Archives for October 2011

Last weekend protests took place around the country, organised by the UK Disabled People's Council and the Disability Benefits Consortium. The Hardest Hit events were held in cities including London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester one year after the Government's comprehensive spending review.

Organisers expected thousands to take part in the rallys against proposed cuts to disability benefits and said many more would do so if they were physically able.

After the protests, blogger Kaliya Franklin, created a video blog describing "what it costs" for disabled people to attend such events.

Elsewhere in the news:

Gene therapy: new hopes to halt blindness (BBC News)

Immune system defect may cause ME (BBC News)

Giving young learning disabled people a break (The Guardian)

Comment is free: my son's specialist care is under threat (The Guardian)

High-security prison unit criticised for holding mentally ill inmates (The Guardian)

No more £35k BMWs for Motability drivers: new rules stop disabled getting luxury cars (Mail Online)

Deaf woman hears her voice for the first time (Telegraph.co.uk)

Down's Syndrome case could see thousands of special needs adults taught alongside children (Telegraph.co.uk)

Listen or subscribe to the show by following this link

Mat Fraser joined the October Ouch! Talk Show, live on the line from Japan. This Podcast Extra is an extended version of that interview where he chats about his visit in more detail.

So, why is Mat in Japan?

At the end of last year, a Japanese film crew dropped in on the Ouch! Talk show. Mat - a fan of martial arts - took the opportunity to challenge the country's disabled people to a fight. He was subsequently invited to Sendai, where they called his bluff by asking him to take part in an annual all disabled, pro wrestling style event. An event that shocked even Mat Fraser.

In his unique way, Mat summed up what he saw of his fellow disabled fighters, like this:

"All I can say is that you've not really lived until you've seen a load of Japanese spastics, beating the hell out of each other in a professional wrestling ring ... with the audience absolutely loving everything and screaming for blood."

He meant it lovingly. No, he really did.

On a more serious note, Mat's other reason for travelling to the troubled Sendai area was to interview disabled people about their lives since the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear power accident. He describes how people with a variety of impairments helped and supported each other in the immediate aftermath.

One encounter with a Japanese disability activist proved particularly poignant.

"I interviewed him by the rubble that was his house. I just don't know how he had the strength of character to conduct that interview without completely breaking down."

Mat recounts many more stories of his chats with disabled earthquake survivors, on this unmissable Ouch! Podcast Extra.

Read a transcript of the interview.

Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 and Nicky Campbell on 5 Live both explored the furore surrounding the use of the word 'mong' by actor Ricky Gervais on Twitter.

Ricky wanted to reclaim the word and use it in his way, saying that it wasn't a shortening of mongoloid, and that he felt it no longer referred to people with Down's Syndrome. He later apologised. But callers to the two shows had lots to say.

Other highlights:

Listen - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour
The programme asked what happens next for school leavers with autism?

Listen - Radio 4 - All In The Mind
Claudia Hammond discovered how a good night's sleep can improve memory, why hysteria is not a thing of the past, and met the carers getting involved in mental health research.

Listen - Radio 4 - In Touch
Guide dogs took one step forward after being allowed to use London Underground escalators, but it was one step back for users of the latest Amazon Kindle as there will be no text to speech facility.

Watch - BBC Two - See Hear
As part of Black History Month, Ahmed Mudawi found out how black people in the deaf community identify themselves and what BHM means to them.

Listen - World Service - The Forum
Writer Diana Athill, poet Paul Muldoon and surgeon Pauline Chen contemplated how to prepare for death.

Watch - BBC Alba - Bipolar and Me (In Gaelic)
Rhoda Meek talked to others who have experienced mental health problems and tried to learn how they managed to cope.

Watch - BBC Parliament - Disability Living Allowance Committee
Recorded coverage of the Work and Pensions select committee on the Government's plans to replace Disability Living Allowance with the Personal Independence Payment.

Listen - Radio 4 - You & Yours - Weekdays at noon
The consumer affairs programme which regularly includes disability issues.

Watch - Cbeebies - Something Special
Entertaining regular educational series for four to seven year old children with learning difficulties.

Catch up with disability radio and TV programmes on the BBC every Wednesday on this blog.

Earlier this week actor Ricky Gervais was criticised for his use of the word 'mong' in some of his tweets.

In a blog post, Ouch Talk Show guest Nicky Clark asked him to stop using the word.

While Deborah Orr, writing for guardian.co.uk, accused him of being "no more than a verbal thug."

Wheelchair user Marie Dedieu, a French woman kidnapped from Kenya by Somali gunmen, died in captivity. She had been abducted by an armed gang from her beachfront home earlier this month and the medication she needed to take for cancer and heart problems had been withheld.

And the charity Scope warned that disabled people risk losing essential payments under planned benefits changes.

Elsewhere in the news:

'Glue ear' treatment could see 'end to grommet surgery' (BBC News)

Remploy's future to be decided (The Today programme on Radio 4)

Bats inspire ultrasonic cane for blind (BBC News)

Low birth weight 'linked to autism', says US study (BBC News)

Stem call patent ban (BBC News)

2m disabled people risk losing welfare support in 'tick-box medical test' (The Guardian)

Blog: Harassing people on benefits degrades us all (The Guardian)

A new view of self-harm (The Guardian)

Blog: The importance of inclusion: why I learned British Sign language (The Guardian)

Blind daredevil wins world air title...and now wants to be crowned land and water speed king (Mail Online)

Fury over NHS charges for disabled to use hospital car parks (Mail Online)

Lack of disabled access to Parliament highlights wider problem of access (Left Foot Forward)

In a special 30th anniversary programme, See Hear took a trip down memory lane to look back at some of the most memorable moments of the last three decades.

Other highlights:

Watch - BBC One - The Kid's Speech
Documentary following the stories of three children who live with a stammer as they embark on a unique, intensive course at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children.

Watch - BBC Two - The Culture Show
The programme explored the extraordinary life and work of the late Judith Scott, a disabled artist with a growing cult following.

Listen - Radio 4 - You & Yours - Weekdays at noon
The consumer affairs programme which regularly includes disability issues.

Listen - Radio 3 - Night Waves
Rana Mitter visited the studio of illustrator and artist Quentin Blake to discuss his latest work, commissioned by hospitals in the UK and abroad for its therapeutic effect. Working with patients and families he has produced a series of illustrations - displayed in hospital waiting rooms, maternity wards and mental health units - aimed at helping to humanise an often alien environment.

Listen - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour
Jane Garvey examined what new research into links between ovarian and breast cancers might mean for women and looked at how treatment might change as a result.

Watch - Cbeebies - Something Special
Entertaining regular educational series for four to seven year old children with learning difficulties.

Catch up with disability radio and TV programmes on the BBC every Wednesday on this blog.

Parent of a child with ADHD? Have a free car under £1.5bn taxpayer-funded Motability scheme, cried a Daily Mail headline this week. The articled claimed that more than 3.000 families of children with ADHD, have been granted cars under the Motability scheme.

Following anumber of complaints by parents, questioning the accuracy of the Daily Mail's figures, Full Fact blog embarked on their own investigation, arriving at a very different conclusion.

On Wednesday, upsetting regular users of the national health service, was the news that the government's controversial health and social care bill had "cleared a crucial hurdle" in the House of Lords. Two amendments were put forward, one to reject the bill altogether and the other proposing that it be referred to a special select committee for further scrutiny. Neither was successfully voted through.

Quoted in the Daily Mirror, Labour's Andy Burnham described opposition to the bill as "formidable".

Elsewhere

Epilepsy surgery shows promising results, says study (BBC News)

Tablets turned into Braille keyboard by US researchers (BBC News)

Gene therapy and stem cells unite (BBC News)

Telehealth 'could save NHS money' (BBC News)

Tighter expenses rules 'harming MPs' mental health (BBC News)

'HIV life expectancy rises' in UK (BBC News)

Deadly Choices: How the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all (The Guardian)

Woman in wheelchair dies after sea fall in Lyme Regis (BBC News)

London riots: Looter in wheelchair jailed (BBC News)

Rail staff make 3ft 6in comic's life hell (Chortle)

Paralympic swimmer Fran Williamson announces retirement (BBC Sport)

Could the Paralympics leave a golden legacy for disabled workers? (The Guardian)

Eamonn Holmes apologises for "retarded" comment on 'This Morning' (Digital Spy)

Tim Wainwright: Development mustn't ignore disabled people (The Guardian)

Where's the support for autistic young people? (The Guardian)

Kim Noble has had a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder for 17 years. She joined Victoria Derbyshire on Tuesday with her teenage daughter Amy , to shed light on this little understood condition.

You have six more days to catch this fascinating chat, which provoked a mixed listener response.

Other highlights

Watch - BBC Two - Who Are We
In this series, children from different parts of England present their lives. Episode two features Tayeb, a carer for his little brother who has learning and physical disabilities.

Listen - Radio 2 - Jeremy Vine
The Motability transport scheme is among the topics discussed by stand-in presenter Paddy O'Connell.

Listen - Radio 4 - You and Yours
Denis Norden, Sue Townsend and opera singer Denise Lee are among the guests joining Peter White for In Touch's 50th birthday party.

Listen - Radio 4 - In Touch
The guests stick around for an informal chat. featuring Jazzer from the Archers, who does an incredible synthetic voice impression and some It'll be Alright on the Night style out-takes.

Listen - Radio 4 - The Call
Dominic Arkwright meets Duncan Irvine. Following a failed suicide attempt, he made a phone call to the Samaritans that saved his life.

Listen - BBC Radio Suffolk - Guide Dogs 80th anniversary with Lesley Dolphin
Silvia has used Guide Dogs for the Blind's services for five years. She talks about the charity's 80th anniversary.

Lots of relevant stories have made the news in the week leading up to World Mental Health day, which takes place on 10 October.

The BBC reports a warning from psychiatrists that students' mental health is 'at risk'. The Guardian draws our attention to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development , revealing that stress is now the most common cause of long term sick leave in the UK.

And also in The Guardian, we meet Kim Noble, who has multiple personality disorder.

Remember last time I drew your attention to some of the headlines claiming disability cures? Well miracle watch continues. This week we read about 'human cloning' to make embryonic stem sells on the BBC, the world's first autistic mice in an attempt to shed light on the condition in the Daily Mail and The Sun introduced us to the viral video which shows a deaf mum's reaction on hearing her own voice for the first time.

Elsewhere in the news

Four-in-10 disabled children 'in poverty' (BBC News)

In Touch marks 50th anniversary (BBC News)

Disabled swimmer's next challenge (BBC News)

London Tube rule change allows guide dogs on moving escalators (BBC News)

Children's minister warns welfare reforms could undermine young carers (The Guardian)

Opinion: Miliband quizzed on disability reforms, apologises for omission from speech (Left Foot Forward blog)

Naked and glued to Job Centre desk (Bridlington Free Press)

Bristol's deaf community feel under siege (Comment is Free in The Guardian)

The mothers abandoned to post natal depression (Comment is Free in The Guardian)

Tanni Grey-Thompson takes to the water for Big Splash (BBC Sport)

'Klingon' helps Milton Keynes man deal with dyslexia (BBC News)

What is madness? The case of Harold Shipman (The Observer)

Link between narcolepsy and flu vaccine investigated (BBC News)

Mental illness 'rampant' in Somalia (Aljazeera)

How disabled people are faring after the Japan disasters earlier this year, mental health illustrated, atheism versus autism, Paralympic fun and more. With guests: Bobby Baker, Nicky Clark, Tony Garrett, Mat Fraser and Kayla Kavanagh; Liz Carr and Rob Crossan present.

Listen or subscribe to the show by following this link

Read a transcript

• Rob and Liz are presenting this month but, whaddya know, Mat Fraser has called us from Japan. He is in the tsunami affected area being filmed by a TV crew who got him over there to fight some fellow disabled people. No, we don't get it either. Japanese humour? Hopefully Mat - himself a bit of a martial arts expert - will explain all.

• What do the British public know about the paralympics? We take to the streets to find out. BBC sports fella Tony Garrett joins us to discuss the latest in the build-up to the 2012 games. Are you feelin' it?

• Artist Bobby Baker joins us to talk about her graphical autobiography which recently won the Mind Book of the Year award. And she has a new show called Mad Gyms and Kitchens.

• Campaigning mum of two children with autism, Nicky Clark, joins us to review the news.

• Kayla Kavanagh joins us to talk about her music. She has a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and believes it is this which makes her creative. We hear her track 'Colour me in' - we think it's a really poignant mental health type song but maybe Kayla thinks it's about something else. Do listen.

Pod talk

Some great guests on this month's show. If you've never listened before, we suggest this is the show you should dive into.

We're working up the idea that we might be doing a show from New York City in December, just in time for Christmas. But as with all these things, it's a little up in the air at the moment.

We've now changed our broadcast patterns. We plan to put out an hour long talk show once a month with the occasional Podcast Extra in the middle of every month. In mid October we have a Podcast Extra which features an extended version of the Japan interview with Mat Fraser.

This week In Touch turned 50. Dripping in nostalgia, Tuesday's show looks back at the history of In Touch and forward to its future.

On Friday at midday you can also hear an hour long In Touch special, where Sue Townsend, Denis Norden and others will be continuing the birthday celebrations in style.

Other highlights:

Listen - Radio 4 - Feedback
Roger Bolton celebrates the 50th birthday of In Touch and, with the help of Ouch! Talk Show presenter Liz Carr, asks whether the BBC is doing enough for listeners with disabilities.

Listen - Radio 4 - All In The Mind
People with severe mental disorders are at much greater risk of dying prematurely compared to the general population. Claudia Hammond asks, how much are the drugs for some mental illnesses contributing to their risk of disease?

Listen - Radio 4 - You and Yours
Peter White meets the deaf actor making signed radio plays for a deaf and hearing impaired audience.

Listen - Radio 4 - Robots That Care
An investigation into how robots are being used as carers and motivators.

Listen - Radio 3 - Night waves
Anne McElvoy discusses a new book about Down Syndrome and explores how society's attitude toward the disability has moved from racist roots to being one of the most common reasons for abortion.

Listen - Asian Network - Asian Network Reports
This programme explores why British Asians seem to ignore mental health problems such as dementia.

Listen - Radio 4 - Afternoon Play - Dragonfly
Cal and Sophie, both deaf, are expecting a baby. But unbeknown to Sophie, Cal already has a son.

Watch - BBC One - Transplant
A brand new documentary which reveals the extraordinary reality of organ donation, from the very beginning of the transplant surgeries through to the recovery of the recipient patients.

Watch - BBC One - Helicopter Heroes
A disabled boy is trapped after a car leaves the road and careers through his bedroom window.

Catch up with disability radio and TV programmes on the BBC every Wednesday on this blog.