99 SIX Intellectual disability in Hong Kong: then and now Phyllis King Shui Wong Introduction This chapter explores policy and practice in Hong Kong, and their impact on people with intellectual disabilities and their families, in three phases: before the 1990s (‘Early developments’); pre- and post- resuming sovereignty over Hong Kong (‘The Golden Era’); and from the Millennium to the present (‘Divergence’). Before the 1990s: Early developments Laura’s story I: A parent’s experience Laura, the mother of a 43-year-old daughter with Down’s Syndrome, said: “I
Introduction Academia is directed by policy and government legislation when managing students and, as such, the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 to meet the accessibility needs of disabled students are fulfilled. We can see, however, that even within society the inequalities and needs of individuals are not always met (Smith, 2017 ). Alongside this sits the discussion about the terminology we use and how that impacts on the social construct of disability. By exploring some of the historical perspectives and definitions that have emerged, and in
163 Chapter 16 Benefits for people with disabilities Disability is a complex set of issues, and benefits are given on a wide range of principles, including, for example, need, compensation, rehabilitation, the needs of carers, and desert. The main benefits for people with disabilities are Income Support or Employment and Support Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and the Working Tax Credit. The system has been complicated by attempts to offer distinct benefits while trying at the same time to save money, often by excluding
1 oNE Ageing with disability: An introduction Eva Jeppsson Grassman and Anna Whitaker background The risk of acquiring impairments of various kinds increases as we grow older. Such old age-related impairments are not the ones at issue in this book, however. Instead, the focus is on people who have acquired impairments or chronic illness earlier in life, perhaps during childhood, adolescence or young adulthood, and who have had better chances than those in previous generations to live long lives. The aim of the book is to discuss – from a lifecourse
177 ELEVEN Intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth- century United Kingdom Simon Jarrett and Jan Walmsley This chapter attempts an overview of the dense and complex history of intellectual disability in the United Kingdom in the twentieth century. Inevitably much of it focuses on legislation and policy emanating from the dominant Westminster parliament and its civil service apparatus. For the first half of the century, we concentrate on the legislative and policy environment in England and Wales, and for the second, mainly on England
137 ELEVEN Institutional factors and disability benefits Summary Aspects of the benefit regime and its implementation are implicated in the growth of disability benefit caseloads. This applies to both Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit. Until recently Disability Living Allowance was payable for ‘life’, the effect of which has been to set caseloads on a trajectory of sustained growth. The introduction of self-assessment for Disability Living Allowance may have helped to increase benefit up-take, while the appeals system and welfare rights activity
9 Ethnicity, disability and chronic illness Simon Dyson and Maria Berghs Overview This chapter will help readers to understand how patterns of disablement and chronic illness may partly derive from levels of material deprivation. It also: • illustrates the value of looking at the interactions not only between ethnicity and disablement, but also between other factors such as age, gender and socioeconomic status; and • shows why it is important to interpret official figures on disability and ethnicity with care, and how cultural explanations from a policy
differences extend to the sexual and intimate constraints and limitations that constitute desexualisation. This is particularly the case with the intersection of age and physical disability, which becomes more significant as the body ages and its functionality tends to decline. While the rate and form of that decline is differentiated dependent on variables such as robust physical health, income and resources and access to healthcare, the general proposition holds. Bérubé (cited in Gallop, 2019 , p 7), commenting on this convergence, sagely observes: ‘[that] many of us
69 5 Learning disabilities and social work Jan Walmsley Introduction Despite considerable policy and legislative changes over the past century, society continues to exclude, neglect and frequently damage people with learning disabilities. Hence the need for families to advocate on behalf of their relatives. How might social work respond? At the time this chapter was written an initiative from the English government was launched to pilot a named social worker for people with learning disabilities (SCIE 2017). The fact that such an initiative was perceived to
163 Why have disability categories in social security? Deborah Mabbett The specification of categories (for example, unemployment, old age, disability) is a well-established feature of social security. However, disability categories are problematic: the evidence on which decisions have to be made is complex, and understandings of the nature of disability are highly contested. Disability categories could be reformed by unification with other categories used in the same policy area (for example, unemployment) or by fragmentation into new, smaller categories
