The Federal Government’s welfare-to-work reforms are pushing thousands of people off the disability pension and into financial hardship. Welfare rights organisations say their work is increasingly taken up with these cases.
The inquiry into the abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in residential and institutional settings began hearings in Perth today. A group of six women from the disability advocacy group Bolshy Divas gave collective evidence before the hearing, citing 40 examples where disabled people had been severely beaten or raped.
Former Telethon child Prue Hawkins has been told she is not impaired enough to get the disability support pension. A leader among WA’s disabled community, the 33-year-old wheelchair user has osteogenesis imperfecta – also known as brittle bone disease. She currently has a broken leg. Despite her severe physical restrictions, she completed a law degree, … Continued
A vision impaired member contacted the Blind Citizens Australia (BCA) office for support in a case against his local post office. During a visit to the post office to have his passport photos taken, he was advised that he would need to go elsewhere to have his photos taken as the computer system was detecting an … Continued
My spouse and I are both 52 years old. He earns about $53,000 net a year, I earn about $40,000 net. We have a mortgage of $152,000 on a house worth $1.2 million. We are paying extra off the house, $800 a fortnight, to hopefully pay it off by age 56. I have $166,000 in … Continued
Jock Watson spent most of his 20s in a nursing home after a car accident left him with an acquired brain injury, meaning he needed constant care. While fellow residents tried to engage the young man in their bingo games and sing-a-longs, it was an isolating experience. ”He spent much of his time in his … Continued
It began with a mother’s plea and had many champions. Australia’s groundbreaking disability insurance scheme starts today. One day in 2006, Bruce Bonyhady went to visit a kindergarten in the Melbourne suburb of Endeavour Hills. Bonyhady, then chairman of Yooralla, was confronted by a woman demanding to know why she couldn’t get the support she … Continued
Parents of women with severe disabilities are being forced to take their daughters overseas for hysterectomies after their requests for the procedure were denied in Australia, a leading endocrinologist has told an inquiry into involuntary sterilisation. John Carter, the father of a 31-year-old daughter with a moderately severe intellectual disability, said laws on sterilisation can … Continued
An intellectually disabled man was left in prison for more than a year for a crime he could not have understood, largely because accommodation could not be found for him. County Court Judge Mark Taft called Ross Cunningham’s 371 days on remand an ”embarrassment to the administration of criminal justice” in a ruling on Friday … Continued
It is more than three months since Rebecca’s child was taken from her, but the pain is still raw and the decision still impossible for the grieving young mother to fully comprehend. She had fought hard during the court hearing to keep the little girl who had been the centre of her world for eight … Continued
This video documents the power of women leaders with disabilities in their quest to be included in international development programs. It contains interviews with highly accomplished women with disabilities who highlight the vision, determination, challenges and recommendations for including women and girls in international development programs. Their eloquent and passionate message resonates the need for … Continued
As the mother of three children on the autism spectrum, Kerrie Curtis is a veteran of battles with the Victorian education system. Her latest fight is to get special VCE exam provisions for her oldest son Liam, who has Asperger’s, an anxiety disorder and a learning difficulty. Ms Curtis’ frustration is not with his school, … Continued
Last June Lyn Bicknell went to her local police station and told officers that if they did not help her she would kill her intellectually disabled son. As desperate as she was – having just been pinned to a chair by the knife-wielding 15-year-old – she admits she would never have gone through with it. … 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
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