Disabled Peoples' Charter for Essential Needs to be Fully Met - as agreed unanimously by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GBNI) Disability Rights Commission (DRC) Neurodiversity and Autism Action Group (NAAG) and subsequently by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) as a whole, and signed off by Baroness Campbell, DRC Chair

 

Re: Disabled Peoples' Charter for Essential Needs to be Fully Met - as agreed unanimously by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GBNI) Disability Rights Commission (DRC) Neurodiversity and Autism Action Group (NAAG) and subsequently by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) as a whole, and signed off by Baroness Campbell, DRC Chair

Charter follows below:

Disabled Peoples' Charter for Essential Needs to be Fully Met

 

1.  Fully accessible environment.

2.  Fully accessible transport system.

3.  Technical aids, equipment and assistive technology.

4.  Accessible housing, including funding for adaptation.  

5.  Personal assistants.

6.  Inclusive education and training.

7.  Adequate income.

8.  Equal opportunities and guaranteed employment.

9.  Appropriate accessible information.

10. Advocacy

a. Independent Advocacy.

b. Self-advocacy

c. Peer Advocacy

d. Citizen advocacy

e. Legal advocacy

 

11. Counselling/coaching.

12. Appropriate and accessible health and social care provision. Including diagnosis, treatment and support. 

13. Coaching

14. Individual style of social interaction accepted and supported.

15. Fully accessible legal systems, this includes judicial civil and criminal systems.  This includes mediation and arbitration systems, comment, liaison and complaint systems, tribunals and all other forums] 

16. Fully accessible police and law enforcement system. 

17. Effective and Fully Funded Access to all stages of the legal system from informal dispute resolution onwards. As part of this a Disability Courts structure.

18. Extension of and effective enforcement of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) throughout the legal system, as part of its extension through all sectors of society: public, private, voluntary and mixed. Including all legal and law enforcement processes. This includes private security guards. And compulsory and comprehensive training in the DED for all.

19. The Right to have religious, spiritual, other belief and cultural needs met in full. 

20. Court decisions to be made fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). All participants in the legal system, including judges, to be held fully and personally liable under the DDA and other legislation for any breaches of disabled people’s rights. To support this they are to have unlimited scope to order disabled people’s needs to be met.

21. The right to an Individually Controlled Environment (ICE).

 

This Charter is based upon the Southampton Centre for Independent Living 12 Needs, with additions by the Mental Health Action Group [Hull and East Riding] in 2007. 

 

Note on MHAG and its concerns

 

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) established a DRC Neurodiversity Group followed by the DRC Neurodiversity & Autism Action Group following effective lobbying at the DRC AGM in 2003 by Mr Colin Revell, MHAG volunteer. This is to be included in part of its final report of September 2007 before the DRC is replaced by the CEHR. 

 

They have also expressed their concern that there needs to be more emphasis on the Mental Health needs of neurodiverse people. They point out that, for example, the minimum standard set by the Royal College of Psychiatry on it. Also, in the light of the Piers Boldruc case and many others, more support against misdiagnosis (e.g. schizophrenia for Asperger’s Syndrome and depression for (especially developmental) dyspraxia.