Dublin conferenceA conference in Dublin next week will examine the changing nature of provision for those with disabilities and the shift from a charitable approach to a more human rights-based model.
From Charity to Choice: Changing Perceptions of Adult Disability will be hosted by the Royal Hospital Donnybrook at the Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin on Wednesday, October 12th.
The wide-ranging programme will also examine attitudes to disability, the empowerment of people with disabilities and the legislative environment.
Speakers will include the Emmy award-winning journalist Chris O'Donoghue who left his home in Limerick in 1965 to pursue a career as a professional soccer player. The onset of a previously undetected spinal condition soon after his arrival in New York affected his legs and eventually led to paralysis.
Mr O'Donoghue obtained a bachelor's degree in English and later a master's in rehabilitation psychology from NYU. He went on to run his own rehabilitation consulting business and is a television journalist with United Paramount Network WWOR, Channel 9 news in New York.
Other speakers include author and journalist Donal Toolan, who will deliver a paper entitled What's Wrong with Charity? and activist Rosaleen McDonagh who will discuss the issue of violence against women with disabilities.