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A Toolkit for women or girls with disabilities to learn more about human rights and how this knowledge can be used to achieve change in their own lives or the lives of others. Following an introduction about why this Toolkit is needed,  a brief overview of five key human rights issues that women and girls with disability in Australia have identified as most important to them is provided. Section 3 provides information about what human rights are and also gives a brief overview about Australia’s international human rights obligations. Sections 4 and 5 focus on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), examining the main ‘Article’ from each, that deals with the important urgent issues that have been identified by women with disability in Australia, which are: Violence; Decision-Making; Participation; Sexual and Reproductive Rights; and, Employment. For each of these issues, the words of the main Article (as it appears in the CRPD and CEDAW) are provided and explained in practical terms, and examples are given of what governments have to know and do. Information from WWDA members and supporters about some of the key changes which need to happen is given. Different ideas of what women and girls with disability can do to help achieve change and promote the rights of all women and girls with disability are given and some sample letters and ‘talking points’ for phone calls to a local Member of Parliament, or a government Minister or advisers are provided.   

"States parties must ensure the realisation of the right of persons with disabilities to education through an inclusive education system at all levels, including pre-schools, primary, secondary and tertiary education, vocational training and lifelong learning, extracurricular and social activities, and for all students, including persons with disabilities, without discrimination and on equal terms with others". "The right to inclusive education encompasses a transformation in culture, policy and practice in all formal and informal educational environments to accommodate the differing requirements and identities of individual students, together with a commitment to remove the barriers that impede that possibility". The difference between exclusion, segregation, integration and inclusion is highlighted. Core features of inclusive education are set out. These general comments take the form of an introduction, normative content, states parties’ obligations, relations with other provisions of the Convention and implementation at national level." 

This article explores the effect of the paraolympic games on driving social inclusion and an understanding of disability and disability rights around the world. Highlighting the poor conditions before the Bejing games in 2008, the article explains how perceptions and awareness within society have changed. The article also highlighted the United Kingdom as a leader in the field of disability rights and equality thought protection of those rights. 

Channel 4 is proud to present the 3-minute trailer for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Signed & Subtitled and Audio Described versions are available in the playlist.
The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will be held from 7-18 September 2016. Download the track at http://wearethesuperhumans.com from Sat 16th July, with all profits going to the British Paralympic Association.

Children with disabilities experience very high levels of violence, according to this research from Plan International and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The new study carried out in Uganda and Malawi provides valuable insights into the lives of children with disabilities. Key findings include: 

- Girls and boys with disabilities experience extremely high levels of violence: 84% of children with disabilities surveyed reported having experienced some form of violence at school in the previous week.
- Girls with disabilities were more likely to report emotional and sexual violence than girls without disabilities.
- Children with disabilities find it difficult to access community-based child protection mechanisms, due to a range of barriers including environmental barriers, social barriers and institutional barriers.

This extremely important piece of research shows that if we don’t explicitly include, we exclude. In line with the aspiration of the Sustainable Development Goals to “leave no one behind” and with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we therefore call upon Plan International and all other development actors to work together to stop the widespread violence against boys and girls with disabilities, and take concrete steps to include them in child protection mechanisms.

About 5 percent of the population is estimated to suffer from some form of sensory processing disorder. Considering that everyone needs to shop at some point, there are tremendous numbers of people out and about on a daily basis who are struggling to cope with sensory overload.

Sensory overload can hit adults as well as children. This guide is to help children and adults who may be susceptible to sensory overload in malls, shopping centers and other stores.

"This MessageBrief summarises and comments on the framing strategies currently in use to communicate information about disability and human rights. The recommendations presented here are based on framing “best practices,” gleaned from more than 15 years of communications research on a wide range of social issues, and represent important opportunities for disability rights advocates to communicate more effectively". This brief reviews more than 55 communications materials sampled from 20 organisations involved in the disability rights field. Five primary framing strategies: Unframed Facts and Numbers, Description Instead of Explanation, Problems Without Solutions, Crisis Stories, and Vivid Cases in current communications are identified and 8 recommendations are presented. Gaps in existing research precluding the ability to make more specific reframing recommendations are identified.

“This paper systematically reviews the evidence on whether persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries are adequately included in social protection programmes, and assesses the financial and non-financial impacts of participation. Overall, we found that access to social protection appears to fall far below need. Benefits from participation are mostly limited to maintaining minimum living standards and do not appear to fulfil the potential of long-term individual and societal social and economic development. However, the most notable finding of this review is that there is a dearth of high-quality, robust evidence in this area, indicating a need for further research.”

The identification and implementation of best practices by nurse educators in the USA to support the success of student nurses with disabilities are discussed. Requirements of The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008 and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) revisions to regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and affirmative action regulations of section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, effective March 24, 2014 are described. Best practices for educating students with disabilities in nursing education are discussed. The Increased understanding of disability will promote greater diversity and inclusivity within the nursing profession, which will enhance patient care. Three case studies are provided: a student nurse with hearing difficulties having issues with "a code blue"; a student nurse wheelchair user; and student nurse with low vision requiring IT assistance 

Nurse Educator, Jan-Feb 2016, Vol. 41(1), pp.9-12. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000212