Emma Purcell

Arts and crafts are great educational resources, therapeutic tools and fun activities for all, no matter your age or ability. Not only does creating bright pictures or chunky jewellery give you or your children a chance to express yourselves independently, but it aids in promoting a healthy relationship with self-esteem. Here at Disability Horizons, we round up eight accessible products that could help you and your children enjoy arts and crafts if you have a disability. We also suggest some art sites, apps and programs for you to enjoy on your phone, tablet or computer, as well as some of the best disability art communities for you to join.

So, this is Christmas, and what will you buy? A luxury sock aid or a T-shirt we made? What about stickers that show love and pride, or even some clothing that is sure to fit fine. Well, you can find all these and more creative and unique gifts for disabled people this Christmas on the Disability Horizons Shop.

Here at Disability Horizons, we are all about celebrating disability equality and inclusion and giving you a voice. We have our exclusive articles written by our community of disabled writers and our fortnightly online talk show, Disability Horizons TV, in which we discuss and debate the latest disability topics. As well as all that, we have our Disability Horizons Shop, which sells a wide range of stylish, practical and accessible products for everyday living. But our online store also wants to support disability equality and inclusion too with its new range of Lettering Works disability stickers and Disability Horizons T-shirts.

Mel Halacre is an integrative counsellor specialising in disability and trauma, which means that she draws on different theories to support her clients. Along with her partner Steve, who is physically disabled, she created Spokz People, a mental health service for disabled people and their families. Today, she is launching the new Spoke Wellbeing Community and Programme to give more disabled people access to low-cost mental health services.

The weather is getting colder and the nights are drawing in. For many people, this can bring on the winter blues making you feel sad, isolated and less motivated. Here at Disability Horizons, we share different ways you can beat the winter blues if you have a disability or health condition.

Following on from our disability hate crime survey in partnership with Leonard Cheshire, we’re sharing the story of one woman who has been living with the debilitating impact of disability hate crime and struggling with the lack of support for more than two years.

A survey conducted by Disability Horizons and charity Leonard Cheshire has found that more than half of disabled people have had verbal abuse directed at them in public, with 14% experiencing online hate crime. In the past five years, 61% of the disabled people we spoke to have experienced hate crime in the UK, with 44% experiencing it more than once but less than five times.

Now disabled children and teenagers are heading back to school following the summer break, it’s time to make sure they have all the best clothing, storage, gadgets, tools and activities to make their education as accessible and inclusive as possible. Here at Disability Horizons, we round up eight accessible and functional products for disabled children heading back to school, all available on the Disability Horizons Shop.

Being able to cook a meal, serve snacks and beverages or eat and drink independently can have its challenges when you have a disability. However, with the right kitchen aids for disabled people, you can easily host your own dinner party, whip up a meal for the family or simply find the independence to feed yourself. Here at Disability Horizons, we round up eight kitchen aids for disabled people, which includes easy-to-use cutlery sets, one-handed trays, a hot plate carrier and a multi-purpose opener, all of which can be purchased on the Disability Horizons Shop.

The rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are finally here, and we are all very excited here at Disability Horizons HQ. Almost 230 Paralympic athletes from 19 sports are expected to make up the British team that will compete in Japan. Ahead of the opening ceremony, we wanted to share our pick of Paralympic athletes from Team GB that you should watch out for and support over the next two weeks.

Many people cannot be vaccinated or tested due to a medical reason or have treatment that may cause side effects. Here at Disability Horizons, we explain who is exempt and how they can use our new NHS Covid Pass vaccine exemption card.

Fatigue is a feeling of constant tiredness or weakness and can be physical, mental or a combination of both. It can occur in many chronic illnesses including myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). In the past year, it has also been seen as one of 200 symptoms relating to long Covid. Here at Disability Horizons, we have rounded up five useful products to help people with fatigue pace themselves and maintain hydration, hygiene and energy levels in their day-to-day lives.

Getting into exercise as a disabled person can seem like an additional challenge. Not only do we have to find time to fit it in amongst our busy schedules and working life, but not all equipment, leisure facilities or sports are accessible. Here at Disability Horizons, we want to help you find easy ways to access and enjoy fitness and exercise, whether at home or in a gym, so we have rounded up five useful fitness aids available on the Disability Horizons Shop.

Research has found more than 75% of TV series and films on the streaming service Netflix has no audio description available, potentially impacting two million people in the UK who are visually impaired or registered blind. The study conducted by Lenstore found that only 25.4% of Netflix’s content provided audio description. It also compared audio description on Disney+, which was found to have audio description available on 62.6% of its films and TV shows.

As part of Disability Horizons’ 10th birthday celebrations, we asked our team and community of readers what they’d like to see improve or change for disabled people in the next 10 years. Ideas include better accessibility, more representation across all sectors, affordable assistive technology and products, and no more prejudice or disability hate crime. What do you want? Tell us on Facebook and Twitter @DHorizons using the hashtag #10yrsofDisabilityHorizons.