International Day of Persons with Disabilities (#IDPD)

On Int'l Day of Ppl with Disabilities (#IDPD), TOI covers my plea to include disability education into medical curriculum.

As per WRD, people with disabilities are TWICE as likely to find health care provider skills and equipment inadequate to meet their needs; THREE times as likely to be denied care; and FOUR times as likely to be treated badly by health care providers. 

The new introduction by the UN of the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) and the legal obligation as we have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [UN CRPD 2006, Article 25 (d)] provides an impetus to re-ground disability medical education on the social model rather medical model. It has been shown that introduction of short disability courses appears to change medical students association of depersonalized or negative words with disability.

Office of Chief Commissioner for Disabilities has already instructed MCI that “doctors not trained on rehabilitation should restrict their treatment of children with disabilities to their medical illness/disease or else action be initiated against such practices under relevant section of MCI.

Competencies and guidelines to assist Indian doctors in caring for patients with disabilities have yet to be established, thus making educational goals unclear. This becomes of utmost importance as the ‘Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill’ includes 19 disabilities. The new curriculum therefore should involve people with disabilities and educational strategies must use standardized patients with disabilities rather than non-disabled feigning disability. A number of medical schools abroad have acknowledged the expertise that people with disabilities can bring to medical education by including them as teachers.

Regulation 1.9 of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics), Regulations, 2002 states that , “The physician shall observe the laws of the country and observe the provisions of the State Acts like Mental Health Act, 1987; PwD Act 1995. 

Read the full TOI report here.

MCI pulled up by NHRC for failing in its social responsibility towards disabled persons

MCI pulled up for failing in its social responsibility

NEW DELHI, September 17, 2014, THE HINDU

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has come down heavily on the Medical Council of India (MCI) for not fulfilling its social responsibility towards differently-abled persons who avail of medical services and for not educating doctors on how to provide them treatment with dignity.

The Commission has recently issued a notice to the Council based on complaint by Dr. Satendra Singh, a differently-abled doctor at University College of Medical Sciences. He had earlier written to the MCI to include ‘disability education’ in medical curriculum.

“According to the World Report on Disability by the World Health Organisation (WHO), physicians worldwide generally lack training about caring for persons with disabilities, thus frequently compromising their health care experiences and health outcomes. The situation is worse in India as the MCI has failed to fulfil its social responsibility,’’ said Dr. Singh.

Previously, the MCI had instructed all medical institutions in India to submit compliance report on disability initiatives. “Majority of the responses indicate lack of awareness. I wrote again to the MCI to include disability education in 2013, but there was no response. Later an RTI reply by the MCI highlighted how the Council was not able to do justice towards disabled persons,” said Dr. Singh.

Now, the NHRC has demanded that the Council include mandatory access audits in all medical inspections. Also these access audits must include differently-abled persons in the team.

Source: The Hindu

Similar stories:

Medical colleges flout disabled-friendly rules

AIIMS plans access to disabled, others silent

Most medical colleges ignore directive on facilities for disabled

Hope in India as mandatory access for persons with disabilities takes shape

MCI asks all medical institutions to be 'accessible'

Disabled medicos face hurdles

'Inclusion of disabled people should be made non-negotiable'

Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Central government's Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities says hospitals have to be barrier-free for the disabled.

But the concept is relatively new and it might take some time for the idea to sink in with the people who are in charge. Visually challenged since birth, Pincha is the first person with a disability to hold this post. Excerpts from an interview with Shiv Sunny:

Full interview at Deccan Herald's webpage here:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/340498/039inclusion-disabled-people-should-made.html

Hope in India as Mandatory Access For People with Disability Takes Shape 

Source: India America Today dated June 8, 2013

ARTICLE | JUNE 8, 2013 - 6:43PM | BY INDIA AMERICA TODAY NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi - In the developed countries, it is taken for granted that there is universal access for the disabled and physically challenged person, but not so in developing countries, so it was hailed as historic when the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently asked all medical institutions in India to be disabled-friendly and submit a compliance report as soon as possible.

Accessibility of health care facilities to persons with disabilities is abysmally low in India because of architectural barriers, lack of ICT facilities and attitudinal barriers. Even medical students, paramedics, non-teaching employees and faculty with disabilities face numerous barriers in medical institutions. This should change if there is early and proper implementation of the MCI-issued directive to the deans and principals of all the medical colleges and institutions in India to promptly submit a compliance report on accessible institutions to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Welcoming the directive, disability activist Satendra Singh, a medical specialist at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) in Delhi who is himself disabled, said, “This is a significant move, as medical institutions are made more accountable, which is in line with Sec 46 of PWD Act 1995 and article 9 of the International law UNCRPD, which makes it obligatory for India to implement reasonable accommodation. This is not something only for disabled because a universally designed ramp or toilet will help all, be it disabled, elderly person, or pregnant female."

Singh had relentlessly advocated to the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities (CCPD) to pass directions to MCI to make access audits mandatory in all medical inspections; to include persons with disabilities in all disability matters; and to de-recognize all such colleges which fail accessibility standards. The CCPD, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is the highest apex body in India, with the power of a civil court and pan-India jurisdiction.

"To me this should have been done long ago and without anybody fighting for it. What Dr. Satendra Singh is doing is not only praiseworthy and commendable but also a path-breaking move in the establishment of universal design," said Abha Khetrapal, counselor for the students with disabilities at the University College of Medical Sciences, (UCMS) and GTB Hospital in Delhi.

Singh is the coordinator of the Enabling Unit, which he created under the UGC (University Grants Commission) guidelines for ensuring affirmative actions concerning persons with disabilities. This is the only such body in any medical school in India. Singh also formed an Equality and Diversity Committee, which has student, non-teaching staff and faculty members and all are persons with disabilities, in line with the mantra "Nothing for us, without us."

Khetrapal, who is a non-institutional expert on the committee, said, "The formation of Equality and Diversity Committee needs to be used as a model not only by the medical colleges, but by all the institutions providing higher education, as separate counselors for students with disabilities may not be found even in many renowned universities of the country. Moreover, all the members of this committee are persons with disabilities and they can represent themselves better than the non-disabled people."

Khetrapal urged MCI to take urgent action for the speedy implementation of the directive, saying, "I now hope that the new chairman of MCI, Dr. R.K. Srivastava, brings the required and desired changes. Another move that has to be done is to include disability studies as a subject in medical education."

Mincing no words, Khetrapal who is the founder and president of Cross the Hurdles (www.crossthehurdles.org/ngo), an organization fighting on behalf of the disabled, said, "It is an irony that those who are getting trained to be the health providers of the community have to suffer due to such an inaccessibility. I wonder why does MCI have to be directed by the CCPD office? Why couldn't Medical Council of India issue such a directive itself? Why do we have to wake up the authorities from such a deep slumber to at least give us what our rights are?"

Source: India America Today dated June 8, 2013

Symposium on “Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm

Symposium on “Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm 15th June, 2013

Indian Spinal Injury Centre (ISIC) and Cross the Hurdles (CTH) are jointly hosting a one-day symposium on Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm” on Saturday, 15th June, 2013 at ISIC, New Delhi.

Following is the list of speakers and their topics:

1.      Dr A K Mukherjee, ISIC- Defining Disability in 21st Century

2.      Dr. Poonam K Singh, Advisor (International Health) MOHFW, GOI- Keynote address
3.   Dr S Y Kothari, ISIC- Current approach towards disability

4.      Shivani Gupta, AccessAbility- Barriers accentuating disabling conditions
5.   Dr Satendra Singh, UCMS - Embracing the Social Model: The UCMS experience
6.   Dr. Uma Tuli, Amar Jyoti - Successful model of social & medical inclusion: a case study
7.      Maj. DP Singh - Advocacy efforts in rehabilitation

8.      Abha Khetarpal, CTH - Promoting Disability Studies in Healthcare

9.   Dr. H. S. Chhabra, ISIC - Integrating the Medical and Social Models of Disability: Time for a New Paradigm

10. Panel discussion: Consumer perspective

Concept Note of the Symposium

Disability studies provide nuanced ways of thinking about disease, medical ethics, and social justice in health care. It plays the role of a cultural studies field that bridges interdisciplinary academic scholarship, medicine, and patient activism along with fostering collaboration among disciplines and between the common man and the professionals.

Medical models of health care often overlook the social dimensions of health and health care. Disability studies, on the other hand, contrasts the biological model with a social model. It lays stress on finding how much can the suffering of different bodies be relieved through the adjustment, not of biological variables, but of social variables. It unpacks the role of ableism, pathologization, individualization, isolation, confinement, and lack of access in producing human suffering.

The Medical Model of disability perceives disability as a functional impairment. An integrative, biopsychosocial approach towards disability by collaborating health care and Disability Studies is required for mainstreaming of disability in an inclusive developmental agenda. Disability Studies encourages perspectives that place disability in social, cultural, and political contexts.

Available opportunities to learn about disability and rehabilitation must therefore be strengthened by ensuring that the society acquires not only the specific knowledge and skills, but also the attitudes required to provide effective service to persons with disability. Collaboration between health care professionals, university academics, persons with disability, and disability interest groups may help in ensuring that everyone is adequately sensitised to issues about disability. Disability studies, if introduced in various fields of education, especially medical education can offer an explicit commitment to assist disabled people in their fight for full equality and social inclusion. Thus a successful integration between Medical and Social Models of disability would be brought about.

Study on Physical Disability and Identities of Resistance

Stacey L. Coffman-Rosen writes:

"Dear friends,

I apologize in advance for cross-posting.

I am a doctoral candidate in Human Development at Fielding Graduate University located in Santa Barbra, California. I am conducting an IRB approved study for which I am seeking participants.

I wish to interview women between the ages of 18-50 who meet the following criteria:

(1) have a visible physical impairment; (2) self identify as disabled; (3) consider disability an important part of their identity or self concept; and (4) were diagnosed with a physical impairment by the age of 6.

This research focuses on how women with physical impairments develop positive identities that incorporate disability. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative research study is to examine the narratives and life stories of women with visible physical impairments who self-identify as disabled and demonstrate identities of resistance. This research may impact the process and understanding of social identity development in the lives of women with physical disability. Through narrative inquiry (life stories), disabled women’s voices will be heard in both their complexity and discursiveness. These voices are not the passive stereotypes of disability, but an emerging resistance that may potentially revolutionize how women with disabilities feel about their lives, bodies, and ultimately, themselves. I hope that the knowledge shared by participants will help advance knowledge in disability studies and influence the practice of psychologists, and other paraprofessionals in mental health.

Participants will answer questions related to their current conceptualization of disability and the role of intersecting social identities in the creation and maintenance of identity and self-concept. Participants will be asked to describe positive and negative aspects of living with impairment/disability. Participants will identify situations where they have agency and autonomy.

Interviews (which should not take longer than 2 hours) can be conducted in person (I can travel to you if you are located in the Central Florida/Greater Orlando area), by telephone, or by Skype/webcam. Participant language and communication styles will be accommodated. I would be happy to provide a copy of the interview questions and the informed consent form (ICF) in advance of the interview.

If you fit the study criteria and would be willing to continue directly to the survey, please click on this link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/disabilityidentity

The survey is short (15 questions) and contains more information about the study and an informed consent.

If you would like more information about this research, please contact me at the email address scoffman@email.fielding.edu I will send you more information about the study, including the informed consent (IFC) and the interview questions. The interviews have been running between one to one and a half hours.

Thank you in advance for your time and attention to this posting."

Stacey L. Coffman-Rosen, Doctoral Candidate
Human Development
School of Human and Organizational Development
Fielding Graduate University
356 Copperstone Circle
Casselberry, FL 32707
(407) 699-1491

The Hospital Poems

Dr. Jim Ferris is the chair of the Disability Studies Program at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. He is also the author of several books and journals on poetry and disability.

His celebrated creation The Hospital Poems is the winner of the 2004 MSR Poetry Book Award and is a collection of poems published as a memoir to recall his childhood spent in the hospital. Many of these poems go deep inside Ferris's own journey. Ferris' poems range from humorous, to agitation, and optimism. His most well known poem, "Poet of Cripples", has gained critical acclaim for speaking out against the "fix-it" establishment.

Kathi Wolfe (Freelance Writer/Poet) reviews his work in Disability Studies Quarterly:


Anyone who believes W.H. Auden's dictum that "poetry makes nothing happen" will be shocked into disbelief on reading The Hospital Poems by Jim Ferris. Ferris' searing, Whitmanesque volume of poetry, winner of the 2004 International Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, is a sharper instrument of social change than any political revolution.

Ferris, who has a mobility disability, spent much of his childhood and adolescence in the hospital. The Hospital Poems is a memoir in poetry about this experience. Disability policy, architectural and attitudinal barriers–even a seminal civil rights law like the Americans with Disabilities Act–can seem like distant matters impacting only other people somewhere "out there" to anyone untouched by a disability. Yet, The Hospital Poems, by turns trenchant, defiant, and poignant, makes the tyranny of the "normal" up close and personal for readers with or without disabilities. From the opening poem "A Poet of Cripples," where Ferris, echoing Whitman, says, "Know that you are a cripple too.\I sing for cripples, I sing for you," to "Mercy," where the poet says of his non-disabled eighth grade classmates visiting him as their good deed for the day ("Blessed are the merciful, for they shall have mercy.\ But not from me"), The Hospital Poemsinvites, even compels, readers to share the author's anger, shame, pain, and evolving disability pride. Only the most intractable reader will come away from this work unchanged.

There are three reasons why The Hospital Poems is an almost breathtakingly powerful work. First, the volume is not a disease-of-the-week, let's-have-a-pity-party-every-page, tear-jerker. Ferris, who teaches disability studies and communication arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, doesn't turn the memories of his youth into an "inspirational cripple" tale or a medical case history. When Ferris uses medical terminology, it is with, almost savage, irony–as in "Standard Operating Procedure," a poem, addressed to a surgeon about to operate on a boy. "Tell him this is for his own good, this will hurt you more than him....Then press the drill to his thigh and squeeze the trigger," the poet writes, "....He won't like it much, children are like that."

The Hospital Poems tells the story not of a saintly child but of an ordinary boy who is under the auspices of doctors, nurses and other adults who want to "'fix him' so he'll look 'normal.'" Anyone marginalized because of disability, race, sexual orientation or other difference will identify with the patient in the poem "The Coliseum." A boy is standing before the doctors who are conducting rounds in the hospital. "You are a specimen for study, a toy, a puzzle—they speak to each other as if you are unconscious," the poet writes. Though, anger and sadness are found in many of Ferris' poems, The Hospital Poems has much humor in it. "Fear at Thirteen," which describes an adolescent's fear of having an erection during surgery, is a mordantly funny poem. Ferris writes, "hatchet men waiting to cut you, and what you fear most in all the world is that you'll pop a boner and die embarrassed on this green yet sterile field." In the poem "Robert Walton," the young speaker of the poem can't understand why Robert, another boy in the hospital ward, calls him a "hoar" when he's angry. "I have no idea what this word might mean so I look it up, puzzle over the spelling," Ferris write, "still can't understand why\he would call me a kind of frost."

Another reason why the poems in The Hospital Poems are so evocative and memorable is that this is not a politically correct volume. Though filled with a disability rights perspective and utterly lacking in pity or sentimentality, this work does not pretend that there isn't emotional or physical pain in Ferris' childhood world. In "Meat," the poet, recalls his hospital mates returning to the ward after surgery: "If it's your friend you go by his bed to check on him.....When we pass by, even if you hated the guy, we take care not to bump the bed." In "For His Own Good," one of the most poignant poem in the collection, Ferris reflects on what it was like for his parents when he was an infant, "and I wonder/what it must have/been like to/give your baby/to the doctors./...What do you tell the brave little soldier?"

Finally, The Hospital Poems will be indelibly imprinted on the minds and hearts of readers because the poems in this volume are superbly crafted. Though some of the poems are written with deceptive simplicity, anyone trying to write verse of this quality would fail by a long shot. A couple of poems in this book are too prosaic to be effective poetry. "From the Surgeons: Drs. Sofield, Louis, Hark, Alfini, Millar, Baehr, Bevan-Thomas, Tsatsos, Ericson, and Bennan" is one example. This poem, in the form of a case history, gives the reader insight into the clinical jargon that dehumanizes people with disabilities. Yet, the relentlessness of the medical argot (of such lines as "Physical examination. Head. There is nothing abnormal about the head.") becomes repetitive and numbing. Even the most sympathetic reader may feel at this juncture as if he or she were being, figuratively, beaten over the head by the poet's message. Fortunately, Ferris' forays into preaching are rare, and this is a minor quibble. Ferris is one of the most talented of the new generation of crip poets and artists. The Hospital Poems does what good art does best: engage, entertain and create cultural change.

Can Disability Be Sexy?

By Michelle Diament (Disability Scoop)

A series of photographs spoofing the often racy advertisements from clothing retailer American Apparel is questioning traditional ideas of beauty in a most provocative way.

The photos are of Jes Sachse, a 25-year-old Canadian college student with a rare genetic condition known as Freeman-Sheldon syndrome. She has unique facial features, a curved spine and her right leg is a bit shorter than her left, but Sachse is not lacking in attitude.

The series dubbed “American Able” includes 13 recreations of actual American Apparel ads. In one called “Tight,” Sachse appears in a leotard to strut her stuff before an oversized window. In another ad called “Workout,” Sachse is shown wearing nothing more than a headband and green shorts.

The work produced by Sachse’s friend, photographer Holly Norris, 21, is appearing in Toronto subway stations this month on more than 270 electronic screens as part of a photography festival.

“What I hope comes of this is that people can view disability differently and see that people with disabilities are sexual,” Sachse says. “So many people are trying to come to my aid and protect me from being exploited and they want to prevent disabled people from living their lives.”

The project began nearly two years ago as an assignment for a women and popular culture class that Norris was taking as an undergraduate at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Norris thought it would be fun to spoof American Apparel advertising, because the company claims that models in its print ads are just normal, everyday girls, though they all seem to share similar body types.

“This idea of who is beautiful and what’s sexy that we see in the media all the time isn’t necessarily what beauty is to me or to you,” says Norris, who received permission from American Apparel to display the work publicly.

As a child, Sachse says she was taught to deny that she was different. But over the years she instead developed pride in her body. Most of the clothing used in the photos actually belongs to Sachse who says she likes to dress stylishly.

“I look confident in the photos and I look just how I feel about the work, about the idea, about my body,” she says.

Call for papers: AHEAD 2013

The 33rd Conference of the Association on Higher Education And Disability

AHEAD 2013: Challenging and Changing Disability Perspectives 

The 36th Conference of the Association on Higher Education And Disability

July 8 – 13, 2013

Hilton Baltimore Hotel

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Call for Proposals

Submission Deadline: November 12, 2012

The Association on Higher Education And Disability is pleased to announce its thirty-sixth annual conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland, July 8-13, 2013. The Association provides opportunities for professional development to those who work to facilitate the development of usable, sustainable and inclusive higher education environments for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities and who believe society is ultimately enriched by human difference.

The annual conference is the Association’s hallmark event and draws participants from around the world who represent education, government, legal, research, and technology fields, among others. Attendees come together for an exciting mix of learning, policy development and face-to-face networking.

The Baltimore 2013 AHEAD Conference has been designed to develop professional competencies, challenge perspectives on disability, and influence practices. This conference will explore and challenge our profession and perspectives.

2013 also marks the 40th anniversary of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. With this in mind, AHEAD enthusiastically seeks proposals from Disability Resource/Services personnel, higher education professionals, faculty, researchers, and professionals in the disability field for presentation at AHEAD 2013 that recognize the great accomplishments made in disability and higher education through activism and social justice efforts since that time and looks forward to innovative and creative practices and policies. We encourage submissions in many formats (lecture, hands-on demonstrations, panels, roundtable discussions, etc.). Proposals may be submitted under one or more of the following topical areas as a part of the application process. Presentations from partnered projects where multiple partners will be present are highly encouraged to exemplify best practices in collaboration. Consider the comments and examples below when developing your proposals.

We are calling for proposals in the following target areas for the 2013 AHEAD Conference:

Diversity and multi-cultural perspectives on disability
Disability contributes to the rich diversity of our country and world. AHEAD has devoted a topical area to the many unique viewpoints which broaden our understanding and awareness of the breadth of experiences of people who have disabilities. We seek examples of successful practices and programming on your campus that have helped to develop the cultural competencies of DS staff, colleagues and students or, practices which built in-roads with other cultural groups on campus. We also welcome proposals showcasing the many intersections of other aspects of diversity with disability, including but not limited to: race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and socio-economic status. Internationally-focused presentations might include insight into how disability is experienced and how disability services are provided in other countries around the world or how we as DS professionals can best support our students studying abroad.

Eliminating barriers through access technologies
Access Technologies are incredibly diverse in terms of their design and functionality. However, the objective is consistent: barrier removal. To those who do not consider themselves “tech savvy,” the ins and outs of AT hardware and software can seem daunting, not to mention managing all of it. AHEAD seeks presentations designed for a hands-on lab setting which offer exemplary solutions for instruction, communication and information access, DS management and student empowerment. We welcome submissions geared to the general DS audience in addition to those designed for our resident experts.

The influence of Disability Studies in the work of disability services
Social, interactional and cultural models of disability are at the heart of the academic field of Disability Studies. Scholars study the social, political, cultural, and economic factors that impact the perception of disability in society. The discipline also fosters an enhanced awareness of the stigmatizing connection that can exist among medical research, intervention, and disability. AHEAD seeks proposals which link Disability Studies with Disability Services, educating participants and encouraging forward thinking and progressive policy/ procedure development and professional growth.

Teaching and Curriculum Collaboration
DS providers are beginning to bring fundamental change to our campuses by working with faculty, faculty development and instructional design professionals, and administrators on the design of courses and learning environments to ensure that they provide all students equitable opportunity to learn and to demonstrate their learning. We seek success strategies for working with faculty regarding course design and delivery. We seek presentations on what learning is, how it works and its impact on the classroom; the “backward” method of course design, which focuses on desired learning outcomes, and is different from what many faculty do now; and exemplary models of inclusive design of face-to-face or online courses.

Campus Climate and Strategic Partnerships
Partnerships across the institution and in the community allow for a more robust and well-executed provision of accessibility, not to mention the fact that the work of these partnerships often creates a more welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone. Presentations are encouraged which show how understanding of disability is broadened and inclusive design incorporated across all campus environments. Innovative practices in DS management and whole-campus approaches to service delivery fall into this category. Strategies for successful outreach to, and work with administrators and campus partners are especially sought.

Community College Perspectives
AHEAD welcomes proposals that are representative of the unique issues and perspectives that pertain to the community college or two-year campus environment. The Community College Strand will seek to address experiences and best practices designed for the community college disability service professional and provide a support network within the larger AHEAD organization. Some possible areas of proposal consideration include: open enrollment and service issues; assessment of programs to include success and retention themes; social pragmatics on the two-year campus; building relationships with local K-12 and community partners; and working with parents. Participants will be invited to attend one or all of the breakout sessions with the goal of improving services at their campuses, networking with colleagues in similar work environments, and recognizing the important work that community college providers contribute to the profession.

AHEAD’s commitment to universal access and environmental responsibility

In lieu of receiving paper handouts onsite at the conference, attendees at AHEAD 2013 will access handout and presentation support literature in advance, via Internet download beginning no later than two weeks in prior to the conference. This will afford each attendee the opportunity to access as many different sets of information as they like, in the output format of their choice, well in advance of the conference.

While providing the benefit of universal access for each attendee, this approach will greatly reduce the burden on presenters and the environment created by providing handout materials for each attendee in each session – many of which end up going un-used.

To facilitate this process, all presentation applicants are required to agree that, if accepted, they will provide their complete presentation support materials in Microsoft Word format to AHEAD via electronic transfer no later than a month before the conference. Accepted presenters will be provided with complete instructions for completing this requirement in advance.

In continuation of the organization’s standards of excellence, AHEAD will provide all presenters with support audiovisual equipment including amplification, LCD projectors, power cables and screens. All participants will be provided with options for CART, Sign Language Interpreters, assistive listening systems, and orientation tours at their discretion.

To begin the proposal submission process, click on Call for Proposals – Specifications

Questions? Please e-mail ahead2013@ahead.org

New Journal: DGS

Disability and the Global South (DGS) is the first peer reviewed journal committed to publishing high quality work focused exclusively on all aspects of the disability experience in the global South. It provides an interdisciplinary platform prioritising material that is critical, challenging, and engaging from a range of epistemological perspectives and disciplines.

We welcome material from a broad range of areas including disability studies, international development, anthropology, postcolonial theory, rural development, global health, Latin American Cultural Studies, psychology, and feminisms. DGS is not confined in focus to any region, but is particularly interested in areas that remain underrepresented, in particular Latin America.

The journal encourages contributions from disabled activists and theorists from the global South. Our objective is to  provide a safe space to critique and challenge the Westerncentrism in dominant disciplines and practices, and the imperialism in the production of ‘knowledge’ and its dissemination.

DGS welcomes research-based and theoretical contributions in English and Spanish and is open to a wide range of themes including (not exclusively):

• Poverty and disability
• War, conflict and displacement
• Health and rehabilitation
• Livelihoods and education
• Cultural constructions of disability
• Colonialism
• Neoliberal globalisation,international development and contemporary Empire
• Religion and spirituality
• Intersectionalities
• Post/neocolonial spaces and identities
• The language of rights in practice
• Researching disability across cultures, indigenous and decolonizing methodologies

Frequency

The journal is published 2 to 3 times a year. The first issue will be published in February 2013.

Open Access

This is an open access journal with the set aim of making all content in its entirety free for everyone and everywhere. All material can be freely downloaded and shared with others under a Creative Commons License. Our open access policy is motivated also by the need for material to circulate beyond academic circles into public spaces where it can be more effectively used.

Peer Review

All articles will be undergo anonymous peer review by two reviewers. We seek to provide feedback to authors in the shortest time possible.

Special IssuesThe journal publishes theme-specific special issues and will be accompanied by a call for papers on this page and other sources. We also welcome suggestions for special issues by guest editors.

ISSN

International Standard Serial Number- ISSN 2050-7364

For more information on the journal please contact the editor-in-chief  Dr. Shaun Grecheditorialdgs@gmail.com

Disability Studies in Medical Education-IJUDH

A paper written by Abha Khetarpal and myself on “Disability Studies in Medical Education” has been published in International Journal of User-Driven Health Care. Read the paper here. Here’s the abstract:

Uncompassionate attitudes of doctors can have adverse impact on the already shattered emotional health of a person with disability. The medical conditions or disabilities are seen in isolation from their daily lives. The quality health care is thus compromised. Disability Studies can increase the understanding of the disabled population. The curriculum offered to medical students has an impact on their learning potential. Medical practice influences social conditions and is also influenced by society. The social background of diseases and their causation must be understood within a holistic framework. Disability studies can bring together various disciplines dealing with human pain, pathology treatment, rehabilitation, and coping skills. Medical students must have comprehensive training about complex human behaviour, ethics, and social justice. They must learn the relationships among disease, distress, and disability. Co-existence of disability studies with medicine can transform medical practice, leading to high quality healthcare. Including Disability Studies in medical curriculum would bring Medical Humanities into classrooms.

Disability Related Calls for Proposals

1. "Eighteenth-Century Disability Studies: Past, Present and Future (Roundtable)" at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies
   Abstract Submission Due: September 15, 2012
   http://www.researchraven.com/call-for-papers-conference/2012/9/15/call-for-papers-for-a-session-entitled-eighteenth-century-disability-studies-past-present-and-future-roundtable-at-the-44th-annual-meeting-of-the-american-society-for-eighteenth-century-studies-asecs.aspx
2. Disability and its Discontents
   Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2012
   http://www.researchraven.com/call-for-papers-conference/2012/9/30/call-for-papers-disability-and-its-discontents-seminar.aspx
3. Ethics and Information Technology: Ethics of Social Networks for Special Needs Users
   Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2012
   http://ethicalpait.blogspot.com/2012/06/call-for-papers-ethics-of-social.html
4. 2013 Third International Conference on Health, Wellness and Society
   Abstract Submission Due: October 11, 2012
   http://healthandsociety.com/conference-2013/call-for-papers/
5. Journal of Interpersonal Violence: Violence and Disability
   Abstract Submission Due: November 2, 2012
   http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/media/news/2012/26_06/en/index.html
6. Commemorating the Disabled Soldier: Comparative Approaches to the History of War, Disability and Remembrance, 1914-1940
   Abstract Submission Due: December 1, 2012
   http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Disability&month=1207&week=c&msg=7IT5zkoLZkO2M3XYqrGocw
7. Eighth International Conference on Higher Education and Disability
   Abstract Submission Due: December 1, 2012
   http://www.trac.uno.edu/conf/
8. Family Relations: Families and Disabilities: Implications for Policy and Practice
   Abstract Submission Due: December 15, 2012
   http://www.researchraven.com/call-for-papers-publication/2012/12/15/call-for-papers-for-a-special-edition-of-family-relations-families-and-disabilities-implications-for-policy-and-practice.aspx
9. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics: Human Rights and Disability
   Abstract Submission Due: April 1, 2013
   http://blog.johnstewartgordon.com/human-rights-and-disability/

Online petition on truly inclusive society

To,
Dr Manmohan Singh
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

Sub:   Accessible and barrier free society can only be a truly inclusive society  

 
Dear Sir,

In the wake of India ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2007, it has become incumbent on India’s part, under the established and recognized international human right norms, to harmonise all its relevant domestic laws and policies with this international treaty. Persons with disabilities still continue to encounter umpteen barriers on road, in built environment, and in transport (physical), attitudinal (societal) and inaccess to information and technologies (E-inaccessibility). You may kindly appreciate that although well over 16 years have elapsed since the PwD Act came into force, the status of implementation of this Act across the nation causes acute concern. Accessibility and inclusion of PwD are fundamental rights recognized by the CRPD and are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the enjoyment of other rights.

This year the theme for International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPwD) is ‘Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.” To commemorate the United Nation’s observance day we want that people with disability are seen as citizens first and then as consumers of healthcare, rehabilitation or social services. As citizens in democratic society they should have the same right to participate, access to the same range of options, degree of freedom, control and self-determination in everyday life. These demands require the removal of infrastructural, institutional and attitudinal barriers and the adoption of the Universal Design principle. We demand the same choices and control in our every-day lives that every other person has. We want to grow up in our families, go to schools, use the same public transport, and work in jobs according to our education, talent and expertise and raise families of our own. We want to be regarded as ordinary people sharing the same need to feel included, recognized and loved. We need to organize and work for political changes that would lead to legal protection of our human and civil rights.

In the facts and circumstances stated above, you are requested in right earnest to ensure concrete and time-bound steps to enforce accessibility standards and guidelines with utmost strictness. Access audit for the said purpose should be carried out by both subject experts and experiential experts where latter means the persons with disabilities. All Government websites should be made accessible by complying with the latest web Content Accessibility Guidelines. All the States and UTs of India must have a progressive and forward looking policy on persons with disabilities which is compatible with the UNCRPD. It goes without saying that a person with disability has to incur additional expenditure due to, or arising out of his disability. They should be granted be granted exemption to the tune of 50% in the total annual income tax liability in place of existing benefit on taxable income as envisaged in Section 80(U) of the Income Tax Act. Disability studies should be made mandatory part of the curriculum and all higher institutions must have Enabling Units for students with disabilities. We also demand a separate department for disability issues with persons with disabilities being equal partners in all decisions.

We, the citizens of India, earnestly request your expeditious action in respect of the matter, more particularly, in the face of the fact that the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 have been enforced for well over 16 years now. We look forward to your intervention this IDPwD.

To sign Dr Satendra Singh's petition visit: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/aagaaz/