ABSTRACT
People with disabilities constitute as varied and diverse a population as any group of the able-bodied. Disability is found among people of all ages and all social backgrounds, and the extent of disability ranges from the relatively minor to conditions that involve dependence on others for meeting the most basic of daily needs. Recent estimates suggest that almost eleven per cent (that is, 3.8 million) of the working-age population in private households in Britain have a work-limiting long-term health problem or disability (Sly and Duxbury, 1995) and there may be as many as 6.5 million disabled people in the UK altogether (Armitage, 1997).
