Nowadays networks, microprocessors, memory chips, smart sensors and actuators are faster, cheaper and smaller than ever. They are becoming available anywhere, anytime. Current advances in such enabling technologies let foresee novel applications and services for improving the life of elderly and disabled people in their home and outside. These conference proceedings present the latest approaches and technical solutions in the area of smart homes, health telematics, and enabling technologies. The first chapter delves into the user perspective to ascertain real needs and design truly useful services. The following chapter explores the enabling technology. Distributed sensors, smart devices and networks appear as the nuts and bolts compulsory to build up smart homes. Chapter three looks at the realization of smart homes. Pervasive computing is emerging as one of the key approaches to organize computations within smart homes. The fourth chapter addresses the issue of using smart home features to design and deliver smart care services to persons with disabilities and elderly people. Finally Chapter five outlines standardization efforts and practical and industrial experiences.I COST aims at creating an active research community dedicated to explore how smart homes in particular and health telematics in general can foster independent living and an enhanced life style for elderly and disabled people. On the one hand, smart homes are augmented environments with embedded computers, information appliances and multi-modal sensors allowing people to perform tasks efficiently by offering unprecedented levels of access to information and assistance from computer. On the other hand, health telematics makes the most of networks and telecommunications to propose health services, expertise and information at distance.

Drawing upon qualitative material from parents and professionals, including ethnography, narrative inquiry, interviews and focus groups, this book brings together feminist and critical disability studies theories.

Long Lives Are for the Rich is the title of a silent ominous program that affects the lives of millions of people. In all developed countries disadvantaged and, especially, poor people die much earlier than the most advantaged. During these shorter lives they suffer ten to twenty years longer from disabilities or chronic disease. This does not happen accidentally: health inequalities – including those between healthy and unhealthy life styles – are mainly caused by social inequalities that are reproduced over the life course. This crucial function of the life course has become painfully visible during its neoliberal reorganization since the early 1980s. Studies about aging over the life course, from birth to death, show the inhumane consequences as people get older. In spite of the enormous wealth that has been piled up in the US for a dwindling percentage of the population, there has been growing public indifference about the needs of those in jobs with low pay and high stress, but also about citizens from a broad middle class who can hardly afford high quality education or healthcare. However, this ominous program affects all: recent mortality rates show that all Americans, including the rich, are unhealthier and dying earlier than citizens of other developed countries. Moreover, the underlying social inequalities are tearing the population apart with nasty consequences for all citizens, including the rich. Although the public awareness of the consequences has been growing, neoliberal policies remain tempting for the economic and political elites of the developed world because of the enormous wealth that is flowing to the top. All this poses urgent questions of social justice. Unfortunately, the predominant studies of social justice along the life course help to reproduce these inequalities by neglecting them. This book analyzes the main dynamics of social inequality over the life course and proposes a theory of social justice that sketches a way forward for a country that is willing to invest in its greatest resource: the creative potential of its population.

Deaf around the World is a compendium of work by scholars and activists on the creation, context, and form of sign languages, and on the social issues and civil rights of Deaf communities. Renowned contributors such as James Woodward, Yerker Andersson, and Paddy Ladd offer new histories and overviews of major topics. Each chapter is followed by a response from a pre-eminent thinker in the field. The volume includes studies of sign languages and Deaf communities in Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States.

Who determines whether persons are disabled and eligible to receive the billions of dollars that are awarded in benefits under federal disability programs today in the United States? What kinds of standards are applied in making awards to millions of applicants? And how are disability determinations made and claims adjudicated? Frank S. Bloch provides a careful study of disability determinations in five major federal programs. His findings, models, and calls for reform, including the greater use of medical personnel, should interest those who want to know more about the medical-legal issues relevant to disability determination, the many factors that impact on disability decisionmaking, and the administrative process for making disability decisions. This survey covers the disability determination process in U.S. social security, railroad retirement, civil service, veteran, and black lung disability programs at the federal level. Dr. Bloch defines various standards, key issues, the current use of medical personnel and models for their fuller use and for reforming the disability determination process.

This book puts the critical into dementia studies. It makes a timely and novel contribution to the field, offering a provocative and thought-provoking critique of current thinking and debate on dementia. Collectively the contributions gathered together in this text make a powerful case for a more politically engaged, deconstructive and critical treatment of dementia and the systems and structures that currently govern and frame it. The book is interdisciplinary and draws together leading dementia scholars alongside dementia activists from around the world. It frames dementia as first and foremost a political category. The book advances both theoretical and methodological thinking in the field as well as sharing learning from empirical research. Outlining the limits to existing efforts to frame and theorise the condition it proposes a new critical movement for the field of dementia studies and practice. The book will be of direct interest to researchers and scholars in the field of dementia studies and wider fields of health, disability and care. It will provide a novel resource for students and practitioners in the fields of dementia, health care and social care. The book also has implications for dementia policymaking, commissioning and community development.

This book examines the state of art in disability studies, focusing on the Indian context, as well as the broader South Asian situation. It presents interdisciplinary perspectives on the basic idea, evolution, practices and challenges of researching and teaching disability studies at various higher education institutions and in other civil society spaces. The chapters address a range of related themes, including activism, development policies, research, pedagogy, spatial and social access, caste and gender representations and rights-based discourses. Given the scope of its coverage, the book is of interest to scholars and students in area of humanities, education, law, sociology and social work, political science development and disability studies.

This novel treats the two themes of incurable diseases and euthanasia at various levels to bring into focus a web of dense arguments legal and medical woven together that never tire the readers in their attempts to grapple with issues of human suffering, disease and death and its over-arching subject of sympathy, pity and humanity. To lend credence to all the impressive arguments, the novel draws parallels from real life situations and cases that made possible a debate on physician-assisted suicides and importance of human dignity and right to life and death.

Now students, general readers, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and others seeking to learn more about the history and progress of the disability rights movement can turn to a valuable new reference book, The ABC-CLIO Companion to the Disability Rights Movement. The book is designed as a general introduction to the many varied influences on the growth of this movement, including notable individuals, some of whom will be familiar to general readers, while others remain virtually unknown outside of the communities they have affected. Here, through fascinating biographical narratives, their contributions are highlighted. Nearly 500 alphabetically arranged entries explore landmark laws and court cases, prominent figures, historic events, issues, notable programs, key concepts, and centers of disability culture and education. With a detailed chronology, extensive cross-referencing, illustrations, and a subject index, this volume is an exceptionally useful reference for anyone seeking to better understand the people and events shaping the American disability rights movement.

Disability is an increasingly vital contemporary issue in British social policy and particularly so in the area of education. "Education, Disability and Social Policy" brings together for the first time unique perspectives from leading thinkers including senior academics, opinion formers, policy makers and school leaders to explore these issues. Key issues included are: the implications of the law and international human rights frameworks; what these developments in policy will mean for schools and school leaders; how Governments can ensure that disabled children and young people are benefiting from wider efforts to tackle inequalities in the education system, such as widening access to higher education; what changes are needed in the design of the curriculum and qualifications; and, what needs to be done for children who are being failed by the current education system, including those with uncertain futures or children with Autism. The book is a milestone in social policy studies, of enduring interest to students, academics, policy makers, parents and campaigners alike.

The study of disability and its clinical treatment has become exponentially more complex as ever more interventions are developed that increase the life span. Consequently, developmental challenges facing people with disabilities and their families change throughout a lifetime.Unlike other texts, which concentrate only on the childhood years, "Disability and the Family Life Cycle" covers the entire life span within the family context, emphasizing maturational issues, with each chapter focusing on a different period of life. "Disability and the Family Life Cycle" is the only book to cover such topics as adult sons and daughters with disabilities, the developmental needs of the disabled elderly, and the needs of spouses and siblings.

In this accessible introduction to the study of Disability Arts and Culture, Petra Kuppers foregrounds themes, artists and theoretical concepts in this diverse field. Complete with case studies, exercises and questions for further study, the book introduces students to the work of disabled artists and their allies, and explores artful responses to living with physical, cognitive, emotional or sensory difference. Engaging readers as cultural producers, Kuppers provides useful frameworks for critical analysis and encourages students to explore their own positioning within the frames of gender, race, sexuality, class and disability. Comprehensive and accessible, this is an essential handbook for undergraduate students or anyone interested in disabled bodies and minds in theatre, performance, creative writing, art and dance.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"The writings of Rubin, Mukhopadhyay, and all of the contributors are testament to the need to embrace a 'disability consciousness' in seeking educational and therapeutic options for autistic persons so that they can achieve their full potential. While Biklen refrains from extensive analysis of his contributors' words, his book is truly valuable in its straightforward presentation of the voices of autistic persons speaking not only for but as themselves."
--"Disability Studies Quarterly"

"Disagrees with the common picture of autism, presenting chapters written by those with autism themselves--including those considered most severely disabled within the world of autism--to present a personalized view of how autism is experienced by those diagnosed. . . . A 'must' for any who understand the autistic experience."
--"Bookwatch"

"Biklen's tenacity is to be admired."
--"CHOICE"

aThe prevailing view of autism and disability is redefined in this beautifully written book. Can you ask for more than to inform, inspire, challenge, and help to create new ways of understanding? "Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone" forces us to confront misunderstanding, misperceptions, and lack of knowledge, and to rethink disability and autism. It demands that we embrace people who act, communicate, and socialize differently. I love this book!a
--Jan Nisbet, Director, Institute on Disability

aAustism and the Myth of the Person Alone is one of those rare professional books that causes one to pause and consider what it tells us about our literature, our field, and, perhaps, ourselves...Biklen has given us a fascinating, thoughtful and, most important, essential book by including insights, experiences, and perspectives of individuals with autism to add to the canon.a
--"American Association on Mental Retardation"

Autism has been defined by experts as a developmental disorder affecting social and communication skills as well as verbal and nonverbal communication. It is said to occur in as many as 2 to 6 in 1,000 individuals. This book challenges the prevailing, tragic narrative of impairment that so often characterizes discussions about autism.

Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone seriously engages the perspectives of people with autism, including those who have been considered as the most severely disabled within the autism spectrum. The heart of the book consists of chapters by people with autism themselves, either in an interview format with the author or written by themselves. Each author communicates either by typing or by a combination of speech and typing. These chapters are framed by a substantive introduction and conclusion that contextualize the book, the methodology, and the analysis, and situate it within a critical disability studies framework. The volume allows a look into the rich and insightful perspectives of people who have heretofore been thought of as uninterested in the world.

The Thing. Daredevil. Captain Marvel. The Human Fly. Drawing on DC and Marvel comics from the 1950s to the 1990s, and marshaling insights from three burgeoning fields of inquiry in the humanities--disability studies, death and dying studies, and comics studies-- Jose Alaniz seeks to redefine the contemporary understanding of the superhero. Beginning in the Silver Age, the genre increasingly challenged and complicated its hypermasculine, quasi-eugenicist biases through such disabled figures as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and the Doom Patrol.

Alaniz traces how the superhero became increasingly vulnerable, ill, and mortal in this era. He then proceeds to a reinterpretation of characters and series--some familiar (Superman), some obscure (She-Thing). These genre changes reflected a wider awareness of related body issues in the postwar U.S. as represented by hospice, death with dignity, and disability rights movements. The persistent highlighting of the body's "imperfection" comes to forge a predominant aspect of the superheroic self. Such moves, originally part of the Silver Age strategy to stimulate sympathy, enhance psychological depth, and raise the dramatic stakes, developed further in such later series as "The Human Fly, Strikeforce: Morituri," and the landmark graphic novel "The Death of Captain Marvel," all examined in this volume. Death and disability, presumed routinely absent or denied in the superhero genre, emerge to form a core theme and defining function of the Silver Age and beyond."

The first volume presents a collection of exciting papers exploring several new areas of disability research. The contributions include: examination of the media representation of disability and coverage of disability policy issues which gives an understanding of the far reaching impact of the fourth estate; an historical analysis of the correspondence between the identifier of Down syndrome and Darwin that lends insights into the development of interpretations of mental retardation particularly Down syndrome as a throwback to the more primitive nature of man; analysis of hospital discharge data which demonstrates that persons with chronic conditions and impairments are more likely than those without to need hospitalization for injuries resulting from violence; and an overview of voting behavior among persons with disabilities. Subsequent volumes will focus on specific subjects related to disability issues.

'...this book makes a cogent yet impassioned argument that the discourse of care and caring is inappropriate...It deserves to be widely read, discussed and acted upon.' - Journal of Gender Studies;'The author...has produced a piece of research that not only needs to be read and acted upon by as many people as possible, but which is written in a style that is digestible and enjoyable to read.' - Jim Thomas, Nursing Times;'This is the clearest, most compelling book on what disabled people want from 'community care' that I have ever read,...it is destined to become one of the most influential pieces of writing in this area.' - S. Baldwin, Director, Social Policy Research Unit, York 'This is an important study which examines independent living both as the expressed wish of disabled people and as a central objective of Government policy...Let's hope all those involved in community care don't just read it but make sure it changes their provision and practice.' - Michael Oliver, Professor of Disability Studies, University of Greenwich 'This is quite simply a marvellous text. It will boost the morale of disabled people, and widen the thinking of non-disabled policy-makers and professional

Disability and Inequality:Socioeconomic Imperatives and Public Policy in Jamaica explores the lived experiences of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Jamaica, examining measurable socioeconomic deficits that establish PWDs are more likely to experience inferior education, training, and labor market outcomes compared to persons without disabilities. The author provides an evidence-based, theoretically grounded, and implementable public policy framework, called Framework of Key Determinants for Political and Socioeconomic Inclusion of PWDs, which advances anti-discrimination legislation and a twin-track policy schema with interconnected enablers of human rights. Using this framework, Jamaica, the Caribbean, and other Southern countries looking for methods and strategies to fulfill commitments set out by the United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will find approaches to sustain existing progress, and address structural systemic deficits which continue to deny PWDs long-term sustainable development.

What can society learn about disability through the way it is portrayed in TV, films and plays?

This insightful and accessible text explores and analyses the way disability is portrayed in drama, and how that portrayal may be interpreted by young audiences. Investigating how disabilities have been represented on stage in the past, this book discusses what may be inferred from plays which feature disabled characters through a variety of critical approaches.

In addition to the theoretical analysis of disability in dramatic literature, the book includes two previously unpublished playscripts, both of which have been performed by secondary school aged students and which focus on issues of disability and its effects on others. The contextual notes and discussion which accompany these plays and projects provide insights into how drama can contribute to disability education, and how it can give a voice to students who have special educational needs themselves.

Other features of this wide-ranging text include:

• an annotated chronology that traces the history of plays that have featured disabled characters
• an analysis of how disability is used as a dramatic metaphor
• consideration of the ethics of dramatising a disabled character
• critical accounts of units of work in mainstream school seeking to raise disability awareness through engagement with practical drama and dramatic texts
• a description and evaluation of a drama project in a special school.

In tackling questions and issues that have not, hitherto, been well covered, Drama, Disability and Education will be of enormous interest to drama students, teachers, researchers and pedagogues who work with disabled people or are concerned with raising awareness and understanding of disability.

This timely book is about raising awareness of the rights of disabled people to full equality and participation in all areas. It aims to show that disability is an issue of concern to all of us. It is for university faculty staff teaching courses on education law and policy and serves as a resource for students conducting research, government officials, and professionals in these fields.

This collection brings together scholarship and creative writing that brings together two of the most innovative fields to emerge from critical and cultural studies in the past few decades: Disability studies and performance studies. It draws on writings about such media as live performance art, photography, silent film, dance, personal narrative and theatre, using such diverse perspectives and methods as queer theory, gender, feminist, and masculinity studies, dance studies, as well as providing first publication of creative writings by award-winning poets and playwrights. This book was based on a special issue of Text and Performance Quarterly.

Parenting is always a vital and challenging task. Even more vital and challenging is the task of parenting a child with a disability. When there is more than one child in the family, all parents want to share their time, energy, and love with all their children--and all siblings sometimes wonder if they are being treated fairly. When one child in a family has a disability, all this becomes more complex. Parents and sisters and brothers often feel that for them, It isn't fair.

Selected and compiled from two decades of The Exceptional Parent magazine, "It Isn't Fair " reveals first-hand the myriad feelings of normal brothers and sisters at all stages as they grapple with caretaking, frustration, powerlessness, jealousy, guilt, and worry about their special siblings. Breaking the wall of silence that deference has imposed on their experiences, here are the siblings of the child with autism, the child injured at birth, the child institutionalized after many years at home. Parents offer their own experiences and perspectives on their children, and they illustrate the importance of sharing information within the family. The editors also include professional commentary.