Some of Our Parts

Good morning everybody! It’s Friday, the sun is (kind of) shining and spring is in the air! Here’s some disability news links to take you into the weekend.

• It’s the last day of Mental Health week! The BBC asks if well-being and mental health are connected and you can get in on a free mindfulness session at Clayton!
• More and more and more Mental Health week articles!
• Consider yourself a bit of a leader? Check out the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s Empowering Leadership Guide
• The Guardian‘s design blog looks at some amazing new wheelchair technology.
• The amazing Stella Young is a Digital Writer in Residence for the next four weeks – join the conversation!
• A little history lesson in Victorian disability self-advocacy.
• What’s It Like Being Blind and Gay?

Patrick Smith’s Striking Minimalist Posters Reveal What It’s Like To Live With A Mental Health Condition

The ABC’s Q&A program tackled the topic of mental health this week as part of their Mental Health Week.

You can watch the program here.

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

It’s Mental Health Week!

There are a bunch of activities on all campuses, from physical activities, seminars, meditation and relaxation programs, presentations to exhibitions. It is open to Monash staff and students.

The ABC are also celebrating Mental Health week by screening documentaries and raising funds for mental health research.

Hope every one is enjoying their holiday break! It’s that time of the week for disability related news from around the world.

• Any American Horror Show fans out there? What do you think about the title of this season?
• October is Silent Morning Tea month!
• Young people in Canberra are skilling up in hospitality thanks to a new program!
• Kanye’s disability problem
• A “very accessible and sweet story about disability and coming out“
• Art on the outside
• FRINGE FESTIVAL – QUIPPINGS!

For this year’s Mental Health Week, the ABC’s Q and A program will broadcast live from the Pilbeam Theatre in Rockhampton, Queensland and will feature:

• Mental Health Advocate, Patrick McGorry
• Comedian and Actor, Josh Thomas
• Lived Experience Practitioner, Louise Byrne
• Rural and Remote Mental Health Centre, Jennifer Bowers
• Rural Queensland MP, Bob Katter

Please register for the audience now or submit a video question by 9am Friday.

Watch Q&A Monday 9.35pm on ABC, live 9.35pm AEDT on ABC News 24 or stream it on our website http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/

It’s break time! Hope you have some fun/relaxing plans for your mid semester break!

• Access all areas at the Melbourne Fringe Festival
• The annual recipients of the Sync Leadership Training have been announced.
• Disability simulation and “disability for a day”
• Shaky hands and spoons don’t always go so well… until now!
• Have you seen The Dreamhouse? It’s an ABC iView series on independent living.

Vision Australia are looking for people who are passionate about education to participate in a telephone-based focus group in October.

Vision Australia are seeking feedback and suggestions from our community to help finalise Vision Australia’s policy on education for people who are blind or have low vision. We want to hear from educators, parents, people who are studying, people who support students, and people with an interest in access to education.

Please see below for the teleconference dates and times:

• Monday 27 October from 2.00pm – 3.15pm
• Tuesday 28 October from 10.00am – 11.15am
• Tuesday 28 October from 7.00pm – 8.15pm

For more information, see the Vision Australia website.

RSVP’s are essential. Please email Cassandra Strakosch on ClientConsultation@visionaustralia.org or call 1300 84 74 66 by Monday 20 October, 2014.

The Australian Government’s Fair Work Ombudsman are seeking graduates from the following areas Legal, HR, IR, Business, Finance and Information Technology.

At FWO, graduates will work with people who are focused on serving the needs of all workers and employers in Australia. The ever evolving area of workplace relations provides exciting and diverse opportunities to engage with a range of internal and external stakeholders; make a real difference to the productivity of Australian businesses; and positively influence employment relationships. As a small graduate program, we are able to tailor an individual experience for each graduate including 3 work placements, a mentor, buddy from previous graduate intake and relevant training and development opportunities.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to building an inclusive and diverse workforce, and welcomes applications from graduates with disability.

Applications opened Tuesday, 23 September and will close 11pm (EDT) Monday, 6 October.

Quippings: Freaktastic Fringe will give you a crip tease under the lights. We will bend your mind, warp your perspective, make you hot and flustered, twist your ideas and ramp you up with our moves. Freaks, queers, poets, musicians and performers who are delightfully, unashamedly different and subversive, we are an experience not to be missed!

Auslan Interpreted Performance, Friday 3rd Oct & Saturday 4th Oct.
Companion Card bookings accepted (please phone the Fringe ticketing number).

See the Quippings Facebook page and Fringe Festival event page for more information.