November 7, 2008: Lecture: Welfare Service and Systems for Persons with Disabilities Ⅱ -
from the perspectives of persons with disabilities
Training Report - Leadership Development Course 2008
Today's lecturer was one of the leading figures in Japanese disability movement, Secretary General of Japan National Assembly of Disabled Peoples' International (DPI-Japan).
He started his lecture by sharing his own childhood experiences in an institution with the participants. At that time, the medical approach was prevailing. For example, he was identified by a number “55” and received experimental surgical operations many times regardless of his will which made his disability even severer.
He then talked how the movements of persons with disabilities have been involved in development of the Japanese welfare measures and services. He explained about the shift from medical model to social model, the development of the independent living movement and postwar policies for persons with disabilities, the International Year of Disabled Persons and dissemination of the idea of normalization. It was only in the 1990's when the support for the community life or independent living in the actual systems and services started.
- Lecture material
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Policies for Persons with Disabilities in Japan from the Viewpoint of a Person with a Disability
[ PDF file (273KB) ]
From His lecture, the participants could learn that the current welfare services and systems which might look very nice to them were not available for persons with disabilities from the beginning. But the strong movements and involvement of persons with disabilities over the last 50 years had played important roles in their development.
