Some of Our Parts

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2011-12 academic year, 11.1% of undergraduates reported having a disability. While these students may face unique challenges, they are entitled to the same quality of education as all students. For this reason, the team at BestColleges.com published a guide for students with disabilities outlining their legal rights, where to find assistance on campus, and an extensive list of websites, apps and software resources designed for students’ specific needs.

You can review College Resources for Students with Disabilities here: http://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/disabled-students/

To celebrate International Day of People with a Disability, all visitors to Dandenong Ranges National Park will now be able to enjoy trails in the park thanks to a motorised all terrain wheelchair – called a TrailRider.

A modified version of a Canadian invention, the motorised TrailRider, was created by Parks Victoria and is the first of its kind in the world. TrailRider all terrain wheelchairs are a cross between a rickshaw and a wheelchair and can handle more rugged bush trails where conventional wheelchairs cannot go. The motor on the chair makes it easier to manoeuvre the chair over rough trail surfaces and makes it easier for visitors with mobility limitations to access steeper and longer trails than ever the before.

“Everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of being in nature and we want to help everyone to be active in our parks. This is just one way we are making this possible,” said John Kenwright, Community Inclusion Coordinator, Parks Victoria. “The TrailRider really opens up park areas that people with limited mobility may never have been able to see or experience.”

The TrailRider has recently been trialled by a YMCA Recreation camp in the Dandenong Ranges for children with disabilities. Having a TrailRider based in the Dandenong Ranges will make it much easier for the YMCA , other organisations and individuals to regularly access a TrailRider chair to explore parks.

The TrailRider is located at Grants on Sherbrooke café at Grants Picnic Area in Mount Dandenong National Park. It can be booked by calling 03 9755 2888.

Key facts

• For work on improving access to parks, including making TrailRiders available, Parks Victoria last week won a 2015 National Disability Award.
• TrailRider all terrain wheelchairs are just one of the facilities and programs supported by Parks Victoria to ensure parks are accessible to everyone.
• There are now 11 TrailRider all terrain wheelchairs available to explore Victoria’s park trails.
• Trained volunteers from the Sherpa Volunteer program are available in the Grampians National Park to assist visitors with disabilities to explore the many spectacular park trails using the TrailRider chairs.
• There are now ten child and adult beach wheelchairs available to explore Victoria’s coastal parks.
• Thirty eight of Victoria’s most visited parks now have more comprehensive park access information provided to help visitors plan their park visit and park activities.
• For more information about accessible facilities in Victoria’s parks go to www.parks.vic.gov.au/visit/improving-park-access-for-all

In this month’s newsletter:

• Business Council of Australia: Recognising  Ability
• Opening the doors to diversity in the public service
• Try a new idea: creating specific opportunities for those that might not ‘fit the mould’
• International Day of People with Disability: what are you doing to get ready?
• WorkingOUT: supporting members of the LGBTIQ community with disability
• International White Cane Day Oct 2015
• Assistance Dogs Australia Awareness Week Nov 22-28
• Welcome new NDRC Partners

You can view the full newsletter here.

Stepping Into is a paid internship program designed specifically for university students with disability.

This summer, Telstra is offering nine paid internships to suitable candidates in their penultimate or final year of a relevant bachelor or postgraduate degree. The internships will commence as negotiated between December 2015 and February 2016, and will be for a duration of 152 hours.

For eligibility requirements and application details, visit the AND website.

Applications for these positions will close on Sunday 22 November 2015 at 11.59PM AEST.

For all queries regarding the Stepping Into program, contact

Steph Littlewood, Stepping Into… Project Assistant

stephanie.littlewood@and.org.au or call 02 8270 9240

Happy Friday everyone,

• November’s Ouch talk show looks at the story of the Disability Discrimination Act, in the month that marks the twentieth anniversary of its passing in the UK.
• Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Perrott, breaking the ice on PTSD with ‘The Ravens’, Nick Galvin writes.
• Geelong Paralympian, Sam McIntosh, says early education is key to disability acceptance.
• Giving women with an intellectual disability a voice to report sexual assault and violence is behind a push by authorities to raise awareness in the community, Laura Armitage writes.
• A disability service has moved its social enterprise project and training services into an iconic building the Bendigo CBD, writes Larissa Romensky.

The Australian Government wants to get more people with disability into jobs. The Government sees a future where people with disability, like other Australians, can enjoy the economic and social gains work brings.

The Disability Employment Taskforce was established to review the entire disability employment system and develop a new National Disability Employment Framework to boost employment rates for people with disability.

To assist in the development of this Framework, the Taskforce completed a first round of consultation based on an Issues Paper and a set of suggested principles for the new Framework.

Building on the principles and feedback from the first round of consultation, a Discussion Paper has been developed outlining more detailed policy proposals for the new Framework and will be used as the basis for a second round of consultation.

The second round will present the findings from the first round of consultation; provide an overview of the Discussion Paper; and encourage feedback on the policy proposals through an online survey. These sessions will commence on 19 November 2015 in Perth and conclude on 30 November 2015 in Melbourne. The survey will remain open until 7 December 2015.  The Discussion Paper, survey and full details of the information sessions, including registration can be found at www.engage.dss.gov.au

Have your say!

The Government wants to hear from people with disability, their families and carers, service providers, employers and peak bodies to explore ways to improve disability employment in Australia.

You can attend a public information session to hear about the policy proposals outlined in the Discussion Paper. Feedback on these proposals can be provided by completing the online survey.

Information sessions will be held around Australia starting on 19 November, in the following locations:

Perth 19 November 2015                             Hobart 26 November 2015
Adelaide 20 November 2015                       Darwin 26 November 2015
Brisbane 24 November 2015                       Canberra 27 November 2015
Sydney 25 November 2015                          Melbourne 30 November 2015

For more information on sessions or to complete the online survey go to www.engage.dss.gov.au

Happy Friday everyone,

• Kathy Evans discusses societies need to turn people with disabilities into inspirational figures, such as the case of Stevie Payne.
• Danielle Kutchel discusses the choices students face as they head toward their final years of schooling, and how this experience is different for students with disabilities and learning disorders.
• SBS will cover Australia’s biggest disability specific film festival, Focus On Ability Film Festival, on Saturday 21^st November 2015, starting 4.30pm .
• Honor Eastly discusses access to mental health care services in Australia, asking readers to contribute their views and opinions as part of the government’s review of Medicare.

Want to have your say?

Researchers from Monash University are exploring factors that impact on people’s experiences with health care, from the perspectives of multiple people who are involved in accessing or delivering that care.

If you are:

• A final year medical, nursing or allied health student,
• A person living with a chronic condition or disability, or
• Providing care for someone.

And you would be interested in taking part in a one-off 1 to 1.5 hour group discussion, please contact Dr Narelle Warren on Narelle.Warren@monash.edu or call 9903 4046 for more information.

New opportunities for students studying IT are now available with Coles, City of Greater Dandenong and Telstra in Melbourne, as well as further opportunities in Canberra and Sydney.

Visit the Stepping Into website for more details.

Do you have a medical diagnosis of ADHD?

Interested in consolidating ADHD learning strategies?

Would you like to participate in a study on the lived experience of adult students with ADHD at university?

You would be required to attend an information session, an interview, on a one on one basis, for one hour, make a sketch, take some photographs that represent your learning strategies and get $50 Woolworths eVoucher for your time.

The ethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee.  If you have any complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of your participation in this research, you may contact the Committee through the Director, Research Ethics (telephone (02) 9850 7854; email ethics@mq.edu.au).  Any complaint you make will be treated in confidence and investigated, and you will be informed of the outcome.

For more information or to register your interest please contact:

Christine Young

christine.young1@mq.edu.au