Directory: Disability Living [Lincolnshire Post-Polio Network]

Disability Living

Disability Index

As well as covering Social Security information resources this section also includes Health Insurance resources and other aspects of Independent Living.

International
Information and Services (Independent)
UK
Magazines & Periodicals | Information and Services (Independent) | Organisations and Agencies (Government)
USA
Information and Services (Independent) | Organisations and Agencies (Government)

Persons with post-polio syndrome strive to maintain financial independence, yet this goal becomes difficult to achieve when you are experiencing new physical limitations or conserving energy.

Kathryn R. B. McGowan. Playing the Social Security Benefits Card. Managing Post-Polio A Guide to Living Well with Post-Polio Syndrome. Ed. Lauro S. Halstead, M.D. NRH Press. 1998;12:177.

International

Information and Services (Independent)
Institute on Independent Living | International [Disability] News Ticker

Institute on Independent Living
http://www.independentliving.org/: This Sweden based Institute "serves self-help organizations of disabled people who work for equal opportunities, self-determination and self-respect." It introduces itself as follows:

The Institute's purpose is to promote the opportunities of persons with disabilities to gain more personal and political power, self-determination, full participation and equality, both in Sweden and internationally through educational activities. These activities may consist of the production and dissemination of educational materials and information, planning and organizing of courses, seminars and study visits.

The Institute is to work in close cooperation with other organizations which support these aims at the local, national and international level, including developing countries. The Institute shall cooperate and coordinate its activities with similar centers for research, training and information which promote self-determination for persons with disabilities.

The site has a useful document library including in Adobe Acrobat PDF format the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and European Disability Forum - Guide to the Amsterdam Treaty.

International [Disability] News Ticker
http://www.abilityinfo.com/ticker.html: "Breaking news stories from the disability field of work and study". Updated daily. Covers Canada, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Russia, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, South Korea, Lebanon, Greece, Albania, India, China, Iraq, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and Tech|Net News. Part of the Disability Information for Students and Professionals site.

UK
Magazines & Periodicals | Information and Services (Independent) | Organisations and Agencies (Government)

Magazines & Periodicals
Disability Now

Disability Now
http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/: Monthly magazine serving the UK disabled community. Available from newsagents. Selected articles and features from each issue including the current are freely available at their web site.

Information and Services (Independent)
The Lincolnshire Association of People with Disabilities (L.A.P.D.) | DIAL UK
Disability Alliance | Disabled Living Foundation | Ricability
National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux | Weasel Words | Ferret Information Systems

The Lincolnshire Association of People with Disabilities (L.A.P.D.)
http://www.lapd.freeserve.co.uk/
Site no longer available.: "The Lincolnshire Association of People with Disabilities (L.A.P.D.) has been up and running since 1996 within Lincolnshire. Its aims are simple, they are to raise the profile of all disabled people and to highlight issues affecting all disabled people within the county."

DIAL UK
http://members.aol.com/dialuk/index.htm
Site no longer available.: "Throughout the United Kingdom, more than one hundred DIALs, (Disablement Information and Advice Lines), provide information and advice that makes a difference to thousands of people with disabilities. DIAL UK is the national organisation for the DIAL network, and the only UK organisation providing services to disability information and advice providers."

Disability Alliance
http://www.disabilityalliance.org/: The Alliance was set up in 1974. Their principal aim is to relieve the poverty and improve the living standards of disabled people. Their key publication is the Disability Rights Handbook. Updated annually, it has a print run of 29,000 per year and is acknowledged as the most comprehensive reference guide on social security benefits and services for disabled people. It is also available as a CD-ROM.

Disabled Living Foundation
http://www.dlf.org.uk/: "To make everyday life easier for people with disabilities, older peoples and carers, by giving impartial advice about equipment for overcoming problems in daily living".
Their web site offers an extensive list of online guides covering a wide range of equipment. The section listing links to other disability resources is also well worth a visit as it provides very good descriptions of each resource.

Ricability
http://www.ricability.org.uk/: Ricability is the trading name of the Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (RICA). They are a national research charity dedicated to providing independent information of value to disabled and elderly consumers. Under their trading name of Ricability they research and publish consumer guides.

National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
http://www.nacab.org.uk/: Press releases and reports available online. Requires registration which is free.

Weasel Words
http://www.weasel.cwc.net/index.htm
Site no longer available.
was http://homepages.enterprise.net/rathfelder/public_html.htm: Martin Rathfelder trained as a Welfare Rights Officer. He prefaces his interesting and useful site: "You will find here some obscure material about the British Health and Social Security systems."

Ferret Information Systems
http://www.ferret.co.uk/
Commercial: "Britain's largest supplier of advisory systems in the field of welfare benefits and related law". This site includes an on-line Quick Benefits Advisor (free of charge) and also a full subscription service to their programs on-line where you will be able to pay per calculation securely over the internet by credit card and other methods.

Organisations and Agencies (Government)
Benefits Agency | The Disability Rights Commission (DRC)
Public Records Office Hospital Records Database
The Social Security and Child Support Commissioners
Working Benefits | Central Adjudication Services (CAS)

Department of Works and Pensions
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/
was http://www.dss.gov.uk/ba/: The Benefits Agency was replaced by the Department of Works and Pensions.

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC)
http://www.drc-gb.org/

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is an independent body set up by the Government to help secure civil rights for disabled people. Its statutory duties are:

To work to eliminate discrimination against disabled people.
To promote equal opportunities for disabled people.
To encourage good practice in the treatment of disabled people.
To advise the Government on the working of disability legislation (the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 and the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999).

Public Records Office Hospital Records Database
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/
was http://hospitalrecords.pro.gov.uk/

A Joint Project of the Wellcome Trust and the Public Record Office. This database provides information on the existence and location of the records of the hospitals in the U.K. Currently over 2,800 entries can be found by searching the database using the following simple enquiry screen. The information has been obtained mainly from questionnaires completed by local authority record offices, supplemented by further research. A small number of hospitals which maintain their own archives have been included, but coverage of records still held by hospitals is limited. Information held on the database includes:

The administrative details of the hospitals, and their status or type.
The location and covering dates of administrative and clinical records.
The existence of lists, catalogues or other finding aids.

This database does not provide access to details of individual patient records. Where it does help is in providing an indication of the type and historical coverage of records on a hospital by hospital basis.

The Social Security and Child Support Commissioners
http://www.hywels.demon.co.uk/commrs/
Site no longer available.: The Social Security and Child Support Commissioners are the specialised part of the Judiciary appointed to determine appeals on law under the Social Security and Child Support Acts. This includes legislation covering disability benefits. This site provides detailed information on many aspects of the Commisioners' work.

Working Benefits
http://www.workingbenefits.dss.gov.uk/
This site closed down (see below).: This Website explains Working Benefits and how they may help.
This is the former website of the Working Benefits advertising campaign which ran from June to July 1998.

Central Adjudication Services (CAS)
http://www.cas.gov.uk/
This site closed down (see below).: Central Adjudication Services (CAS) is an independent body, based in Leeds and London, which supports the Chief Adjudication Officer and the Chief Child Support Officer in carrying out his statutory and other functions. The site offers a number of useful reports in pdf format including Neligan's Digest, written by the staff of CAS, which is a summary of important reported decisions of the Social Security Commissioners.
The Central Adjudication Services closed on 26 November 1999. Information about the Social Security Commissioners can be found at the Department of Works and Pensions web site. In particular, Neligan's Digest referred to above can be found at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/docs/neligans/index.asp.

USA
Information and Services (Independent) | Organisations and Agencies (Government)

Information and Services (Independent)
Disability Resources | American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT)
disABILITY Information and Resources | Access Unlimited

Disability Resources
http://www.disabilityresources.org/
From the publishers of Disability Resources Monthly.: "Most people with disabilities can live, learn, love, work and play independently and in the mainstream of society, but they often need information to achieve their goals: information about legal rights, financial resources, assistive technology, employment opportunities, housing modifications, childrearing and educational options, transportation and mobility services, and more. This information is available from a wide variety of resources - nonprofit organizations, government agencies, books, pamphlets, magazines, videotapes, and online - often at little or no cost. Finding it, however, isn't always so easy.
Disability Resources is a nonprofit organization that monitors, reviews, and reports on these resources every day. We disseminate information about them to libraries, disability organizations, health and social service professionals, consumers and family members."
Online resources, including The DRM WebWatcher, our easy-to-use online subject guide to the best disability resources on the 'Net, and The DRM Regional Resource Directory, our guide to state and local agencies and organizations."

American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT)
http://www.adapt.org/: "Nationally ADAPT focuses on promoting services in the community instead of warehousing people with disabilities in institutions and nursing homes. Attendant services (help with things like eating, dressing, toileting, moving from wheelchair to bed, etc.) are the cornerstone to community based services for people with severe disabilities. ADAPT is working to get 25% of the Medicaid long term care funds redirected to pay for a national, mandated attendant services program."
"ADAPT played a major role in gaining passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, particularly in ADA's stringent requirements relating to accessible transit, and its being seen as a civil rights law. Passage of this bill has meant victory for ADAPT in our struggle for lifts on buses."

disABILITY Information and Resources
http://www.makoa.org/index.htm
was http://www.eskimo.com/~jlubin/disabled/: These pages were created and are maintained solely by Jim Lubin, who is a C2 quadriplegic, completely paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe.

Access Unlimited
http://www.accessunlimited.com/
Commercial: Adaptive vehicle modifications. Site includes The Disability Link Barn, a compilation of over 650 disability resources on the Internet, arranged by category, disability, etc.

Organisations and Agencies (Government)
The Access Board | disAbility.gov | Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
Social Security Online

The Access Board
http://www.access-board.gov/: Independent federal agency whose primary mission is accessibilty for people with disabilities. Full title is United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

DisabilityInfo.gov
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/
was http://www.disAbility.gov/: "Bringing Information on U.S. Federal Programs, Services, and Resources to Americans With Disabilities and Their Families".
According to The Lancet http://www.thelancet.com/ (Click of the week site):

The US government has created disAbility.gov, which aims to be a "one-stop information resource for people with disabilities". Although US-centric, the site is broad in scope and links to websites maintained by organisations outside of the US government; thus, much of its material is relevant to users worldwide. Of particular interest are sections on air carrier access rules for people with disabilities, information on assistive technologies and product accessibility, and emergency preparedness. The site also offers disability statistics, health information, and advice on civil rights and protections.

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
http://www.hcfa.gov/
Site no longer available.: The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) is the federal agency that administers the Medicare, Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Programs. The Medicare & Medicaid Program Manuals section offers numerous full text documents. In addition, HCFA announced a new Medicare site, http://www.medicare.gov/, in January 1999.

Social Security Online
http://www.ssa.gov/: Official site of the US Social Security Administration.

The Lincolnshire Post-Polio Network
Registered Charity No. 1064177
An Information Service for Polio Survivors and Medical Professionals

The inclusion of a resource in this directory does not necessarily constitute endorsement or approval by the Lincolnshire Post-Polio Network.

Document preparation: Chris Salter, Original Think-tank, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
Primary Document Reference: <URL:http://www.ott.zynet.co.uk/polio/lincolnshire/directory/disabled.html>
Alternate Document Reference: <URL:http://www.zynet.co.uk/ott/polio/lincolnshire/directory/disabled.html>
Last modification: 19th September 2007.
Last information content change: 19th September 2007.