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I think Thian raises some interesting issues, but leaves me wondering what status Thian does accept? I would also question who the"we" in 'we put people with different types of disabilities under the same group' is. Surely the pre-eminent issue with the social model is that an extremely diverse group are thrown together by virtue only of shared exclusion (for want of a better term), so the 'we' would be those outside the 'disabled community'? The crucial point is that in historical terms, 'disabled' is a value laden label applied to certain people BY OTHERS. I doubt whether there are many people engaged in advancing the human rights of disabled people who are not painfully aware of the fundamental differences between so large and diverse a community, an issue that policy-makers are not afraid to use to their advantage (divide and rule). For me, the disability community exists and comprises those who are prepared to identify as being a 'disabled person' and, often though not necessarily, identify with other disabled people - through shared experience or whatever. Like the civil rights movement in 1960's America, disabled people unite to celebrate what others demean; I know that my experience as a disabled person is substantially different to that of many of my brothers and sisters - but it does not stop me identifying with them through shared experience, exclusion, concerns, values etc. etc. Whenever a particular characteristic is used to differentiate between 'us' and 'them', minorities are created within minorities - the increasing politicisation of disability, by disabled people themselves, surely takes as its target precisely the artificial and largely meaningless labels applied to us? There is nothing new in this - hence the whole 'dilemma of difference' debate. It is easy for the majority world to classify so diverse a community under one head, precisely because it is ignorant and, in many cases, indifferent, about us. Forming a 'cross-impairment community' is about individuals choosing to identify with others. As a wheelchair user, my understanding of sensory impairments, and the shared experience/culture of those with sensory impairments is limited, but that does not prevent my joining them to say 'our views and needs matter'. I find it difficult to contain my indifference about the labels that others seek to place on me but find it difficult to contain my enthusiasm for a united and supportive disability community. I respect your views, but cannot accept them. What is the problem of being a minority within a minority anyway? Those with enormous wealth and influence are a minority within a minority and, presumably, are only too happy to flaunt the 'minority within a minority' card to their advantage. Until such time as we live in a world where impairments are not made to matter as much as they do now, I am entirely happy to accept the status of being a minority within a minority because, irrespective of that label, I am part of a community that I respect and where I feel 'at home'. Thanks for raising some issues that prompt thought; best wishes Richard Light %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%