Posted by: flashsays on: 2012-02-10
I often read ignorant comments in newspapers – or even whole articles – which clearly do not understand the disabled person’s situation nowadays. Perhaps these commenters do not count any disabled people among their friends and so have no personal experience or understanding. Don’t worry – I’m here to explain the basics and explode some [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2012-01-09
Today on Twitter you will see many disabled people and charities saying “I support the #SpartacusReport”. So what is this report and what does it mean? The Spartacus Report is a piece of research, released today, entitled “Responsible Reform”. It looks at responses to a government consultation about replacing Disability Living Allowance. The report was [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-11-26
There are two versions of me at the moment. When I get a chance, there is normal, competent, capable me. I am enthusiastic, working my way through lots of volunteering work at an art gallery, as chair of a residents’ association and of a disabled people’s mobility forum, and other things besides. I sit at [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-11-11
This blog is crossposted to Where’s the Benefit? where I am one of the team. In the early hours of this morning, this is the appalling story with which the Daily Mail were leading. “Disabled benefit? Just fill in a form”. They report that “Almost 200,000 people were granted a disability benefit last year without [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-10-31
[This article is cross posted to Where's the Benefit, where I am one of the team.] The BBC carrys a worrying story today. “Warning over legal aid cuts for disabled people” the article leads. “Ministers are being urged not to restrict legal aid for disabled people wanting to challenge benefit decisions”. News comes of yet [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-10-24
Are you wondering why my blog posts are no longer every week? It’s still my intention, but life has taken over. Let me give you an insight into living with, and managing, pain. It’s a daily juggling act. I take two different painkillers. One, dihydrocodeine (DHC), is what I’ve taken for years. It doesn’t really [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-09-09
For some disabled people, it’s easy to answer this question. My friend Imogen is a single person who lives independently, supported around the clock by two carers – one week on, one week off. For those of us who require more support, however, it’s a grey area. I don’t call any one person my carer. [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-08-06
When I received my diagnosis of hypermobility syndrome in 2008 I began reading up on the subject. Back then, the only book available was written for physiotherapists, but I devoured it and experienced many moments of revelation. Since then, three more books have come on the scene – another aimed at healthcare professionals, and two [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-08-04
My last blog post drew a few comments to which I wanted space so I could respond in full. So here we are! Tilly and others, here are my responses to your questions including why I don’t carry the Step Free Guide, why I didn’t know about the maintenance, and so on. Firstly I should [...]
Posted by: flashsays on: 2011-07-27
A simple change to a regular journey can reduce a confident traveller to nothing. That’s what happened to me when my train pulled into Paddington this week – and I ended up exhausted and on the verge of tears just from trying to get home. Transport for London, what went wrong? I turned up at [...]
