop in South Africa. However, they face many barriers that limit their ability to participate effectively in economic activities hosted by the workshops.

Objectives: To illustrate the barriers that limit the participation of people with disabilities in IGAs in a sheltered workshop.

Method: A qualitative exploratory single case study was conducted in a sheltered workshop. Eighteen participants, age 22 to 52 years with various disabilities were purposively sampled. Observations and semi-structured interview guides were used to generate data. Verbatim transcription was used after which content analysis was applied to identify ideas and concepts relating to barriers experienced by people with disabilities participating in IGAs.

Results: Some of the barriers participants experienced included institutional barriers (ability to use working tools, inability to concentrate for long periods, lack of funds, language barriers, lack of motivation, activities that are not stimulating and lack of artistry skills) and attitudinal barriers (exclusion from decision making) These barriers had an adverse influence on their performance in IGAs.

Conclusion: The study found eight different barriers that existed in a sheltered workshop which limited the participation of the people with disabilities that attended the workshop. This information can be used to develop strategies to address each barrier and promote increased participation of the individual thereby improving their quality of life.

African Journal of Disability, Vol 9, 2020 

The quality of paid relationships is key for effective support, yet little is known about how people receiving and providing sup- port understand and experience the relationship. This paper reports on recent research that explored the role of relationships with paid support workers in strengthening the rights and well- being of young people with cognitive disability in Australia. The research used photo-rich participatory methods with 42 pairs of young people and their support workers and drew on Honneth’s recognition theory to specifically explore experiences of being valued, respected and cared about in their work together. The findings point to the importance of these con- nected aspects of recognition in paid support relationships, highlighting both the presence and absence of these, as well as experiences of misrecognition. The implications of recognition for strengthening support need close consideration in an inter- national context characterised by personalisation of support, resource constraints and inquiries into poor practice.

Background: The Swedish disability policy has an ambition that people with disabilities should have the possibility to live like everyone else in the community. A study in 2001 described living conditions of people with ID born 1959–1974 in Uppsala County as compared to the general population in the same age group. The results showed differences between the two groups, particularly regarding employment, finances, and social life.

Specific Aims: The aim of the present study were to explore changes in living conditions of a group of people with ID in a 16-year perspective and to compare the outcomes with changes in living conditions of the general population in corresponding age groups.

Methods: Information on the living conditions of people with ID for 40 persons who participated in the study 2001 was obtained through proxy reports at 2001 and 2017. National welfare statistics were used to obtain data on the general population. The study focus objective living conditions selected by people with ID including housing, occupation, nances, recreational and cultural activ-
ities, family and social relations, society participation, and personal safety.

Findings: The results showed clear differences in living conditions to the disadvantage of the sample of people with ID. However, no differences related to gender and level of functional limitations were identied within the study group.

Discussion: Even if the study sample is small, the study makes an important contribution to the body of existing literature because knowledge is insufficient on changes over time regarding the living conditions of people with ID in community-based residences. Such knowledge is necessary to identify patterns of equality and inequality and illustrate to what extent people with ID share welfare benefits over time.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Kenya?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Kenya, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment, in Kenya. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships. This SITAN has been briefly updated from the June 2019 SITAN.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

This situational analysis (SITAN) addresses the question: “what is the current situation in relation to formal sector employment for persons with disabilities in Nigeria?”. It has been prepared for the Inclusion Works programme (which works on disability inclusive formal employment in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda), to better understand the current context and available evidence in Nigeria, and will be helpful for anyone interested in disability inclusion, especially in relation to employment. It focuses on persons with disabilities, employers, policy, the disability movement, and partnerships.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the UK government or members of the Inclusion Works consortium.

This study investigates loneliness in life stories by people with disabilities. By approaching loneliness from a relational perspective, this study attempts to illustrate how loneliness and disability are intertwined in the life course. The research question was as follows: How do people with disabilities understand loneliness in their life stories? Life story data ‘Life of Disabled Persons in Finland 2013–2014’ was analysed with a narrative life course approach. Loneliness was narrated in accordance with normative life course expectations. People with disabilities narrated loneliness as unbelonging in childhood, disjointed youth and disaffiliation to normative institutions in adulthood. This study suggests that relation between loneliness and disability concern the conditions of inclusion that is the conditions of living and telling.

• Loneliness involves both unwanted emotions and social isolation. 
• In many societies, both loneliness and disability bear a stigma. This so-called double stigma affects the lives of people with disabilities.
• This study explores loneliness and disability in life stories by people with disabilities in Finland from a life course perspective. Although scholars have widely studied loneliness in Finland, they have not studied loneliness in people with disabilities in any great depth.
• Loneliness in life stories by people with disabilities was narrated in relation to a sense of bodily difference and occurred as a disconnection from a socially ‘standard’ life course. Loneliness was located within three main phases: childhood, youth and adulthood. Negative attitudes towards disability feed social isolation and emotional loneliness.
• Further research on disability and loneliness throughout the life course as well as more discussion about the conditions of inclusion and the emotional patterns of social relations are needed.

Aim: Participation of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder hardly occurs in settings outside of home and school. Little is known about how their participation is influenced by environmental factors. This study explored how and why adolescents with autism spectrum disorder perceive aspects of their environment as facilitators or barriers to their participation outside of home and school.

Method: This explanatory case study explored the participation experiences of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (15–21 years) from Zurich and surroundings with in-depth interviews and photo-elicitation, using photos made by the participants during activities outside of home and school. Data was analysed with a 7-step procedure.

Result: The presence of two main themes seemed necessary to facilitate participation outside of home and school: “environmental prerequisites to attend activities”, which consists of five subthemes, such as “the company of trusted persons” and “the provision of knowledge and information”, and “social interchange and engagement”, which consists of three subthemes and describes how actual involvement can be supported.

Conclusion: Our findings highlight the influence of trusted persons on adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, and the need to extend the support network for these adolescents to other individuals, services and society so that their participation in activities can be encouraged.