ABSTRACT
As a disabled person myself, such a vision is heartening; however, the gap between intent and reality can be wide. As a disabled person from birth and a wheelchair user for over 20 years I have experienced improved access to public buildings, better service on the railway network, greater protection under the law (Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005) and so on. But, as Martin Luther King said, ‘Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless’ (cited in Law Society, 1992). In other words, behaviour towards people who are discriminated against can be modifi ed, but the attitude towards such people may still remain prejudiced.
