2. Aim of this report
People who are Deafblind have problems with both hearing and seeing. A simple definition of Deafblind person could be:
“Someone who is Deafblind (or dual sensory impaired, as it is sometimes called) has sight and hearing loss to such a degree that it leads to problem with communications, mobility and accessing information” (White, 2001:7).
- 356,000 Deafblind people in the UK (572 per 100,000 people)
- 222,000 of those people are aged over 70 (62%)
- 113,000 adults (age 20-69) and 21,000 children
- 2,900 people in an average area (250,000 populations).
(SENSE, A sense of urgency, Report 2010).
This report, case study wants to, in quick and short version shows that Equality Human Right Commission (EHRC) and law legislation in United Kingdom enables disability, Deafblind people to participate in them economic, social and the society life – for services for those people.
3. Definitions and legislations
In UK main legal act for disabled people was Disabled Discrimination Act 1995 and Disabled Discrimination Act 2005. On 1 October 2010, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), along with other discrimination laws, was replaced by the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act brings together a number of different acts and legislations in a simplified way, making it easier for disability people to know their rights, protecting from unfair treatment and creating a more equal society. Importantly, people with disabilities will have the same level of protections under the Equality Act as the DDA provided. The act also brought in some new rights and fills current gaps in protection.
By those Acts – “a person has a disability if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. And “’disabled person’ means a person who has a disability”. DDA 2005 specified, that “mental impairment” as mental illness which must be clinically well-recognized and added “a person who has cancer, HIV infection or multiple sclerosis is to be deemed to have a disability, and hence to be a disabled person”.
4. The Equality Human Right Commission as formal body to help people in their rights
The Equality and Human Rights Commission opened on 1 October 2007 (covering closed 28.09.2007, Disability Right Commission, Commission for Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities Commission). A key aim of the commission is to end discrimination and harassment of people because of their disability, age, religion or belief, race, gender, or sexual orientation.
EHRC says on the web page: “Our job is to promote equality and human rights, and to create a fairer Britain. We do this by providing advice and guidance, working to implement an effective legislative framework and raising awareness of your rights”.
Basic on the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998, the main aims EHRC are:
- to work to elimination of discrimination
- to investigate discrimination and ensure legal complies
- to advice government on law
- to prepare codes of practice
- to advice business
- to facilitate independent conciliation between service providers and disabled people (access to goods and services)
4.1 Education, employment and health and social care
Regarding peoples with disabilities we cannot just talk about their disabilities, we need talk as well about their needs. Deafblind people in the same way like normal people, have similar need. But they have usually some own needs which helped in their life such a:
- Counseling (with main formal body – EHRC, where they job is “to promote equality and human rights, and to create a fairer Britain”. They do this by providing advice and guidance, working to implement an effective legislative framework and raising awareness of disabled people rights. Similar ways disabled people can making an help from local authorities and as well some community and charities)
- Housing – this means build houses with special equipment for disabled
- Technical aids such a wheelchairs, hearing aids, hoists etc.
- Personal assistance
- Transport – full possibility to public transport or own car
- Access, meaning access usually to public goods, like pubs, clubs, cinemas, shops etc.
Disabled, Deafblind people like other people basic on the law regulations have guaranteed opportunity to full access to be properly educated, being employing and full access to needed social care and covered helps and needs in their health.
Relating those, Commission and Committee, standing under Equality Act and Human Right Act as a guard, realizing help for disabled people with every area of complies about access and being treating fairly at workplace, school or goods.
5. Social community, local authorities and charities relating to disabled, Deafblind people.
5.1 Local authorities
Local authorities are representative by law for making a local help disabled people in their lives. This included formal help as advice or material help as some allowance, benefits, etc. Local authorities to make assessments to each disabled person’s needs. These needs should be met in the appropriate way for that person. In practice, needs are met in the way with restricted budget.
5.2 Social community
Social community is usually un-formal social structure that shares personal, cultural values, business goals, attitudes, or a worldview. Community is affinity, identity, and kinship that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions. Common point of community is fact that they working as volunteer, from familities to friendships, sharing experiences and interactions with groups as of like-minded individuals connected by interactions with disabled.
5.3 Charities
Charity organizations are a type of non-profit organization (NPO) as a public charity (also foundation or a private foundation. Types of NPOs in that its focus is centred on goals of a general philanthropic (e.g. educational, religious, charitable, or other activities regarding common good or public interest). The regulation, tax treatment and the charity law affects charitable organizations (in the UK Charity Act 1996).
Charity as organization which helps disabled people, the main point standing law advice in every aspect of normal, formal life. They also makes an effect with own shops and sales places, selling peoples goods (such like clothes, books, memorabilia’s, CD etc). Benefits from these sales are provident to own statutory.
6. Summary
Regarding all statutory law, mission and perception, Equal Commission of Human Rights should stand by disabled, Deafblind people and what are important – stays. Of course some Deafblind people can complains that sometimes help do not come adequately with the situation; too slow, that times makes bureaucracy or just that help do not comes at all (but did they gives a report to advice?).
We need to answered also – did one Commission is enough as representative all disabled people, all Deafblind people in UK? And the main answer is – not quantity but affectivity. Until any one from many disabled peoples can be satisfied from their work that this Commission is worthy our moneys our notice and their work.
We should as well look into work of local authorities which have strong key to promote help and care for disabled, Deafblind people. As some research shows that this help and power is not properly indicated and used for service to help Deafblind people.
RNID states in their research that working local authorities (LA) usually:
- There appears to be no strategic overview of specialist staff numbers across the country, with redundancies being made for financial reasons rather than as part of a planned approach to specialist provision.
- The decision by some local authorities to reduce or withdraw provision for particular groups of children (i.e. those without a statement of Special Education Need (SEN), or children with complex needs) and to concentrate on pupils whom the LA has a statutory duty to support is ethically questionable and in some cases might even be considered discriminatory.
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The trends identified here also run counter to two of the proposed three core features of the local authority role that were outlined in the SEN Green Paper: strategic planning for services that meet the needs of local communities and securing a range of high quality provision for children and young people with SEN or who are disabled.
- In conclusion, this remains an uncertain time for Visual Impairment (VI) services. It is important for local authority senior managers to understand that decisions they are making about the future funding and organisation of VI services will have important and far reaching consequences for the education and life chances of blind and partially sighted children and young people.
(RNID, Local Authority Report, 2010).
Similar research was done by SENSE and provides as well some similarity points about role and key factors by LA towards help to disabled, Deafblind people.
- SENSE understands that it is often difficult for local authorities to identify older Deafblind people who might not engage regularly with their services. However they would argue that the increases in identification achieved by local authorities who had already identified some Deafblind adults shows that there is a far higher number of older Deafblind adults than are currently known to many local authorities. SENSE noticed that it is understandable that the assessment rate is lagging behind identification.
- Local authorities are providing a range of support services to Deafblind adults. SENSE urges local authorities not to discontinue or restrict access to these services as a response to the current financial recession. Cutting services could lead to higher support costs in the longer term. There is evidence that without specialist support Deafblind people experience higher rates of physical and mental health problems. By continuing to provide support services local authorities will reduce the risk of increasing future need.
- SENSE noticed some positive developments in services for Deafblind children. The number of children identified as Deafblind remains far lower than Sense would wish. However there has been a remarkable increase in identification rates over the last two years. Understandably, local authorities are still assessing the support needs of recently identified Deafblind children.
- Local authorities must now strive to increase the numbers of Deafblind children they have identified: to ensure that as far as practicably possible specialist assessments are carried out in a reasonable time period: to ensure that all Deafblind children are receiving the specialist support recommended in that assessment, and to appoint a named senior manager who can oversee comprehensive implementation of the guidance. Many positive developments are already taking place. Local authorities should strive for further improvements to services in the year ahead.
(SENSE, Local Authority Survey Report (Adult and Children) 2009-2010)
Regarding to above comments finding from RNID and SENSE we can see that legislation and law can work properly cooperating with local services, authorities where they are responsibility for services to disability, Deafblind people. The main point is that local authorities help services for Deafblind people not necessarily uses keys and power which they having to improving they help services. But definitively we can say that Deafblind people are not alone with their needs and can always as for available help and service.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BARNES, C. (1991) Disabled people in Britain and discrimination: A Case for Anti-
Discrimination Legislation. London: Hurst in association with the British Council
of Organisations of Disabled People
HARRISON, T. (1995) Disability: rights and wrongs. Oxford: Lion
JOHNSTONE, D. (2001) An introduction to disability studies. 2nd edition London:
David Fulton
WHITE, P.J., (2001) The Deafblind Helpbook. Peterborough: Deafblind UK.
APPENDIX
The Equality and Human Right Commission
Equality Act 2010
Human Right Act 1998
SENSE – leading national charity and campaign for Deafblind people
RNIB – online support for blind and partially sighted people
DeafblindUk – charity and organization for Deafblind people
by
grooshka (student)
