Young Disabled People Survey (NOP poll)

[gem]

Summary of key findings from a survey of young disabled people commissioned by DRC from NOP in October and November 2002.

Key findings

305 young disabled people aged 16 to 24 were interviewed by NOP for the Disability Rights Commission during October and November 2002. This briefing paper outlines the main findings. A full report on the research will be published in January 2003.

One fifth (21%) of respondents are in employment, two fifths (39%) are in education and one twelfth (8%) are classified as 'actively seeking employment'.

All of those questioned say their disability/ impairment limits their daily activities in some way:

45% say they have experienced problems at school for reasons related to their disability/ impairment. However 72% feel that their teachers valued their
achievements and progress in the same way as non-disabled young people.

Of the quarter (27%) of young disabled people who did not go on to further or higher education, 30% feel they were prevented from doing so for a reason
relating to their disability/ impairment.

28% of all those aged 20-24 say they have not achieved the things they hoped to when they were younger, while 51% say they have only partially achieved these things.

By the time they are 30, one in three (30%) young disabled people expect to be earning less than other people their age.

The majority (86%) of young disabled people think it is harder for disabled people to find jobs than non-disabled people. One in eight (13%) say they have
been turned down for a paid job and told it was for a reason related to their disability.

38% of young disabled people have experienced problems using public transport.

The majority (74%) of young disabled people feel that the Government has limited awareness of their needs, and rarely listens to their views.

What do you think? Do you agree with these findings???

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

hummm .. Gem, this is really intresteing.
I heard at the DRC confrance that most people didnt think the governent listened to them, and i agree with that ... having said that, i dont think the goverment listens to ANY young people .. not just disabled young people.

I think you also have to take in to account the diffrens in disabilitys & how that would affect people ability to do some jobs.
Im dyslexic & there would be no point in my working as a secretery ... i just couldnt do it.
Like some one with paralasis wouldnt be a taxi driver!! Do you see what i mean?
Abled bodied people do have more chosie over what they do for a living, some dont ... disabled people are likaly to earn less or work less and thats not becasue employers wont employ a disabled person, thats simple becasue they are not physically able to do so. Does that make sence?
I think earning less is tied in to this too, if you are unable to do soe jobs your less likaly to earn thousends.

I dont know, its really hard to work out if it is people being ignorent or people's impearments just causing enough problems to rule people who of the high earnings catorgory.

As for public transport i think it should be more like 90% for young disabled people have problems with it!! We have to take in to account that most disabled people dont even consider it as a method of transport mainly dew to accessability. I know i dont, if i cant drive my only other option is a lift of a taxi, end of story. I havent been on a bus in years .. i wouldnt be physically able to use on now and i think most disabled people face the same problems.

Its sad people dont think they can aheve there goals though, may be some one should set up a charity to help kids out?? I know i have a few things i ALWAYS wanted to do .. chanses of doing them now are 0 .. hey ho

Thanks for that though Gem xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[freewheeler]

Hiya Peeps,

Good post Gem, very informative. Like Joey, I think some of the 5ages are way off, and wonder how they got such results (e.g only 38% report trouble acessing public transport).
I regularly try to use London buses to get around. Taxi's would be ideal, if only they were a reasonable price. I haven't yet received my Taxi-card, but even if/when I do, anything above free is too much for me (still no DLA, appeal in progress).
As for the buses. Well, quite a few do have wheelchair ramps, kneeling suspension and w/ch spaces. BUT! In my experience:

*70% of all ramps are broken at any one time
*the other 30% are temperamental at best. Every week, a ramp breaks down while I'm boarding (it won't go back in), so the bus has to be evacuated and all of us wait foer another one. Now, because the next one has to take all the extra passengers (from the broken down bus), the driver inevitably refuses to let me on, saying ther's not enough space. So I'm left behind.

Even when the ramp IS working fine:
*50% of all drivers do not know how to use it, and even when I try to teach them, often don't want to know and give up and drive off without me.
*Or, due to selfish, lazy able-bodied drivers parking in the bus stop, the bus driver canot pull in close enough to the kerb to use the ramp.
*Or, the w/ch space is already occupied with buggies. The stickers (on the bus windows) clearly state that buggies are to be folded up and the space given up to a w.ch user. However 90% of mothers refuse to do so, and most drivers refuse to enforce the rule, and so again, I get left behind, while everybody else get's on.
*Or the driver is so prejudice against disabled folk/so lazy/ignorant, that they make some pathetic excuse, and refuse to let me on, or simply accelerate past the bus-stop once they get close enough to see that the only passenger wanting to board is me, a
w/ch user.

The above occurences happen daily, the result being that a journey which would take 45 min by bike, an hour and a half by (old-fashioned bus) bus takes me between 3 and 4 hours to complete. Sickening.
The occurences outlined below happen about once a week or more.

One driver said there was no space for me, despite the bus being only 1/3 full, and the w/ch space being completely enpty! When I tried to wheelie ontothe bus anyway, he quickly closed the doors, which almost pushed me out onto the road, and backwards out of my chair into the gutter, head first. I managed to cling on and baord the bus, and when I wheeled up to the w/ch space he ran ahead of me and blocked my path, and ordered me off, repeating that there was no space for me! I started t shout at him, and one passenger stood up for the driver! Unbelievable!

Another driver shoutedinsults and obsceneties at me, said that there was no space for me, and then proceeded to let more than 10 people board the bus!

With the way things are on London Buses, it's no wonder disabled people find it hard to et jobs, the transport system simply does not allow a w/ch user to get anywhere on tie, or quickly enough to be practicle + acceptable.
And then you get able-bodied passengers saying to you,
"Ooooooh, isn't it marvellous that you handicapped (grrr!) people can get on the buses tese days, wonderful!".
Of course, when I try to explain the reality of travelling on w/ch access. buses, they invariably say,
"You are so ungrateful, look at everything that's been done for you (well, I'd have doneit myself, and a lot better probably, IF I'd been allowed to), and still you're not happy? You should be grateful you were allowed on the bus!"

However, not every bus journey goes like this, and not every bus driver is so prejudice. There are a few, who (esp. once they get to know me) know how to park properly, use the ramp and even make sure that if at all possible I get on, and am allowed to park my chair in the w/ch space (it's v.dangerous to park anywhere else).
When I'm driven by these drivers, my journey is as quick and easy as that of an able-bodied person.
This is how it should be, could be all the time (o.k most of it). I just don't know what to do to make it happen???
Answers on a postcard to freewheeler please!

P.S I've heard that there is a Disabled Persons' Transport Committe (DPTAC/DPTC?) that has been formed to tackle issue such as those raised above. Maybe it's worth me, and others who suffer similar treatment/trouble getting in touch.
I'm just not sure of where to find them?? I'm going to try e-mailing Transport for London (TfL) and hopefully will get a reply.

I'd be interested to know about toher w/ch users experiences on London buses/buses in general, and how they think we can improve the situation?

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

Gprgie sweet heart, i will look up the transprot commite for you to get in touch with ... i will send you the link soon as i have found any thing
It is terrible .. but at least you have bus's with ramps .. we still have them HUGE double decker bus's with the 3 MASSAVE steps to get up .. i havent used a but in over 2 years dew to that.

[Fraggle]

The results for things like difficulty with public transport is probably because they asked disabled youth. Not young people in wheelchairs. Blind, deaf, people with learning difficulties etc some would find transport easier than others.

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

Thats a very good point Cass sweet heart, i know one of Gem's friends had a problem with a but dew to her visual impearment.

I think there could be lots of way in wich things were made more asseccable .. but before we work on the phyiscal things we need to work on peoples attitudes & ingnoranses .... only then can we start to change the strucure of sociaty!!! ;D

Gem, what were your vews on the report?

[gem]

Hi,
I replied to this!!!!!!!! Must of got cut off and then forgotten!

I agree that transport is far more widespread a problem for most disabled people, lets nopt forget bullying etc on transport cos you have a learning difficulty or other problkem is also common, I'm not a wheelchair user and I have problems.

I'm not sure disabled people are likely to earn less or work less simply because they are not physically able to do so. In some cases this may be true, but also dont forget problems can be overcome with adjustments and things like support workers etc.

Thanks for your input

[Fraggle]

I think the statistic is only 5% of blind people are in employment. I'm pretty sure more would probably like the operunity to work.

[PurplySparkleyJoey]

Your right Gem .. its hard to remember all the impearments ... the 'stigma' attached to disabled is a wheel chair user .. i guess i still forget about that

Cass, your right .. have you been in touch with the RNIB about working? I know your unable to at the moment .. but they might have some good ideas about how to get into employment with a IV?

[freewheeler]

Oh yes, it is a myth that most disabled people are wheelchair users (and paralysed from the waist down, yeh, some are, but I think, in terms of percentasges are not).

For those disabled people who are not w/ch users (the majority, from what I've read), it must be pretty irritating that the focus is often on w/ch acess + users.

As for me, being a w/ch user, it's what I know about, what I have daily experience of, and so, what I feel "qualified" ,as it were, to talk about.

I dunno about other GLAD members, but I'd like to see some posts from members with other disabilities re: "ettiquette" (for want of a better word).
e.g for people meeting a w/ch user, pls don't grab the handles of our chair and push us around without asking (as if either a:we are a toy car, or b:we don't know where we want to go ourselves/can't get there by ourselves).

I know quite a bit of w/ch "ettitquette", but not much for other disabilities. I'd like to hear it from the horse's mouth (er, or hands, in the case of sign language users).

O.K, so not all people with the same disability will agree on everything. Some of you prosably feel this kind of thing encourages pigeon-holing, yunno, the idea that all deaf fok are the same etc. But surely there are some things that are pretty much universal, ad would be good for others to know and practise?

What do you think? Send it to "Room 101" or not?