Ms Paula Soraghan:

We in ILMI are passionate about mainstream supports for young disabled people. We understand and recognise that a lot of work has been done thus far on inclusion and there have been a lot of wins. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go, unfortunately. We find that for many young disabled people, because disability is still understood predominantly as a medical and personal issue, they can feel as though they are the problem. That issue has been raised time and again within the youth collective, as has the need to move away from that and to have a mechanism whereby there will be a pathway for DPOs to engage with schools and parents as a way of support to break down those barriers. If a young disabled person constantly believes he or she is the problem and just needs to accept matters as they are to overcome the challenges, he or she will keep on believing that and, unfortunately, continue to be subjected to limited expectations, and that will be the case within education and beyond. Unfortunately, in-school supports are just in school and do not exist outside of school.

We need robust resourcing and investment in DPOs locally and nationally, and within that, personal assistance service supports for disabled people who need them. This applies especially to young disabled people because if there are personal assistance service supports in schools and that is then the case outside of school as well, that will lead to a paradigm shift in the culture of school and the minds of both young disabled people and non-disabled pupils and teachers such that disability is not a personal tragedy but a social and political issue. When barriers are removed for young disabled people and pathways are made accessible, that is a way of future-proofing for everybody and making opportunities accessible for everyone. We need to think ahead and put the structures in place to make that a reality. It will take time but it is definitely worth investing in.