A Sussex woman who has devoted her life to helping young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Brighton has been recognised in the New Year Honours list.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-16365936#story_continues_1

A BEACONSFIELD entrepreneur who set up a talking newspaper for people with impaired vision has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours List. Rosemary Segrove, 69, from St Josephs Mews, has been recognised for services to people with visual impairment.

The 248 visually-impaired teachers are in the process of developing tactile maps, which provide them the layout of their school environment, enabling easy mobility.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/visuallyimpaired-teachers-given-training/216616-60-122.html

The province is considering tighter regulation of group homes and better pay for caregivers in the wake of last month's death of a Calgary client who had been badly scalded while being bathed.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Scalding+death+prompts+action/5932049/story.html

The World Socialist Web Site recently interviewed members of Warriors on Wheels concerning cuts in bus service in Detroit and surrounding suburban areas. Warriors on Wheels is a Detroit-based organization that advocates for people with disabilities.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/detr-d31.shtml

Working in war zones, silence is in short supply. Even in a city such as Kabul, outside the daily fighting of Afghanistan's southern provinces your ears are assaulted at odd hours by low-flying helicopters, sirens, and occasional gunfire. The horns of cars, motorcycles, and police trucks blaring through the traffic chaos never lets up and the individual honks meld into one tone deaf wail. There are times that I've literally worn ear plugs during the day just to dull the assault, aching for a little silence.

While the National Federation for the Blind is pushing to build an auto interface that lets visually impaired people drive safely and autonomously, design student Selene Chew has a more modest technological breakthrough to help the 285 million people who are blind or partially blind: The BlindSpot cane, a clever and empathetic technological attempt to create new opportunities for social interaction for the visually impaired by harnessing GPS technology and non-visual interface design.

At Crazicanes we understand the importance of feeling like you can be yourself. What a lot of people don't know is that your cane doesn't have to be white – it's not a legal requirement! Your cane can be however you want it to be. It's yours, after all! We offer a service where you can talk to us about yourself; your taste in music, books, clothes, biking, football, model aeroplanes, whatever you like... and how you'd like your cane to represent you. Then you send your cane to us, and we'll paint it!
http://crazicanes.com/

I asked on Twitter for some tips about arts projects by, for and involving people with disabilities. Here are some that didn't make my piece.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2011/dec/30/disability-arts

The social care system has been branded "not fit for purpose" after figures revealed elderly people are paying up to £7,000 a year for home care services.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/30/elderly-rising-cost-council-services

Attorneys for 10 disabled people who were fraudulently adopted and abused by a former Port St. Lucie woman have proposed that New York City and three agencies that handled the adoptions pay $68 million to the adoptees.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/dec/30/attorneys-seek-68-million-for-disabled-adoptees/

Speaking to journalists in Nebbi town, the Councilor for people with disabilities, Clare Doreen said that PWDs such as the deaf are not equitably contributing to the development of the district because they don’t get development-related information from government.
http://www.ugpulse.com/uganda-news/people/nebbi-pwds-ask-for-sign-interpreters/23373.aspx

Clark, born and raised in Corning, contracted polio as an infant, but went on to not only play professional baseball, but become a manager and team owner. With his playing and managing days behind him, Clark is now focused on his family, as well as trying to positively touch the lives of persons living with disabilities through special needs baseball camps and motivational speaking engagements.
 That’s where the Dave Clark Foundation comes in.

San Francisco—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded two 811 funding grants to help make possible the development of a pair of permanent supportive Mercy Arc Housing residences for non-elderly adults with developmental disabilities in San Francisco. The announcement was made earlier this week by Mercy Housing California (MHC) and The Arc San Francisco.

At the Office of Informal Education located in Soi Khao Noi, a Community Market was opened especially for people with disabilities to earn their living, and be able to help themselves. The Grand Opening was conducted by the Deputy Mayor of Nongprue Mr. Anek Patana-ngaam, and the market features a great Variety of products, handicrafts and services that are available from people with disabilities.

NORWICH—Residents of ValleyRidge Center for Intensive Treatment, an Office for People with Developmental Disabilities facility in Norwich were not at imminent risk of harm due to mistreatment by staff, according to a report issued by the Inspector General’s office and the New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (CQC). However, the investigation revealed an incident of staff abuse of a resident which was intentionally not reported and remained unknown to OPWDD until discovered by chance a year after the incident.

The photograph shows Connie Cruz at a memorial in November, clutching a photo of her late-daughter, Monica Calderon, and sobbing. 
Monica, 24, was one of five people to perish in a fire at a Marina care-home for adults with developmental in Marina earlier that week.
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/.............

Social Welfare Minister Dr Jiko Luveni said 2011 had been challenging and rewarding for the ministry, with better strategies adopted to provide effective service delivery to the public. The bus fare concession and expanded food voucher program are all evidence of government's endeavors to assist senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=189637

Particularly relevant are Article 33, on the proportion of employees with disabilities an employer must hire, and Article 35, which concerns providing access to people with disabilities and catering to their needs in businesses.

The presence of young boys who were drawn from various places at the close of the event was a unique aspect that will see Zimbabwe rising to the next level in the fight against gender-based violence.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201112300261.html

The partnership was part of the third phase of the MTN Foundation Disability Support Project in which persons with disability are handed mobility aids and other enabling appliances.
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/.....................

The focus of the ERG center is on promoting education, changing attitudes, and understanding the differences and value of people with disabilities. The possAbilities program sponsors several educational activities throughout the year, including lunch-and-learn events.
http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/.......................

We have quite a few handicapped clients as well as younger clients with disabilities and the massage therapy really helps to calm them and make them feel better. With our massage tables being on hydraulic lifts we can accommodate persons with disabilities and make sure we give everyone the right attention that they need.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...................

Kenya’s disability movement, however, has made strides in the past decade, despite the numerous challenges they face as they strive to live a life of dignity.
http://www.coastweek.com/kenxin_301211_04.htm