1 June, 2016
| I am the 78 year old mother of a 55 year old daughter (Susan) who was born with intellectual disabilities. I am her carer where needed .She is living independently in her own unit with supervision and support from myself and family. I take her shopping each week and help with any day to day problems and transport. Susan attended the local primary school till grade 6! She had a hard time - bullied and teased in the schoolyard and mostly ignored in the classroom. We sent her to Rossbourne House (a school for children with learning difficulties )where she stayed until she turned 18. Having no one to guide us and not being able to find any alternative she attended a sheltered workshop for 8 years. Through a work experience opportunity she managed to get employment at a nursing home as a kitchen worker. She stayed there for nearly 20 years till new managers changed work conditions. She is now employed on a permanent part time basis as a stacker at our local Coles store. Susan has lived through years where no one seemed to know how to help the disabled. She was never included in birthdays or social events. We could not find any sports or groups she could participate. Every new group we tried had no facilities for people less than perfect. As her social skills are limited she still has trouble being accepted by any group and her social life is not existent except for family. My biggest worry is what will happen when myself and my husband can no longer drive and be on call. We would like to see the schools educate the young to accept everyone at face value. This is where attitudes towards those who do not fit the norm start. Teachers could go a long way in setting examples of inclusiveness for all (instead of just watching, all students be included in sport and activities (maybe given a leading role occasionally) It is almost impossible to find a sporting club that caters from disabled people. Surely in each basketball or cricket club they could form a special group of children who could compete socially against each other and more importantly feel that they are part of the club. As an adult the same problems occur. Local councils run courses in all types of educational and social groups but not one of them suitable for disabled. A social group meeting place for different age groups to meet and make non critical friendships would be marvellous. The same thing at a gym where anyone could work out as a group where they are not ridiculed or ignored. Government Employment agencies for disabled have no idea how to help clients get a job. Many say as long as the client has 8 hours employment that is all they have to do. Absolutely useless! And how can you expect a person with learning difficulties find or contact 5 employers every fortnight? I believe the Government should be leading the way by having a percentage of disabled employed in their own offices. From doing that they could also require large corporations to do the same and this should be mandatory. Just because you have a disability does not prevent you from being employed. An advertising campaign to all employers with benefits for those who employ a percentage of disabled would be welcomed by most people. Centrelink is another area of concern. If you have a child born with a lifetime disability I cannot see any reason to keep filling in the same form every 5 Years. This is stressful and unnecessary . Why is there not a box you can tick on the original form to say this condition is not going to improve or alter in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to share some of these problems and thoughts with others. I sincerely hope you can improve the life style for our children who cannot help themselves. |