RADAR (Royal Association for Disability Rights) seeks to provide a national voice to people living with ill health, injury or disability and Deaf people in Britain. There are over 11 million of us in the UK who fall into one of these categories.
RADAR is led by disabled people. Over 75% of our Trustees must be disabled people - currently over 80% are.
We exist for anyone, of any age or background, who:-
• has a learning difficulty or learning disability
• has any kind of neurological condition (including autism, dyslexia, aphasia, ME, MS, stroke, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Tourette's Syndrome)
• has any kind of mental health condition (including anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder)
• has any kind of long term health condition that impacts on their lives – for example cancer, diabetes, sickle-cell anaemia or a heart condition
• has any kind of physical or sensory disability (including a dual sensory loss)
• is Deaf
• has any kind of disfigurement
• is HIV positive
• has experienced any kind of long term injury
Many of us consider ourselves to be disabled people, recognising that we are ‘disabled’ by barriers in society. This is called the ‘social model’ of disability. We are prevented from participating - in everything from employment to leisure - not by our impairment, but by barriers that can be removed: other people’s fears and prejudices, inaccessible IT, barriers in transport, the built environment or lack of simple support to take part. The ‘social model’ can be a revelation. It is not ‘a given’ that disabled people are disadvantaged: it can change! The reason that so many of us are out of work, living in poverty, isolated, unable to move freely around the country is that we face barriers and - once they are removed - we can seize opportunities and our lives can change.
Many others do not use the term ‘disabled people’ - and we respect the way people define their own experience. Deaf people, for example, are a cultural and linguistic minority; people with HIV often identify as living positively; we talk of learning difficulties as well as learning disabilities; and many people simply view their experiences in terms of having depression/diabetes/heart disease (or any other condition). 11 million people have hugely diverse experiences (and not just on disability – we come from all over the world, we are of every ethnicity, we are mixed race, we are older and younger, of every political view and cultural interest). We view the world in innumerable different ways. Our differences are our strengths.
The important thing is that by achieving equal rights for us all we can increase our opportunities to participate fully in our society. This is good for everyone – and indeed for the national economy. RADAR exists for a just and equal society – whose strength is human difference. We work with individuals, groups and policy makers to do things differently – and better.
Our Trustees have highly diverse experiences including learning disability, neuro-diversity, Deafness, visual impairment, long term health conditions, mobility impairment, etc. Around half of RADAR’s 18 staff are disabled people and they are highly diverse in ethnicity, faith, gender and sexual orientation.
We often use the phrases ‘people living with ill-health, injury or disability and Deaf people’ or ‘disabled people’ as a quick way to describe all the people we represent and work with.
The reason we started using the term ‘living with ill-health, injury or disability’ was because our research shows that less than half of the 11 million disabled people have any idea they are ‘disabled people’. If we communicate just by talking of ‘disabled people’ we fail to let them know their rights. A broader term means more people feel included.
We welcome feedback on the way we communicate to be as inclusive as possible. Please contact nisha.patel@radar.org.uk