This is the second of two posts based on an article by the BBC entitled “The Disabled Christians reinterpreting the Bible”. The gist of the article is that disability is not a negative thing and may well be present in heaven. This immediately set my alarm bells ringing. I’ve come across this approach to theology of disability on twitter and at a course for making church more accessible to all disabled people (we discussed this idea, but the course itself and the conclusion of

On Sunday 28th April 2019 the BBC published an article about ‘Disabled Christians reinterpreting the Bible”. The gist of the article is that disability is not a negative thing and may well be present in heaven. This immediately set my alarm bells ringing. I’ve come across this approach to theology of disability on twitter and at a course for making church more accessible to all disabled people (we discussed this idea, but the course itself and the conclusion of the group did

A couple of days ago I saw this tweet on Twitter: “Work as a health outcome is a fundamental principle for us. There must be a shared approach within the health and social care system” Jenny Osbourne from @GM_HSC #ERSAMBW #disabilityconfident #nooneleftbehind pic.twitter.com/13KRhqnyEf — Pluss (@PlussInspires) May 23, 2018 This phrase creates a visceral reaction in me every time I see it; it immediately makes me feel sick. And my healthy friends to whom I mention it react wit

The role of friends in disabled people’s social isolation When Cain asked God if he, Cain, was his brother’s keeper, he meant it rhetorically. He certainly didn’t expect a response in the affirmative. But the answer was yes. It is yes. I’m trying to live independently of my parents. People from a range of  relationships to me are all asking the same question: ‘how will you cope?’ Not, ‘how can I help?’ Do you see the difference there? The trick, the sleight of hand? I know my

The government still doesn’t know what its talking about. But this time it’s almost seven years on from when it gained power, and its politicians no longer have the right to plead ignorance. They do not have the right to remain ignorant on matters of great importance over which they hold the power. A spokesperson for the government said that mental illness is not a disability. Leaving aside his personal knowledge of mental illness – which appears to be restricted to non-disab

On Thursday the government released its response to the consultation on Personal Independence Payments (PIP), the successor to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) that is to be brought in from April 2013.  Amongst the surprises were the government’s limitation of higher rate (‘enhanced’) mobility to people who cannot move more than 20m – a shock to the disabled community, who had loudly expressed their concern that a cut-off of 50m was too small, let alone 20. There were some i

A new disability benefit should reflect the policy intent that the important factor is not the medical condition but the effect that it has on people’s care and mobility needs. The best that an examining medical practitioner can do is to take a snapshot of the person’s condition on the day on which he sees that disabled person. Many conditions relapse or progress at different times. One exam on one day cannot accurately capture the long-term disability. It is much better to r

A couple of weeks back I wrote about a recent experience using trains as a disabled person. As one reader pointed out, part of my problem was that I had chosen to buy a mobility scooter that was too big to be taken on public transport. Scooters come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be three-wheeled or four-wheeled; have a small, hard plastic seat or a large, soft captain’s chair. Some come with suspension and pneumatic tyres, others can be dismantled and stored in a

On Monday the government started the roll-out of its new disability benefit, Personal Independence Payments. According to the government, PIP “better reflects today’s understanding of disability.” As a disabled person and researcher, my first response was to think that ‘DWP’ would have been a better fit than the word ‘today’ in that sentence. PIP is widely viewed as based heavily on the ‘medical’ model of disability, whilst people with understanding of disability today would

Many people are disabled because they are chronically sick.  These people cannot turn up to work regularly, because any given day they may be too ill.  They might be dosed up on painkillers to control their pain; they might be too weak to get out of bed; they might be too exhausted to concentrate; their bowels may be playing messy games.  But the government seems to have totally ignored this huge group of people, preferring to focus on those with fixed disabilities such as pa

Disabled children should be euthanased, according to Cllr Colin Brewer. According to Baroness Warnock, disabled adults should be euthanased. In both cases this is based on the cost to society. Cllr Brewer suggested in an interview with the Disabled News Service that some disabled babies should be euthanased to save the costs of their high support needs.[1] Disabled babies were compared by Cllr Brewer to misshapen lambs. According to the DNS, Cllr Brewer said, ‘“If they have a

A few days ago James Max wrote an article about Atos and the Paralympics.  Many disabled people and their supporters have been upset by the government’s permission for Atos to sponsor the Paralympics.  James Max argues that it is completely acceptable for Atos to be a sponsor.  He says that if you don’t like it, then “Tough.  Put up the money yourself if you feel that strongly about it.” I do feel strongly about it, but unsurprisingly do not have the money to sponsor somethin