Some of Our Parts

Welcome back to another week of the DLU Friday round up. Public holidays and long weekends have meant that we’ve missed a couple of Friday Round Ups, but hold tight, I’ve got a bunch of the best and most exciting disability related news articles and events around Melbourne for you today.

• NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT – Make time to check out the very exciting event run by Cherchez La Femme, ‘Disability and Feminism’, a panel discussion featuring Dr Shakira Hussein (writer, researcher, academic, feminist), Jax Jacki Brown (perfomer, writer, educator, feminist) and Jessica Knight (poet, arts writer, artist, feminist). At the Duke of Wellington on Flinders Lane – tickets from here.
• For those with an interest in non-visual art, you should check out Smell You Later. As the program states: ‘audiences are invited to participate in non-visual artwork experiences by creating scent-based Next Wave Festival memories with Smell You Later. Discover a series of scent-based encounters embedded within Festival venues and sniff out the scent trail that winds through corridors, stairwells, lobbies and bathrooms.’
• Speaking of non-visual arts, the Metropolitan Museum in New York is holding regular ‘Seeing through Drawing’ classes for Blind or Partially sighted visitors. In fact, they have a range of programs for visitors with different disabilities ranging from mobilities to Autism spectrum.
• Auslan Stage Left are a non-for-profit organisation that enables and provides quality Auslan interpreted theatre, and training to interpreters and deaf consultants in the area of theatre interpreting.  Check out some the feedback from their Grease show and you can keep an eye out for their upcoming shows here.
• It’s Budget time – where is the NDIS now?
  
• An interesting read for job-seeking grads – how do you disclose hidden disabilities to future employers?
  
• Although recent news seems to suggest that employees with hidden disabilities such as Autism are being sought after. So much so that Freddie Mac is offering specific internships for recent graduates and current students on the autism spectrum.

And finally, some wisdom from Gothe

Andrew Follows is an inspiring photographer with a social conscience, who is quickly making a name for himself within the arts community. Diagnosed with an eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a condition,  Andrew has forged an impressive career in photography with one eye completely blind and with ever diminishing tunnel vision in the other. He can see three metres to most people’s seventy metres, and that is through a foggy haze.

Check out his website, Blinkie Photography, and some of the amazing prints in his portfolio.

Scarp Face, Beechworth

On the recommendation of one of our students, we have spent the morning watching the CODA Brothers videos. CODA is an acronym for Children of Deaf Adults, and as the student so rightly suggested, they are really funny for the deaf and non-deaf alike.

Check out The Funny Things Hearing People Do, There’s a Deaf Guy for That and What Deaf People LOVE About Interpreters on Youtube!

For those of you who have been following the Stepping Into posts on this blog will know that the program offers paid internship programs specifically designed for students with disabilities who want a paid, hands-on work experience that is relevant to their degree and chosen field of study.

Winter internships for this year are still open until the 21st April:

• Department of Agriculture – Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide (Degrees in Human Resources, Business, Plant Science or Agriculture an advantage but not required)
• Department of Industry – Canberra, Sydney (Degrees in Business, Pharmaceuticals or Science, Engineering, Economics or Applied Science, Financial Accounting, Communications, Public Policy, and Law etc)
• Henry Davis York – Sydney
• Sparke Helmore – Sydney
• Crown Solicitors Office – Sydney
• NSW Ombudsman – Sydney
• Telstra – Sydney, Melbourne (Degrees in Business, Business Admin, Commerce, Visual Design)
• Australian Financial Securities Authority (AFSA) – Sydney, Melbourne (Degrees in HR, Management, Accounting and Law)
• Department of Human Services VIC – Melbourne (Degrees in Public Policy, Communications, Community Development and Law)
• IBM – available in 2 weeks
• Department of Social Services – Tasmania (Degrees in Business and Contract Management – closes April 27)

Apply by downloading the application form and submitting to applications@and.org.au with your cover letter (addressed to AND), your CV and transcript.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while between posts, but we’re back with more of the best disability-related links from around the web.

• A Queensland PhD student has debunked some serious myths about the Autism Spectrum
• Ever thought about going to Study Abroad? Check out Juanita’s amazing story!
• Looking for a wardrobe update with the winter weather coming in? Check out the range at IZ Adaptive Clothing.
• On the significance of charity names.
• NDIS delays? What does this mean for you?

Keep dry and warm out there!

The Quantum Print Disability Scholarship and Award Program aims to assist individuals who are unable to access printed material, either because they are vision impaired, or have a cognitive or learning disability, such as dyslexia.

To be eligible to apply for the Scholarship Program, applicants must:

• Have a print disability (low vision, blindness or a learning difficulty)
• Be currently enrolled in a primary, secondary, tertiary educational institution or TAFE
• Provide a referee for your application. Eligible referees include: teacher, supporting teacher, disability consultant/support officer, allied health professional, e.g. occupational therapist, or assistive technology consultant.
• Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Teachers or parents may apply on behalf of their child or student if the criteria above can be satisfied for the applicant.

Applications close on Friday 11 April 2014.

For further information on eligibility, the application process and prizes visit The Quantum Scholarship website.

The Bridges to Higher Education consortium, in partnership with the Universities Admissions Centre (NSW & ACT), has been working collaboratively to widen participation at universities for everyone.

As a result Make Your Mark is an exciting new website designed to be the first port of call for information to help those from under-represented communities to discover future life opportunities through further education. This brand new website aims to provide early information about tertiary education options, for those whom further study is not an obvious choice.

Make your Mark offers information on useful topics such as financials assistance, academic supports at university as well as real life success stories of students with disabilities taking on tertiary education. You can also see some real-life Monash examples here!

The website also has a range of resources for prospective TAFE students as well as resources for parents.

• Have fun, make new friends and hang out with other young adults who ‘get’ you
• Challenge yourself and share your Autistic talents and quirks
• Contribute your ideas for the growth of the I Can Network
• Wow us at the ‘Dress to Obsess’ dance-off
• Be trained as an I Can mentor so you can make a difference to other young people
• Cook up a storm in I Can Master Chef
• Engage with great storytellers including Chris Varney, Tim Chan, Jim Anderson, Lyndel Kennedy and Julia Wake

See the I Can Camp 25 – 27 April promotional leaflet here for more details.

What is this all about? Well, our story is simple. We began in September 2013 when three university students said they were sick of Australia missing out on the gifts of the Autism Spectrum. That we’re missing out is plain to see: only 34% of Australians with Autism are employed.

Since then we’ve used our ‘I Can’ attitudes to ignite a movement. A movement that isn’t about ‘high-functioning’ or ‘low-functioning’ but a movement that’s about all of us! Now we give talks every week. Now we’re over 500 people who believe that Autism means ‘I Can’, not ‘I Can’t’. Now we want to take the ‘I Can’ belief and unleash it in every school, university and TAFE. That’s what we’re starting at the I Can Camp.

Thank you and keep believing in us!

The I Can Team

PS: Keep an eye out for our upcoming Grapevine coming out on World Autism Awareness Day, Wednesday 2 April

Last night ABC’s Lateline aired Rosie Anne Fulton’s story.

Ms Fulton is an Aboriginal woman, and has an intellectual disability. For the past 18 months she has been held in Kalgoorlie prison, accused – but not convicted – of crimes relating to the use of a motor vehicle. She was found unfit to plead as a result of her disability. Ms Fulton and her guardian have sought her return to a care facility in Alice Springs, but this has been refused by the Northern Territory Government.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick Gooda and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes are urging the WA and NT governments to immediately resolve Ms Fulton’s situation, to carry out an audit of how many other Australians were being treated in this way, and to quickly address the problem.

You can read the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report, Equal Before the Law: Toward Disability Justice Strategies which was launched in February. The report addresses the lack of equal access to justice for Australians with disabilities and how we can work toward implementing better policies and strategies.

We made it – it’s Friday!

Hope you all got out onto the campus lawns to enjoy some sunshine this week!

• Happy World Down’s Syndrome Day!
• How has the internet changed your life?
• Have you ever wondered about the history of Deaf  TV? The BBC provides.
• Ever considered turning disability into an academic interest? Check out the US universities where you can  disability studies.
• Speaking of academic disability… check out this new peer-reviewed journal, Disability and the Global South.
• Thinking about going to the Melbourne Comedy Festival? Check out which shows can be Auslan interpreted.

Happy weekend-ing!

(Photo from Cameron Charles Lewis)