Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

This year’s Ouch Christmas quiz features some very topical dilemmas and questions based on the biggest disability news and events of 2020. Actor Mat Fraser, comedian Rosie Jones and Paralympian ‘Hurricane’ Hannah Cockcroft fight it out for no prizes whatsoever as they share their take on the last 12 months. You’re shielding but your flatmate brings a stranger home from their work Christmas party. Do you get angry, or get even? Why is Mat looking for his special bell? And which contestant isn’t wearing trousers? Presented by Kate Monaghan and Simon Minty. Produced by Keiligh Baker and edited by Drew Miller Hyndman. Say to your smart speaker "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to get the latest show, and subscribe via BBC Sounds. Picture: Ouch logo

The first week of November saw the clocks go back and the highest levels of loneliness since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the Office for National Statistics. It said 4.2million people felt “always and often lonely” during that week, but previous studies have found disabled people are far more likely to feel lonely than non-disabled people. So, how do you battle feelings of isolation? BBC Ouch’s Emma Tracey spoke to award-winning bloggers, Elin Williams and Chloe Tear, and disability rights campaigner George Baker to find out their top-tips.Produced by Keiligh Baker and Drew Miller Hyndman.Say to your smart speaker "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to get the latest show, and subscribe via BBC Sounds.If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast, BBC Action Line has a list of organisations and charities offering advice and support.

The 1800 Seconds on Autism podcast is back by popular demand. Here’s the first episode, which is based on listener emails. Presenter Jamie's assistant Oli gets some appreciation, Jamie describes his game-changing new truck and we talk about paintball - a sport which allows you to REALLY focus: "Whilst you're out on the field playing, nobody is going to come and ask whether you want a sandwich." With Jamie Knight and Robyn Steward - with support plushies Lion and Henry the Bat always present. Featuring producer Emma Tracey and other regulars. Say to your smart speaker "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to get the latest show, and subscribe via BBC Sounds.

On the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act, BBC News Correspondent Nikki Fox asks three generations of disabled people about the impact it has had on their lives. Holly Scott-Gardner is a visually impaired student and campaigner who was a baby when the DDA came in. She has used disability rights law, now embodied in the Equality Act in most of the UK, and calls the process complicated. Mik Scarlet was a TV presenter in his mid-20s at the time and Phil Friend was 50 years old and working with businesses to improve accessibility. They were both campaigners for equality before there was any. They remember fighting to get the law passed, discuss the affect Coronavirus has had on disability rights and look forward to what the future might hold for disabled people.Presented by Nikki Fox. Produced by Emma Tracey and Keiligh Baker. Say to your smart speaker "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to get the latest show, and subscribe via BBC Sounds.

It's 1968 and Sue is in the toilet at a pop festival. Abortion, which has just been legalised, provides a moment of liberation. But for wheelchair user Sue, it also throws up difficult questions about her body and her beliefs. A whirlwind romance has left her pregnant. What should she do now?This story is part of CripTales, a series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970.Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each one places disabled voices centre stage.Originally recorded for television, BBC Ouch is sharing three of the monologues to mark 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act was passed.Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

In this monologue starring Liz Carr, Meg thinks her neighbour is a benefits cheat. She is compiling details about him in order to shop him for fraud. But, unexpectedly, he forges a friendship with her and encourages her to claim more benefits for herself.The Real Deal is part of CripTales, a series of fictional monologues based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each one places disabled voices centre stage.Originally recorded for television, BBC Ouch is sharing three of the monologues to mark 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act was passed.Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

In this monologue from the series CripTales, disabled actor Mat Fraser sits in the waiting room before an audition, dreading how it will turn out. He relives some of his best and worst moments in auditions in the past, taking us back to his childhood, where he unlocks the reasons for his fears, before finding the way to triumph. Or does he?CripTales is a series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each one places disabled voices centre stage.Originally recorded for television, BBC Ouch is sharing three of the monologues to mark 25 years since the Disability Discrimination Act was passed.Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

In 2004 BBC journalist and author Frank Gardner was shot six times by Islamist extremists while on a reporting job in Saudi Arabia.Against all the odds, he survived. His cameraman, Simon Cumbers, was killed.Nearly two decades on Frank revisits this part of his life to explore what it's like to suddenly become disabled, the physical pain he still feels in his legs 16 years on and how he manages the psychological impact of the attack.He also chats about the years he lived in Cairo and Bahrain, his latest spy novel and his new BBC documentary, Being Frank. Presented by Beth RoseSubscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

A crash in Morgan Fox's final season as a cyclist left him with fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. Then, an overdose of antibiotics given during his treatment led to almost total hearing loss. Fox says his engineering background helped him cope with deafness, then with learning to hear with a cochlear implant. Now he runs Ireland's first professional cycling programme where reasonable adjustments are in place. Presented by Harry Low. Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or say "Ask the BBC for Ouch" to your smart speaker.

From online learning to entire halls of residences being placed in lockdown, students across the country have found themselves at university in extremely testing circumstances. Those with a disability could potentially find it extra tough. BBC Ouch’s Keiligh Baker speaks to students from the University of Aberdeen, where more than 100 people tested positive for Covid-19 at the start of October. Bea is a third year linguistics student who worries disabled students are being treated as an afterthought by universities. She became convener of the Disabled Students Forum to help change that. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Esme is a fresher and lives opposite the halls of residence where everyone is in quarantine … Produced by Kirstie Brewer. Subscribe to this podcast on BBC Sounds or ask 'Ask the BBC for Ouch' to your smart speaker.