Sticky – Rix Inclusive Research

On Saturday 18 October Rix Inclusive Research hosted a Campaigning Day with Pathfinders Neuromuscular Alliance in the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability on Docklands Campus.

There were several speakers who came to talk about their experiences of campaigning for disability rights and social justice. Sue told us about the Direct Action she took part in during the 1980s. This included chaining herself to buses in Oxford Street with other disabled people, taking over Government Offices and targeting the 15 MPs who kept trying to prevent the Disability and Discrimination Act (1995) from being passed. This made me feel inspired, that protesting and other peaceful forms of protest like chaining yourself to a bus make a real and tangible difference to society for disabled people. I was shocked that it took so much campaigning to force the Government to make train and bus travel accessible.

Disabled people blocking London bus — Campaigning to make public transport fully accessible for everyone

Thanks to people like Sue, I can now expect all public transport to be accessible, as well as public buildings. This isn’t always the case even now, but at least we have a legal right for it to happen which we didn’t have before the 1995 Act.

Other speakers talked about campaigning to make their local railway station accessible, and for increased social care packages. Sam, who is the Campaigns and Research Officer in Pathfinders, talked about his fight to get accessible housing in Bristol where he and his cat Barry live. He also told us about the new social care campaign and other research that Pathfinders are involved in. In the afternoon a new initiative was announced, the ‘Hoists in Hotels’ campaign.

wristband for 'Don't Wing It, Sling It' campaign — Don’t Wing It, Sling It campaign wristband

This campaign is trying to persuade hotels across the country to put hoists into their bedrooms so that disabled guests can stay there. It can be a real problem finding places to stay if you are disabled, so hopefully, through this campaign, more people will realise what is needed to make places properly accessible.

Saul Catlin, RIX co-researcher

We are delighted to have secured one of the Launchpad pilots for London Social Ventures to explore innovative solutions to problems in Health and Social Care.

Making research travel: Our first two Impact Launchpad pilots

Storysharing® is a unique intervention that supports individuals with severe communication problems to recall and share everyday experiences in the form of collaborative conversations.

This promotes identity, memory, community, strong inter-peer relationships, listening, agency, and equality.

Storysharing addresses loneliness and wellbeing by providing mental stimulation.

It promotes independence – making choices depends on remembering the experience and consequences of previous choosing.

It fosters high quality care, better knowledge of residents, and more effective communication between staff and residents.

It provides enjoyment and sense of purpose for staff.

The pilot project will be developed and evaluated over the next six months, working in partnership with providers and the Social Ventures team.

Rix Inclusive Research Institute was delighted to be invited by Hannah Otoo, CEO of the REYO Foundation and organiser of Autism & SEN Show Africa 2025, to take part in this year’s event.

The conference is an international affair with delegates, exhibitors and speakers from around the world taking part. There are opportunities for professional development through presentations, workshops and exploration of new resources and technologies that have been proven to improve outcomes for young people.

The event was designed to appeal to teachers, healthcare professionals, parents, and the general public who want to engage with the latest information on Autism, Learning Disabilities, and Special Needs.

Professional development from Rix Inclusive Research

RIX provided two training sessions at the event which we include as video presentations below.

Inclusion without borders is presented by RIX Director Gosia Kwiatkowska. The presentation outlines core challenges and opportunities in the provision of inclusive education, health and care. Gosia explores the approach used at RIX to include and value differences and demonstrates how policy and strategy can lead positive change and social justice for autistic people and those with lived experience of disability.

A more inclusive classroom is presented by RIX Technical Director Craig Wilkie (also a teacher, education advisor and author) and provides practical ideas and approaches to improve inclusion in classrooms through the use of software such as the RIX Wiki and RIX EasySurvey.

RIX are delighted to take part and are actively collaborating with the REYO Foundation to secure funding for future inclusive technology projects in Ghana and the UK. Our collaboration with the Autism & SEN Show Africa conference is part of our ongoing partnership.