Australians who are blind or vision impaired are celebrating today following an announcement by the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts that funding will be made available to Australia’s public broadcasters to implement Audio Description (AD).
Most experiences were positive, but there were some where I felt like the elephant in the room that people had to tiptoe around or a compassion project where organisations could tick a diversity box by saying they’d taken on a blind intern for a week or two that year.
As a blind person I’ve lived through many highs and lows navigating relationships with my support workers. Can you really be friends when your support worker is being paid to spend time with you?
Every time I step foot outside my door, I steel myself for public reactions. It’s natural to stare. Having a visible facial difference (along with multiple disabilities) means prying eyes and a constant stream of comments and questions.
Ambulance Victoria staff will be more identifiable by people who are blind or have low vision, thanks to a new accessibility initiative. Ambulance Victoria is providing all paramedics with braille stickers that will adhere to their ID cards. The stickers read “Ambulance” on one line and “0” “0” “0” (Triple Zero) on the line below.
Imagine approaching a restaurant only to find it has no door. You know people are inside but you can’t join them. For individuals with disabilities, this is how interacting with websites and mobile apps can feel when companies don’t prioritize accessibility.
Sometimes, an act of aggression toward disabled people is overt, like firing them from a job or not providing an accessible entrance to a bathroom or building. Other times, it’s subtler — an offhand comment that they’re “so inspiring,” or a cashier assuming they can’t communicate with them. These “microaggressions,” as they’ve come to be known, can still cause pain and reflect ableist attitudes. And people with disabilities can get pretty tired of hearing them.
Melbourne is the only Australian capital city where it is legal for motorcyclists to park on footpaths as long as they do not obstruct access. But as the city becomes more congested, obstacles on footpaths including motorcycles, bikes, A-frame signs and cafe tables, are making pedestrian crowding worse and life very difficult for people with disabilities. On Tuesday, the council will install “no stopping” signs along footpaths next to more than 50 disability parking bays in the CBD. The fine is $165.
A parliamentary inquiry is investigating the NDIS. Source: AAP
A lack of specialist support services has meant Australians of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds struggle to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme, advocates say.
UPDATEDUPDATED 08/10/2019
There has long been concern and evidence that the NDIS, which promised so much for people with disability, is not meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) highlighted many of the reasons why in its 2018 submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into NDIS Readiness.
Melbourne is a great city to live in, but it can do better for people with a disability by making it more accessible and inclusive. “One day, I’d love to not have to think about accessibility. Every building, event and public transport option in Melbourne would be wheelchair accessible and I could simply go about my day like everyone else, not having to plan my day around accessibility.”
For the average person, paying for your lunch with a $20 note might not seem like a big deal. But for a person with vision loss, it can be a stressful and time-consuming ordeal.
As our everyday world moves increasingly online, the digital landscape presents new challenges for ensuring accessibility for the blind. A recent court challenge against Domino’s pizza may be a watershed case guiding the rights of disabled people on the internet.
Ms Ryan uses a power wheelchair, made of metal and powered by truck batteries, so she always expects that getting through the security checkpoints at the front door will be complicated. But her most recent visit, which was to attend a work function, was more than complicated — she said it was a traumatic experience that caused days of anxiety.
Almost a third of adults with disability (32 per cent) said they experienced high/very high psychological distress, compared to eight per cent of people without disability.