The Disability Download

Find out more about Ruth: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/about-us/our-news/press-releases/ruth-owen-joins-leonard-cheshire-ceo

Our employment research: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/Locked-out-of-labour-market.pdf

Follow Ruth on Twitter: @Ruth_owenOBE

Follow Ruth on Instagram: @ruthowenobe

Follow us on Twitter/Instagram: @LeonardCheshire

Email us: [email protected] 

Find out more about Access Rating: https://www.accessrating.com/app/

Follow Access Rating on Twitter: @access_rating

Follow Leonard Cheshire on social: @LeonardCheshire  

Visit the Leonard Cheshire website: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/  

Email us: [email protected] 

Find out more about Headways, the Brain Injury Association: https://www.headway.org.uk/

Find out more about The Prince's Trust: https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

Visit the Leonard Cheshire website: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/

Follow Leonard Cheshire on Twitter and Instagram: @LeonardCheshire 

We reached out to London School of Economics and Durham University for their response to some of the topics raised in this episode.

A Durham University spokesperson said:

“During her time at Durham University we worked with Amelia, both as a student, and in her role as a Sabbatical Officer for Durham Students’ Union, to understand and seek to address concerns that she raised. 

Whilst respecting the experiences that Amelia has discussed, we are resolute that inclusivity is at the heart of our University and we are proud of the progress we have made. 

We are deeply committed to ensuring that all our students have the best possible experience during their time at Durham and believe our high student retention rate, including those with disabilities, demonstrates this.

Nearly 20 per cent of our student body disclose a disability and staff across the University work hard to help ensure that adjustments are put in place to facilitate their engagement with academic studies and the wider student experience. 

We have made, and continue to make, significant investments in our estate to improve access for all students, adopting high accessibility standards when designing both new buildings and the refurbishment of existing buildings. 

We established an Access Review Team which incorporates students, disability support staff and estates staff who review and identify local infrastructure projects that make our campus more accessible for disabled students, staff and visitors. 

Our dedicated Disability Support service provides information, advice and guidance to support prospective and current students with a wide range of disabilities, and to staff working with disabled students.

Most recently they have launched an interactive toolkit to help those with autism make a confident start at University and joined forces with a range of partners to establish a number of fully funded internships, with tailored support, for students and graduates with autism. 

We have also made funding available to help students secure full diagnostic assessments for Dyslexia or Dyspraxia.”

More information on Durham University’s Disability Support service can be found at www.dur.ac.uk/disability.support

An LSE spokesperson said:

“We are grateful to Cassie for sharing her experiences. Clearly there is more for the School to do in terms of accessibility and support for our disabled students, which we will raise with our colleagues. We are heartened to hear what has worked well over the past year and will seek to build on this as we learn from our handling of the pandemic.” 

Follow Disabled Students UK on Twitter: @ChangeDisabled

Visit Disabled Students UK's website: https://disabledstudents.co.uk/

Read the Disabled Students UK Covid-19 report: https://disabledstudents.co.uk/DSUK_Report_Update.pdf

Follow Cassie on Twitter and Instagram: @soapsub

Visit the Leonard Cheshire website: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/ 

Follow Leonard Cheshire on Twitter and Instagram: @LeonardCheshire 

Get in touch with us: [email protected]

Some of the links mentioned in this month's episode:

https://youthmusic.org.uk/ - Youth Music Website 

https://youthmusic.org.uk/reshape-music - Reshape Music Report

https://youthmusic.org.uk/thehigherfrequency - Higher Frequency Podcast

https://takeitaway.org.uk/news/adaptive-musical-instrument-guide/ - Adaptive Musical Instrument Guide

Follow Nick on Twitter: @Nick_Wilsdon

Follow Youth Music on Twitter: @youthmusic

www.carolhodge.co.uk/ - Carol's website

Follow Carol on Twitter and Instagram: @carolxhodge 

https://www.leonardcheshire.org/  - Leonard Cheshire website 

Follow Leonard Cheshire on Twitter and Instagram: @LeonardCheshire 

Get in touch with us: [email protected] 

You can read the 'Breaking Down Barriers to Travel' report on Leonard Cheshire's website. 

You can listen to Sophie Elwes' A Life Less Ordinary podcast on the Apple Store.

You can find out more about Makingtrax and Jezza Williams on their website.

You can read more about Expedia Group's diversity and inclusion initiatives on their website. 

Find out more about Leonard Cheshire on their website. 

Follow Sophie Elwes on Twitter @sophieelwes, or Instagram @sophieelwes

Follow Makingtrax on Instagram or Facebook using the handle @makingtrax.co.nz or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingtrax/ 

Follow Expedia Group on Twitter at @ExpediaGroup

You can follow Leonard Cheshire on Facebook @LeonardCheshireOrg, on Twitter and Instagram at @Leonardcheshire, or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/leonardcheshire/mycompany/. 

Find out more about Crohn's & Colitis UK's 'Not Every Disability is Visible' campaign: https://www.noteverydisabilityisvisible.org.uk/

Find out more about Leonard Cheshire: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/

Follow Leonard Cheshire: @LeonardCheshire 

This month we're doing something new and exciting with our first ever 'takeover' episode. We're hearing from the Change Makers, a group of citizen youth reporters who have been investigating the main challenges facing young people with disabilities today. Mia Stevenson, Pasha  Richards and Arthur Lawson talk about their experiences as young reporters during the lockdown.  

Change Makers is supported by the Act for Change Fund, a £3.6million partnership between Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, for organisations supporting young people working for change. The Fund provides resources for young people to challenge social injustice, find ways of overcoming inequality and give voice to issues they are experiencing. 

Act for Change Fund is a joint initiative between Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, working in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund. Both foundations are acting as match funders and are awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund. 

The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £40million joint investment from the National Lottery Community Fund, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. For more information, visit www.iwill.org.uk   

Music: Sun Shine by Cymatix provided by Premiumbeat. 

To find out more about the Change Makers project, visit: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/get-involved/join-our-campaigns/change-makers

Read more from Arthur:  https://www.leonardcheshire.org/our-impact/stories/why-we-need-listen-young-disabled-people 

Find out more about iwill week: https://www.iwill.org.uk/iwill-week-2020

Find out more about On Our Radar: https://onourradar.org/ 

Find out more about Act for Change: https://www.phf.org.uk/funds/act-change-fund/

To get in touch, email us at [email protected] or contact us on  Twitter/Instagram @LeonardCheshire. 

Photograph: Pasha

This month we’re talking about the value of inclusive education, both in the UK and around the world.  

We hear from disability rights advocate Maria Njeri about the difference inclusive education would have made to her school experience. We also chat to Kyle Eldridge to get his views on integrated schools in the UK and catch up with Orpa Ogot who works on the Girls’ Education Challenge Transition programme in Kenya. She tells us how they’ve been keeping children learning throughout the pandemic.

Music: Sun Shine by Cymatix provided by Premiumbeat. 

Relevant links:

Read more from Maria: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/our-impact/stories/impact-uk-aid-inclusive-education

Learn about the Maria Njeri Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/The-Njeri-Maria-Foundation-184855241540744/

Find out more about inclusive education: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/Every-Learner-Matters.pdf

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @LeonardCheshire 

What does the future hold for assistive technology?

We hear how it’s changing the way we live our lives. Nick Bishop chats to Leonard Cheshire Director of Assistive Technology Steve Tyler, who works with tech companies Google and Amazon to make their products accessible.

Find out more on our website: leonardcheshire.org/