After almost two decades working with people living with cerebral palsy, public relations officer of the Cerebral Palsy Society of T&T, Phillip Metivier, says he’s sceptical about the Disability Bill being brought before Parliament this year.
“To tell you my mind, I feel that is a set of hogwash,” Metivier said.
He said for many years non-governmental organisations representing the disabled community had submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services but what they suggested was disregarded.
“It never materialised and people with disabilities remain in the same situation, the same conditions, they have no benefits, they can’t get jobs, they don’t have proper schools, they don’t have schools outfitted, they don’t have Special Ed teachers,” he explained.
His comment came in the wake of an announcement over the weekend by Social Development Minister Donna Cox that a review of the Disability Bill should be completed and taken to Parliament this year.
This review is part of the UN in T&T’s US$300,000 project to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Speaking during businesswoman and philanthropist Hannah Janoura’s wheelchair donation ceremony, Cox said her ministry has been working to ensure buildings have wheelchair access and are easily accessible to the disabled.
Yesterday, however, Metivier said this time around he will wait and see what the Disability Bill has, “because I’ve been waiting for 29 years”.
Cause an Effect co-founder Francis Escayg meanwhile said his NGO was part of a working group, in conjunction with the Law Association of T&T, which has been working on documenting what disability legislation should entail.
Escayg explained that because disability is not a one-size-fits-all, they tried to cover as much as possible with the recommendations. However, he said some of the main suggestions include access, equal opportunity in the workplace, access to healthcare, proper education, and the ability to have job opportunities without discrimination.
“Those, I think, are some of the key cornerstones of any disability legislation that is supposed to be going to Parliament for the benefit of people living with disabilities,” Escayg explained.
He said people with hidden disabilities such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism are impacted most in the education system, which he said is built on a linear path that does not align with the way they learn.
He said the working group has one more consultation in Tobago before they send the completed document to the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.
Consultant of the ADHD Foundation and clinical psychologist Patricia LeeWah-Cooper commended the review of the bill. But she said even when things are implemented, it is not done correctly.
“I would like to be optimistic but I feel like things are not really followed through,” she said.
She said the ministry needs to emphasise public awareness and education.