This audiobook is about getting benefits and other financial help if you are affected by cancer in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. It explains the types of financial help you could get and who to contact for further support, including Macmillan's money advisors.

Track 35 - Dental costs

Track 26 - Housing benefit

Japan’s medal haul at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics reached a record 31 on Sunday, surpassing the previous national best of 30 set at the 2022 Games in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, organizers said.

Japan added to its tally with strong performances across multiple sports. In karate, the women’s team won gold in the team kata event, while 20-year-old Kenji Mori captured the men’s individual kata title. In swimming, Ryutaro Ibara, 31, claimed his third gold of the Games by winning the men’s 400-meter individual medley. On the track, Maki Yamada, 28, earned silver in the men’s 200-meter sprint.

Crown Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito attended an orienteering event on Izu Oshima, part of metropolitan Tokyo. The two watched the final round of the men’s relay, which featured Japan and seven other teams, with Prince Hisahito offering cheers to athletes in sign language. The Crown Princess, who first tried the sport after an introduction by a foreign researcher at the 2019 International Cartographic Conference in Tokyo, has since been a regular participant in competitions and training sessions. Earlier in the day, the pair visited Buratto House, a shop selling local farm products.

Episode notes:

‘Japan’s Tokyo Deaflympics Medals Reach Record 31’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/11/25/japans-tokyo-deaflympics-medals-reach-record-31/

‘Crown Princess Kiko, Prince Hisahito Watch Deaflympic Event’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/11/24/crown-princess-kiko-prince-hisahito-watch-deaflympic-event/


Record 31 Medals for Japan at Tokyo Deaflympics; Crown Princess Kiko and Hisahito Attend Event

As the Tokyo Deaflympics nears its conclusion, the Japanese women’s basketball and volleyball teams won gold medals at the Tokyo Deaflympics on Tuesday. Japan narrowly beat the United States 65-64 in the women’s basketball final, and trumped Turkey to win their first women’s volleyball gold in two Deaflympics.

Episode Notes:

‘Japan Women Win Basketball, Volleyball Gold at Tokyo Deaflympics’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/11/26/japan-women-win-basketball-volleyball-gold-at-tokyo-deaflympics/


Japan’s Women Win Basketball, Volleyball Gold As Tokyo Deaflympics Ends

The organizers of the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics have revealed that the number of people who visited the event’s venues totaled about 280,000, far more than their target of 100,000.

Episode notes:

‘Tokyo Deaflympics Venue Attendance Far Exceeded Expectations’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/11/27/tokyo-deaflympics-venue-attendance-far-exceeded-expectations/


Tokyo Deaflympics Venue Attendance Far Exceeded Expectations

Dorinda and Craig sat down for a chat with Caroline Yates, a registered nurse, educator and Director of SN Services for this episode. Caroline talks through her background as an RN, as well as an educator, and how she came to start a company that provides complex clinical care for people living at home with a disability. She also discusses the formation of the WA Complex Care Alliance, aimed at improving complex care in WA.

Caroline and colleagues identified that disability support staff were being asked to handle complex clinical treatment for their clients with disability without having sufficient training or education. To address this, Caroline and her business partner decided to provide this upskilling themselves and started SN Training to help support workers develop the knowledge and skills they needed for these important tasks, culminating in SN Training becoming a Registered Training Organisation (RTO).

Caroline discusses her thoughts on the NDIS, and how just simply improving communication between government departments, and listening to feedback from families and carers could make a world of difference in the outcomes experienced by people with disability.

You can read more about:
SN Services here: https://www.snservices.com.au
 SN Training here: https://www.sntraining.com.au
The WA Complex Care Alliance here: https://www.snservices.com.au/wa-complex-care-alliance 

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: meaningofhealth@outlook.com  
Instagram Twitter/X  Bluesky @healthmeanswhat  
FaceBook @MeaningofHealth 
Visit our website: https://meaningofhealth.com.au/ 


Ep 138 - Complex Clinical Care & Disability with Caroline Yates [disability series]

The number of university students with developmental disabilities in Japan is on the rise, with their conditions often identified at a late stage through challenges in their social lives. According to a survey by the Japan Student Services Organization, 14,666 students with developmental disabilities were enrolled in universities, junior colleges and technical colleges in the 2024 academic year, approximately five times the number from 10 years ago.

Episode notes:

‘University students with developmental disabilities increase in Japan’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/11/29/university-students-with-developmental-disabilities-increase-in-japan/



University students with developmental disabilities increase in Japan

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on December 1st that it will hold its annual ‘Disability Week’ from December 3rd to 9th. The aim of ‘Disability Week’ is to deepen public interest and understanding of disability welfare and to encourage people with disabilities to actively participate in all areas of social, economic, and cultural activities.

Episode notes: 

‘Tokyo Annual Disability Week to be Held December 3rd to 9th’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/12/02/tokyo-annual-disability-week-to-be-held-december-3rd-to-9th/



Tokyo Annual 'Disability Week' to be Held December 3rd to 9th

For this episode Dorinda visited the offices of Developmental Disability WA (DDWA) with our practicum student Sumaya and speaks with 3 guests with experience living with developmental disability and navigating the health system as consumers. 
 
James, a member of the DDWA advisory council, discusses some positive experiences with hospitals and the support he received from his parents and doctors, as well as the need for improvements like reducing hospital wait times and providing separate areas for people with disabilities in emergency departments. 
 
Georgie, who manages a back injury along with a disability, discusses problems such as the lack of understanding and respect from hospital staff, emphasising the need for better communication and support. 
 
Justin, a disability advocate, calls for a specialised disability hospital to address the unique needs of people with disabilities, highlighting the current system's failures in providing adequate care and support, Justin calls for simple steps to be taken such as making documents such as information and consent forms more accessible for people with disability.
 
Many thanks to Mary Butterworth, CEO of DDWA who helped make this episode possible.
 
You can read more about DDWA here: https://ddwa.org.au
 
As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: meaningofhealth@outlook.com  
Instagram Twitter/X  Bluesky @healthmeanswhat  
FaceBook @MeaningofHealth
Visit our website: https://meaningofhealth.com.au/


Episode 139 - Developmental Disability WA with James, Georgie & Justin [disability series]

Japan plans to introduce a ban with penalties on implanting a genome-edited fertilized human egg into the womb of a human or another animal amid concerns over “designer babies.” A Japanese government expert panel broadly approved a proposal, including the ban, at a meeting on Thursday 4th December.

Episode notes:

‘Japan Eyes Ban on Gene-Edited Babies’:

https://barrierfreejapan.com/2025/12/05/japan-eyes-ban-on-gene-edited-babies/


Japan Eyes Ban on Gene-Edited Babies

Whatever cancer throws your way, we’re right there with you to offer physical, financial and emotional support.

Hosted by Michael Gillan Peckitt, who resides in Kobe, Japan, the Disability News Japan Podcast is News website 'Barrier Free Japan's podcast, a weekly digest of some of the news about disability in Japan in audio form. New episodes will usually be available every Friday at 6am Japan Time.

A podcast that explores a range of health and health-related issues that affect people in the community. We sit down with lived experience, academic, and practitioner experts to take a deep dive into many different areas of health. We are based at the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Western Australia.

New tracks tagged #disability