Unlocking Independence: Wheelchair skills training
When I received my first wheelchair, I was provided with basic instruction on how to move forwards, backwards, turn, navigate ramps and open doors. Ho…
Columnist
Just 5% of people with a learning disability are in employment. Every time I read this statistic, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to have a job that I really like – and it’s only getting better!
I’ve just moved back into the Communications, Advocacy and Activism Directorate team at Mencap. I’ll be helping the team think about how they can enga…
Autistic people tend to be treated as if they are the ones who are broken.
Those around them and the society they form are given a free pass for making life needlessly difficult for those on the spectrum. Because of this, aut…
Recognising disabled people’s achievements
In June, I received my Diana Award. A few weeks prior I had received an email from my pastoral care teacher (or guidance teacher) that he had put me f…
Columnist – Gareth Ceidiog Hughes
Why aren’t the incredible efforts of autistics to fit in, recognised? We are fish in a world devoid of water. So, what do we do? We adapt as best w…
Columnist – Melissa Cassidy
Steering through a driving assessment Now that I’m of the age to have a driving licence I’ve realised that the road to learning to drive with a dis…
Columnist – Ciara Lawrence
It’s brilliant to have time out with the people you love. As summer gets underway, I’ve been looking forward to going away on my holidays. Summer h…
Transformative accessibility
Columnist- Ruben Carol I recently embarked on a much-needed getaway with my wife, seeking refuge from the dreary British weather. Our destination o…
Dealing with the uncertainty of disability
Melissa Cassidy Life is full of the unexpected for everyone but when you are disabled there’s always much more uncertainty when it comes to loo…
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Chloe Smith
This summer the Birmingham Commonwealth Games was a global standard bearer for accessibility in sport, with the largest ever parasports offering to da…
Mencap want the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.
During Mencap’s 75th anniversary year in 2021, our new five-year strategy, the ‘Big Plan’, was launched. Ultimately, Mencap want the UK to be the best…
Columnist – Shadow Minister for Disabled People, Vicky Foxcroft MP
In April 2020, a few weeks after the UK went into an unprecedented lockdown due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, I was appointed Shadow Minister for D…
Columnist – Ruben Carol
People should, of course, have a choice to use a wheelchair or not. But it seems to me that sometimes people choose not to use a wheelchair out of fea…
Columnist – Ruben Carol
Just after Christmas, I looked around and saw all the boxes left over from the gifts I received from friends and family, as well as purchases I’ve mad…