BBC News Online asked 21-year-old Damian Chick, who has cerebral palsy, to make a journey around the capital city of Wales to find out what the situation is like now for young people with disabilities. This is his report:

Damian feels access around Cardiff is 'pretty poor'

Society has made access for minority groups a battle-ground.

Although some of this battle has already been fought, some disabled people still feel that access around Cardiff is pretty poor, despite the efforts of some town planners and architects.

Our journey around the city began at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) where I am studying health and social care.

The biggest physical problem I face is using the lifts and doors - I cannot reach the lift buttons from my chair and the handles for the doors are too high.

There are issues too about inclusive learning - there are 750 disabled students at UWIC, two-thirds of whom, like myself, have dyslexia.

Karen Robson, disability service manager, pointed out that educational establishments have until 2005 to implement the legislation and said they had done a lot to improve access already.

It is quite shocking to find that there are more pubs and clubs that I am excluded from than I can access Damian Chick

I look forward to exploring parts of the university which are currently a mystery to me.

Like most students, I enjoy a night out on the town...but I have to pick my places carefully.

In the evening, we could not go into one bar, because there was a six-inch step to negotiate - and the toilets were downstairs.

But another bar passed with flying colours - wide passages and an easily accessible loo.

Overall though, it is quite shocking to find that there are more pubs and clubs that I am excluded from than I can access.

This limits my integration and input into society. My friends have to be aware of and avoid venues that may be exclusive to able-bodied people when they are out with me.

At the end of the evening, I was lucky to find a taxi very quickly - sometimes it can take more than an hour to find one which can accommodate my chair.

Access to the central railway station in Cardiff is better now too than it was in the past - but other stations are still out of bounds to me.

Playing the system

Aside from the physical frustrations, I do not think that people always realise how irritating their use of language and well-meaning gestures can be.

For instance, imagine being patted on the head and your personal assistant/carer told: "It is nice to see them out," and that the person accompanying you deserves a medal.

I didn't know what it felt like to be a lap dog until that happened to me.

But I do have many confessions about playing the system.

For instance, imagine waiting in a four-hour queue then realising you can utilise your disability to your advantage.

This is what I did in Madame Tussaud's by telling the guides: "A person with my disability could not possibly wait in the cold."

Nobody objected, and in I went quick smart! This is one of the very few advantages of being a disabled young person in today's society.