Who would be the first person you’d think of if I asked you to name a famous disabled person? Paralympic athlete and politician, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson? TV presenter, Invictus games athlete, ex-Royal Marine, JJ Chalmers, currently in Strictly Come Dancing? Singer/songwriter, Stevie Wonder? Actor, writer and TV personality, Stephen Fry? Paralympic swimmer, Ellie Simmonds?
The World Health Organisation estimates that 15% of the world’s population is disabled, with 2-4% experiencing significant difficulties in functioning. In the UK, the last statistics available are from 2014. In that year, the Department of Work and Pensions estimated that there were 11 million people in the UK with a limiting long-term illness, impairment or disability.
Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Three disabling conditions are automatically covered by the Act: cancer; HIV/AIDS; and Multiple Sclerosis. In relation to other capacities and health conditions, the Act defines disability as related to someone who ‘has a physical or mental impairment, and… the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on (person’s) ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’ The Act puts a duty on employers to facilitate reasonable adjustments at work to assist someone with disabilities to carry out work alongside their able-bodied colleagues. According to the Labour Force Survey, disabled people are now more likely to be employed than they were in 2002, but disabled people remain significantly less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people. The statistics from 2014 show that there is therefore a 30.1 percentage point gap between disabled and non-disabled people of working age, representing over 2 million people.
Disability does not mean incapacity and never has. With the focus on Disability History, below there is a list of famous figures from history who were disabled but who still made a significant impact on the events of their day.
Julius Caesar (100 BC -044 BC), Roman general and statesman: disability – epilepsy or possibly Trans-Ischaemic attacks
Claudius (010 BC – 054 AD), Roman Emperor 41-54 AD: disability: lower limb deformity giving rise to mobility issues, deafness and speech impediment
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), German composer: disability – increasing deafness from aged 26 onwards
George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), British aristocrat, renowned poet and satirist: disability – lower limb deformity, club foot
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), British nurse, public health pioneer and statistician: health was plagued over many years in the middle of her life when she was bed-ridden for long periods and possible additional mental health disorder
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British Politician, Prime Minister 1940-45 & 1951-55: disability – chronic depression
Helen Keller (1880-1968), American author, political activist and lecturer: disability – deaf and blind
Franklin D Roosevelt (1882-1945), US President 1933-45: disability – ongoing symptoms following contracting polio in 1921, wheelchair user for many of his later years
Disability Information Links:
Kent Union has put together a series of online events to mark Disability History Month
Disability as a protected characteristic: Equality Act 2010 on legislation.co.uk
Disability Facts & Figures: Department of Work and Pensions on gov.uk
10 Facts on Disability: World Health Organization website
Disability and Health: World Health Organization website
Social History of Learning Disability: Langdown Museum of Learning Disability website