Some of Our Parts

Understanding ADHD – You’re Invited!

Next Month is Deaf Awareness Month!

*From #AiMedia

September is an important month in the d/Deaf community.

Not only is Deaf Awareness Month celebrated, but also International Week of Deaf People from 19-25 September and World Deaf Day on 27 September.

These are occasions to celebrate the d/Deaf community, educate about deafness, and advocate for accessibility in everyday life.

Tips for Being Deaf-Aware: Part 1

Understand the spectrum of deafness, learn more about Deaf culture, and get Ai Media’s top deaf communication tips.

Read more

Tips for Being Deaf-Aware: Part 2

In Ai Media’s second article on being deaf aware, they explore how to communicate when an interpreter is present, learning signs, words to use (and not use), and more.

Read more

Net Zero Precincts Project – You Are Invited to Participate

Net Zero Precincts: an Interdisciplinary Approach to Decarbonising Cities

• Do you live, work or study in the Monash area?
• Are you passionate about sustainability?
• Are you wondering how the community can have a greater say in creating a net zero future?

If so, then you might consider participating in this innovative research project that aims to help Monash residents, business and government reach net zero emissions.

Deaf participants are Welcome to Participate in the Net Zero Precincts Project

The study aims to ground the grand plans to decarbonise the Monash Clayton campus by 2050 with the everyday experiences of those who live, work and study there.

Often in these types of transition periods and new technologies, the experiences of those who are deaf and blind are left out.

Dr Emma Quilty, research fellow in the Faculty of IT, is based in the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, and would very much like to include perspectives of students who are deaf, blind, or with other disabilities, particularly around how they experience life on campus and how they imagine Net Zero futures.

Participating in an interview with Emma would involve about an hour of your time, with no preparation required on your part.

Join us for a walking interview of the Monash Net Zero Precinct.

• Please contact: Dr Emma Quilty, emma.quilty@monash.edu to register your interest.

User Study on Accessible Floorplans – Your Feedback is Important!

A team of Monash researchers are looking for people who are colour blind, have low vision, have a motor impairment or dyslexia to use a new indoor floor plan navigation tool.

This study seeks to understand the users’ experience in exploring adaptive floor plans that gets adapted to fit users’ particular vision or reading difficulties.

During the study, questions will be asked to understand your prior experience with floor plans.

You will be introduced to the adaptive floor plan via a website and you will be requested to explore 2 floor plans.

You will be asked perform some general way finding tasks and provide your feedback on the overall user experience.

The user studies will take 30‐45 minutes.

Due to COVID‐19 pandemic, this study will be done through the Zoom video conferencing platform.

Once you contact the researchers, they will send you the Explanatory Statement and the Consent Form in an email to provide you all the details about the project and your involvement.

If you are comfortable  with  your  participation,  reply  to  their email  by  stating  that  you  consent  to participate in this research project, and return the filled consent form either electronically or by mail.

For more information, or to request participation in this study, please contact:

• Dr. Anuradha Madugalla (anu.madugalla@monash.edu)
• Research Fellow, HumaniSE Lab, Faculty of IT, Monash University

Youth Alcohol & Drug Outreach Counsellor on campus

Alana Boyden has commenced work on campus as our new Youth Alcohol and Drug Outreach Counsellor from Link Health.

• This free service is available for youth aged 12 to 25 years of age who study at Monash. 
• You do not need a Medicare card to access, it is available for both domestic and international students.
• Alana is currently working Thursdays at the Clayton campus, but is able to offer telehealth appointments for students studying at other campuses.
• No referral necessary, contact the University Health Services reception to book Tel: 9905 3175

Apply now: NAB Summer 2022/23 Melbourne & Sydney Internships – Applications Now Open!

Are you a university student with disability looking for paid work experience that counts?

AND are excited to announce that early applications for NAB’s Summer internship roles are open now!

National Australia Bank (NAB) is offering 4 internship roles in Melbourne and Sydney this Summer as part of the Stepping Into Internship Summer Program 2022/23.

Applications close in two weeks by midnight 2nd September 2022.

Four roles are available to students through the Stepping Into Program:

About the Stepping Into Internship Program

The NAB internships are for 8 weeks full time, commencing on 28 November 2022 and finishing on 3 February 2023, with a 2-week break between 23 December 2022 to 6 January 2022.

It is a great opportunity to:

• Gain paid and valuable career-relevant work experience
• Learn new skills
• Grow your knowledge of your chosen industry
• Develop networking and social skills
• Support provided throughout the program

You can download the position descriptions of the NAB roles for more information.

Download the NAB Summer Intern – Business Banking Position Description here
Download the NAB Summer Intern – People & Culture Position Description here
Download the NAB Summer Intern – Risk Position Description here

APPLY NOW!

Current News and Events from Soundfair’s Latest Online News

The Soundfair Social

• Find other hard of hearing and D/deaf people to have enjoyable, meaningful conversations with online: https://events.humanitix.com/soundfair-social

Applications of CBT for audiology

There are many conversations that can be difficult to navigate within audiology.

• How do I respond when a person is upset, angry or anxious?
• What do I say when a person thinks a hearing aid will make them look old?
• How can I support a person struggling to adjust to their hearing loss or hearing device?

The cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) course has been endorsed for 20 CPD points and provides the knowledge, skills, and confidence to use counselling skills and CBT to talk about social and emotional concerns with clients at any stage of their hearing healthcare. Find out more and enroll now:

https://soundfairaustralia.thinkific.com/courses/applications-of-cbt-for-audiology

Communication and Inclusion Program

This course takes the learner through the fundamentals of hearing and hearing conditions, their impacts and what we can do to live well with hearing conditions.

Find out more and enroll now:

https://soundfairaustralia.thinkific.com/courses/hearing-conditions-communication-and-inclusion-program

The SOUNDFAIR Clinic and Hearing Centre

Our connection coach model

Hearing conditions are as diverse as the individuals who experience them.

A Soundfair Connection Coach can help you navigate the hearing system, explore the impacts of your hearing condition on you as a whole person and across all areas of your life, and help you create an action plan for hearing and wellbeing success.

Book an appointment today: https://soundfair.org.au/hearingcentre/book-an-appointment/

Soundfair’s Hearing Bank

A pair of hearing aids purchased through the private market ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 and Federal Government funding for hearing aids is limited, leaving many people to struggle with hearing conditions on their own. 

The Soundfair Hearing Bank offers holistic support and training for people with hearing conditions before sending them home with their recycled hearing aid. Learn more: https://soundfair.org.au/community-projects/hearing-bank/

Call for Participants: ‘Walk, Talk and Listen over Zoom’ 

‘Walk, Talk and Listen over Zoom’ combines social connection, exercise and group‐based hearing rehabilitation for older Australians with hearing loss to reduce loneliness and social isolation while also improving hearing and physical health.

We are looking for adults aged 50 years and over to participate in this 10-week, evidence-based program that will be hosted online via Zoom. For more information please contact Mimansa Thakore at mimansa.thakore@mq.edu.au or on (02) 9850 8753.

Call for Research Participants and Summer Research Opportunities

Seeking Neuro-divergent Monash Students for a Study on Losing Personal Items

This research project aims to better understand the lived experiences of Neuro-divergent Monash University students who regularly lose their personal items so as to build and improve technologies to help reduce personal item loss.

What is Involved

We are seeking Monash University students aged 18 and above who identify or have been diagnosed as neuro-divergent and tend to lose things regularly to have a discussion with us for about 45 to 60 minutes about:

• Personal items that you tend to lose on a regular basis
• Where you tend to lose these items
• Walk us through memories of losing these items and finding them
• Join us in exploring potential technologies that might be able to help with reducing the loss of these personal items

Our goal for this exploratory discussion is to help build better cost-effective solutions to reduce personal item loss with your valuable input.

We are also very happy to discuss how the discussion can be tailored to your unique context, so please let us know!

• Participants will be compensated with a 30-dollar grocery voucher for their time.

Criteria for Participation

• Aged 18 and over
• Students from Monash University
• Identify as/ Diagnosed as Neuro-divergent
• Lose personal items on a regular basis

Contact Information

• For more information and how to participate in this study, please contact benjamin.phua@monash.edu.

Summer Researcher Opportunity

Summer researcher opportunity with Monash Inclusive Technologies Lab at the Faculty of IT (Deadline: Friday, 26 August 2022, 5pm).

• Start date: 21 November 2022 (negotiable) for Eight Weeks
• Scholarship value: $4,000 ($500 x 8 weeks)

We are seeking students to be co-researchers and co-designers of technologies to help neuro-divergent individuals who tend to lose things to not lose things.

We know it can be annoying to lose our keys, wallets and phones but these issues can be a lot more annoying if you are neuro-divergent (if you know you know!) and by reducing the cognitive load needed to manage these tasks we can then use that energy for more useful, interesting, life-giving activities.

The work will entail:

• Performing research and literature review
• Designing, and developing prototypes and
• Potentially being involved in focus group studies (with neuro-divergent individuals who tend to lose things regularly) regarding those prototypes
• Students will also be involved in reflective and reflexive exercises about the above activities.

Ideally you will be studying:

• Design, IT or engineering and have taken FIT3146 – Maker lab
• Happy to consider students from a wide range of backgrounds!

We welcome and encourage students who are disabled and/ or diagnosed/ self-identify as neuro-divergent and also have a propensity for losing things to apply as you are experts-by-personal experience and are thus extremely well suited to co-design and co-develop these solutions.

We also encourage students who are carers of people with disabilities who tend to lose things to apply for similar reasons.

• For more details, please kindly get in touch with: benjamin.phua@monash.edu

To apply:

• Please go to the application page via this link
• For more information about this project please click here!

Developing Adaptive Graphics (SVG) for Disabled Users

Monash Researchers are looking for people who are colour blind, have low vision, have a motor impairment or dyslexia to use a new indoor floor plan navigation tool.

The aim of the study is to understand the user experience in exploring adaptive floor plans that gets adapted to fit users’ particular vision or reading difficulties.

If you participate in the study, questions will be asked to understand your prior experience with floor plans.

You will be introduced to the adaptive floor plan via a website and will be asked to explore 2 floor plans.

You’ll be asked to perform some general way finding tasks and will obtain your feedback on overall user experience.

• The user studies will take 30‐45 minutes.

Due to COVID‐19 pandemic, this study will be done through the Zoom video conferencing platform.

If you contact us, you will be sent the Explanatory Statement and the Consent Form in an email to provide you all the details about the project and your involvement.

If you are comfortable  with  your  participation,  please reply  to  our  email  by  stating  that  you  consent  to participate in this research project, and return the filled Consent form either electronically or by mail.

For more information, and to request to participate in this research, please contact:

• Dr. Anuradha Madugalla, Faculty of Information
• Email: anu.madugalla@monash.edu