When Speech Is the Barrier: Aphasia, AAC and the Right to Be Understood
Over 350,000 people in the UK live with aphasia after stroke or brain injury; thousands more speak through devices, or with a stammer, or not at all. Intelligence intact, phone lines impossible. Here is what they are owed, and what actually helps.
Deafblind in Britain: The Assessment Your Council Must Do Properly
Combined sight and hearing loss is not deafness plus blindness — it is its own disability, and the law treats it that way: councils must assess deafblind people using someone specifically trained to do it. Most families are never told. Here is what to ask for, by name.
Powered Wheelchairs, Ventilators and the Electricity Bill: Energy When You’re Disabled
When your equipment runs on electricity, a power cut is a medical event and the unit price is a health tax. The Priority Services Register, the 105 line, and the discounts most eligible households never claim.
PIP: Surviving the Assessment and Winning the Appeal
Personal Independence Payment is meant to cover the extra costs of disability. In practice the application is a gauntlet: a 40-page form, an assessment that often misdescribes you, and a refusal most people never challenge — even though around seven in ten appeals win.
The Disabled Facilities Grant: Getting Your Home Adapted Without Going Broke
A stairlift, a wet room, a ramp to your own front door — the Disabled Facilities Grant can pay up to £30,000 towards adapting your home, and most people who qualify have never applied. Here is how the process really works.
Getting Your Money Back When Access Fails
A broken lift, a missing ramp or a no-show assistance team can cost you a taxi fare, a missed appointment and a wasted day. Here is every route to getting that money back — and they stack.
Cheaper Travel: Railcards, Bus Passes and the Schemes People Miss
Disabled people pay more to travel and earn less on average. These schemes cut the cost — including the ones nobody tells you about, like a companion travelling at a third off.
Mobility Scooters on Public Transport: The Permit Nobody Tells You About
A wheelchair can board almost any accessible bus. A mobility scooter often cannot — and the rules change between operators, sometimes between towns. Here is how the permit schemes work.
Blue Badges: Getting One, Using One, and Fighting Bay Abuse
The Blue Badge scheme is more generous than most people realise — including for hidden disabilities. Here’s how to apply, what it actually lets you do, and what to do about people parking in bays they shouldn’t.
Pavement Parking, Dropped Kerbs and A-Boards: Winning the Footway Back
A car on the pavement, a blocked dropped kerb or a shop’s A-board can end a journey as effectively as a locked door. The law is a patchwork — here’s what applies where you live, and how to get it enforced.