British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association

A full report- `Ageing with a disability: What do they expect after all these years? '- will be published shortly (see Appendix for full details). The project has examined the experiences of people with long-term physical disabilities or disabling illnesses who are also experiencing the ageing process. The findings are based on responses from over 300 men and women with a variety of disabilities, including Diabetes, Polio, Multiple Sclerosis, Scoliosis, Parkinsons Disease, Limb-amputations and Arthritis. 125 of these have also been followed up with in-depth personal interviews. The project has also attempted to highlight the race dimensions to ageing with a disability. Attempts to locate older disabled people from black and ethnic minority communities through the membership of established disability organisations proved unsuccessful. Consequently, additional outreach work has been undertaken to consult with local community groups, identify older African Caribbean and Asian disabled people, and to discuss their experiences and needs. Apart from the research itself, dissemination is also an important part of the project. The specific aims of the dissemination can be summarised as follows; i) to raise awareness of the existence, needs, and experiences of people who are ageing with a disabilit