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Sterilisation and intellectually disabled people in New Zealand—still on the agenda?

HAMILTON, C
2012

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Support through care and protection within a medical framework, rather than through the idea of independence within the least restrictive environment, continues to guide service provision for intellectually disabled people in the sexuality area. Past practices have included use of involuntary sterilisation. This article outlines the outcome of a search for information undertaken because of concerns that use of sterilisation-related procedures may remain embedded in contemporary approaches to sexuality support management. Verified instances of hysterectomy carried out between 1991 and 2001 were uncovered. Documents tabled at a Parliamentary Select Committee in 2003 expressing concerns about use in relation to young disabled girls were also found. Requests for sterilisation-related procedures exemplify how the right of all vulnerable citizens to full bodily integrity is currently adjudicated in New Zealand. It is suggested that further research is needed to pinpoint and address the underlying social customs through which requests for such procedures are negotiated and resolved.

Inclusive communities = stronger communities : global report on article 19 : the right to live and be included in the community

EIDERMAN, Steven
et al
October 2012

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This report presents the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities and their families on living and being included in the community. The study shares experiences of inclusion in the community, of exclusion and isolation from the community and the impact that these experiences have had on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. It details findings on the experience of exclusion and isolation, the progress made since the implementation of the CRPD, and what the new and emerging challenges are that threaten inclusion.  The report also outlines a vision of inclusion and makes recommendations for directions for the future. This comprehensive report will be useful to those studying and working with disability issues, inclusion in particular

Family perceptions of intellectual disability: Understanding and support in Dar es Salaam

ALDERSEY, Heather M
2012

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When attempting to understand the construct of intellectual disability in different contexts, speaking to family members in addition to the individual with the disability may provide new insight about understandings of and responses to intellectual disability in society and may help to identify the forms of support that are available or needed to ensure the quality of life of people with disabilities. This article outlines and discusses interviews that were conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with family members of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. These interviews explore how families came to understand that their child had an intellectual disability; the availability of family support; and family hopes and dreams for the future, and were a part of a wider exploratory study that gathered insight from individuals with disabilities, families, and other providers of support to explore understandings and perceptions of disability in Dar es Salaam. Understanding family experiences will help researchers, policy makers, non-governmental organisations, and others to identify family strengths and family support needs which can ultimately improve family quality of life and the quality of life of the member with a disability.

Mental health in post-crisis and development contexts

PÉGON, Guillaume
September 2012

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This brief provides an overview of Handicap International's activities in mental health in post-crisis and development contexts. Handicap International’s mental health projects specifically address the mental health of people with psychosocial and mental disabilities or with intellectual disabilities
PP brief No 3

Functional Social Skills of Adults with Intellectual Disability

UMADEVI, V
SUKUMARAN, P
2012

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Purpose: The present study aimed to find the level of functional social skills of adults with intellectual disability, and attempted to analyse these skills with respect to gender, level of disability, type of school attended and number of years of schooling.

 

Method: Descriptive method of research was employed for the study. The study sample consisted of 100 adults with intellectual disability, randomly selected from various special schools which provide vocational training in Kottayam district of Kerala state, in South India. Data on social skills of these individuals were collected through a standardised Functional Social Skills Assessment Scale developed by the authors. The data were analysed through arithmetic mean, standard deviation, independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance.

 

Results: The results indicated that only 48% of the adults with intellectual disability in the study sample possessed functional social skills.

Bridging aging and developmental disabilities service networks : challenges and best practices

FACTOR, Alan
HELLER, Tamar
JANICKI, Matthew
March 2012

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This reports aims to provide the "best practices guide to encourage the ‘bridging’ of the aging and developmental disabilities service networks that are both in need of including managed long-term, integrated care for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, and rebalancing initiatives that promote community living"

Who gets to decide?|Right to legal capacity for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities

NILSSON, Anna
February 2012

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"This Issue Paper describes the challenges faced by Council of Europe member states in dealing with the issue. These include the flaws of current guardianship systems and procedures, the automatic loss of human rights of those placed under guardianship regimes and the pressing need to develop support alternatives giving persons with disabilities equal opportunities to shape their life paths. The paper outlines the applicable international human rights framework, including the relevant case-law from the European Court of Human Rights. It concludes with examples of good practice to show the way forward"
Commissioner DH/Issue Paper (2012)2

Promoting empowerment|Emancipatory research in community-based rehabilitation programmes : a guide for CBR programmes managers

DEEPAK, Sunil
2012

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This practical guide is written for organizations and persons involved in CBR projects. It is also targeted at DPOs, especially those working at community and peripheral levels. The information provides a straight forward guide for people working in CBR programmes to carry out simple emancipatory research (ER). Examples are provided from successful ER projects. This resource is useful to anyone interested in ER in community-based rehabilitation programmes

Rocking the cradle : ensuring the rights of parents with disabilities and their children

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY
2012

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"The report analyzes how U.S. disability law and policy apply to parents with disabilities in the child welfare and family law systems, and the disparate treatment of parents with disabilities and their children. Examination of the impediments prospective parents with disabilities encounter when accessing assisted reproductive technologies or adopting provides further examples of the need for comprehensive protection of these rights"

Family perceptions of intellectual disability : understanding and support in Dar as Salaam

ALDERSEY, H. M
2012

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"This article outlines and discusses interviews that were conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with family members of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. These interviews explore how families came to understand that their child had an intellectual disability; the availability of family support; and family hopes and dreams for the future, and were a part of a wider exploratory study that gathered insight from individuals with disabilities, families, and other providers of support to explore understandings and perceptions of disability in Dar es Salaam"
African Journal of Disability, Vol 1, Issue 1, Art. #32

Journal of inclusive practice in further and higher education|Issue 4.1

MARTIN, Nicola
CONWAY, John
Eds
2012

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This journal focuses "on disabled student’s experience of STEM subjects and includes two papers on maths. Several other papers were offered around dyslexia and related SpLDs and it’s interesting to consider Pat Mulcahy’s propositions around integrating AT and dyslexia study skills"
Journal of Inclusive Practice in Further and Higher Education 2012, Vol 4, Issue 1

Like a death sentence : abuses against persons with mental disabilities in Ghana

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
2012

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"Focusing on the southern parts of the country, this report examines the experiences of persons with mental disabilities in Ghana in the three main environments in which they receive care: the broader community, the country’s three public psychiatric hospitals, and residential prayer camps...Human Rights Watch found that persons with mental disabilities in Ghana often experience a range of human rights abuses in the prayer camps and hospitals that Human Rights Watch researchers visited. These patients are ostensibly sent to these institutions by their family members, police, or their communities for help. Abuses are taking place despite the fact that Ghana has ratified a number of international human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which was ratified in July 2012. These abuses include denial of food and medicine, inadequate shelter, involuntary medical treatment, and physical abuse amounting to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment"
The report is available in pdf, easy to read and html formats

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