She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 19 and her marriage broke down when it all became too much, but Katy Skene considers herself one of the lucky ones. At the age of 31, because there was nowhere else for her to go after a two-month stay in hospital, Ms Skene was moved into a … Continued
A striking lack of PDF files differentiates the Victorian Government’s Department of Primary Industries web site from just about every other government and business site in Australia. Since DPI Systems and Technical Manager Mark Bryant completed a PDF purge in July 2011 the DPI site has also registered an astonishing increase in page views – … Continued
Victorians could soon have greater control over their deaths by being allowed to refuse life-saving treatment for future illnesses, under proposed laws strongly endorsed by the Health Minister. The proposed laws being considered by the state government would enable people to set directives about healthcare and medical treatment for conditions they don’t yet have. Health … Continued
By any measure, Aboriginal people with disabilities are amongst the most disadvantaged Australians. They often face multiple barriers to their meaningful participation within their own communities and the wider community. This continues to occur for a range of reasons including the fact that the vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disabilities do … Continued
Media Release, , 8 May 2012 Captioning levels on subscription television services will be increased over the next three years, under an agreement reached between the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA). The agreement was reached together with leading captioning expert body, Media Access Australia and … Continued
Transport Department project officer Paul Smith designs tram stops so they are easier to use for people with disabilities. But it took the temporary loss of his own vision during a cross-town tram trip to fully appreciate how tricky using public transport is for the blind. The experience was part of a Guide Dogs Victoria … Continued
Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon says a plan for a prep-to-year-12 school for students with autism in Melbourne’s western suburbs is ”non-negotiable”, with work on the new school to begin within two years. Specialist autism P-12 schools are controversial because some experts argue autistic children should be educated in mainstream schools to improve their social … Continued
Clifton Hill Primary principal Geoffrey Warren is the first to admit to ”considerable doubts” when asked to enrol a student with severe autism several years ago. Adam Dickson, then eight, was ”shutting down” at an autism school and his mother Stephanie Gotlib became concerned he was depressed. Ms Gotlib, the executive director of Children with … Continued
Women with disabilities experience violence at a higher rate, for longer periods, and are less likely to report the abuse, than women without disabilities (Healey, 2008). Tricia Malowney, Chair of Women with Disabilities Victoria, and Ariane Garner-Williams, youth and women with disabilities advocate, talk about some of the issues that arise for this doubly disadvantaged … Continued
For many years, people who are blind or vision impaired have not had access to cinema or television. Audio description can change that. Senator Stephen Conroy last week announced that ABC1 will trial audio description in 2012, giving people who are blind or vision impaired access to something most of us take for granted. Movie … Continued
Violence is ”scarily common” in residential accommodation for people with disabilities and is systemically accepted, according to a disability advocacy group. In a submission to the ACT government, Advocacy for Inclusion has called for an overhaul of domestic violence laws to provide greater security for people with disabilities, including those living in disability group homes … Continued
Stella Young, disability advocate, comedienne and editor of ABC’s Ramp Up website is about to take possession of a brand new top of the line wheelchair; something that has been a long time in coming. She has had the same wheelchair for 17 years but it is not without regret that she must let it … Continued
Craig Coulson has two daughters with disabilities. Both catch the bus to school. However while Claudia is provided with free transport because she attends a government specialist school, her sister Tayla’s Catholic specialist school, St Paul’s College in Kew, has to pay more than $220,000 a year to run its own school buses. The bus … Continued
Patients at Victoria’s largest hospital for the criminally insane will have a third of their pension deducted as part of a pay-to-stay policy designed to give them ”real life budgeting experience”. Documents obtained by The Age reveal the fee plan was approved by the board of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health, known as … Continued
Marlon Noble’s release after 10 years behind bars without a trial has been welcomed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes. But both Commissioners have called for the criminal justice system and the mental health system to be more flexible in the way it deals … Continued