Dear Richard,
many thanks for your correspondance.

Are you aware that within the deaf community there are those who consider deafness to be an impairment but that it is the actions of society that disable them?
Hopefully the employers at the jobs fair recognised that it is their lack of communication skills that are holding deaf and Deaf people back in employment.

As for your slight about what I do for disabled people, what I do is what I am doing now with you - I try to communicate ideas and the reality of being disabled to those who have no impairments, and try to support those who have.

Many of the people I correspond with are disabled by their conditions, which have symptoms that include incredible amounts of uncontrolled pain, and the associated fatigue and depression that is co-morbid to pain.
I am interested to know how people who are in this degreee of pain are expected to work.

Regarding those who have sensory or mobility only issues, with no pain, fatigue, cognitive impairment, well many of them do work, and the remainder regularly describe their problems with employers, an inflexible benefit system, inaccessible transport and Access to Work.

Please dont tell me that Access to Work helps, a very good friend recently asked them to assist with her business start up.
They stated that they didn't think her self-employment would be viable, and that they would not contribute unless there was a viable business proposal that paid sufficient that she came off means-tested benefits.
For the lady in question this was impossible, she could never work enough hours to be self supporting.
She has now shelved her ideas until Universal Credit comes in, as she is assurred that working and Universal Credit would pay more than benefits, and she will try again.

So no, I didn't organise a jobs fair - I am disabled and the logistics would be too great for me, however I am trying to help others, unpaid, often unthanked, unlike yourself who should be organising these events as a representative of this county and a well reimbursed Commoner.

As for the comment about disabled people being termed "the disabled", then please ask other opinions, maybe from the charities that you associate with. I would wear flame proof clothing though.

Again, many thanks for your communication.