Independent living
for disabled people

Full list of news and events

Inclusive and Active 2 is launched

‘Inclusive and Active 2’ is the new five year, London wide strategy with a vision of active disabled Londoners. It has been created in partnership between the Greater London Authority (GLA), NHS London and Interactive to build on the success and profile of the first 'Inclusive and Active’.

Vital Link are looking for Carers and Mental Health Service Users

Vital Link is looking for possibilities to speak with other service users and carers about the big changes that the NHS and council in Lambeth are planning in terms of how they deliver services to people with enduring mental illness in the community/primary care setting.

New issue of Mole newsletter now out

The September issue of DASL's popular newsletter, The Mole. is now out. You can download it from the website here or contact us if you would like us to send you a copy.

Inclusion London - Promoting equality for Deaf and disabled people in London

This is to promote and welcome Inclusion London, a pan-London disability equality organisation providing policy, campaigning and capacity-building support for Deaf and disabled people’s organisations (DDPOs) in London.

Inclusion London will provide you with information on their work, news, views and updates on the world of disability and how it is affected by policies and changes, as well as details of how to contact them.

Summer cycling sessions for different abilities at Brockwell Park - July and August Dates!

Wheels for wellbeing, the charity offering classes and various cycling workshops on a variety of types of cycles for people of all abilities and skill, are happy to be announcing their summer cycling classes, so why not try them and even combine them with a summer picnic at Brockwell park?

Have a look at their website http://www.wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk to see the kinds of cycles they have and do call them if you are not sure they have something for you. Cyclists need to be accompanied by parents/ guardians/ support workers. Non disabled siblings are welcome too.

Qualified instructors will be there to provide initial assessments and guidance.

If this is your first time, think of what to wear, flares and floaty skirts might not be the best options and be prepared to tuck your trousers in your socks. Best to also wear shoes that cover up you toes.

The disabled persons railcard gives 1/3 off rail fares

To qualify, a person must meet one of the criteria below:

• They receive Disability Living Allowance (at either the higher or lower rate for getting around or the higher or middle rate for personal care).
• They are registered as having a visual impairement
• They have epilepsy and have repeated attacks or are currently prohibited from driving because of epilepsy.
• They receive Attendance Allowance.
• They receive severe disablement allowance
• They receive War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement for 80% or more disability
• They are buying or leasing a vehicle through the motability scheme

Update on Lambeth Physical and Sensory Impairment Strategy

Lambeth Council has written to stakeholders to advise them about the Council's plans to take forward the Physical and Sensory Impairment Strategy.

Update on Lambeth Physical and Sensory Impairment Strategy

Lambeth Council has written to stakeholders to advise them about the Council's plans to take forward the Physical and Sensory Impairment Strategy. Formal consultation on the strategy closed at the end of February. Because of the financial situation and the uncertainty over the impact of the Government's proposed changes to the provision of health and social care services the Council will wait until the situation is more clear before finalising the strategy. It will make a further announcement in the Autumn. Read more about the startegy on our website here

Repaying the Kindness – Respite events for Carers

Repaying the Kindness sets out to nurture and support carers who live in the community and who are themselves so kind to others. Every carer in Lambeth and Southwark is welcome but you do need to book in advance.

Making Space

Making Space - Lambeth Mental Health Carer Support Service

Stroke sufferer left paralysed manages to communicate via sniffing device

The woman used the revolutionary device, which is controlled by sniffing, to write a letter to her children. It takes patients between 20 seconds and a minute to write a letter of the alphabet using the sniffing device.

A 51-year-old woman who was left paralysed and unable to communicate following a massive stroke has written for the first time in seven years, scientists say. The Israeli patient, who was diagnosed with "locked-in syndrome", typed an emotional email to her six children using a revolutionary device that is controlled by sniffing.

The woman was so badly brain-damaged by the stroke that she cannot move any of her limbs or even blink in response to simple questions. She wrote the letter within a few days of being taught how to use the device.

The technology, developed by scientists at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, is now being used by other severely disabled people to surf the internet and even control a wheelchair. One, a 63-year-old quadriplegic woman who can barely speak, wrote her first letter in 10 years with the device and has started using it to send emails.

"The most moving thing has been witnessing this technology give people a means of communication when they haven't had it," said Noam Sobel, a neurobiologist at the institute, who helped develop the technology.

The device works by detecting slight changes in pressure that are produced when a person opens or closes their soft palate, the tissue at the roof of the mouth that controls air flow through the nose. Many patients with serious disabilities are still able to move their palate voluntarily, and so can use the device, said Sobel.

When the sensor is connected to a computer, a person wearing the device can use sniffs alone to select letters on the screen and build up words, phrases and sentences.
One patient, a 42-year-old man who was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome after a car crash 18 years ago, used the sniff-controlled device to say he preferred it to a previous disability aid that performed a similar function by tracking his eye movement, writing that it was "more comfortable and more easy to use".

The speed at which patients can write with the new device varies between around 20 seconds and a minute for a single letter of the alphabet. The 1997 book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, was written by Jean-Dominique Bauby at a rate of roughly one word every two minutes. Bauby, who became locked-in after suffering a stroke, selected letters by blinking his left eye.

In another test of the device, a 30-year-old man who was paralysed from the neck down in a car accident six years ago, used the device to steer a motorised wheelchair along a winding path 30 metres long. After one trial attempt, the patient completed the course as fast as healthy volunteers.

Sobel said he was anxious what locked-in patients might write after being unable to move or communicate for so long, but he said none wrote about wanting to end their own lives. "I was afraid that the minute we could communicate, all that might come out," he said. "What's important is giving the person the ability to express themselves."
The findings are published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This article was taken from BBC Ouch’s latest online newsletter. For more information and news on the disability community or simply to subscribe to their newsletter, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/

South London workshop for stroke survivors to help shape stroke services!

If you have been affected by stroke within the past two years, please join the South London Cardiac and Stroke Network
to help shape and support future stroke services.

The SLCSN will host a workshop for stroke survivors and their carers in South London to get your views on what support patients need following a stroke.
These ideas will be used to influence future service changes.

During the meeting:

• You’ll be asked for your views on what support patients would like six
months after a stroke.
• Leading clinicians will update you on the latest developments in stroke
Treatment.
• You’ll have the chance to meet other patients and carers to share
Experiences.
• You’ll be able to find out how the SLCSN is working to improve care in
the region.

Aged 14-19, disabled and interested in working in the creative industries?

Shape is a disability-led arts organisation, they are holding this free information session for young people, parents and organisations to find out more about their exciting new youth projects and how to get involved. Shape provide free workshops, conferences, advice and peer groups to support the goals and aspirations of young people.

The Greater London Authority’s draft Disability Equality Scheme is now out for consultation

You can read all the documents and find out more on the DES consultation section of the GLA website. You'll be able to complete an online questionnaire or download one to fill in later. The consultation deadline for the scheme is 15 October 2010.

To request hard copies of the scheme, the Easy Read version, accessible formats and/or the questionnaire please email .
You can also telephone the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100, minicom 020 7983 4458, or write to them at the address below:

Right Care, Right Place, public meeting

Ensuring people get the right healthcare from the right person in the right place at the right time, this event will include speakers from Lambeth’s Primary Care Trust.

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