Some of Our Parts

Conversational English Programs are beginning next month, with a range of different kinds of classes available.

These classes are a set of extra-curricular language activities aimed at developing the global competences of domestic and international students and enhancing the student experience through cross cultural communication and making new friends!

Classes for 2015 include:

Let’s Chat MUISS!

• Groups of 30 students + 3 student facilitators
• Structured but flexible, fun classes addressing conversation starters and other themes identified by Monash students
• Last session in collaboration with Monash Sport includes games and a BBQ lunch
• Clayton campus only
• One 1h session once per week, Week 3 to Week 11, Semesters 1 and 2 – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4pm-5pm or 5pm-6pm
• Open to all Monash students
• Registration open from February 16 to March 6

Let’s Chat BusEco!

• Free conversational English sessions to improve communication skills
• Groups of 30 students + 3 facilitators
• Structured but flexible, fun classes addressing conversation starters and other themes identified by Monash students
• Last session in collaboration with Monash Sport includes games and a BBQ lunch
• Caulfield campus
• Open to Monash Business School (Faculty of Business and Economics) students only
• One 1hr session once per week, Week 3 to Week 11, Semesters 1 and 2
• Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4pm-5pm or 5pm-6pm
• Registration open from February 16 to March 6 with a new intake of registrations during Survival Week (Week 4)

Peer Support

• Help with written or spoken academic work
• Free, one to one, ‘drop in’ 20 min sessions – no bookings necessary
• John Medley Library, Campus Centre, Level 1, 21 Chancellor’s Walk, Clayton
• All students welcome
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 11am-2pm, Week 3 – Week 12, Semesters 1 and 2

Aussie Connect

• Social interactions with local community in collaboration with Monash City Council
• Once per month social group gathering
• On Clayton campus and various council’s venues
• Semester 2 only

There will also be a range of workshops and seminars across the semester looking at topics of cross cultural communication and international education. Watch this space for more information in early February!

A public memorial service will be held to rejoice in the life, achievements and legacy of the fabulously dishonourable comedian, journalist and disability activist Stella Young.

The party will be held on Friday 19th December at 11am at the Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne City. Federation Square will be offering an interactive screening program honouring Stella’s life and work from 9am – 3.30pm. The memorial service is open to everyone, and admittance will be on a first come, first served basis. We strongly advise getting there early to secure a seat. Doors will be open from 10am for an 11am service (60min duration). All guests are advised to please enter via the accessible entrance on Collins Street.

The organisers will make every possible effort to meet the access requirements of all guests. The service will offer Auslan interpreting, Live Captioning, Audio Description, water bowls for Companion animals, a hearing loop, additional accessible toilets and seating choices for people who use wheelchairs.

Please visit www.artsaccess.com.au for further access and transport information.

People from Stella’s home-town of Stawell are extended an extra heart-felt and warm welcome.

As the Melbourne Town Hall has limited capacity – and in recognition that some people will be unable to travel to the service – it will be simulcast live at Federation Square, on ABC News 24 & on digital radio 774 ABC Victoria.

The dress code is FABULOUS. If possible, we’d love you to wear red and white spotted shoes, bright colours and little to no black. Pink or purple hair is a definite bonus, as are the incorporation of chenille stems.

A Crip tribute to Stella Young is an evening of readings by crips and non-crips of Stella’s work or of letter’s we have penned to Stella to commemorate and celebrate what a great woman and amazing disability activist she was. Join us and read something, just sit and listen or share your favourite memories of Stella. Any money raised will go to Domestic Violence Victoria, as per the Young family’s request. www. dvvic.org.au

Confirmed readers include:

• Angie Jones
• Clem Ford
• Kate Hood
• Kath Duncan
• Carly Findlay
• Jax-Jacki Brown
• Ross Cottee

Bearbrass Asylum Orchestra- our house crip band!

Doors open at 7.30pm and the readings start at 8pm
Hares and Hyenas
63 Johnston Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065

This event is fully wheelchair accessible, but sadly this event will NOT be Auslan interpreted.

On Thursday December 11th at 7am, Dylan Alcott will attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous playing of wheelchair tennis, playing for 24 consecutive hours. Dylan is the current world number 4 wheelchair tennis player. and is a former Paralympic and World Champion winning wheelchair basketballer. Dylan is completing the challenge to attempt to raise $100,000 collectively for two charities he holds very close to his heart, The Starlight Foundation and Variety – the Children’s Charity, with all proceeds being split between both.

Thursday 11th December (7am) – Friday 12th December (7am)

Where: Tennis Australia – Melbourne Park (home of the Australian Open) – Court 24 (new National Tennis Academy side)

Who: Dylan will be playing with many sporting stars and celebrities from across Australia, including basketballer Elizabeth Cambage, actress Olympia Valance, AFL stars Chris Dawes, Jack Watts and Tom Hawkins, professional tennis players Storm Sanders and Luke Saville amongst others.

(Note: Absolutely anybody can come and have a hit with Dylan on the day, and we strongly encourage it. There will even be spare wheelchairs on site to try wheelchair tennis. If you would like to come down and ‘pay to play’ against Dylan, please email info@dylanalcottofficial.com for more details).

The 2014 Disability Sport & Recreation Festival is Victoria’s premier event for the disability sport and recreation sector. Running from 1 to 7 December, this unique community event promotes and celebrates physically active lifestyles for all people of all abilities through participation in accessible and inclusive sport and recreation.

During the Disability Sport & Recreation Festival, sport and recreation providers across Victoria are opening their doors for people with disability, their families, friends and carers to ‘pop-in’ and try an activity.

The Other Film Festival is the big party where everyone gets invited. The festival programs the very best new cinema about the lived experience of disability from around the world. The festival screens these films in the most accessible way possible, delivering global best practice in meeting the access requirements of all patrons. All speeches are Auslan interpreted, all films are captioned, all films are audio described and the venue is fully accessible. Inclusive, accessible and welcoming, the festival reveals how disability looks right now.

The Other Film Festival will run from the 3rd-7th December at the Melbourne Brian Centre,  Kenneth Myer Building, 30 Royal Parade (cnr Genetics Lane), University of Melbourne, Parkville (Melways Ref: 2B B7).

See the full program here.

Following the success of our student night for Melbourne Winter Masterpieces, we are pleased to offer an exclusive student night for Jean Paul Gaultier in the first week of the school term. An opportunity for senior secondary students and tertiary students to see this inspiring exhibition before it closes on 8 February.

The program will include pop up talks, fashion drawing with an artist, Auslan and audio describing tours, and a pre-event lecture at 5pm for VCE Studio Arts students (bookings essential).

Tickets at a special student price of $13. Individual tickets available for purchase on the evening (student ID required for student price) Bookings for groups of ten or more now open.

A first stage development presentation by The Delta Project of Under My Skin’; a new dance work exploring the layers in which we shroud ourselves to present to the worlds in which we exist, to reveal /or not reveal what lies beneath.

The Delta Project is a new Melbourne based dance theatre company of deaf and hearing performers, exploring the technical and physical manifestations of bringing two worlds together through visual and sound and creating a performance accessible for both a hearing and deaf audience.

This event will have Auslan interpreters and a Q and A forum after each session.

FREE Showings@ Sylvia Staelhi Theatre, Dancehouse, 150 Princes Street, Carlton North, VIC 3054

Dates: 24 – 25 October (With Q and A sessions on the working processes of this development on both nights.)
Time: 7pm
Cost: Free (bookings are essential)
Bookings: click here
For further info contact Fiona Cook: 03 86406006

Each year Aspergers Victoria hosts a panel evening where members of the Adult Group present on a theme, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. These evenings are popular with parents anticipating the future for their children, and adults seeking to benefit from the experiences of others.

There are many reasons why a young adult might want or need to move out of their parent’s home: to be closer to work, to set your own schedule, to develop a relationship, to avoid conflict with other family members, to share with a housemate, or because ageing parents wish to retire.

However there are also many issues and skills to be learnt: domestic chores including shopping, cooking and laundry, managing financial commitments, looking after the property, possible loneliness, coping with unexpected issues, feeling overwhelmed by new demands and the possibility of being exploited.

Our four guest speakers James Fahey, Nik Nikoliev, Penny Robinson and Chris Varney have successfully faced the independence issue, or are facing it now, and will present short segments about their experiences, before answering questions from the audience.

This is a great opportunity, whether you are a young adult Aspie considering becoming independent, or a parent wondering how to assist your family member with this major milestone.

Wednesday October 29, 2014
7.30—9.30 pm, followed by a light supper. Doors open at 7pm
The Nerve Centre, 54 Railway Rd, Blackburn VIC 3130
Aspergers Vic members: $ 15 Non-members: $ 30*
Book and pay online at www.trybooking.com/FWRK

Dear friends,

We are so proud to share with you that I CAN Network has turned one year old! We have YOU to thank for all your support helping us spread the ‘I CAN’ attitude and promote the fruits of AWEtism.

In a little over a fortnight we run our first-ever I CAN Teens Camp (17-19 October, Doxa Youth Camp, Malmsbury) in partnership with Doxa Youth Foundation and UN Youth Australia. This camp is all about connecting 15-18-year-olds with Asperger’s or high-functioning Autism and giving them opportunities to have fun, make new friends and build their social confidence.

The camp will be run by a team of mentors from I CAN Network who are either young adults on the Autism Spectrum or who work with/ are family to a teenager on the Spectrum. All mentors have Working With Children Checks, have been trained in duty of care and several have been trained in first aid. We will have a registered psychologist available for all participants during the entire camp.

This camp is the perfect opportunity for any Aspie or high-functioning teens out there who want to share their interests, talents and quirks from being on the Autism Spectrum and also empower themselves with the ‘I CAN’ attitude.

Here’s a snapshot of what teenagers will get up to on the I CAN Camp (flyer also attached):

• Games, fun and making new friends
• Team building activities
• Outdoor activities
• Expressing ‘I CAN’ workshop – show what an ‘I CAN’ belief means to you through writing, drawing, music, performance and construction
• ‘Dress to Obsess’ – dress up on Saturday night in your favourite obsession
• ‘I CAN’ talks from speakers including Chris Varney (I CAN Founder) and Tim Chan (19-year-old I CAN Advocate)

This camp will be an awesome experience for Aspie or high-functioning teens. We only have 10 spots left so get in quick! We cannot take any more registrations after Friday 10 October.

We have a simple two-step process to register:

1. Register your interest here and one of our Camp Organisers will give you a call

2. After the call, you can send in the attached registration form and pay the $100 camp fee via http://www.trybooking.com/99628. Note the password is TeensCamp (no space between ‘Teens’ and ‘Camp’)

Your booking will be confirmed once you have returned the registration form electronically and provided a copy of the receipt of payment. Please retain a hard copy of the registration form for the participant to bring to the camp.

For more detail on what’s happening with the Teens Camp, check out this video made by Penny (All Round I CAN Guru) and see the attached info sheet. If you’ve got any queries, please contact Jackie Chanzi (Camp Organiser) on 0403-067-533.

To give you some inspiration, see our #AWEtismRethink video made at our I CAN Camp in April. This is what participant Daniel Giles had to say:

‘The I Can Camp gave people on the Autism Spectrum an opportunity to learn about their strengths and realise that Autism can be used as a strength. The camp also enabled people on the Autism Spectrum to enable others to say ‘I Can’ to life’s opportunities, all from the horse’s mouth!’

Thanks for your support!

I CAN’s Core Enabler’s