Societal views on the human rights of persons with disabilities have significantly changed over the last four decades. However, while achieving equality, autonomy, nondiscrimination, participation, and inclusion should be a priority, abuses and violations of rights often occur in the most immediate environments of people with intellectual disability. This book is intended to provide greater visibility to people with intellectual disability, as full subjects of rights and improve their quality of life from a perspective of human rights, citizenship, and contextual analysis. We discuss the role of context, the provision of inclusive environments, and the improved health status at promoting quality of life-related personal outcomes and enhancing quality of life and equality for people with intellectual disability.

Societal views on the human rights of persons with disabilities have significantly changed over the last four decades. However, while achieving equality, autonomy, nondiscrimination, participation, and inclusion should be a priority, abuses and violations of rights often occur in the most immediate environments of people with intellectual disability. This book is intended to provide greater visibility to people with intellectual disability, as full subjects of rights and improve their quality of life from a perspective of human rights, citizenship, and contextual analysis. We discuss the role of context, the provision of inclusive environments, and the improved health status at promoting quality of life-related personal outcomes and enhancing quality of life and equality for people with intellectual disability.

This book contains a series of articles, written by international experts in the fields of intellectual disability and quality of life, that explore a broad range of issues that impact on the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. The book commences with a general discussion on defining quality of life and family quality of life and the appropriateness of using these constructs in the field of intellectual disability, and is followed by an analysis on the effects of living arrangements and employment on quality of life. The book concludes with discussions on the unique issues facing children with intellectual disabilities and people living in developing countries and the effect these issues have upon their quality of life.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Disability Human Rights Law" that was published in Laws

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

A book such as this both demonstrates the progress that has been made over recent years, and will also serve to enhance respect for the human rights of persons with intellectual disabilities in the years to come.' - From the Foreword by Orville Endicott This wide-ranging volume provides a multidisciplinary examination of human rights and the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. The book combines historical, psychological, philosophical, social, educational, medical and legal perspectives to form a unique and insightful account of the subject. Initial chapters explain the historical context of rights for people with intellectual disabilities, including the right to life, and propose a conceptual framework to inform contemporary practice. Contributors then explore the many theoretical and practical challenges that people with intellectual disabilities face, in exercising their civil rights, educational rights or participatory rights, for instance. The implications arising from these issues are identified and practical guidelines for support and accommodation are provided. This book will be an essential resource for practitioners, advocates, lawyers, policy-makers and students on disability courses.

The World Report on Disability suggests more than a billion people totally experience disability. They generally have poorer health, lower education and fewer economic opportunities and higher rates of poverty than people without disabilities. This report provides the best available evidence about what works to overcome barriers to better care and services.

The connection between environment and health has been well studied and documented, particularly by the World Health Organization. It is now being included in some legal instruments, although for the most part caselaw does not explicitly make that connection. Neither the right to life nor the rights to health or to normal development are actually cited in the resolution of cases and in judges' decisions. This volume makes the connection explicit in a broad review of human rights and legal issues associated with public health and the environment. It will be particularly useful as many legal instruments emphasize the right to 'development' without fully discussing the necessary safety and public health aspects, and the respect for the ecology of any area where such 'development' (often unwanted by local or indigenous communities) is to be located. Climate change is another pressing variable that is considered, and several chapters address the interface between human health and ecological conditions. Overall the book integrates perspectives from a wide range of disciplines, including ethics, ecology, public health and epidemiology, and human rights and law.