Australians with disabilities have suffered higher rates of domestic and family violence, are experiencing suicidal thoughts, and felt “expendable” during the Covid-19 pandemic, a royal commission has heard.
More than 700 people with disability and their families filled out the survey that asked about your experiences during the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. What impact did the pandemic have on your lives? How did you cope and what you thought of the changes made to the NDIS during this time?
The problems raised were the usual issues – confusing, changing and inconsistent information, lengthy delays, lack of flexibility, poor treatment at the hands of Local Area Coordinators or NDIA staff. These issues are bad enough at the best of times. But in the middle of a global pandemic they stood in the way of people with disability getting what they needed to stay safe and well.
A disabled woman has caught COVID-19 from a support worker after the National Disability Insurance Agency refused to allow her sister to provide care instead during the pandemic. Sheree Driver told the disability royal commission on Wednesday that her sister’s mental state had rapidly declined after being without care for almost a month as a result of the decision.
The Federal Government’s emergency response plan to COVID-19 made no mention of people living with a disability, a royal commission has heard. Senior Counsel Assisting Kate Eastman SC said people with a disability and their advocates “watched and waited” for the Government to come up with a plan. But people living with disability were conspicuously absent.
As a disabled person, there are days I don’t want to leave the house. I wish I could say I don’t care what society thinks or assumes about me and my body. But the truth is, when my body is judged, ostracised, othered — I do care. Some days I have to really push myself.
Applying for a government payment can be daunting. And the task can be even harder if you don’t understand the types of doctors’ reports and information that you’re required to collect. A new online tool has been designed to help make it easier for people to navigate the application process for the Disability Support Pension.
Ms McKenzie has been working with the Black Dog Institute and experts from the University of New South Wales to develop an accessible website called Healthy Mind, to support people living with intellectual disability manage their mental wellbeing.
or Ronelle – who has two children with disability who attend mainstream schools in rural Victoria – the move to remote learning has highlighted the inequality in Australia’s school system.
“I got bullied because of my disability, I used to get called a cripple or a spastic everywhere I went. That stuff made it really hard for me — and I believed them. I believed I was less than them.” Alcott said that changed when he went to his first wheelchair tennis tournament, where he said his eyes were opened.
People have been getting by, but now the loss of the town’s only local taxi service has compounded worries, leaving disabled and elderly residents struggling to get to appointments in major centres like Colac and Geelong.
John McKenna is passionate about hearing and sharing the stories of others and their experience of disability. During the coronavirus pandemic he’s put his skills to creating a podcast which explores the pandemic through the lens of disability. What he’s discovered is a range of stories which can teach us all a thing or two about adversity and resilience.
Justine Martin, 49, and Karen Dare, 40, who both have multiple sclerosis, met in Melbourne in 2015. Sharing the condition has allowed them to be open with each other about their bodies – and their dating experiences.
Three special schools in Melbourne will be investigated over a series of allegations of “violence, abuse and serious neglect” of students with disabilities over the past 10 years. Victoria’s Department of Education and Training has launched an investigation into multiple claims of mistreatment of vulnerable children at Marnebek School in Cranbourne East, Jackson School in St Albans and Southern Autistic School in Bentleigh East.
Lockdown is over and for lots of us life is returning to some sort of “normal”. But for many Australians living with a chronic illness or disability, social isolation is still their main way of staying healthy and safe, and the challenges posed by the virus are far from over.
High-profile Paralympian and wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott has slated officials for taking his competitions off the schedule for this year’s US Open tournament. “It is blatant discrimination for able-bodied people to decide on my behalf what I do with my LIFE AND CAREER just because I am disabled. Not good enough,” he said.