I will be discussing some off these initiatives later in my presentation. The afore mentioned statistic, in my opinion, is in part due to misconceptions, prejudice and stereotyping against people with disabilities by employers. In the main however, it is more to do with a lack of information and awareness, compounded by an education system which also presents barriers towards people with disabilities. I would like to show a short video clip which emphasises the difference between these two models. Having seen that it might be a good time to undertake a little exercise in order to gain an insight into your own perceptions of disability.
Lets now go on to look at another video clip which amplifies the message behind our exercise.
This paper will attempt to explore the difference between the two models and utilise my own experiences, being one of the people with the severest impairments engaged in open employment. I will be aiming to illustrate how, even with such impairments, it is possible to breakthrough the barriers and gain a position in main stream employment, as well as occupying many posts to assist in the whole process of improving the quality of life of people with disabilities. This slide gives an idea if my lifestyle. I suspect it is worth saying at this stage that my ultimate goal is to witness a seed change in the UK culture, in order for it to accommodate people with disabilities being handed the power to create a society which is not discriminative and affords equal opportunities in all areas of life to this particular sector of our society. Currently, in general terms, this is not the case and decisions are made for people with disabilities, not by them.