Hidden camera captures nurse ‘abusing patient’
A nurse has been fired after horrific footage emerged of him allegedly abusing a patient who suffers from a disability at a Melbourne hospital.
News and blogs
Why is the murder of disabled people acceptable?
Queensland woman, Maree Crabtree has been arrested, accused of poisoning her two adult children, Erin and Jonathon, with prescription medications over a period of five years. Both victims have been described as “severely disabled”.
People accept that I’m gay, but not that I’m disabled
When Jessica Kellgren-Fozard tells people she is gay, they generally smile and certainly don’t challenge her. But they are far less accepting of her, often invisible, disabilities – and sometimes even hostile
Disabilities are not always obvious. Don’t judge us without knowing the full story
Too many of my friends have told me of being abused by strangers when using an accessible (or “disabled”) parking space. Sometimes there is a note left under the windscreen wiper – “you should be ashamed of yourself, I saw you and there’s nothing wrong with you. I’ve taken your license plate and will report … Continued
Randolph Bourne’s 1911 essay on disability shocked society. But what’s changed since?
The American intellectual’s controversial account, The Handicapped – By One of Them, still resonates today. It also begs the question: what progress has been made since his death 100 years ago?
The ‘grey’ area for domestic violence victims who have a disability
A disabled woman tried to set her Canberra house on fire because her support provider failed to stop abuse from her housemate for over a year. That’s one of the horror stories Advocacy for Inclusion has heard over the years that shows the additional hurdles victims with a disability face when experiencing domestic violence.
Not everyone with a disability wants a cure – nor should we expect them to
Sunday is International Day of People with a Disability, and its themeis “transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”. People with disabilities are a diverse bunch – many of us want to see cures for our conditions, and many don’t – but what we all want is quality of life here and now.
Standardised tests limit students with disability
A major challenge in assessment is how to obtain evidence about learning from students with disability. We cannot know how these students are faring with their learning if assessments or tests are structured in ways that create barriers for them. We would not expect a student who is blind, for example, to complete a paper and pencil test.
Why do employers need to know about my disability?’
“I WANT to be like a normal citizen and work hard – I don’t want to be on Centrelink.” David McNae has been out of work for the best part of four years. He was unemployed for three years before getting a job late last year to only be laid off in July. He has spent the past four months trying to find work only to come up short – and he has an idea why.
Disabled Australians at financial risk
A new study has confirmed that people living with disabilities are vulnerable to financial exploitation and abuse by unscrupulous service providers, and that access to financial education may be able to help disabled Australians and carers make more confident financial decisions.
Man with intellectual disability released from Melbourne prison after judge ‘horrified’ by conditions
Victoria Supreme Court judge has granted bail to a young man with a profound intellectual disability after telling an earlier hearing he was “horrified” by the conditions the man was being detained in.
Power trip
It’s not just public transport that is the issue. For example in the article a guy with Parkinson’s explains how he struggles just to get in a pub because people think he is drunk. There are no disabled changing rooms at shopping centres to try clothes on and deaf people are for ever receiving phone … Continued
Jordon Steele-John bringing lived experience with disability to Parliament in replacing Scott Ludlam
The citizenship saga has cleared the path for the youngest-ever senator, Jordon Steele-John from Western Australia, to enter the Upper House, replacing Greens co-deputy Scott Ludlam. “I’ve spent the last six years talking about youth and disability issues and I’m incredibly excited to take that voice and lived experience into the Parliament.”
What Australian Media Forgot In The Diversity Debate
Disability simply isn’t represented in Australian media and advertising. Yet disabled people make up 20% of the Australian community.
The NDIS is not everything
A disabled man is in prison because the justice system fails people with disability. Advocacy organisations highlight his case publicly and continue to call for change. This has happened before and will happen again while mainstream services, such as prisons and courts, are so hostile to people with disability.