The United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force on 3 May 2008, marks the culmination of over five years of negotiations between States Parties and non-governmental organisations as to what constitute the human rights of and governmental obligations to individuals with disabilities. It differs from other Conventions in that, while it still sets out general rights, it also details the steps that should be taken to ensure equality of treatment. This column provides a general overview of the Convention, focusing in particular on Art 25 which sets out the right to health and Australia's obligations under the Convention.     

Mental health law and the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

People with a mental illness may be subject to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), depending on definitions of terms such as ‘impairment’, ‘long-term’ and the capaciousness of the word ‘includes’ in the Convention's characterisation of persons with disabilities. Particularly challenging under the CRPD is the scope, if any, for involuntary treatment.     

Website accessibility and the European Union: citizenship,procurement and the proposed Accessibility Act

Websites can be accessible to all if they are designed according to certain principles. Website accessibility has long been a European Union policy priority, particularly with the growth of egovernment services and the related impact on citizenship. A number of studies, while showing some improvement in accessibility, indicate the need for accessibility improvement in relation to egovernment services. This article outlines the European Union's policies on accessible websites and the related legislation. A theme in the development of disability related Directives is fragmentation and the lack of harmonising principles. Public procurement has been used as an extremely effective tool to increase accessibility in the United States, and it is this approach that lies at the heart of the proposed Accessibility Act. This initiative seeks to harmonise standards and policies on accessibility to harness fully the power of the internal market and the commercial impetus in order to increase access. While the Accessibility Act is currently being drafted after recent public consultation, this article evaluates the potential impact it could have on the accessibility of European Union public, and ultimately, private websites.     

Human rights of persons with mental disabilities. The European Convention of Human Rights

It is not necessary to recount the numerous charters and declarations ... to understand human rights.... All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone ... is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the international human rights instruments without discrimination, such as the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, privacy, health, education, work, social security, and to marry and found a family. Yet, violations of human rights are a reality to be found in every corner of the globe.     

Making non-discriminatory fitness-for-duty decisions about persons with disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act

This article describes an assessment role performed by clinical psychologists in the employment context, and examines how it has been evaluated by the courts from the standpoint of discrimination against persons with disabilities. Guidelines are offered for making fitness-for-duty decisions which are legally defensible, and examples of the decision-making process are provided. Data-based limitations on professional expertise are articulated, and conclusions drawn are aimed at practicing psychologists and the courts dealing with these uncertainties. Issues are analyzed principally in courts dealing with these uncertainties. Issues are analyzed principally in relation to Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which has been passed by both houses of Congress.     

The semblance of autonomy: treatment of persons with disabilities under the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act

This Article illuminates the dangers of the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act, which provides a set of model rules designed to clarify and expedite end-of-life health-care decisionmaking for incapacitated patients. The uniform commissioners and many scholars who have commented on the Act have touted the legislation as a model for defending patient autonomy. As this Article will reveal, the impression of autonomy is an illusion. In fact, the Act privileges the perspectives of the able-bodied over those of persons with disabilities, endangers the autonomy of incapacitated patients, and empowers proxy decisionmakers who have incentives to terminate treatment. These risks have become all the more significant with the rise of managed-care programs that create pressures to minimize care. After highlighting the serious risks to vulnerable patients under the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act, the Article offers alternative rules and stronger safeguards to better protect patient autonomy and defend against wrongful health-care decisions. This Article urges states seeking improved end-of-life health-care procedures to codify these or similar protections in order to avoid the lethal shortcomings of the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act.     

Toward a national personal assistance program: the independent living model of long-term care for persons with disabilities.

Long-term care for people with disabilities in this country traditionally has been provided through family members and friends. Federal and state policy has focused primarily on financing professional health care services provided through nursing homes and home health agencies. An alternative to these models of long-term care is the "independent living model," which is based on the provision of services by nonprofessional personal assistants in the disabled person's home. We describe the model and consider why it is not the dominant approach to long-term care in the United States. We go on to assess options for developing a national personal assistance services program based on the independent living framework, discussing how covered services should be defined, how the program should be financed, whether the program should use means testing, how eligibility and level of benefits should be determined, and what role government should play in implementing the program. Several legislative approaches to developing a national program are explored.     

Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); program for persons with disabilities; basic program--DoD. Final rule

This final rule simplifies the administration of benefits under the CHAMPUS Program for the Handicapped (PFTH) and changes the name of this benefit to Program for Persons with Disabilities (PFPWD); adds occupational therapists in independent practice to the list of authorized individual professional providers; provides criteria for cost-sharing certain procedures when data is transferred electronically from the patient's home to a medical practitioner; defines and limits plans recognized as supplemental insurance under CHAMPUS; and adopts the Federal Claims Collection Act and the Federal Claims Collection Standards by reference.     

Using the cognitive interview with adults with mild learning disabilities

Abstract

Forty-seven adults with mild learning disabilities (mild intellectual disabilities) attending day-centres and thirty-eight adults from the general population viewed a videorecording of an accident. A day later the participants were interviewed using either a cognitive interview (CI) or a structured interview (SI, a control interview). Compared with their counterparts with learning disabilities, adults from the general population recalled more correct information and made fewer confabulations about persons and objects. Nevertheless, the type of interview had an impact. For both groups, the CI was more effective than the SI in enhancing recall although, for the ‘learning disabilities’ group, the CI also produced a disproportionate increase in the reporting of person confabulations. All the same, the accuracy ratios were similar across interview types (80% for the CI and 82% for the SI). It is suggested that the CI could be helpful in assisting people with learning disabilities to provide information about events they have seen.