When asked to rate disabled people’s quality of life, nondisabled people assume it is low—lower in fact than people with the disability in question rate their own quality of life. This gap between what nondisabled people believe and what people with disabilities actually experience is known as the disability paradox.
There have been calls at the Jobs and Skills Summit to boost participation of people with disabilities in the workforce.
Australia’s first university chancellor who identifies as having a disability says things have improved since the days when his law studies revolved around whatever resources he could obtain in Braille or reel-to-reel audio tape. “I had a smaller range of material,” said lawyer and disability advocate Graeme Innes, who was born blind. “My challenge was that I had to know that material better than other students who could research more broadly than I could.”
Disability is often relegated to “second-class” status in student activism. More effort, listening and discernment is needed from other activists to build a genuinely inclusive student movement.
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?
Closing date: September 19, 2022
Inclusive playgrounds and outdoor play spaces are so important for children with disability. It’s where children of all ages come to play, get to enjoy their childhood and be part of the local community. This survey is an opportunity for families to provide ideas and feedback about what makes outdoor play spaces inclusive for children with disability and should take around 10 minutes to complete.
Infantilization is often a form of ableism. This behavior is offensive because it underestimates a person’s cognitive abilities and implies that people with disabilities are invisible, don’t matter, or don’t have anything meaningful to communicate.
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.
My research and that of others shows the challenges faced by this group were always characterised as a “specialised field”. This means governments were aware of the issues but still failed to properly engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability in remote regions.
Craig Wallace, head of policy at Advocacy for Inclusion, says the ban on plastic straws introduces another layer of complexity into the lives of people with disability by requiring them to negotiate the availability of an item that they need to remain hydrated or to carry that item with them.
“The treatment I received effectively means only people who are physically able to move themselves between wheelchairs or obtain assistance from an accompanying passenger can be confident they will be able to get on a Jetstar flight,” he said. “That’s a major barrier for many people.”
“I travel a lot, but never without fear,” she says. “It sounds awful, but I just expect the worst, then I plan what I’ll do if the worst happens – if I wet myself, if I’m stranded, if I’m dropped, if my chair is damaged. I’m always kind of in a state of distress.”
Beyoncé has removed an ableist slur in a song from her new album after backlash erupted on social media from disability advocates.
It’s not very often that I don’t know what to say, rendered speechless by ignorance, sadness and a simmering anger born of bone-deep exhaustion. But that’s how I feel right now.