UK Disability History Month

2024 Theme: Disability, Livelihood and Employment

UK Disability History Month (UKDHM) is an annual event which aims to promote disabled people's rights and their struggle for equality now and in the past.

This year, UKDHM will take place from 14 November – 20 December 2024.

Every year, UKDHM focuses on a theme. This year, the theme is Disability, Livelihood and Employment.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Disability Toolkit

The EDI disability toolkit provides advice, resources, and information assembled by the EDI Team and Staff with Disability Network on the following:

Learning Disabilities and Learning Difficulties (dyslexia, dyspraxia etc)

ADHD/ADD

Autism Spectrum disorder

Deaf/Hard of hearing

Blind/Partially sighted

Mental Health conditions (anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorder, bipolar, etc)

Physical impairments

If there is anything that you feel should be added to these pages, please get in touch with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team at equality@plymouth.ac.uk

University of Plymouth Tailored Adjustment Plan (TAP)

The University of Plymouth is committed to fostering an inclusive environment and committing to our legal duty to make reasonable workplace adjustments for staff with disabilities. As an employer we are committed to support all staff with reasonable adjustments regardless of whether they have a disability or long-term condition when required, to enable them to be their best. Our TAP is a formal, living document that records workplace adjustments agreed between the employee and their line manager.

Disability History Month at the Charles Seale-Hayne Library

As part of Disability History Month the Charles Seale-Hayne Library has a fantastic display on Level 1 containing a selection of books and some links to further information.

In addition to this the Disability History Month libguide has been released and as part of the month are promoting their Tech for Learning guide as well.

Neurodiversity, Capitalism and Socialism

Janine Booth is a workplace trade union representative and Co-Chair of the TUC Disabled Workers' Committee.

She is autistic, has an autistic son and is a walking advertisement for autism in the workplace.

In this 18-minute illustrated talk, first posted in November 2018, Janine looks at what the experience of autistic, dyslexic and other neurodivergent people is under capitalism, what socialism can offer and how we get there.

BBC Radio 4: What If Everyone Was Disabled?

“Every single day, I’m reminded of my disability. Yeah, it doesn’t stop me from doing much… but the reminders are always there."

Mat Fraser – writer, actor, rights activist, thalidomide survivor – isn’t afraid to challenge, to provoke and to ask awkward questions. Sometimes he allows his imagination to run riot. In this programme, he wonders how different things might be if the vast majority of people, rather than the minority, had a disability and assesses how far we’ve come with accessibility and inclusivity, particularly in the last two decades, as well as considering what’s stopping us from going further. Money, power, politics, legislation and technology all play their part, but what about social attitudes towards disability?