The Necessary Response to Un-Announced Needs of Disabled People

This paper describes how worldwide efforts over the past two decades have culminated in massive publicity generated by the International Year of Disabled People in 1981, providers of services for the public have learned a lot about the circumstances and requirements of elderly and disabled people. Indeed, Disability Awareness is today not simply a phrase but a working concept. However, many managers of services are experiencing serious difficulties in developing their new-found awareness in such a way as to successfully relate to the real practical and attitudinal needs of the disabled and elderly. There still remains a tendency to consider those users of public service who have a handicap, which is caused by physical, sensory or mental disabilities, or severe effects of aging, to be “apart from rather that a part of” the mainstream of a provider’s obligations.