Author: Delia Ferri – Co-Director of the ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University
At the end of this year, the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (EDS), which has shaped European Union (EU) disability policies for the last decade, is coming to an end. The 3rd of December 2020, which marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, seems the most apt time to reflect on what EU policies have achieved, but also to look ahead to the forthcoming Strategy 2021-2030.
Author: Derek Barter, ALL Institute, Department of Adult and Community Education, Maynooth University
The words ‘Education’ and ‘Joy’ do not sit naturally in the same sentence – at least that is what I have come to find. A few years ago, when our son was about eight or nine years old, I was preparing a PowerPoint slide for a talk on Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education. He read the slide and looked at me, his eyes brimming with fear and disappointment and said, ‘You mean school goes on forever?’ I reassured him that with luck and time off for good behaviour his sentence could be up in another eight years or so if that is what he wanted. School and Learning are not the same thing.
Author: Hilary Hooks, Department of Law, ALL Institute, Maynooth University
Earlier this year I was tasked with creating an accessible blogsite for the ALL Institute. While I welcomed the opportunity to do so, my background and expertise is that of an administrator, with little web accessibility experience. The process of making this blog site as accessible as possible has been a steep learning curve for me and I would like to share some of my new-found understanding of the issues and accessibility tools.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that access to “information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems” is a human right (Article 9 CRPD), and, among other things, requires States Parties to the Convention to ensure that websites are accessible to people with disabilities.
Author: Delia Ferri, ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University
We have decided to include a new section in this blog that will gather emotions and insights into people’s real lives.
We will learn about people’s habits, ways of seeing and doing, perceptions, reactions to norms and power-relations. We will learn about life trajectories, transitions and transformations during the course of a lifetime. We will also learn about turning points – critical moments in which people change their directions – where they take another pathway. In some we will learn about the way in which social structures, social lives and social technologies impact on people’s every-day experiences, and shape their contexts and their opportunities.
Authors: Katriona O’Sullivan, Serena Clark and Amy McGrane ALL Institute, Department of Psychology, Maynooth University
My lock-down experience
When the schools closed in April of 2020, I found myself in the most stressful parenting situation of my entire parenting life. I was left to manage the education needs of my 3 sons; all of whom were at very different stages of their education journey. My studious, stressed-out 15-year-old was about to sit his Junior Cert, while the 11-year-old was in 5th class and the carefree 16-year-old in 5th year. As the ‘educated’ parent in our house and the mother, I was suddenly expected to manage much more than I normally would have. I am already in charge of most of the shopping, cleaning etc. and now the home-schooling too. I remember looking at my husband from across the top of my son’s laptop, after several failed attempts to log-in to Aladdin, thinking – we are not going to make it through this unless something changes. I also remember celebrating the night they announced that the Junior Cert was cancelled AND the constant guilty feeling I had because I let them all sleep late so I could get my own work done. As an academic working in education, and researching technology, I really had no idea how much stress education can bring to a family. Likewise about how hard I would find it adding home-schooling onto the other burdens I carry as a women and mother. I know I am not alone. My friends, colleagues and family feel the same. I have chosen to share some of my personal and research observations from the last few months to highlight some of the gender disparities that are being exacerbated by the pandemic in many homes across the island of Ireland. (Dr Katriona O’Sullivan)
Author: Dr Emma McEvoy, Postdoctoral Researcher, SHAPES Project, ALL Institute, Department of Law, Maynooth University.
Dr. Emma McEvoy
Less than a year ago, the sudden and somewhat unpredicted outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across Europe pushed most national health systems to their limits. Healthcare workers faced the brunt of the pandemic, dealing with shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medical supplies, medicines and coping with Intensive Critical Units (ICU) bed shortages. The European Union (EU) as a whole was not prepared for the Covid-19 outbreak, and neither were any of the Member States. Society and the economy appeared to pause in time to support and allow front-line workers to navigate through the early chaos of the first wave of the pandemic. Many areas of society and the economy have yet to recover and re-start from this initial pause. This is also true of health systems. All EU countries, to some extent, paused or limited normal hospital operations, ranging from postponing routine cancer checks, to cancelling elective surgeries to some hospital day services.
Authors: Layla May and Deirdre Forde, ALL Institute, Maynooth University
This story was written by Layla May and supported by Deirdre Forde, who is a member of the ALL Institute, Maynooth University.
The lived experience piece authored by little Layla May aims to mark the World Diabetes Day, which is celebrated on 14th November every year. It also aims to raise awareness about children with diabetes and their experience.
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus Type 1 (T1DM) is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the pancreas stops making the hormone insulin. Insulin helps control blood glucose levels and allows glucose (from carbohydrate in the diet) to move from the blood into body cells for energy. The brain uses glucose as fuel so low blood glucose levels are dangerous in the short term and if not recognised and treated can result in collapse and seizure. High blood sugars can lead to other complications for someone with diabetes.
Deirdre Desmond, Mac MacLachlan and Delia Ferri, ALL Directors
Through this blog, we hope to offer new voices and new perspectives; providing up-to-date commentary and creative ideas; highlighting new projects which are person-centred, but which also engage with perhaps less personable systems, evidence-based policies and laws. We are interested in the application of ideas and appropriate technologies to empower people across their life course.
This blog, in line with the ALL Institute’s mission, promotes a comprehensive and human-rights based approach to social inclusion; locally, regionally and globally. It will feature a range of disciplines as well as interdisciplinary posts and commentary from the staff and researchers at the Institute as well as guest contributions, symposia, and media content.
We are particularly proud and happy to launch this blog today, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the ALL Institute. We also feel that, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, there would not be a better time to foster a dialogue on supporting and empowering people living with a disability or chronic illness, older people, or those marginalized from the benefits of mainstream society – to achieve equitable application of technological, personal, community and societal initiatives.
