Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

This week the government launched Ask, Don’t Assume, a campaign to encourage the public to ask before trying to assist disabled people. However, Disability Rights UK accused them of “purple washing” and called the government “murderous” in a post on X. We also speak to disability rights campaigner Dr Amy Kavanagh, who fears it will encourage invasive questions. Mik Scarlett joins Nikki Fox to talk through your feedback about last week’s episode and our very own Emma Tracey’s new upcoming episode of The Climate Question all about disabled people's safety. And do you know how to be more penguin? If not, find out from Hamzeh who talks about his new play, Penguin. It follows his life from a village in Syria, to a Jordanian refugee camp, and his current home in Gateshead in the North-East of England. Sound recording and mixing by Mike Regaard and Dave O’Neill. Produced by Beth Rose, Alix Pickles and Drew Hyndman. The editor was Damon Rose and the exec editor was Jonathan Aspinwall. "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" will bring you the latest episode on your smart speaker. Please X us on @bbcaccessall or email accessall@bbc.co.uk

Budgets are tight at local authorities across the country and this week, Bristol City Council launched a consultation on what it calls its ‘Fair and Affordable Care Policy’. Some residents fear the policy, if implemented, could see them relocated to care homes if that’s seen as “best value” to the wider community. We speak to Mark Williams, a Bristol resident and part of the Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living group and Mikey Erhardt who is a campaigner from Disability Rights UK.Strictly Come Dancing is back for 2023 and, for the first time, the opening episode was audio described as it was being broadcast. We take a listen to it, and Emma looks at the reaction amongst the blind community on social media. And it’s been five years in the making, but a brand new whodunit has been released in London. Imposter 22 is co-created by learning disabled and autistic actors. We speak to Charlene Salter who has been involved since the beginning.Due to unforeseen circumstances, Emma Tracey presents this week’s show with members of the production team putting in an appearance.Sound recording and mixing by Dave O’Neill. Produced by Beth Rose, Emma Tracey, Jack Taylor, Drew Hyndman and guest Keiligh Baker. The editor was Damon Rose. Exec editor Jonathan AspinwallTell your smart speaker “Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All” and you’ll get the very latest edition. Or subscribe to Access All via BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. On the X platform we’re @bbcaccessall, Instagram bbcaccessall and you can email accessall@bbc.co.uk

This podcast episode explores access in Japan and features influencer Lucy Edwards discussing her experience with a robot guide dog. The debate around railway ticket office closures and their impact on disabled people is also covered. Additionally, the episode highlights the decline of disabled individuals in STEM jobs and features interviews with disabled scientists. The hosts praise Lucy Edwards and her recent wedding, as well as her travel show in Japan.

This week, out-of-the-blue, the government released a consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment, which it had previously announced it would scrap. Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey unravel what it could mean for you with James Taylor, executive director of strategy at the charity Scope. New BBC Two programme, Helping Our Teens, shows child behavioural expert Marie Gentles assisting school children at risk of permanent exclusion and those with other emotional support needs. We talk to Marie about her methods and also to Jayliyah (and her mum) who are also on the TV programme. Jayliyah was given a diagnosis of ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) and we look at her new found success. Writer and wheelchair-user Lucy Webster has just released her book - The View From Down Here. She discusses what she calls "sexist ableism" and how she goes about sacking her personal assistants when things start to go wrong... Sound recording and mixing by the talented Dave O'Neill. Produced by Beth Rose, Emma Tracey and Keiligh Baker. The editor was Damon Rose. Exec editor Jonathan Aspinwall. Tell your smart speaker "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" and you'll get the very latest edition. It's so simple it's ridiculous. Or subscribe to Access All via BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. On the X platform we're @bbcaccessall and you can email accessall@bbc.co.uk

Gail Porter's most recent incarnation is in comedy and storytelling related to her experiences of mental ill health, homelessness and hair loss - something she likes to share in the hope it helps other people. Emma Tracey grabbed an interview with her in Edinburgh recently. Sisters, Hermon and Heroda Berhane are fashion influencers. They are also identical twins and are deaf. They had no idea that sign language or Deaf culture existed until they arrived in the UK from their original home in Africa, but they soon took it all on board. Find out more about them in our interview. You can visit them on the web here: beinghermonheroda.com This is the last of our summer interview editions. Access All returns to its usual form next week. We hope you've enjoyed the difference, who wants news in late August, right? Mixed by Emma Crowe. Producers: Keiligh Baker, Rebecca Grisedale-Sherry, Emma Tracey and Beth Rose. Editor Damon Rose. "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" and you'll get the very latest edition played at you down your smart speaker. And get your pals and colleagues to subscribe on BBC Sounds or wherever you like to get your podcasts.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is in full swing as Nikki Fox joins Emma Tracey in Scotland to put on a show at Dynamic Earth in front of a live festival audience! Comedian Joe Wells reveals how he decided to become King of the Autistics and the unusual way he discovered he was autistic in the first place. Mental health advocate, comedian and writer Juliette Burton confesses that while the rest of the UK “got into Wordle and banana bread” during lockdown, she got into neuroscience as she tried to figure out how her brain works. And Australian actor Sam Brewer has been wowing crowds with his play described by some as a “woke farce” which changes peoples’ perceptions through the power of comedy. The problem is, the play has a name that simply cannot be said on a BBC podcast… Recorded by, and with huge thanks to the BBC Edinburgh Festivals team. Mixed by Dave O’Neill Produced by Beth Rose, Keiligh Baker and Emma Tracey The editor is Damon Rose Email: accessall@bbc.co.uk and Google us for the latest transcripts. Find us on BBC Sounds, smart speakers and Five Live early on Monday mornings.

Musician Victoria Canal won the Ivor Novello Rising Star award in May, and has built an army of fans since supporting Hozier on tour around the UK this summer. She tells Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey how it felt to have Coldplay’s Chris Martin praise her songwriting, why she’d love to collaborate with The 1975 and how she found her sound by adapting her technique on the guitar. Plus, Victoria gets deep about the experience of writing about her body for the first time, and how it felt as someone with a limb difference, to hear ten thousand people sing her lyrics back at her. Victoria’s UK headline tour starts in September before she sets out on the road across Europe and the US. Actor Tommy Jessop made a big splash in the TV series EVERYONE was talking about – Line of Duty. When the show wrapped however, the phone stopped ringing. So, Tommy decided if he wanted to be a lead actor in a film, he was going to have to make it happen himself. ‘Tommy Goes To Hollywood’ is the new BBC Two documentary which tells the story of Tommy in Tinseltown. Tommy and his big brother, Emmy-nominated documentary maker Will Jessop, tell Emma and Nikki what happened when they tried to break America. You can get Tommy’s book ‘A Life Worth Living: Acting, Activism and Everything Else’ from any good bookshop. Recorded and mixed by Dave O'Neill, Produced by Beth Rose, Keiligh Baker and Rebecca Grisedale-Sherry. The researcher was Efe Imoyin-Omene. The editor is Damon Rose. Email: accessall@bbc.co.uk and Google us for the latest transcripts. Find us on BBC Sounds, smart speakers, and 5 Live early on Monday mornings. Nikki Fox is the BBC's disability correspondent who can also be seen on The One Show.

When education finishes, where do young disabled adults with complex needs find their home and a fulfilling life? One couple from Surrey have, with council backing, set-up a residential care home where disabled people own their own accommodation and enjoy stimulating pastimes. We speak to Sally Lawrence, founder of the home, Linden Farm, and Sarah London, a mum who has just submitted the paperwork to try and set one up for her son and others to live in. Samantha Renke joins Nikki Fox to discuss the latest in TV culture: A new dating show hits Netflix for people with Down's syndrome. Snow White's new diverse companions, as one newspaper puts it, are no longer dwarfs. And Hugh Grant, definitely not someone with dwarfism, is now an Oompa-Loompa. And TikTok star Fats Timbo is a celebrity captain in the Superhero Series, a para-sports event. She joins us to tell us more about it, and about her new empowered world as an influencer where she turns frustrating disability moments into video skits. Recorded and mixed by Dave O'Neill, Produced by Beth Rose, Keiligh Baker and Rebecca Grisedale-Sherry. The researcher was Efe Imoyin-Omene. The editor is Damon Rose. Email: accessall@bbc.co.uk and Google us for the latest transcripts, find us on BBC Sounds (on Alexa too), and 5 live early on Monday mornings. Nikki Fox is the BBC's disability correspondent who can also be seen on The One Show.

If you have problems with your bones, have you thought about drinking more milk? Rude and often silly questions can be an annoying part of everyday disabled life, but did you know this microaggression actually has a name? It’s called ‘ablesplaining’ and Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey have a lot to say about the annoying younger brother of mansplaining. Was your last medical appointment serene and relaxed or did you feel against the clock? A new survey of 1058 NHS frontline workers has revealed they feel the heat too with 71% saying they don’t have enough time to tend to their patients as they would like. Dr Georgie and Dan Scorer, from Mencap, offer up thoughts and solutions. And Elle McNicoll, the bestselling author behind A Kind Of Spark visits the studio to chat about writing, her amazing neurodiverse cast for the TV series and why office politics were so confusing in her early 20s (just a few short years ago). Produced by: Beth Rose, Keiligh Baker, Rebecca Grisedale-Sherry, Emma Tracey Research by: Efe Imoyin-Omene Recorded and mixed by: Dave O’Neill Edited by: Jonathan AspinwallEmail accessall@bbc.co.uk and say "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" for your smart-speaker to play the latest programme we've made.

The BBC's Alex Taylor investigated 100 airlines to see how many offer free or discounted airline tickets for personal assistants to travel. Industry guidelines recommend it, but how many really follow that guidance? Melody Powell joins us to talk about the unfairness of the situation.Felix Klieser is an internationally renowned French horn player and is about to make his debut at the BBC Proms. Born without arms, he has perfected how to play the instrument with his feet. We dig deep to find out what a problem solver he really is. And presenters Nikki Fox and Emma Tracey discuss Channel 4's new adaptive fashionable clothing show (yes, I really did write that, and it IS what you think it is) and how much they enjoyed it. Studio Manager was Gareth Jones and sound mixer was Ethan Connolly-Forster. Produced by: Beth Rose, Keiligh Baker, Jack Taylor with intern power from Efe. The editor was Damon Rose. Email accessall@bbc.co.uk and say "Alexa, ask the BBC for Access All" for your smart-speaker to play the latest programme we've made.