Noting that the British General Election of 1992 ended the possibility of passing the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill this year, this article stresses the need for a renewed effort to eliminate discrimination in education and employment. (DB)

Assessment equity concerns all educational authorities and practitioners. When educators consider issues of equity, their predominant concern is accommodation of students with special needs, cultural issues, and creating alternative assessment activities that have equivalence to standard activities, so as not to advantage or disadvantage any…

This article describes an Irish video program that prepares mainstream students to meet incoming peers with severe, profound, and multiple disabilities, finding that students reacted positively to the video and found it helped relieve their anxieties at the prospect of contact. Implications for further development of structured contact sessions in…

A study involving police officers in Western Australia (n=138) and Pennsylvania (n=168) revealed that officers responded differently to crimes involving persons with mental retardation. In some cases, police were more tolerant of the disability, in others they were less tolerant. Response patterns were not different for Australian and Pennsylvania…

Teacher trainers in England and Wales are clearly instructed they must satisfy themselves that their trainees can reach the specified English literacy standards. This has led to a particular focus on dyslexic applicants and a questioning of their suitability for teaching. In 2003 the Disability Discrimination Act as applied to education also made…

This paper examines the use of the Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992) by parents seeking access for their deaf children to native sign language in the classroom. It reviews a number of cases in which Australian parents have claimed indirect discrimination by educational authorities over their children's lack of access…

Purpose: The paper alerts small business employers to new dictates of the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) as it applies to learning disabilities. Then the "Learning to Work" project featured in the paper offers small business employers a set of approaches and methods for the identification of a learning-disabled young adult…

In British Columbia the state was found liable for discrimination by refusing to fund therapy treatment for autistic children under its medicare system. Although the judges expressly disavowed the education context from their consideration, there will likely be attempts to apply the ruling to special education situations since therapy can be…

Seventeen Supreme Court Judges, District Court Judges, and Magistrates in Western Australia were surveyed to examine perceptions concerning overrepresentation of individuals with intellectual disability in the criminal justice system. The judiciary felt these individuals had several characteristics that would disadvantage them in contacts with the…

A study investigated the expressed advice of 76 parents, 38 elementary school teachers, and 21 deaf community leaders regarding careers for students with deafness in Sweden. Despite many advances in the country, communication in the language of the greater society was a potent factor in limiting occupational possibilities. (Contains nine…

Presents a brief overview of the sociological forces shaping the discourse of disability; examines the part that public libraries have played, or failed to play, in addressing issues of exclusion as they relate to people with disabilities. Focuses on Australia's deaf community and its particular informational needs. The low impact of the…

This paper outlines the changing employment climate and shift in attitudes towards disabled people who are expected to become economically active in order to fulfill their role as responsible citizens. We briefly describe the employment profile of disabled people and reiterate the combination of factors identified in shaping progression into the…

An educator criticizes the appeals process provided for in the 1981 British Education Act for parents of children with special educational needs. Noted are discriminatory features of the provision, a common lack of independence by the hearing committee, and the limited authority of the Independent Panel of Special Education Experts. (DB)

Australian laws and regulations such as the Disability Services Act reflect the importance of ensuring that persons with disabilities receive appropriate services. A tension exists, however, between policy formulation and service provision, which is influenced by disagreements on government's role in service funding, lobby groups, and the tendency…

Career behavior and occupational choices of deaf children in Nigeria were studied for 20 secondary school students. Results show that they would like jobs in which they are not disadvantaged by their disability, that their attitudes toward work are positive, and that salary is an important factor in occupational choice. (SLD)