Humanities & Social Sciences

The aim of this PhD research is to investigate how the established UK Disabled People’s Movement is working to build the capacity of young disabled people and encourage them to become future leaders within the Movement.  To achieve this, the central research question must focus on the experiences of young disabled people, especially when presented with opportunities to become active in promoting disability rights, leading campaigns and challenging current agendas. 

With disabled people’s organisations campaigning for an inclusive society, the expectations of young disabled people who exist within the mainstream remains ever present (Aitchison 2000).  For many, the disabled identity is a secondary characteristic to the aspirations, values and beliefs of the individual and focuses on aligning their interests with those of their peers (Fullagar and Owler 1998).  Yet, there is a continual need for societal groups to exist within democratic structures, which are established and sustainable (World Forum for Democracy 2014).  This requires effective leadership with built-in contingencies for the development of subsequent leaders to take responsibility at the appropriate time. 

There is substantial academic interest in this area and in particular to its role in developing choice and control over daily life for disabled people, at the individual level and as a collective group who identify with members of the Disabled People’s Movement (Lord and Hutchison 2003).  Research has concentrated on the transition of young people into adulthood, acknowledging the self-empowerment which enables them to manage their own lives (Morris 1999) and subsequently drawing attention to this particular area of research.

The research is at a preliminary phase, therefore this paper reflects on the collection of existing data so far – highlighting concepts regarding disability and the importance of youth involvement in decision-making; additionally, there will be an exploration of suitable methodological approaches to investigate this topic.

*This is the script that was presented with the conference presentation*

The aim of this PhD research is to investigate how the established UK Disabled People’s Movement is working to build the capacity of young disabled people and encourage them to become future leaders within the Movement.  To achieve this, the central research question must focus on the experiences of young disabled people, especially when presented with opportunities to become active in promoting disability rights, leading campaigns and challenging current agendas. 

With disabled people’s organisations campaigning for an inclusive society, the expectations of young disabled people who exist within the mainstream remains ever present (Aitchison 2000).  For many, the disabled identity is a secondary characteristic to the aspirations, values and beliefs of the individual and focuses on aligning their interests with those of their peers (Fullagar and Owler 1998).  Yet, there is a continual need for societal groups to exist within democratic structures, which are established and sustainable (World Forum for Democracy 2014).  This requires effective leadership with built-in contingencies for the development of subsequent leaders to take responsibility at the appropriate time. 

There is substantial academic interest in this area and in particular to its role in developing choice and control over daily life for disabled people, at the individual level and as a collective group who identify with members of the Disabled People’s Movement (Lord and Hutchison 2003).  Research has concentrated on the transition of young people into adulthood, acknowledging the self-empowerment which enables them to manage their own lives (Morris 1999) and subsequently drawing attention to this particular area of research.

The research is at a preliminary phase, therefore this paper reflects on the collection of existing data so far – highlighting concepts regarding disability and the importance of youth involvement in decision-making; additionally, there will be an exploration of suitable methodological approaches to investigate this topic.

Drawing from my professional, academic and personal experiences of working within disability hate crime, I would like to use my time to highlight a small number of key themes, which will hopefully stimulate discussion for the remainder of the seminar and future conversations. The issues I raise are, from my perspective, paramount and need continual review and reflection if we are to strengthen any nation’s strategy to address disability hate crime. For any country, we should be in a position to acknowledge and praise the positive steps we have taken to tackle hate crime towards disabled people, but every one of us needs to reflect on what has not worked well and consider the most effective plan of action.

*This is the script that was presented with the conference presentation*

Drawing from my professional, academic and personal experiences of working within disability hate crime, I would like to use my time to highlight a small number of key themes, which will hopefully stimulate discussion for the remainder of the seminar and future conversations. The issues I raise are, from my perspective, paramount and need continual review and reflection if we are to strengthen any nation’s strategy to address disability hate crime.

With the new European Parliament established as well as the continuation of the unprecedented attacks on disabled people’s right to Independent Living, the European Network on Independent Living are releasing recommendations and suggested actions to the European Parliament Disability Intergroup; these are based on our research, the reality facing disabled people and the Disability Intergroup Work Priorities 2009 – 2014.

The statement was written by Miro Griffiths and produced by the European Network on Independent Living

The social and emotional welfare of young people has been the subject of much research (Crocker and Park 2004); particularly with respect to the impact of idiosyncratic socio-economic  circumstance and its significance on the mental welfare, in the context of life-satisfaction and “self-esteem”, of the individual (Shapka and Keating 2005).  Within modern society, categorisation is ubiquitous; with divisions based on age, gender and ethnicity perhaps the most pervasive and commonly reproduced social categories.  This study, alternatively, focuses on a group primarily defined by intellect, namely individuals currently enrolled on a Higher Education course within the United Kingdom. The reification of this student body is, of course, problematic, since every student possesses a unique biography of personal experience and socio-religious values that generate an almost unique perception of both self and society.

Within this study, the group is subject to further division relative to the individual perception of self as either disabled or non-disabled, to allow the critical analysis of quantitative and qualitative measures of self-esteem and life satisfaction for students placed within the former group (i.e. those with physical impairments), in comparison with those of the latter,  and the potential impact of disability on the formation and maintenance of certain negative or positive social ideals.

Participation required the completion of a thirty-statement questionnaire focused on self-esteem (Hudson 1982; Pavot and Diener 1993). Each statement was accompanied by a numerical scale upon which the participant was asked to indicate how accurately each statement could be understood to describe their own opinion or represent an accurate description of their own circumstance.  Subsequent to the completion of this questionnaire, each participant was subject to a one-on-one interview with the researcher for a maximum of 30 minutes, as part of which  they were interviewed regarding life-satisfaction and self-esteem in line with those categories of self worth constructed by Crocker and Wolfe (2001).  Subsequent analysis of this data evidenced a clear distinction between the scores of the two groups, in line with that explanation offered by Pyszczynski, Solomon, Schimel,  Arndt, and Greenberg (2004).  Data compiled within the quantitative component of the study were subsequently utilised within a methodological framework centred on Grounded Theory, from which a theory on self-worth was derived.

Keywords: Disability, Self-Esteem, Self-Worth, Students, Grounded Theory

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how young disabled people manage their direct payments, a scheme where local authorities directly provide cash to eligible disabled people who then arrange and pay for their own care.  This was achieved through recording the views of direct payment users on how they interpreted direct payments, the support they received prior to direct payments and help and guidance they may have used to assist with managerial tasks.

Three semi-structured interviews were held with young disabled people from England.  Participants were under 25 years old and identified themselves as having a physical impairment; at the time of interviews all were in receipt of direct payments.  The findings from the study were compared with an extensive review of available literature on the subject.

The research found that for young disabled people their interpretation of how to use direct payments affected their journey towards achieving independent living.  Participants welcomed the opportunity to organise their own care, however, they sought reassurance and additional support when using the scheme on a daily basis – with particular concern over the practicalities of managing personal assistants. 

Participants received some level of care from their parents and locally commissioned services prior to the transition phase into adulthood; they did encounter difficulties when moving towards direct payments, especially from apprehensive parents.  The participants also highlighted the problems of commissioned packages and explained how they felt unsure about receiving direct payments as they assumed the responsibility factor would create further barriers to achieving their aim of independent living.

The majority of participants were unaware of other young people in receipt of direct payments and stated that peer support would be the preferred option when requiring guidance on issues pertaining to direct payments.  It would appear that external support initiatives need more publicity within the disability community and stronger relationships are needed between disabled people’s user-led organisations and local councils.

On Sunday 22 November 2015, DaDaFest hosted the first Rushton Social Justice Lecture at Liverpool Town Hall hosted by Roger Philips (BBC Radio Merseyside). The event commemorated the 201st anniversary of Edward Rushton’s death and followed on from the celebrations of Rushton’s life last year as part of DaDaFest International 2014 and the start of Disability History Month.

This is a transcript of the Question and Answer Session with Miro Griffiths.

On Sunday 22 November 2015, DaDaFest hosted the first Rushton Social Justice Lecture at Liverpool Town Hall hosted by Roger Philips (BBC Radio Merseyside). The event commemorated the 201st anniversary of Edward Rushton’s death and followed on from the celebrations of Rushton’s life last year as part of DaDaFest International 2014 and the start of Disability History Month.

This is a transcript of the paper presented by Miro Griffiths, which explored the importance of a Disabled People's Movement in tackling social injustice.

Article published in advance of the UK's EU Referendum, which questions the narratives that focus on protecting 'British sovereignty'.

Published on European Youth Parliament UK - http://www.eypuk.co.uk/fixation-sovereignty-will-also-downfall/

This article explores the impact of the British Government's EU Referendum outcome on disabled students and the wider debate surrounding inclusive education.

It was published by the Alliance for Inclusive Education: http://www.allfie.org.uk/blog/united-kingdom-and-the-eu-what-happens-next-for-disabled-students/

*This is the script that was presented with the conference presentation*

At the European Association for International Education (EAIE) conference 2016, I was invited to give a presentation during a panel discussion on: Exploring Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a Global, Accessibility Framework. My paper, entitled: Building from a Human Rights and Social Justice Foundation, explored the wider points around social justice for disabled students, with a particular reference to how we understand experiences of disablement.  This presentation also unpacked some of the exclusionary practices within higher education and considered what is required to support the implementation of UDL.

At the European Association for International Education (EAIE) conference 2016, I was invited to give a presentation during a panel discussion on: Exploring Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a Global, Accessibility Framework. My paper, entitled: Building from a Human Rights and Social Justice Foundation, explored the wider points around social justice for disabled students, with a particular reference to how we understand experiences of disablement.  This presentation also unpacked some of the exclusionary practices within higher education and considered what is required to support the implementation of UDL.

In July 2016, UK Labour Party and Momentum members Dr Paul Darke and Miro Griffiths discussed the possibility of holding a Fringe event during the Labour Party Conference (September 2016).  This was a platform for Labour supporters to talk about their interests and policies, which allowed for a meaningful debate to push forward the aims of the Labour Party.  This is a transcript of the event.

Combatting disability hate crime (DHC) is vital for Independent Living, as it is a barrier for disabled people in accessing their rights to live lives with full participation. The European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) has been active in the area of DHC through different partnerships since 2011. In 2016, the organisation focused on furthering cooperation to advance the issue at the European Union (EU) level. ENIL developed and distributed, as part of its work plan, a survey to explore positive and progressive examples that can be spread for the goal of combatting DHC.

This brief analysis shows the initial findings from the survey responses and will become part of a wider report that is to be disseminated through various European networks and presented to Member States and the European Parliament.