Daru update 25 June 2012
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- IN THE NEWS
- Parent Fury at Autism Language Test
- State Defies Experts Advice On Jacobs Autism
- A Womans New Thinking Turns Heads
- Welfare Group Seeks Business As Usual Assurance
- SACS Award Information Forums Victoria
- Jay Richardson, IR Workforce Development Project Manager, National Disability Services Ph 02 9256 3107 jay.richardson@nds.org.au
- National Youth Disability Conference - Save the Date
- Disability and Aboriginal Competence Workshop
- PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
- Assistive Technology in the Workplace for People with a Disability
- SUBMISSIONS, CONSULTATIONS AND FORUMS
- Reviewing the complaints system
- Opportunity to Shape New Victorian Disability Plan
- PAID AND VOLUNTARY POSITIONS
- Employment Opportunities at Peninsula Community Legal Centre
DARU Update25 June 2012
IN THE NEWSA number of stories regarding the education system and students with autism appeared in last week’s Age TAFE Cuts Hit Those in Need of HelpBenjamin Preiss, The Age June 22, 2012WHEN Ben Carbonaro began studying at RMIT's TAFE he was paired with a ''buddy'' who helped with reading and taking notes. Mr Carbonaro has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and he relied on support services throughout his TAFE studies that led to a journalism degree. Before starting his course, RMIT's disability liaison unit took him on an introduction tour so he would be comfortable in his new environment. But TAFE institutes fear they might have to cut back support services because the state government has reduced funding to the sector. Victorian TAFE Association executive director David Williams said the government would withdraw $170 million in ''full service provider'' funding that institutes used for student services. Some institutes might have to charge hefty fees for disability services, Mr Williams said. The TAFE sector is set to lose a total of about $300 million. Time management and reading fellow students' body language were among the greatest challenges for Mr Carbonaro. ''I can't always understand their body language and if they're uninterested,'' he said. The TAFE's support services were crucial to finishing his degree, he said. Mr Carbonaro, 26, said it was disappointing that support services might be cut. ''People need support and obviously TAFE is for everybody,'' he said. An RMIT spokesman said the university was talking to the state government about how it could continue providing student services. Adult Learning Australia chief executive Sally Thompson said she was worried services for disabled TAFE students would disappear. She said jobs such as disability liaison officers might be scrapped. ''It's such a big cut so quickly and so dramatically. There's no business on earth that could absorb cuts of that magnitude,'' she said. To read the full story visit http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/tafe-cuts-hit-those-in-need-of-help-20120621-20qwq.html#ixzz1yWRo2cDf
Autistic students are being told they can no longer attend specialist schools because their language skills are assessed to be too high in controversial year 6 tests. Parents say their children, many of whom have attended autism schools all their lives, will be unable to cope and vulnerable to bullying if forced to go to a mainstream school. Janeane Baker, whose 11-year-old son William has been at Northern School for Autism since prep, was horrified to learn her son no longer qualified for funding to remain at the school because he had passed a language test. ''He has the myriad of autism symptoms, such as repetitive behaviours, social withdrawal, depression, tantrums like a four-year-old, violent outbursts when under stress, crippling anxiety, sensory issues, food issues, he has only recently learnt to self-toilet himself - the list goes on. He cannot attend a mainstream school because his social and emotional levels are so far below his age in years that he needs constant guidance on how to interact with people.'' An Education Department spokeswoman said autistic students who received the disability funding were reassessed in year 6 to determine the most suitable secondary school. To qualify for funding for a place at an autism school, students must have significant deficits in language skills and adaptive behaviour (social and practical skills) as well as an autism diagnosis. Ms Baker (has) started a group called Change the Criteria, which is lobbying the Victorian government to remove from the funding criteria the requirement that students have a significant language deficit. The group has also posted a petition on change.org, which has 250 signatures. To read the full story visit http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/parent-fury-at-autism-language-test-20120619-20m20.html#ixzz1yHk2BW27 State Defies Experts' Advice On Jacob's AutismJewel Topsfield, The Age, June 19A six-year-old boy whose autism is so severe that his doctor warned other children would be at risk of violence if he went to a mainstream school was told he was not eligible to attend an autism school. Disability advocates say the plight of Jacob Carter - who has not been to school for six months - highlights the failure of Victoria's education system to meet the needs of students with a disability. Jacob was told last year he could not remain at Marnebek School, which caters for students with intellectual disabilities, as his IQ was too high. His parents asked for him to be assessed to attend a specialist autism school. But even though health professionals warned Jacob was unsuited to a mainstream school, the Education Department said his language disorder was not severe enough to qualify for funding to attend an autism school. A paediatric psychologist had told the family that one week at a mainstream school would ''break'' Jacob. ''To put him in a mainstream school with no support, no nothing, is akin to putting a child in the deep end of a swimming pool who can't swim and just watching him drown,'' (his grandmother)Ms Ashman said. ''Who is going to be the one to explain to other children's parents 'Oops, sorry your child got whacked in the head with a chair?”. Jacob does that all the time. He attacks his mother with knives.'' Independent reports by a paediatric psychologist, occupational therapist, GP and speech pathologist, all testify that Jacob would not cope in the mainstream. ''The other children in a mainstream school would be at risk of violence should Jacob have a meltdown or decide a child is in his personal space, as he has proven to do with his siblings at home. Should Jacob or another child be harmed, your department would have to bear full responsibility, as you have been advised by multiple medical professionals of Jacob's behavioural problems and the risks to both himself and other children if placed in a mainstream school.'' An Education Department spokeswoman said as soon as Jacob returned to school, the department would provide further assessment and assistance to enrol him in the best school to meet his needs. ''Specialist schools have enrolment requirements - including professional assessments - to ensure students are at the right school for them,'' she said. Children with Disability Australia executive officer Stephanie Gotlib said Jacob's experience was not uncommon and many parents were forced to home school. ''Our education system isn't meeting the needs of students with disability if they can't even go to school,'' she said. ''To me it indicates there is a major crisis.'' To read the full story visit http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/state-defies-experts-advice-on-jacobs-autism-20120618-20kb1.html
Change AttitudesStephanie Gotlib, Children with Disability Australia, Letter to The Age, 18 June James O'Brien (Letters, 16/6) rightly expresses the vital need for a national disability insurance scheme. It is absolutely imperative however that this scheme is not seen as a cure-all for a society that is failing many people with disability. My most recent working week was spent speaking with families from around Australia who have been informed their children cannot go to school full time. One school makes a boy go home before lunch every day because of reported funding inadequacies. It is clear the education system does not meet the needs of many children with disability. This is a national disgrace that for too long has not been tackled. A previous week at work involved following up with Channel Ten's breakfast program over a degrading comment about being ''retarded''. This is just the most recent of similar incidents in which media shows appear to find it acceptable to ridicule or demean people with disability. This situation won't be solved through a national disability insurance scheme on its own. We cannot lose sight of the broader reform and attitude shift that needs to happen if we really want to ensure people with disability get a fair go. To read the letter online visit http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/four-sides-of-the-cardinal-20120617-20i2j.html A Woman's New Thinking Turns HeadsJon Henley, The Age, June 18When Barbara Arrowsmith-Young realised her brain wasn't working, she changed it. Now others are following her. When she was in first grade, Barbara Arrowsmith-Young's Canadian primary school teacher told her mother, in her presence, that she had some kind of "mental block", and would never be able to learn. Arrowsmith-Young, now 61, talks fluently and passionately and with great erudition. But back at school … she was desperate, tormented and often depressed. On the one hand, she was brilliant. She had near total auditory and visual memory. She could recite film scripts, but not grasp the relationship between the hands of a clock to tell the time. So in exams, she often got 100 per cent. Other times, whenever the task involved reasoning, logic, connection, interpretation, or when she simply pulled in the wrong information from her memory, she would get 10 per cent. In secondary school, and later at university, she disguised her learning disabilities by working 20 hours a day. The breakthrough came when she was 26. A fellow student gave her a book by a Russian neuro-psychologist, Aleksandr Luria: The Man with a Shattered World. The book contained Luria's research and reflections on the writings of a highly intelligent Russian soldier, Lyova Zazetsky, who had been shot in the brain at the battle of Smolensk in 1943, and recorded in great detail his subsequent disabilities. Then she read about the work of Mark Rosenzweig, an American researcher who found …that the brain continues developing, reshaping itself based on life experiences, rather than being fixed at birth: a concept known as neuroplasticity. Arrowsmith-Young started devising brain stimulation exercises for herself that would work the parts of her brain not functioning. She devised more exercises, for different parts of her brain. Pushing 30, she was finally beginning to function normally. Arrowsmith-Young founded her first school, in Toronto, in 1980. Her organisation is now negotiating with a Sydney school to introduce the program to Australia. Thousands of children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, dyslexia or dysgraphia, dismissed as impossible to teach, have attended Arrowsmith schools for three or four years, returned to a mainstream school, and gone on to academic and professional success. Over the past five or six years, the educational psychology establishment has started to take more note of Arrowsmith-Young's work. Respected (and best-selling) psychiatrists and writers such as Norman Doidge and Oliver Sacks have praised her as a pioneer in the young, but immensely promising, field of neuroplasticity. Her dream is for every child to undertake some cognitive work as early as five or six — to pick up, and correct, potential difficulties. "And so many people end up in lives and careers they did not choose for themselves, but were chosen for them by cognitive limitations that can be identified and strengthened. The brain can be changed."
To read the full story visit http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/a-womans-new-thinking-turns-heads-20120615-20f70.html#ixzz1yBRxXqx1 Welfare Group Seeks 'Business As Usual' AssuranceABC News June 14, 2012 A Mallee welfare agency has sought assurances from the Victorian Government that its services around training and employment for people with disabilities will continue. Mallee Family Care merged with disability employment agency Access Mildura when Access ran into financial trouble and is trying to ensure the service continues. The head of Mallee Family Care, Vernon Knight, would not confirm any outcomes from the meeting with the Minister for Higher Education and Skills, Peter Hall, but says it was positive. "We needed a pathway that meant that it was going to be business as usual for people with ... disabilities who need supported employment and the training to equip them to enjoy that employment," he said. "The door is now open to making that happen." Access Mildura will relaunch as All Star Access. To read the story online visit http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-14/welfare-group-seeks-business-as-usual-assurance/4069776
EVENTS & TRAININGDid you know that you can now submit an event directly to the Events Calendar on the DARU website? Events submitted will also be included in the Update. The Submit an Event form is available at: http://www.daru.org.au/?post_type=page&p=55 The Future of Guardianship - Time for Change? The Victorian Legal Assistance Forum
This VLAF Forum will provide an overview and exploration of the content of the recently released Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) report into guardianship laws The report made comprehensive recommendations for reform that will be important to the lives of many Victorians, particularly those who experience disabilities. It is important that the legal and broader communities are aware of the report and the recommendations. This forum will be of interest to all workers in the legal assistance sector who deal with clients with a disability along with community workers, support workers, carers, members of the general public and decision makers.
Creative Writing Group
Diversity and Disability - DnD is running in partnership with ACES West Services a new support group to provide opportunities to participants to express themselves by telling a story that can be drawn from a real life experience or be a completely fictional piece of work. Have fun telling your story to our facilitator who can help you write down your story, or write a story yourself and bring it to the group. If you don’t have a preferred topic for your story, we are happy to help you by providing a few topics to choose from. This is a great opportunity to develop skills in expression, writing, and communication while building your self-esteem and confidence. These sessions are targeted towards ethnic people with a disability but everyone is welcome. SACS Award Information Forums VictoriaDisability and community service providers are invited to join the Victorian SACS Information Forums
NDS, VCOSS and Jobs Australia are co-hosting a series of forums to provide up-to-date information on changes to the industrial landscape occurring during 2012. These changes are as a result of the introduction of the Modern Award (Social, Community Home Care & Disability Services Industry Award 2010) and the outcome from the Equal Pay Case.National Youth Disability Conference - Save the Date
This highly anticipated event will bring together young people with disabilities from across Australia, peak bodies and representative bodies to: Identify priority National issues faced by young Australians with disabilities and develop clear actions in relation to these Strengthen the voice of young Australians with Disabilities Provide opportunities for service providers and peak bodies to respond more effectively to the needs of young Australians with Disabilities
The Hon Kelly Vincent MLC Stella Young Editor of ABC’s Ramp Up The Hon Peter Garratt Minister for School Education, Early Child hood and Youth (TBC) The Hon Jan McLucas Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers (TBC)
Disability and Aboriginal Competence Workshop
Darebin City Council invites you to learn about providing culturally safe and responsive services to Aboriginal people with a disability and the community. This workshop is not Darebin specific, it's open to all interested - targeting disability, health and community service staff working in intake, HACC, case management, personal care, advocacy, community development and the like - eg. respite, accommodation, community access, education or family or children services.
- Traditional Smoking Ceremony - Aboriginal history - Current Aboriginal community profile - Experience of disability in the Aboriginal community - Case study examples - Mechanisms to support service delivery and community engagement
Looking After Me Resource KitPenrith Women's Health Centre auspiced the Looking After Me (LAM) Project – which provided educational/personal growth groups on issues relating to healthy relationships and domestic violence – targeting women with intellectual disability. One of the outcomes from the LAM project was a resource kit that contains visual aids to assist in discussing domestic violence issues with women who have an intellectual disability. To download this resource visit http://www.daru.org.au/resource/looking-after-me-resource-kit Assistive Technology in the Workplace for People with a DisabilityUniversity of Ballarat Exploring the use of assistive technology in the workplace can be the difference between getting or missing out on a job. This needs employees, potential employees and all those who help them getting to know about the wide range of assistive technology available, how to access it and how to source potential funding. Employers also need this information to best assist current and potential staff. This booklet includes sections on assistive technology for people who are deaf/hearing impaired, are blind/vision-impaired, are deaf/blind, have physical disabilities, and have a learning disability. It also includes a section on the accessibility features of smartphones/iPads/tablet computers and a section on JobAccess and the Disability Employment Service. To download a copy of the booklet visit http://www.adcet.edu.au/StoredFile.aspx?id=2648&fn=NDCO_WorkTechnologies_Booklet_LR.pdf SUBMISSIONS, CONSULTATIONS AND FORUMSPublic Submission Review of Victoria’s Health Complaints LegislationTwenty-five years ago, the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act 1987 (the Act) established the role of the Health Services Commissioner in Victoria. The Commissioner is responsible for receiving and resolving complaints from people who use health services. Since 1987, the Commissioner has resolved thousands of complaints about public and private health service providers and has contributed to improving our healthcare system. Reviewing the complaints systemThe government is committed to improving every Victorian’s healthcare experience. The Act is an important mechanism for achieving this. Over the past 25 years health services have changed significantly. Healthcare providers face new challenges, new ways of working and new monitoring systems. The Act has been amended from time to time, but it has not been reviewed in detail to address the changed context. In order to ensure that the Act continues to meet the needs of all Victorians, the Minister for Health announced a review of the Act in April 2012. Terms of referenceThe review’s terms of reference are to examine whether changes are required to the Act to:
Guided by the terms of reference, the review aims to ensure that the Act reflects best practice and provides a prompt, responsive and cost-effective system for resolution of health complaints. It also aims to help achieve the government’s health reform priorities. Expert Review PanelA five person Expert Review Panel comprising representatives of health service providers, health service users and clinical experts has been appointed to make recommendations on modernising and strengthening the role of the Commissioner and to provide advice on best practice models for resolving health complaints. The membership of the Panel is:
How to have your sayThe Expert Review Panel is seeking input about the Act and Victoria’s healthcare complaints system. A discussion paper has been developed to provide additional information about the review and the key issues being considered by the Panel. Written submissions can be prepared using the optional response form and sent or emailed to: Expert Review Panel Review of the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act Policy Coordination and Projects Branch Strategy and Policy Division Department of Health Level 21, 50 Lonsdale Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 A brochure can be found at http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Improving-Victorias-health-complaints-system:-Have-your-say The discussion paper can be found at http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Review-of-the-Health-Services-(Conciliation-and-Review)-Act-1987-Discussion-Paper The optional response form can be downloaded from http://docs.health.vic.gov.au/docs/doc/Review-of-the-Health-Services-(Conciliation-and-Review)-Act-1987-Response-Form Closing date for submissions is Friday 3 August 2012. ContactReview of the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act Policy Coordination and Projects Branch Strategy and Policy Division Department of Health 50 Lonsdale Street GPO Box 4541, DX 210311 MELBOURNE VIC 3001 Email: hscrareview@health.vic.gov.au Phone: (61 3) 9096 0263 Fax: (61 3) 9096 9211 Opportunity to Shape New Victorian Disability PlanThe Victorian government is currently developing the State Disability Plan for 2013 to 2016. Your input into the consultation process will play an important role in ensuring the plan meets the diverse needs of Victorians with a disability, their families and carers both today and in the future. The remaining consultation sessions are listed below
Input from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disabilities, their carers, elders, support workers, care attendants whom are also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are all encouraged to attend sessions. Deaf Indigenous Community Consultant Jody Saxton-Barney notes that “the meetings have been set up to ensure the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disabilities and their carer’s and their families as well as those whom are employed to support them have a strong presence in the State Disability Plan. Some of the sessions fall during NAIDOC week, and appreciate the time and values of families being together, so I encourage and wish that all those whom look after, or have support or have disabilities can attend any one of these sessions to allow us to access much needed supports to continue our culture and our needs to be active participants during any event across the state but also our own NAIDOC celebrations. Your views and concerns are welcome, as are your positive feedback for future direction to help our mobs across the state get the best they can get, and be included in the discussions at the start”. We encourage you to provide feedback on the draft plan, which you can do by:
PAID AND VOLUNTARY POSITIONSTertiary Students Available for Short Term ProjectsRMIT University is offering the use of its students to community organisations who want to undertake supporting research before an event, communication initiative or campaign. The students will be available to help conduct focus groups and discussions and survey research, as well as intercept interviews. Students will be available for three months from mid-July. For more details contact olivia.guntarik@rmit.edu.au Employment Opportunities at Peninsula Community Legal CentrePeninsula Community Legal Centre is one of the largest community legal centres in Australia. Our centre values commitment and dedication to serving the community. PCLC is currently seeking suitable candidates to fill five positions. All positions are based at the PCLC Frankston office and may be required to travel to and work from other locations. Wages and conditions of employment are based on the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Industry Award 2010. Salary packaging is available. For more information about any of the positions please phone (03) 9783 3600 or email pclc@pclc.org.au Applications for all positions close at 5.00pm on Thursday 28 June 2012. Applications in writing, indicating relevant position/s, addressing the key selection criteria and including a curriculum vitae and the details of at least two professional referees should be sent or emailed to the following address: Private and Confidential Chief Executive Officer Peninsula Community Legal Centre Inc. 441 Nepean Highway FRANKSTON VIC 3199 or email marked ‘Attention Chief Executive Officer’ to pclc@pclc.org.au . Tenant and Consumer Advocate (32 hours p.w.) This role provides specialist tenancy and consumer advice and advocacy services including representing clients at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Community Worker – Rooming House Outreach (28 hours p.w.0 This role delivers specialist outreach services to rooming house residents and is involved in identifying systemic and compliance issues. Education and Policy Lawyer 21 hours p.w.) This role includes developing and delivering community legal education activities as well as identifying and responding to law reform needs of clients and the community, including drafting submissions to government and other authorities. Community Lawyer (14 hours p.w.) This position includes the provision of advice and operating files, with the potential for duty lawyer work. Personal Assistant to the Principal Lawyer (14 hours p.w.) This role provides administrative assistance to the Principal Lawyer, including diary and office organisation, staff timetable, leave and general secretarial duties. High level organisational skills are required. For more information and to download the position descriptions visit http://pclc.org.au/about-us/employment
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DARU has been funded by the state government. It is run by a governance group, including members of the Disability Advocacy Network (DAV) and the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS). DARU’s staff currently includes a Co-ordinator, Sharon Granek, and an Administration Officer, Natasha Brake. Sharon and Natasha are always happy to hear from people who are interested in what we do. If you have a question, an idea, some news you’d like to see in the next update, or even if you just want to tell us something we’re doing is good or bad, get in touch! Call us on 03 9639 5807 or email admin@daru.org.au. Please note that material contained in the DARU Update copy does not necessarily reflect the policy of DARU or the views of any staff members. Statements in the DARU Update do not comprise advice and readers should avail themselves of professional advice where appropriate. Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2012 2012 -> The Case Against the nypd’s Quota-Driven ‘Broken Windows’ Policing What Is It? 2012 -> Aa and na members Dying from Tobacco 2012 -> [Baby Crying] 01: 04 [Ching 2012 -> Unit Name / Nom de l’unité uic / ciu dates 2012 -> What We Owe Jehovah’s Witnesses 2012 -> Oceans Challenge Badge 2012 -> Canadian cycling olympians 2012 -> Greg landry, june olkowski and tom lysiak 2012 -> William goldman 2012 -> Does translocation and restocking confer any benefit to the European eel population? A review Download 77.06 Kb. Share with your friends:
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