Crippled : austerity and the demonization of disabled people / Frances Ryan.

"The austerity crisis and threat to disability rights When public services are cut, disabled people are the hardest hit, and they number 3.7 million people in the UK. In Crippled, leading commentator Frances Ryan tells the story of those most affected by this devastating regime. This includes the man with a degenerative neurological condition forced to crawl down the stairs because the council wouldn't provide accessible housing; the young girl sleeping in her wheelchair and admitted to hospital with malnutrition. Ryan also charts how, in the austerity era, the public attitude towards disabled people has transformed from compassion to contempt: from society's most vulnerable to benefit cheats. Through these personal stories the book shows the scale of the crisis, while also reporting on how the disabled community is fighting back. It is a passionate demand for the recognition of disability rights and a call for an end to austerity policies that disproportionately affect those most in need"-- Provided by publisher.