Access All: Disability News and Mental Health

The biggest sporting event of the year is here - the Winter Paralympics! (The Olympics was just the warm-up).We hear from the BBC's Sally Hurst who's in Milan-Cortina for all the action and find out why ice skating isn't included in the Games. We meet two skaters - Margarita Sweeney-Baird who runs Inclusive Skating, and Rhiannon Parker-Nicholls, an elite skater who had a stroke aged 19 - who are campaigning for the sport's inclusion.Actress Gracie McGonigal has hit our screens on the latest series of Bridgerton, where she plays new maid, Hazel. But what's it like to pour all that tea with one hand? Gracie talks about some of the confronting and surprising conversations she's had about her limb difference when it comes to the industry and the amazing job the costume designers did on set.Plus a round-up of what's got you talking in the disability world over the past month including why some younger people are finding themselves in nursing homes and what everyday life can be like when you're living with Tourette's syndrome. Presented by Emma TraceySound mixed by Dave O'NeillProduced by Emma TraceySeries producer is Beth RoseEditor is Damon Rose (no relation!)

Disabled people are waiting up to 30 weeks for a decision on whether they'll get a grant to support them at work and wait times are getting longer. We hear from three people who have been affected: Danielle Verity, a visually impaired NHS psychologist has had her grant reduced causing her career stress and worsening mental health. And George Baker is waiting for a new agreement which means he presently has no money and his support worker, Lauren, is kindly, unsustainably, working for free with the hope it will be sorted out soon.One of the biggest challenges for neurodivergent people is the impact of everyday noises like air conditioning or chatter from people on mobile phones. Emma speaks to autistic journalist Keira Edwards about her new podcast It's So Loud In Here, coming soon to BBC Sounds.Also, neurodivergent journalist, Hayley Clarke, joins Emma to talk about pre-loved clothes selling websites and how one mum is calling for a filtered category so you can find accessible or adapted clothes easily.Presented by Emma Tracey Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill Produced by Emma Tracey and Alex Collins Series producer is Beth Rose Editor is Damon Rose

There were celebrations last year when a GCSE in British Sign Language was approved...but a few months have passed and no accredited exam board has taken it on. What now for the exam which had a strong 10-year campaign behind it?Simon Want from the National Deaf Children's Society gives his reaction while BBC journalist Kateryna Pavlyuk talks us through it.Cyber correspondent Joe Tidy has been in California visiting humanoid robots built to carry out domestic tasks and considers how this development might help disabled people in the future.And the BBC's Alex Taylor is Emma's studio pal this week. He spills the tea on his new romantic relationship. Not only is he smitten but it's also given him pause for thought on letting her help with his care responsibilities so they can let his careworker go out for the night and leave them to some alone time.And finally. Just a heads up, we're moving to a monthly podcast from now on. Our next episode will be 4 February. Catch you then!Presented by Emma Tracey with Alex TaylorSound mixed by Dave O'NeillProduced by Kateryna Pavlyuk and Alex CollinsSeries producer is Beth RoseEdited by Damon Rose

It's a new year and we are finding out about the hopes and aspirations of three young disabled people around the UK. At 17, Niamdh is School Captain at her college in Scotland and hoping for a career in politics. She took her council to court not too long ago and won a case which now ensures she gets adequate BSL support in the classroom - since then, she's been flying. Seren has just started a new job in social media and is loving it. She has 750k of her own followers. But being blind means it hasn't always been easy to get companies to take her seriously when she applies for jobs. Seren gives some thoughts on when you should declare your disability on a job application and how she has landed a job in a supportive company. And Izemrasen is 27 and working as a personal trainer in a gym. He's adapted his aspirations and career goals over the years due to creeping Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - a connective tissue disorder. He has become a regular wheelchair user and gives some top tips on how to find your voice and ask for the support you need. Plus, BBC journalist Kit Taylor gives analysis on the bigger picture for young people. Presented by Emma Tracey Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill Produced by Alex Collins Series producer is Beth Rose Editor is Damon Rose

The onset of motor neurone disease (MND) left Sarah without a voice and the use of her hands at the age of 34. It was within months of her becoming a mum for the second time.As they were growing up, her children Aviva and Eric only ever heard her speak through a machine with an emotionless robotic voice.But 25 years on, artificial intelligence (AI) has recreated their mum's real voice from just eight seconds of audio on a scratchy VHS tape.Sarah speaks to the BBC with eye-gaze technology - which uses a camera to track her eyes as she looks at letters on a screen in front of her.Originally aired August 2025. Presenter: Emma Tracey, mixed by Dave O'Neill, Series Producer: Beth Rose, Editor: Damon Rose. Email accessall@bbc.co.uk

In our pick of the year's best interviews on Access All, we look back at a year of perceptive interviews by Emma Tracey with great people and their great thoughts on living this disabled life. We hear from author of The Vulpine, Polly Crosby, who has cystic fibrosis and tells us she writes "little and often" so she can write comfortably with the condition she has. Comedian Chris McCausland now feels he can talk openly about being blind after the emotional experience of winning Strictly Come Dancing. And comedian Harriet Dyer who is always really open about mental illness tells us about the night she nearly died twice - though it had nothing to do with what was going on in her head. There's even more than that, and each have their own great insights that we recommend wholeheartedly as a Christmas uplift. Yours sincerely, the Access All team Presenter: Emma Tracey Mixed by: Dave O'Neill Produced by Alex Collins Editor: Damon Rose

Do you know anything about disability beyond your own? We test three well-known disabled people. Featuring BBC Chief North America Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, Coronation Street's Jack Carrroll and writer-comedian Juliette Burton. In this poignant parody game, blind, cerebral palsy and mental health are respectively their HOME impairments so will our brave contestants choose to answer questions about their HOME condition, or go AWAY and get more points for answering a question correctly about someone else's. Hosted by Emma Tracey who is consciously embracing this medical-sounding game to see what emerges. Listen, laugh and learn in the most self-aware episode of the year. email accessall@bbc.co.uk Mixed by: Dave O'Neill Produced by: Damon Rose, Alex Collins, Emma Tracey Series Producer: Beth Rose Editor: Damon Rose Say to your smart speaker: "Ask BBC Sounds for Access All" and the latest edition will play immediately. Subscribe to Access All on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

When Crystal Palace play Manchester City on 14 December, Neale Ormston will become the first visually impaired commentator of a premier league football match. That's thanks to a new headset which has allowed him to see games in detail for the first time in years. He’s nervous and excited to join Crystal Palace’s specialist commentary team and wants more clubs to buy into the GiveVision headsets which have revolutionised his match-day experience.It's Disability History Month and the Disability Law Service (DLS), which gives free legal advice on everything from housing to employment, has just marked its 50th birthday. It started in 1975 - the same year Jaws hit the cinema. Andrew MacKay, its CEO and a lawyer himself, remembers some of the cases DLS is most proud of, talks about his team - 90% of whom are disabled - and reveals how he manages his ADHD alongside a law career. And Mat Fraser, a successful actor, musician and activist with short arms, is on the show to talk about a brand new arts project. Mat was a big figure on rights marches and crip cabarets in the 1990s and explains how you can contribute to Disability Arts Online's new archive project, Cripping Culture, which has received £250,000 in funding to make sure no disability culture memories are lost. He also talks about his recent double hip replacement and how he's already got back to picking up teacups with his toes...Presented by Emma Tracey Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill Produced by Emma Tracey and Alex Collins Series producer is Beth Rose Editor is Damon Rose

It's 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). While everyone chooses to mark it differently - from focusing on leveling up work places, to reminding people to be more inclusive - we've decided to celebrate with some big names from the disability world!Dr Shani Dhanda speaks to us from Tokyo where she's delivering a keynote speech at the world's first Accountability Summit which has brought together 500 companies who made disability pledges in the past two years to see just how well they're doing. Plus she reveals how she would ideally celebrate IDPD CEO of Paralympics GB, Dave Clarke, tells us what he thinks about marking the day and reveals the latest research about the number of disabled people getting involved in sport and what's holding others back.Plus, we have Hollywood film star, presenter and campaigner, Adam Pearson, in the house. He's just been announced as the patron of Face Equality International. He talks about the challenges AI can pose for someone with a facial difference and gives us the inside scoop on his next big film role....a man he once loathed as a child, but has come full circle to love.Intrigued? - Get your party hat on and take a listen!Presented by Emma Tracey Sound mixed by Dave O'Neill Produced by Emma Tracey and Alex Collins Series producer is Beth Rose Editor is Damon Rose

The Autumn Budget was pronounced today and, as expected, it came with some changes to VAT exemptions on higher-end Motability cars and the types available. Emma Vogelmann from Transport for All gives us the charity's reaction.It's the BBC's Scam Safe week and, as Trading Standards reveal that neurodivergent people are 50% more likely to fall for a scam, we speak with cybersecurity expert Holly Foxcroft, about why the figures are so high. Holly is autistic and lives with "thriving ADHD".Former BBC editor Mark Mardell made headlines a few weeks ago when Turkish Airlines refused to let him fly without a doctor's note, owing to his Parkinson's. Mark has an update on what he's planning to do next to stop anyone else experiencing what he went through.Presented by Emma Tracey with Hayley ClarkeSound mixed by Dave O'NeillSeries producer is Beth RoseEditor is Damon Rose