BBC Ouch Blog

13 Questions: Jenny Sealey, theatre director

Emma — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:01:17 +0000

Jenny Sealey, MBE, was born and raised in Nottingham. On becoming deaf aged seven, a teacher encouraged her to continue ballet lessons though she could no longer hear the dance instruction; she said Jenny should follow the person in front of her. She did, and it set the course of her career.

Having studied dance and choreography at university, Jenny then became a founder member of both the Common Ground Sign Dance Company and the now defunct London Disability Arts Forum.

Jenny has been Artistic Director at Graeae, the well-known UK disability-led theatre company, since 2007. As well as many in-house productions, her credits there include collaborations like Diary of an Action Man with Unicorn children's theatre and the Ian Dury musical Reasons to be Cheerful with the New Wolsey, Ipswich, to name but two.

Jenny is Co-artistic Director of the London 2012 Paralympic opening ceremony. Although she can barely contain her excitement, she isn't allowed to talk about the upcoming spectacular ... but she has no contractual difficulties when it comes to answering our 13 probing questions ...

My earliest memory is ...
Going deaf at aged seven. I remember that day vividly, right down to the layout of my classroom. My best friend and I were pushing each other and laughing behind some bookshelves when he shoved me a little too hard, so that I fell and whacked my head off the corner of the table. When I got home I told my mum I couldn't hear.

The three words I'd use to describe myself are ...
Big breasted Bertha. I have enormous breasts. That's how people remember me and my sign name is linked to the fact I have huge knockers. Put one hand on each nipple and turn the palms slightly outwards, then move your hands away slowly like you are carrying something big and bouncy.

A little known fact about me is ...
That I'm a terrible cook. I like my food quite burnt but that's not to everyone's taste, so I'm not really allowed to cook very often.

Given half a chance I'd relish the opportunity to bore you about ...
Casting. I can go on and on and on about the unimaginative casting systems that are out there. So many casting directors will only cast to type. I work with a beautiful actress called Nadia Albina, who has been told from very, very high profile theatre companies in this country that because she has only one arm, she will not get a job on the main stage. It makes me feel quite sick.

I can't resist ...
A nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I am a massively sociable person. I love nothing better than to sit and chat with a good bottle of wine and close friends.

I want to ban ...
Discrimination against disabled people. The number of physical and attitudinal barriers that so many of us are faced with is just shocking. The visibility of disabled people in the arts and in sport is going to be so massive this year that it has to have an impact. Graeae is doing a huge project with Greenwich and Docklands Festival called Prometheus Awakes. There will be seven and a half thousand Paralympic athletes competing in London and we will have as many deaf and disabled people in the field of play at the opening ceremony. We're out there in a way that we've never been before, and we ain't going away.

The thing I've done but would never do again is ...
Understudy for dancer David Toole. During my production of The Fall of the House of Usher, he got ill and was rushed to hospital. It was in the days where the show must go on. The production was so tightly choreographed to link with all the pre-filmed sign language that it would have been so difficult to teach somebody else; the only person who knew it as well as the cast was me. When the other actors realised what was going to happen they said "But Jenny, you are a woman! And you've got legs!!"

My greatest achievement so far has been ...
Having a baby. Jonah will be 18 next month. At the moment he is doing A Levels and I'm playing bad cop to make him revise. Jonah wants to be a film maker and has started writing a sitcom about our local kebab shop. The show will be called Kebabalon.

If I suddenly became able-bodied I would ...
Lose my job. I have this recurring nightmare that I'm on my own in the office, having a full-blown chat with someone on the phone. I'm so engrossed in my conversation that I don't notice my colleagues come in. Then I turn around and they say, "Jenny, you can hear!" The next image in my dream is of me packing my desk away. I love my job. I don't want to work anywhere else.

Someone should invent ...
Floo powder, like in Harry Potter. At the moment, the preparation schedule for the Paralympic opening ceremony is frankly quite barking. In any one day I need to be at the stadium and at rehearsal spaces in Tower Hamlets and Dagenham. So I need a situation where you just thro the floo powder into the fire, then throw yourself in and it transports you immediately.

My ideal dinner guest would be ...
John Thaw. I know he's dead and gone but I love him. Inspector Morse is my favourite TV show ever. Also, I know he had a real fondness for the grape.

Disability theatre is ...
About creating good plays for diverse audiences. Whether deaf, disabled or not, an audience will learn from what they see. For non-disabled people, seeing a show by Graeae or other disabled artists brings another layer of learning. They might have arrived with some preconceptions and presumptions, but if the work's good it stays with them and they start to unpick their prejudices.

On the world stage, disabled performers need to be ...
The best of the best, otherwise people will mock us: "Ahh bless them, they were lovely, but they were disabled." Why should we not expect high standards from ourselves? If we don't, it becomes patronising and tokenistic, and that is so not what we are about.

• Graeae's latest production, Prometheus Awakes, will be performed as part of the London 2012 festival. The Paralympic opening ceremony will be broadcast live on Channel 4 in the UK, with commentary from Jon Snow and Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

Disability on TV - are we there yet?

Vaughan — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:25:41 +0000

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Once upon a time there was little in the way of representation of disabled people on TV. In 2012, however, the perception is that there is quite a lot all of a sudden. Why is this? And are disabled people shown in the way they would want?

In recent weeks we've seen programmes like The Undateables, Extreme Love with Louis Theroux, We Won't Drop the Baby, Derek and Turtle Boy.

TV makers Kate Monaghan and Kevin Mulhern, both of whom are disabled, took part in a lively debate about disability on the box on this month's podcast from Ouch!

Mulhern made ITV's Link, a regular Sunday morning programme produced by disabled people for disabled people, which ran from the '70s through to the '90s. Reacting to the common call that disabled people should be mainstreamed into regular TV, he says television needs to be careful

"I don't believe in this approach where we just say, well, actually we're just a part of the ordinary community, We just happen to have no legs or no eyes or no ears. I think we do actually have an identity."

Referring to the three other disabled people gathered in the radio studio, and a dark banter they share when off air, he said: "The relaxation in here when the mikes are off, what we say to each other, is still not broadcastable because of the fact that nobody would understand the shorthand language disabled people use. I would love to see that get out there."

Many believe that if disabled people are missing from the crew behind the camera, the programmes are likely to be less well informed. Though some of the broadcasters have bespoke training placements aimed at disabled people, it's still considered hard to break into if you're a member of this community.

Monaghan, managing director of Markthree Media, and a generation younger than Kevin, speaks about the difficulties. She says: "To start in this industry, the first job you go for is a runner. And there are so many, many, many disabled people who can't do that job. So how do you start if you can't be the tea monkey?"

Disability is firmly fixed on the nation's agenda this year as the Paralympics are to be held in London in August. It's perhaps no surprise, then, that disability is an attractive newsworthy proposition, and we'll be seeing much more this summer at the Games.

Ouch! is a regular podcast from the BBC with a fresh perspective on disability. It's presented by Liz Carr and Rob Crossan.

Subscribe to the podcast and have it sent directly to your MP3 player, or listen via your computer on the web.

News round-up: Draft bill on social care in Queen's Speech

Vaughan — Fri, 11 May 2012 09:00:00 +0000

The issue of social care for disabled and elderly people was high on the news agenda as the new session of Parliament began. Earlier in the week, campaigners, charities and the Local Government Association had voiced concerns that plans to radically reform social care would not go far enough to tackle the problems in the current system, and might be delayed until the next Parliament.

On Wednesday, the Queen's Speech setting out the Government's agenda did include the announcement of a draft bill on overhauling care and support which, ministers said, would "put people in control of their care and give them greater choice", while simplifying the law on social care that is currently spread across a number of acts. Charities and care organisations welcomed the inclusion of these plans for reform, but were critical of the fact that it was only a draft Bill rather than full legislation, and that it still didn't tackle the issue of funding.

More of the week's headlines

Botox migraine jab set to be offered on NHS, says NICE (BBC News, Friday 11 May)

Shane Jenkin: Eye-gouge attacker due to be sentenced (BBC News, Friday11 May)

NHS 'can't cope' with multi-disease patients (BBC News, Thursday 10 May)

Matthew Wright investigated over disability slurs in TV poll (The Guardian, Thursday 10 May)

Fight to control the Chen Guangcheng story (BBC News, Thursday 10 May)

How the 'perfect storm of cuts' is shrinking one woman's life choices (The Guardian, Thursday 10 May)

Police taser Alzheimer's sufferer, 58, 'several times (The Telegraph, Thursday 10 May)

Remploy workers protest at Parliament over closures (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

Stem cell shield 'could protect cancer patients' (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

One in six cancers worldwide are caused by infection (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

Arthritis cases 'set to double to over 17m by 2030' (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

Ricky Gervais comedy Derek commissioned for full series (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

How offensive is the word 'lunatic'? (BBC News, Wednesday 9 May)

How to create an 'inclusive design' radio (Today, BBC Radio 4, Wednesday 9 May)

End of anti-depressants? Magnetic pulse therapy eases depression in third of patients (Daily Mail, Wednesday 9 May)

'Bionic' woman Claire Lomas completes London Marathon (BBC News, Tuesday 8 May)

US drug company to pay $1.6bn over Depakote mis-selling (BBC News, Tuesday 8 May)

Leveson is showing 'wilful blindness' towards disabled people (The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May)

Families with disabled children wrongly told they face benefit cut (The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May)

Why GPs need to be more carer aware (The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May)

Mission to Lars: film follows learning disabled man's dream (The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May)

Jeremy Clarkson cleared by Ofcom over Elephant Man comment (The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May)

All in the mind? Why critics are wrong to deny the existence of chronic fatigue (Daily Mail, Tuesday 8 May)

Britain's army of unpaid carers 'being pushed to breaking point' (The Independent, Tuesday 8 May)

Helen Keller's forbidden love: New book inspired by the author's clandestine engagement tells of thwarted romance and broken hearts (Daily Mail, Tuesday 8 May)

"Ignorant and heartless": Iain Duncan Smith blasted over Remploy attack (Daily Mirror, Monday 7 May)

Comparison websites 'break the law' over disabled users (The Telegraph, Monday 7 May)

Injection offers Alzheimer's hope (The Telegraph, Monday 7 May)

Jill Allen-King: 'My guide dog gave me back my life' (The Telegraph, Monday 7 May)

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng's uncertain future (BBC News, Monday 7 May)

Elephant Man memorial backed by the Mayor of Leicester (BBC News, Monday 7 May)

Thalidomide victims plea for permanent health grant (BBC News, Monday 7 May)

Homeland's depiction of mental illness has been a step forward for TV (The Guardian, Monday 7 May)

London 2012: Audio commentary for Paralympic ceremonies (BBC News, Sunday 6 May)

'Antipsychotic drugs made me want to kill myself' (BBC News, Sunday 6 May)

Using Avastin for eye condition wet AMD 'could save NHS £84m' (BBC News, Sunday 6 May)

Drug may help anorexia survival (The Independent, Sunday 6 May)

Courses help cancer survivors face the future (BBC News, Saturday 5 May)

Will greatest Paralympic scandal ever go away as Intellectually Disabled athletes return in 2012? (The Telegraph, Friday 4 May)

Special needs 'used as a cover for poor parenting' (The Telegraph, Friday 4 May)

The Undateables to return for second series on Channel 4 (The Guardian, Friday 4 May)

Breivik trial forces Norway to look again at insanity (BBC News, Friday 4 May)

TV and Radio on BBC iPlayer: the mental health of '60s rock icon Syd Barrett

Vaughan — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:44:16 +0000

Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd in the 1960s

Syd Barrett, the original 1960s frontman of legendary rock band Pink Floyd, died in 2006. He'd spent over 25 years out of the spotlight, living virtually as a hermit in an unassuming terraced house in his home town of Cambridge, where he was cared for by his ever watchful sister, Rosemary. Meanwhile, the group he'd formed became one of the most successful in the world, releasing hit albums and performing huge arena gigs.

In Radio 4's The Twilight World of Syd Barrett, we hear how his friends, family and bandmates coped with Barrett's mental breakdown, and their concerns about how the singer's experimentation with drugs led to further deterioration in his mental health and caused some distressing, near-catatonic stage performances. They recall how there was very little understanding of mental illness in the drug infused music culture of the late '60s, and while a few steps were taken to help Syd at the time, they ultimately proved to be inappropriate and ineffective.

Also on iPlayer

The Disabled Century (BBC Four)
The first episode of this series chronicling events of the 20th century from the perspective of disabled people, originally shown in 1999, looks at the experiences of those who were disabled while fighting for their country in two world wars. (Available until Thursday 10 May, 12.49am)

The Surgery with Aled (BBC Radio 1)
Sarah-Jane Crawford (standing in for Aled) and the team discuss male anorexia and cancer in young people. (Available until Sunday 13 May, 10.02pm)

Melody Gardot at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival (BBC Radio 2)
The disabled US jazz and blues singer - whom we profiled on Ouch in 2008 when she first caught the attention of UK music fans - features in a concert recorded at this year's Cheltenham Jazz Festival. You can also hear her on Weekend Wogan, in a stripped-back acoustic session, and watch her on Later Live... with Jools Holland performing tracks from her new album. (Available until Monday 14 May, 7.02pm)

Peter Green: Man of the World (BBC Four)
Profile of legendary blues guitarist and original Fleetwood Mac member Peter Green, who was named by BB King as one of the greatest exponents of the blues and is now recording again after years battling mental illness. (Available until Monday 14 May, 4.24am)

See Hear (BBC Radio 4)
The team meet a young deaf man whose life was turned upside down when Guillain Barre Syndrome left him paralysed and unable to communicate. The first ever deaf contestant to brave the Mastermind quiz chair talks us through her stint in the spotlight. (Available until Wednesday 27 June, 1.29pm)

In Touch (BBC Radio 4)
Peter White talks to blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng who is currently in a Beijing hospital, recovering from the injuries he received escaping from being held under house arrest in his home town. Plus, Lee Kumutat reports from New College Worcester, and meets students visiting from mainstream schools to compare methods of accessing the curriculum.

Click (BBC World Service)
The International Telecommunication Union recently celebrated its Girls in ICT Day. One of those taking part was sixteen year old Joanne O'Riordan from Ireland. Joanne, who was born without arms or legs, delivered the keynote address at the event. She tells Click about how technology has transformed her life.

Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4)
Woman's Hour asks: what is a "normal" body size, and what is the definition of obesity? After hearing about anorexia and obesity, they look for the middle ground.

Something Special (CBeebies)
Educational series for four- to seven-year-old children with learning difficulties.

Coming up

The Trouble with Moody Teens (BBC Radio 4, Friday 11 May, 11.00am)
In every school class, at least one teenager will need urgent treatment for clinical depression. With thousands of under-16s on anti-depressants, there is concern that mental health problems amongst youngsters are on the rise. Presenter Miranda Sawyer hears from young people who speak frankly about their thoughts and feelings, often hidden from those around them. She also talks to parents, teachers and experts to find out what are the first signs that a teenager is suffering from clinical depression - and asks why it's sometimes so difficult to spot those early symptoms.

Ouch! disability talk show #85: Boccia, breakdance, TV

Vaughan — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:50:00 +0000

Rob Crossan and Liz Carr

Is it the year of disability on TV? The intriguing rules of the little-known Paralympic sport Boccia and the breakdance crew called ILL-Abilities, who want to ban 'disability' from the dictionary. With Liz Carr and Rob Crossan.

Download Ouch! as a podcast

News round-up: Paralympic opening ceremony theme revealed

Emma — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:43:50 +0000

London 2012's Paralympic opening ceremony will be called Enlightenment it was announced this week.

Disabled co-artistic director Jenny Sealey said of the August 29 spectacular, "We have a duty to make sure what we present is exquisite...We don't want pity."

3,000 adult volunteers, including injured soldiers and past Paralympic athletes, are due to take part in the event, which will showcase the skills of disabled artists.

Elsewhere in the news

Blind China dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest last month, 'can apply to study abroad' (BBC News, Friday 4 May)

Roy Hodgson: Is it wrong to mock the way he speaks? (BBC News, thursday 3 May)

Dancers urge action on eating disorders (BBC News, Thursday 3 May)

Falklands War: Living with post-traumatic stress disorder (BBC News, Thursday 3 May)

Two blind British men have electronic retinas fitted (BBC News, Thursday 3 May)

Sir Philip Craven receives Lifetime Achievement Award at Sport Industry Awards (The Telegraph, Thursday 3 May)

Laurance: Hodgson won't care, but this could severely affect children (The Independent, Thursday 3 May)

Disabled jobless to miss out on Clegg help (The Independent, Thursday 3 May)

Rebecca McKeown's mother tells of 'years of hell' (BBC News, Wednesday 2 May)

Charity urges government to back new strategy on care jobs (BBC News, Wednesday 2 May)

The trouble with mobility scooters (Society Guardian, Wednesday 2 May)

Father of two with motor neurone disease wins right to die by blinking his eye after judge's landmark ruling (The Daily Mail, Tuesday 1 May)

Mother who had surgery to correct her 'S' shaped spine must now watch her daughter, 13, go through the same ordeal (The Daily Mail, Tuesday 1 May)

Blind daredevil takes on Channel swim (The Sun, Monday 30 April)

Our politicians and media could learn from my late dad, Jack Ashley (The Guardian, Monday 30 April)

'She made sure we got our voice heard' (The Guardian, Monday 30 April)

As sickness benefit cuts take effect, thousands face hard times (The Observer, Sunday 29 April)

TV and Radio on BBC iPlayer: In Touch on blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng

Emma — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:42:20 +0000

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng at the Chaoyang hospital in Beijing following his escape from house arrest.

Well-known blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng made world wide news recently when he escaped from house arrest in Southern China.

Peter White first interviewed the activist in 2004 and the In Touch programme has been following his story closely ever since.

This week, BBC Correspondent Martin Patience and TV producer and friend of Chen, Stephen Hallett, give their perspectives on Guangcheng's current situation.

Also on iPlayer

Louis Theroux - Extreme Love - 2. Dementia (BBC Two)
Louis travels to Phoenix, Arizona - the capital of dementia care - and spends time with sufferers and relatives.

All in the Mind (Radio 4)
Claudia Hammond is joined by Paul Burstow, the government minister for Care Services, Claire Murdoch, chief executive of Central and North west London NHS Foundation Trust and Sophie Corlett, Director of External Relations at the mental health charity, Mind to discuss upcoming NHS reforms and their impact on mental health services in England.

You and Yours (Radio 4)
Winifred Robinson finds out what it is like to have diabetes.

Last Word (Radio 4)
Includes an obituary for disabled former Labour MP Lord Ashley.

Outlook (BBC World Service)
Matthew Bannister speaks to a UK woman with Tourette's syndrome who sees the funny side of the condition.

MacAulay and Co (BBC Radio Scotland)
Fred finds out about the technology behind Team GB's paralympic athletes.

Angry Boys: Episode 5 (BBC three)
In a repeat of the Australian comedy series, a deaf teenager is invited to spend a day at the farm with Nathan. (contains parental guidance warning)

Same But Different (BBC Two)
Short documentary portraits of primary children with a range of disabilities, learning differences and medical conditions. (repeat)

Coming up

The Disabled Century (BBC Four)
This series, first broadcast on the BBC in 1999, chronicles events of the 20th century from the perspective of disabled people. Episode 1 looks at the experiences of those disabled while fighting for their country in two world wars. (12.10 AM on Thursday 3 May and available shortly afterwards on BBC iPlayer)

London 2012: The intriguing rules of Paralympic sport, Boccia

Vaughan — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:41:00 +0000

Boccia photo courtesy of the GB Boccia Federation

Boccia is one of the lesser known sports in the Paralympic line-up, and features some of the 'most disabled' athletes taking part in the Games.

Variously described as being like boules, Pétanque or the more widely known Bowls, it was originally introduced to the Paralympics as a game for people with cerebral palsy. Over the years it's been extended to include players with a variety of disabilities affecting motor skills.

Though most of the players of the sport can propel the ball themselves, intriguingly those in the BC3 Boccia class cannot. They use a state of the art lightweight ramp to help them aim, but this isn't the only way the sport is made more accessible to the more disabled of players.

Speaking on Ouch! - the BBC's disability talk show which can be downloaded as a podcast - current GB Boccia captain Nigel Murray explains: "[these players] are allowed to have an assistant on court with them. The person who is their assistant has their back to the court so they are unable to see any of the play and they're totally directed in the movement of the ramp by the athlete."

He says that players who are "non verbal" communicate with their ramp assistant by moving their heads or blinking their eyes.

BC3 is one of four classes in the sport. Find out more about the rules, the classifications and the different types of Boccia events with this helpful guide from the GB Boccia Federation.

As with all Paralympic sport, you need to first be tested by the authorities to see how disabled you are before you can move forward and show how talented you are within a designated 'class', up against athletes of similar impairment. Presenters Liz Carr and Rob Crossan are particularly interested in how the doctors test the Paralympians, which you can hear if you click and listen to the interview. (a full transcript is available on the Ouch! blog).

Murray is the current world number one in his sport, the fifth most successful player of all time, a seven times British champion, twelve times national champion, and between individual and team events he's earned four gold medals - two at the World Championships and two at the Paralympics.

The forthcoming London 2012 Paralympics will be his fourth (and, he has said, his final) Games. Despite such an impressive record of achievements, you'd be forgiven for not being familiar with the name Nigel Murray, as Boccia doesn't have the profile of some of the other disability sports despite being widely played around the world.

Murray's team has been tipped for gold at London 2012 and you can see them in action at a 'test event' taking place in the Olympic Park this coming weekend.

• Ouch! features the Paralympics every month and demystifies some of the more unusual sports with the help of our Games correspondent Tony Garrett. The podcast includes interviews and discussion on non-sporty disability matters from our presenters, who are also disabled.

Test Event

The Boccia Test Event for the London 2012 Paralympics - officially called the London Boccia Invitational 2012 - takes place in the Basketball Arena at the Olympic Park between Saturday 5 and Monday 7 May. Tickets are unfortunately no longer available.

The disabled breakdancers who want to change the world

Vaughan — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:50:00 +0000

The ILL-Abilities Crew, with Luca "Lazylegs" Patuelli (centre)

ILL-Abilities is an international breakdance crew of disabled dancers, Founded in 2007 by Luca "Lazylegs" Patuelli, who dances using crutches, they perform traditional shows as well as what they call "motivational entertainment".

On this month's Ouch! disability talk show, which can be downloaded as a podcast, Luca talks to hosts Liz Carr and Rob Crossan about how the crew came into being:

"It has actually nothing to do with the disability. [The crew] got known for being amazing dancers through competing on an international level. The whole concept behind ILL-Abilities is to really come together as this super crew, kind of like the X-Men, and we want to be able to show the world that anything is possible."

Their slogan "no limits, no excuses" preaches against negativity. When not performing, the team work with younger disabled people to create dance moves that are achievable.

Luca explains that he wants to "take the word 'disability' out of the dictionary and replace it with 'ill'. Ill, which really means 'sick', In the hip hop world what's bad is good ... like with the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill".

ILL-Abilities draws its members from the Netherlands, Chile, Canada and the USA. Each member's impairment informs their characteristic dance style. Find out how Luca's deaf and Thalidomide impaired fellow 'illabled' dancers pull their moves by listening to the full interview. (A transcript is available on the Ouch! blog.)

If you want to see ILL-Abilities in action, there's a selection of videos on their website, but if you want to catch them live and check out their moves, then there's an opportunity this coming Bank Holiday weekend. Between Saturday 5 and Monday 7 May, ILL-Abilities will be one of the acts performing at Breakin' Convention '12, an international festival of hip hop dance theatre taking place at Sadler's Wells in London.

13 Questions: Ouch! co-host Rob Crossan

Emma — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:54:38 +0000

Cheshire-born Rob Crossan, 33, began his professional working life as a stand-up comedian in South Africa. Now based in London, he is a freelance journalist specialising in travel, a job which has seen him visit over 100 countries since 1999.

When not globe-trotting, Rob can often be found reviewing the newspapers on the BBC London breakfast show.

For those who want to know, his other interesting 'credentials' include albinism, visual impairment and a recently diagnosed variant of Asperger Syndrome.

In his role as intrepid reporter during the early days of the Ouch! podcast, Rob rose ably to the ever more dubious challenges laid down by the presenters. They ranged from worshipping a statue of a disabled woman through a loud hailer in Trafalgar Square, to counting the number of able-bodied people who used an accessible toilet at Heathrow Airport. But that was a long time ago and he's been doing news and guest presenting for us ever since.

Rob now joins Liz Carr as the co-host of Ouch! - the monthly disability talk show from the BBC.

My earliest memory is ...
Getting a dressing down by my parents after I sneaked down to the living room in the middle of the night, took all their vinyl records out of their sleeves and scattered them around the room. I was looking for some Abba. It was 1981.

The three words I'd use to describe myself are ...
Gruff, loyal, curious. Gruff, because that's what everyone else says I am. I don't find that unattractive or pejorative, I take it to mean "doesn't suffer fools gladly", which I don't.

A little known fact about me is ...
That I have a pencil lead buried in my right hand, put there by a girl who hated me in primary school. I may have been teasing her a bit at the time.

Given half a chance I'd relish the opportunity to bore you stupid about ...
Non-league football or African politics. I know a ridiculous amount about Wrexham football club and my African politics obsession goes back to when I used to live in South Africa. I developed a nerdy interest in finding out all about military coups in countries like Guinea-Bissau.

I can't resist ...
A massive goldfish bowl sized glass of white wine, oysters and any kind of unexpected upgrade. You feel like you are getting one over on The Man when you suddenly find yourself travelling in business class.

I want to ban ...
Contemporary country and western music. I think it is a heinous sound from the bowels of Beelzebub. And people who think it's OK to spit on the pavement. It's the noises they make while doing it that get me. Oh and I'd like to ban Raw celery. When I've bitten into it I've felt like part of my brain has just died. And football phone-in shows. They are like standing in the pub for two hours beside the guy who knows nothing but shouts loudest.

The thing I've done but would never do again is ...
Go to Afghanistan. I went on night patrol on the streets of Kabul on foot with the British army for eight hours. We spent a lot of the time wading through sewage up to our knees. I'm glad I did it because I feel that it has given me an understanding of what soldiers are going through.

Before I die I want to ...
Go up in a hot air balloon, possibly over the Yorkshire Moors. I imagine it as being precarious, yet peaceful.

If I suddenly became able bodied I would ...
Drive a tractor. And I'd get on a Boris Bike, go to the cinema and sit in the very back row. Then I'd go to a fried chicken shop where the menu is written only on the wall and spend ages reading it.

Someone should invent ...
'Luxury' disabled portaloos at festivals - ones that come with a smartly dressed flunky to dispense soap, a Sunday Times Magazine on hand to read and Radio 2 piped in through the cistern.

My ideal dinner guests would be ...
Caligula and Eric Morecambe. As the most dissident and debauched Roman emperor of all time, Caligula would kick things off by killing some slaves and starting an orgy. Morecambe would then provide levity with a whoopee cushion joke.

The best thing about working on Ouch! is ...
That it has vindicated what I felt all along about disability. Before Ouch! came along I felt very constricted and that I couldn't talk about disability with some comedy and levity. I thought I had to toe the party line, that we are all brave etc.

My co-host Liz Carr is ...
Beguiling, demands a lot out of life and is wonderfully flippant. She is always there with the pithy, witty comment to bring lightness to very serious situations.

• A new Ouch! disability talk show is published every month. Visit the BBC podcasts page to subscribe or download the latest episodes. You'll find photos, behind the scenes news and a transcript of each show right here on the Ouch! Blog.

News round-up: Lord Ashley; protests over Remploy closures

Vaughan — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Lord Ashley of Stoke, 1922-2012

There was sad news last weekend as the death of Lord Ashley of Stoke (formerly Labour MP Jack Ashley) was announced. He was 89. Two years after entering Parliament in 1966, Ashley lost his hearing. At first he planned to resign his seat, but instead took a crash course in lip-reading and continued to serve in the House of Commons until 1992, when he entered the Lords.

Tributes and obituaries throughout the media have focused on Ashley's major role as a disability campaigner through the years - including pushing for live captioning on TV for deaf people, fighting for Thalidomide survivors and, in the last bill he introduced to the Lords in 2007, arguing for people with autism to be given Blue Badges. Lord Ashley also founded and chaired the All Party Parliamentary Disablement Group for over four decades.

At the end of last week, hundreds of workers at Remploy, the state-owned company which provides employment and placement services for disabled people, staged demonstrations outside government offices in London and Sheffield. They were protesting against plans to close 36 of the 54 Remploy sites this summer, which will leave 1,500 disabled employees facing compulsory redundancy.

More of the week's headlines

Breivik case 'shows insanity misconceptions' (BBC News, Friday 27 April)

The camera that says what it sees (BBC News, Thursday 26 April)

Louis Theroux on dementia: The capital of the forgetful (BBC News Magazine, Thursday 26 April)

Is this the year of disability on TV? (BBC News, Thursday 26 April)

Shock as Rupert Murdoch calls British Prime Minister's tragic disabled son 'retarded' during hacking testimony (Daily Mail, Thursday 26 April)

NHS reforms 'a risk to vulnerable children' (BBC News, Thursday 26 April)

'They treat her like she's Osama bin Laden': Family's outrage as TSA pats down their daughter, 7, who is mentally handicapped and has Cerebral Palsy (Daily Mail, Thursday 26 April)

Mind-controlled robot for paraplegics unveiled (The Telegraph, Wednesday 25 April)

Prospect of 'autism drug' raised after early tests (BBC News, Wednesday 25 April)

London 2012 Paralympics: organisers hail record broadcast deals (The Telegraph, Wednesday 25 April)

Anti-depressants 'may do more harm than good' (Daily Mail, Thursday 26 April)

Limbless Frenchman to swim around world (The Independent, Wednesday 25 April)

'Vicious' attack on disabled man in Fife (BBC News, Wednesday 25 April)

NHS care is 'disjointed' say family of anorexia victim (BBC News, Wednesday 25 April)

Glengormley grandparents deny killing disabled teenager Rebecca McKeown (BBC News, Tuesday 24 April)

Britain's oldest 20-year-old man has the body of a 160-year-old due to rare condition (Daily Mail, Tuesday 24 April)

Sinéad O'Connor cancels tour owing to bipolar disorder (The Guardian, Tuesday 24 April)

Suing the NHS over cheap blindness drugs is a risky business, Novartis (The Guardian, Tuesday 24 April)

Anti-depressants may not help autistic children: Study finds negative clinical trial results not published (Daily Mail, Tuesday 24 April)

Meet the blind designer who has had his own fashion show in Paris... and now he wants to crack Hollywood (Daily Mail, Tuesday 24 April)

Benefit cuts: Atos in the frame to deliver new disability tests (The Guardian, Monday 23 April)

Remembering 'humble' Lord Ashley (BBC News, Monday 23 April)

Guide dogs for the mind to fight dementia (The Independent, Sunday 22 April)

London Marathon 2012: David Weir and Shelly Woods secure wheelchair double to spur Paralympic hopes (The Telegraph, Sunday 22 April)

Obituary: Lord Ashley (BBC News, Saturday 21 April)

Labour peer Lord Ashley, 89, dies (BBC News, Saturday 21 April)

Paralysed woman to tackle marathon on robot legs (BBC News, Saturday 21 April)

Cultural blind spot? Chinese firm launches Helen Keller sunglasses (and they insist they knew disabled activist was blind) (Daily Mail, Saturday 21 April)

Half of all railway stations in Wales fail to meet accessibility standard (BBC News, Friday 20 April)

Sheffield protest over Remploy factory closures (BBC News, Friday 20 April)

Hundreds of disabled workers to protest over Remploy closure (BBC News, Friday 20 April)

Death of autistic boy shines light on national problem (The Independent, Friday 20 April)

Assisted suicide: One last helping hand (The Independent, Friday 20 April)

The Undateables: Channel 4's ad campaign is cleared by watchdog (The Guardian, Thursday 19 April)

Bullied autistic teenager 'failed by agencies' before death (BBC News, Thursday 19 April)

Education system failing children with autism (BBC News, Thursday 19 April)

Great Britain wheelchair rugby team through to Paralympic test event final (The Guardian, Thursday 19 April)

Father claims disability allowance for footballer soon (BBC News, Thursday 19 April)

TV and Radio on BBC iPlayer: is there a link between mental health and artistic creativity?

Vaughan — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:30:32 +0000

There's long been a theory that being affected by mental health problems might, in turn, lead to greater artistic creativity, and it's this subject that the award-winning novelist AL Kennedy considers in the latest edition of BBC Radio 3's Sunday Feature.

It's a highly personal inquiry, which takes in figures like Russian dramatist Chekhov, the artist Van Gogh, writer Virginia Woolf and poet Sylvia Plath.

The programme includes contributions from psychologist Dorothy Rowe, psychotherapist Adam Phillips, writer Lisa Appignanesi, playwright John Byrne, pianist James Rhodes, performance artist Bobby Baker, sculptor and artist Cornelia Parker, actor Edward Petherbridge and patients and staff at Bethlem Psychiatric Hospital.

Also on iPlayer

Louis Theroux - Extreme Love: Autism (BBC Two)
Louis visits one of the best schools in America for autism. He meets the students and their families to get a glimpse of what life is like for them and to experience the pleasures and the strains of one of the most extraordinary kinds of relationship. (Available until Sunday 6 May, 12.59am)

See Hear (BBC Two)
See Hear honours an icon and a legend of the series. Clive Mason, who was recently presented with a prestigious Deaf Community Award by the BDA. The programme joins in the celebrations and finds out about Clive the person and the professional.

Sunday Morning with... (BBC Radio Scotland)
Ouch's Liz Carr, plus Capability Scotland's Susie Fitton, discuss portrayals of disability on entertainment TV and whether they're ethical. Plus, in Depression Awareness Week, author and illustrator Matthew Johnstone shares his simple meditation techniques which can help to cope with depression. (Available until Sunday 29 April, 9.00am)

Today (BBC Radio 4)
On Monday 23 April, the programme included a tribute to disablity rights campaigner Lord Ashley of Stoke. Louise Medus-Mansell, chair of the Thalidomide Society, reflected on his success getting compensation for people affected by Thalidomide and completely changing the legal basis for disability rights. (Available until Monday 30 April, 9.02am)

In Touch (BBC Radio 4)
Peter White asks the Macular Disease Society for their reaction to Novartis's decision to seek a judicial review into the use by 4 PCTs of the drug Avastin, which is being used off-label to treat people with Age-related Macular Degeneration, and Lee Kumutat joins a ballet workshop designed to give blind people an enhanced experience of the performance.

You and Yours (BBC Radio 4)
The consumer programme looks at what it's like to have diabetes, plus a report on how disability access to five of the major price comparison websites have been found to be non-compliant with European Human Rights guidelines and deemed illegal.

Lifeline (BBC One)
One Show presenter and pop vocal coach Carrie Grant - who is also the mother of two children on the autistic spectrum - makes an appeal on behalf of Research Autism, a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and outlook for people affected by autism. (Available until Wednesday 2 May, 1.39pm)

Something Special (CBeebies)
Educational series for four- to seven-year-old children with learning difficulties.

Coming up

Louis Theroux - Extreme Love: Dementia (BBC Two, Thursday 26 April, 9.00pm)
Louis travels to Phoenix, Arizona - the capital of dementia care. He spends time at Beatitudes, a residential institution, and also with those looking after loved ones at home, to try and understand what it's like to live with such a complex condition - and how relationships are kept alive in such circumstances.

News round-up: autism, schooling and bullying; disability cuts protest hits London

Vaughan — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Louis Theroux in Extreme Love: Autism

Autism has been making the headlines over the past week, in both positive and tragic ways. There's been a lot of press interest in a new documentary by Louis Theroux, shown on BBC Two on Thursday 19 April and now available on iPlayer, in which he visited one of America's best schools for children with autism and got a glimpse of what life is like for the students and their families. Sadly, back in the UK, an inquest into the suicide of an autistic Suffolk teenager has been told that Gareth Oates, 18, was routinely bullied and that his mother had struggled to get appropriate medical intervention for her son's suicidal condition.

Meanwhile, Wednesday 18 April saw the latest direct action protest by disabled people against welfare cuts. The demonstration, organised by Disabled People Against the Cuts (DPAC), involved about 100 protestors and brought traffic to a halt in London's Trafalgar Square as wheelchair users chained themselves together across a busy junction.

More of the week's headlines

Louis Theroux on autism: A very different sort of school (BBC News, Thursday 19 April)

Support for carers must be central to social care white paper (The Guardian, Thursday 19 April)

London 2012 Paralympics: Murderball's men of steel left me sweating and scared (The Telegraph, Thursday 19 April)

Louis Theroux: making a documentary about children with autism was 'a baptism by fire' (The Telegraph, Thursday 19 April)

Disability rights protesters bring Trafalgar Square traffic to a standstill (The Guardian, Wednesday 18 April)

Severe abuse in childhood may treble risk of schizophrenia (The Guardian, Wednesday 18 April)

Disabled can rate tourist venues in Northern Ireland (BBC News, Wednesday 18 April)

'Blind' mice eyesight treated with transplanted cells (BBC News, Wednesday 18 April)

Protesters prepare to fight disability living allowance cuts (The Guardian, Wednesday 18 April)

Deaf rapper gives flash mob performance (BBC News, Wednesday 18 April)

Autistic Suffolk boy who killed himself 'was bullied' (BBC News, Tuesday 17 April)

Black and minority ethnic mental health patients 'marginalised' under coalition (The Guardian, Tuesday 17 April)

Price comparison sites: why disabled or older people struggle to go compare (The Guardian, Tuesday 17 April)

Travel challenge marks Disability Wales' 40th anniversary (BBC News, Tuesday 17 April)

The most cynical TV show I've ever seen: The father of an autistic teenager attacks Ricky Gervais' new comedy (Daily Mail, Monday 16 April)

Meet Simon Wheatcroft, the blind ultramarathon runner (The Guardian, Monday 16 April)

Disabled man campaigns for Northern Rail scooter access (BBC News, Monday 16 April)

Disability Living Allowance changes and cost-cutting (BBC News, Monday 16 April)

What autism can teach us about psychoanalysis (The Guardian, Monday 16 April)

Hope for depression sufferers as new treatment cures illness by inserting electrodes into patients' brains (Daily Mail, Sunday 15 April)

The dashing blade: Oscar Pistorius, accidental track hero (The Independent, Saturday 14 April)

England manager teaches Berkshire's blind footballers new skills (BBC News, Saturday 14 April)

Police officers' mental health 'affected by forced retirement' (BBC News, Saturday 14 April)

Thief returns service dog he snatched from disabled blind girl, five (Daily Mail, Saturday 14 April)

GP alert over rise in male anorexia (Daily Mail, Saturday 14 April)

Walking could be a useful tool in treating depression (BBC News, Friday 13 April)

California's mentally ill people need early diagnosis, not forced treatment (The Guardian, Friday 13 April)

Down's Syndrome trolling: Charity wants positive images (BBC News, Friday 13 April)

Paying tribute to the man who started the Paralympic Games (BBC News, Friday 13 April)

London mayoral election: Disabled people talk of transport pain (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

London 2012: Travelling Paralympic exhibition opens (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

TV and Radio on BBC iPlayer: young people and mental health

Vaughan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:35:29 +0000

Aled Jones, presenter of BBC Radio 1's The Surgery

One in 10 young people aged between 5 and 16 are affected by some kind of mental health issue - that's around 3 children in every classroom. In a special edition of BBC Radio 1's The Surgery, the advice show for children and teenagers, host Aled Jones talks to guests including Chris Birch, a Welsh teenager who fell into a coma after a stroke and then woke up gay (as seen in a recent BBC Three documentary), and other young people who have experienced a whole range of mental health problems. But, of course, the main business of the show is to answer queries and concerns from callers, with psychotherapist Dr Aaron Balick on hand to provide advice and guidance.

Also on iPlayer

Woman's Hour (BBC Radio 4)
Including a look at the impact the Welfare Reform Act will have on the relationships of disabled people.

In Touch (BBC Radio 4)
In the latest edition of their Blindness 4 Beginners series, the team offers tips for keeping track of your essential personal belongings, which may also work in a new and unfamiliar environment.

See Hear (BBC Two)
See Hear looks at the current status of sign language in the UK and across Europe. Almost nine years after it was officially recognised as a language in the UK, we look at what else is being done to try and achieve legal status via a BSL Act. (Available until Wednesday 27 June, 1.29pm)

Something Special (CBeebies)
Educational series for four- to seven-year-old children with learning difficulties.

Coming up

Louis Theroux - Extreme Love: Autism (BBC Two. Thursday 19 April, 9.00pm)
Louis visits one of the best schools in America for autism. He meets the students and their families to get a glimpse of what life is like for them and to experience the pleasures, but also the strains, of one of the most extraordinary kinds of relationship. (Extreme Love is a two-part series, with the second episode looking at dementia.)

News round-up: disability on TV continues to make headlines, US court case over disabled teen given electric shock 'treatment'

Vaughan — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:00:00 +0000

As with last week's news round-up, the past seven days have seen disability on TV making the news, whether it's the wide variety of comment, criticism and controversy concerning Ricky Gervais's comedy-drama Derek (read more about it in this Ouch! blog post), continuing coverage of Channel 4's reality show The Undateables, a forthcoming disability comedy show which has dropped a sketch after police intervention, or a BBC Two drama which will tell the story of how the Paralympics began.

In more troubling news, a trial in the US has been shown footage, withheld since 2002, of a disabled teenager being 'punished' with electric shock treatment at a school in Massachusetts, and a disabled human rights lawyer has been jailed in China for 'picking quarrels and provoking trouble' with the nation's government.

More of the week's headlines

C4 drop I'm Spazticus sketch after police called (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

Blind writer's novel saved by a police forensic team (The Telegraph, Thursday 12 April)

Fifth of children hear voices in their head (The Telegraph, Thursday 12 April)

Disabled teenager given 'electric-shock treatment as school punishment' (The Telegraph, Thursday 12 April)

Paralympic history set for drama (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

Dating and disability: Readers' stories (BBC News Magazine, Thursday 12 April)

Web trolls: Mum's horror over abuse of Down's Syndrome daughter (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

Coroner slams delays over tinnitus sufferer who stabbed himself to death (BBC News, Thursday 12 April)

Adrenaline junkie conquers world's most extreme challenges...despite being paralysed from the neck down (Daily Mail, Thursday 12 April)

Remploy staff reject claims of disabled segregation (The Guardian, Wednesday 11 April)

Derek: Ricky Gervais really ought to lay off the disabled (The Telegraph, Wednesday 11 April)