Some of Our Parts

In 2016, Vision Australia will award Further Education Bursaries to a select number of students who are blind or have low vision.

The Bursaries provide adaptive technology to help ensure that these students can fully participate and succeed in their chosen studies.

Please encourage all who are interested to visit the Vision Australia website and contact Belinda Wilson, Vocational Consultant, as soon as possible- there are only six weeks left to apply, as no submissions will be accepted after October 30^th, 2015.

AWEgust for AWEtism: The Results!

Thank you to everyone who participated in AWEgust! We’re going to keep running, but we have already managed to raise $31,000+!

You can read more about our AWEgust results here.

A Year 8’s Perspective

“[We have had] enough of being misunderstood, misjudged and labelled as bad. We should have schools teach their students about autism.”

Read more here.

In this month’s Grapevine, you can also read an interview with I CAN mentor Caitlin Downie-Kempson, and an insight on social change!

Read the full Grapevine here.

Stepping Into…^TM is a paid internship program specifically designed for students with a disability who want paid, hands-on work experience that is degree-relevant.

All opportunities available over Summer 2015/16 are currently advertised on the website. To keep up-to-date with what’s on offer, follow them on Facebook.

You must be in your penultimate or final year of a Bachelor or Postgraduate degree to participate in Stepping Into, and must be registered with Disability Services at your university, or provide relevant medical documentation with the application. For full details on eligibility requirements, please click here.

Placements will commence from November 2015 to January 2016, allowing you to complete the internship during the summer university break. Placements are for a minimum 152 hours (unless otherwise specified in the job description). These hours can be worked either full time or part time depending on your requirements.

For any queries regarding Stepping Into program or the PACE Mentoring program, please contact:

Steph Littlewood

Program Coordinator

Stephanie.littlewood@and.org.au

02 8270 9240

Applications for Vision Australia’s 2016 Graduate Program are open now!

The Career Start Graduate Program offers a 12 month opportunity to graduates who are blind or have low vision to gain valuable work experience in either a Business role or Service Delivery role.

What can graduates expect?

• Make a difference You’ll be completing real work and contributing to the delivery of services to clients who are blind or have low vision
• Gain valuable training and work experience You’ll receive business area-specific training and encouragement to continually improve your skills
• Networking and support opportunities You’ll be assigned a mentor to support you and will build networks and relationships with colleagues and managers across Vision Australia
• A great start to any career You’ll be working at one of Australia’s leading charities and at the end of twelve months, will either be offered an ongoing role within Vision Australia or assisted with employment at another organisation

Who’s eligible?

To be eligible to apply for our 2016 Career Start Graduate Program, applicants must:

• either be blind or have low vision;
• have completed a tertiary qualification within the past two years in an area where your capabilities and future employment prospects (within Vision Australia or elsewhere) will be enhanced by employment at Vision Australia for 12 months;
• be living in Australia and have permanent residence status;

Please visit the website to find out more – http://www.visionaustralia.org/about-us/careers-at-vision-australia/career-start-graduate-program

Applications close on Friday 25^th of September 2015.

Sexual Assault Report Anonymously

Report from anywhere in Australia

Sexual assault and harassment is a problem that affects many Australians. People do not report because they think the incident was minor, they are too embarrassed or they do not want police involvement.

How Does it Work?

This site allows you to report a sexual assault anonymously to the South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault. Information can include when and where the incident took place and a description of the offender.

The data we collect from SARA will be passed on to Police all over Australia with any information that identifies you removed. This will help the police to identify trends and make our communities safer.

• Make a completely anonymous report
• Have a voice – Don’t remain silent
• Help the police focus on crime hotspots
• Help make your community safer

Visit the S.A.R.A website for more information.

Dear Student

Blind Cricket is a sport that’s been around in Australia since 1922, with the Victorian Blind Cricket Association playing cricket in Melbourne since 1928.

Cricket is an integral part of most Australians lifestyles, allowing us to keep fit, whilst playing an exciting sport that is both intense in its rivalries, as well as being a great outdoors activity to promote both fair play in sport and health.

Blind Cricket Australia is the governing body for blind cricket in this country, and in conjunction with our state partners, we’re excited to promote our growing sport to all young blind and Vision Impaired students.  Blind Cricket is a participation sport for everyone and we welcome interest from both female and male athletes wishing to come and play our great game.

With the Ashes series against the English coming up in January 2016, and a world cup in India late next year to worry about, we are keen to encourage new players to come along and play in their home states.  Blind Cricket offers great opportunities to play cricket at a local social level, as well as progressing to represent both your State and Country at various national championships as well as international tournaments, both home and abroad.

So, how can you get involved in playing the number one participation sport for Vision Impaired athletes around the country?

Pop an email through to Marco Curralejo at secretary@blindcricket.org.au and let’s chat about getting you in touch with your local State and get you  involved in playing some blind cricket and who knows, maybe you too can one day represent your state or even your country internationally.

Kind Regards

Marco Curralejo

Secretary-Blind Cricket australia

Phone: +61 (0)412 128 429

Stepping Into…^TM is a paid internship program specifically designed for students with a disability, who want paid, hands-on work experience that is degree-relevant.

To find out what opportunities are available over Summer 2015/16, visit their website. More opportunities will be added as they become available. To keep up-to-date with what’s on offer, follow them on Facebook. Opportunities are currently being advertised for the following organisations:

• Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (Canberra): applications close Thursday 27 August 2015
• Westpac Group (Melbourne and Sydney): applications close 6 September 2015
• Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (Melbourne): applications close 13 September 2015

You must be in your penultimate or final year of a Bachelor or Postgraduate degree to participate in Stepping Into, and must be registered with Disability Services at your university, or provide relevant medical documentation with the application. For full details on eligibility requirements, please click here.

Placements will commence from November 2015 to January 2016, allowing you to complete the internship during the summer university break. Placements are for a minimum 152 hours (unless otherwise specified in the job description). These hours can be worked either full time or part time depending on your requirements for workplace adjustments.

If you are a first year student, or you are not in your penultimate or final year, you may be interested in a mentoring opportunity through PACE Mentoring. PACE gives students with disability the opportunity to develop skills and confidence in a workplace setting, which can assist in planning career goals, as well as aiding personal and professional development. For more information on PACE Mentoring, please visit their website.

Happy Friday everyone!

• Maddie Stuart, a model with Down syndrome, lands her first gig with fitness brand Manifesta.
• Findings that highlight how brain’s ‘plasticity’ allows congenitally blind and sighted children to adapt to sensory experiences could inform future treatments.
• The Ouch Blog discusses calls for better diagnosis for adults with ADHD.
• Lip-reading technology that promises to make hearing aids more human.

The first few weeks of semester can be enjoyable and exciting, but they can also be overwhelming and daunting. During weeks four and five, student associations run Survival Week as a chance to check in and ask yourself how you’re coping so far.

The following campuses are hosting Survival Week activities:

• Berwick (24 – 27 August)
• Caulfield (17 – 27 August)
• Clayton (17 – 21 August)
• Peninsula (17 – 21 August)

Check out the Survival Week website for more information on activities and practical survival skills, including course and unit choice, study skills and life balance.

Happy Friday everyone,

• Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte talks showbiz and disability, on this month’s Ouch Talk Show.
• Holly Bourne explores OCD and relapse in her new book Am I Normal Yet?
• Jade French discusses the challenging of the tick-box culture of disabled arts, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
• Inclusive education means all children are included in every way, not just in theory – Kathy Cologan discusses examples of exclusion that are claimed to be inclusion-not-working.