Do people with disabilities need to continue learning more about ableism, discrimination, persistent inaccessibility, and social and economic injustice? Or, is it better for their overall outlook and mental health to focus on good news — about successful disabled people’s achievements, opportunities offered by new technologies and innovations, and empowering ways to think about disability itself?
The bottom line of that analysis is although … a contested issue, my own view is the better view of the Convention’s obligation, in particular Article 24, is that Australia needs to move progressively over some time to have [a] transformed system with inclusive education, which does not, as a matter of principle, include special schools as a long-term separate form of education. And I think that is also a position taken by the CRPD Committee.”
A young Aussie who has tirelessly campaigned to see a princess with a disability introduced to the wonderful world of Disney could be a step closer to achieving that dream.
The NDIS eMarket did not proceed. This is an appalling situation. Instead, what the Australian community has been left with is a cadaverous, inert and incomprehensible spreadsheet which is the NDIS services and price catalogue, that has defined more than A$100 billion in supports over this period. You see, it’s not the participants ripping off the NDIS. It’s the market preying on this lack of transparency created by the NDIA’s analogue and antiquated conceptualisation of the pricing catalogue. That it has no feedback function is inherently defective. That it is inaccessible is a breach of human rights.
Disabled activists in Ukraine have been kidnapped and killed, residential institutions have been shelled, and Deaf people have been unable to escape to shelters because they cannot hear the air raid warnings, a conference has heard.
“We all want to be different — different hairstyles, different cars, different clothes, different schools, different everything. What better way to be different than to have a disability, if you can embrace it … and be proud of the person that you are. But you can’t expect every child to have that inner confidence to feel like that. It’s up to all of us in society to create a space where they feel included.
Emily Dash is an emerging writer, actor, producer and speaker who works across theatre and screen. Her acclaimed and wide ranging work emphasises social justice issues, community engagement, intersectionality, and expanding perceptions of disability. Watch her spoken word performance about owning your power and taking up space as a person with disability which was presented at the ‘Where To From Here Conference 2022’.
“The more you think about it earlier on, the less you end up in a situation where you have built a whole experience and realised that there’s a huge subset of your users that just can’t access it all.
For population data purposes, disability is defined as a limitation or impairment lasting at least six months that impacts everyday activities. Using this definition, 18% of Australians have a disability. But nearly half of all Australians (47%) have at least one chronic condition that restricts ability, and 19% have two or more.
For the 130 members of TelstrAbility, Telstra’s employee representative group for people with a disability, the opening of a pop-up ‘Accessible Tech Experience Lab’ on May 19th – Global Accessibility Awareness Day – marked a vital acknowledgement of the importance of “asking the person” in any process that aims to promote truly inclusive design.
Akii was on a high, returning home via Adelaide from Australian Fashion Week in Sydney, where they participated as a model in the “Fix The System Not Me” adaptive clothing collective show. But Akii said that when they were being transported in the airline’s wheelchair through Adelaide Airport, Jetstar staff seemed to lack experience when handling people who required mobility support.
Over the next hour, I heard a dozen personal stories, each as enraging and saddening as the next, but all following a similar theme. During their late teens or early 20s, each of these people were told, usually by a close family member or friend, that they “weren’t smart enough to vote” or it “wasn’t worth the effort to learn”.
Despite Scott having an IT-related PhD, and two decades of digital accessibility experience in academic and commercial arenas, it falls on his teenage son to complete the online ticket purchase.
As workplaces strive for inclusivity, some businesses are showing the way forward in how to remove barriers and demonstrate the benefits of employing people with a disability. Mr Basha, who works as an office assistant alongside radio hosts Fitzy and Wippa, said his employer has high expectations of him.
If you asked me at the time, I would have gladly skipped school and played video games instead. And yet, I did learn. I learnt how to spell, write, to do maths, languages, chemistry and drama. More importantly, I learnt soft skills. I made friends, navigated social cliques, traded lunchbox snacks, was teased, teased others, took risks and learnt from them, avoided girls then later discovered they weren’t so bad after all.