International Day of People with Disability

‘I am proud and happy to be part of the community, living my own life’.  (Patricia)

Patricia says one of her biggest achievements is being in her own home, where she can make her own choices and do new things. After lots of determined effort over a long time, Patricia now lives in her own bright and comfortable unit in Kyneton, with much-loved cat Nala. Her boyfriend Jason visits often and Patricia says “he pulls his weight” and might be a ‘keeper’!

Patricia works three days a week in supported employment with Windarring. Her job involves quite specific skills and knowledge and Patricia has worked hard over time to become good at her work. She is proud that she is now able to assist other workers to build their skills. Having a job is important to Patricia for a number of reasons. She feels it is important to be busy, to mix with other people, to learn new things, and especially to earn some wages.

Volunteering is another important part of Patricia’s life. She has been a regular volunteer at a local op shop for around five years. Patricia’s role mostly involves putting out stock and helping customers to find the items they are looking for. As well as making a contribution to helping others through this volunteer work, Patricia gets a lot of enjoyment from being part of a team of like-minded people who welcome and support her in this role. “We have a good time, we have a laugh together”.

Patricia explains that she has been able to achieve all these things with help from different people. Like most people, she gets valuable support from family members. Patricia especially tells about the commitment of her mother and step-father. They look after Patricia’s daughter who is nearly seven and they always make sure that Patricia and her daughter are able to spend regular time together. Patricia’s sister also helps out where needed, for example with NDIS matters, which sometimes involve a bit of management!

Some features of Patricia’s disability are memory loss and poor short-term memory. This creates lots of challenges across different areas of her life. She went to an ordinary Primary School but then was moved to a Special School, meaning she had to leave all her friends and make a new start. Learning things takes her longer and Patricia gets help from Windarring for things like in-home support with cooking and cleaning, attending day programs such as a computer program and art program, and supported employment where she has been looking for a job in open employment in the community.

One of Patricia’s hobbies is diamond-painting. She has created some great pictures, showing that she has lots of talent and patience.

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“No challenge or limitation is enough to stop you achieving your dream” (Tate Kemp).

If you are looking for an example of a young person who has worked out what they want to achieve and how they mean to do it – meet Tate!

Talking to Tate, the theme that keeps coming up is getting where you want to be by finding ways to modify your environment and manage or bypass your limitations. He has a long-term enthusiasm for sports, but he can’t realistically lace up footy boots and run onto the field. He delivers presentations to groups, but his speech difficulties mean that people may not always understand what he says. Rather than give up his ambitions, Tate finds alternative ways to be involved. Sometimes he utilises technology or support workers, sometimes he coordinates with friends, and sometimes he calls on his dedicated family.

When he was finishing school, Tate needed to think about his future. He announced to his parents that he was planning a career in public speaking, with an emphasis on increasing awareness of disability and inclusion. Tate’s mum says they were taken aback at first, but like all committed parents, they quickly moved on to the phase of working out how they could assist their son to do what was important to him. Tate is now the proud principal of All Abilities Public Speaking.

His business webpage is engaging and professional, setting out the services offered and the objective that underlies Tate’s work – to promote a genuinely inclusive society.

As well as speaking at a range of schools and other organisations, Tate has presented online to a group in the US and has a presentation scheduled in a few weeks on the Sunshine Coast. This booking is for the staff of the college where Tate is currently completing external studies. Very sensibly, Tate is having a short holiday while in Queensland, taking his brother and brother’s girlfriend along.

Tate is a realist and his early school experience taught him that life as a person who is seen as ‘different’ holds its own special challenges. His mum spoke about the ongoing, exhausting battles for a parent trying to encourage mainstream schools to be accessible and inclusive for a child with disabilities. When Tate moved to the Bullengarook Campus of Sunbury Special School it was a relief for all the family, and because every student there was ‘different’, Tate was no longer treated as someone who didn’t fit in.

It is very clear that he now ‘fits in’ many different places and groups. The letters of recommendation from Gisborne Football Netball Club and Cricket Club acknowledge Tate’s committed volunteer contribution in roles such as timekeeper, scorekeeper and general team morale booster. He is proud to feature as Assistant Timekeeper in the team photos. The footy jumper hanging on his wall, signed by all the players and presented on his 21^st Birthday, definitely confirms the high regard of his mates in the team.

Tate’s support worker Sophia, made an important point at the end of our conversation. She emphasised how well known Tate is in his local community and how his visibility and involvement encourages the wider community to be more inclusive and to be more aware that everyone belongs and has the right to the life of their choice.  

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‘She’s a real go-getter and we are so proud of her.’

These words are from Brittany’s Mum, but it was Brittany herself who told me about things she has achieved, challenges she faced along the way, and some of her dreams for the future.

• A job
• A boyfriend
• To get married
• A baby
• A house
• A driver's licence

Brittany set herself these goals when she was a young person, attending a special school and dealing with dyspraxia. She planned a life that was not limited and defined by her disability and when we sat chatting in her home last week, Brittany could tick off all these goals! 

Brittany, her husband Andrew and their daughter Isabella moved into their new house around a year ago. Brittany and Andrew had been saving for a house since they got engaged. They have now been married for over 10 years, are happily settled in their own home, and Isabella attends the local primary school. Their home is modern and welcoming, with a lovely country outlook, a friendly little dog and the Christmas tree set up ready for decorating. Like everyone who moves into a new build, they are working their way through establishing the yard and garden.

Most people would say that family, friends and others makes a big contribution to their lives. Brittany appreciates the many ways she has been supported over the years, at school, home, work and in the community. She mentions that being able to stay with families for a while really helped them get over the line with saving for their house.

Brittany was clearly very proud when talking about a disability awareness program at Isabella’s school. This program involves people with different disabilities talking to students about managing life’s challenges and participating in community life. After hearing these speakers, Isabella approached the Principal to offer her Mum to come and talk about her disability and her achievements.

The most difficult challenge that Brittany described was overcoming her self-consciousness about her speaking difficulties. She said this made her shy when meeting people. However, when she was introduced to Andrew at the Sunbury Blue Light Disco they hit it off immediately and have been together ever since. 

Brittany has been with her current employer, Kyneton Copy Centre, for 17 years. She is pleased to be working and hopes to take a new career direction when the time is right. Her next career goal is to work with horses and she will be looking out for opportunities in this field. As her Mum confirms, Brittany is a driving force and goes all out to achieve the things that are important in her life. 

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'I like to design and make things using recycled materials. My business goal is to produce and sell bright and useful products' (Susan)

Susan has a flair for design and craftwork that includes recycling and repurposing. She has developed a microbusiness based on this approach and gets great satisfaction from turning discarded items into attractive and useful products. Susan is especially proud that this is a win-win situation: a great new product for someone to enjoy, plus something saved from the waste cycle.

Some examples of Susan’s products are

• bright and practical Easter bags; a big hit with anyone who has chocolate eggs to deliver
• vegie bags made from old lace curtains; to use instead of plastic when you visit the supermarket produce department and want to help save the planet
• refurbished toys, as in the photo which shows Susan working on producing new clothes from old for this teddy bear
• colourful and roomy fabric shopping bags; easy to keep handy for visits to the market or to pick up a few items at the shop.

Susan’s products are available for sale at the Windarring shop in Mollison St, Kyneton. She is always looking for new markets and ideas for niche markets, so please call in at the shop if you may be interested in buying or stocking any of Susan’s products.

Keeping life on track isn’t always easy for Susan. Like most people living with a disability, she confronts a range of challenges that can only be managed with determination and support. We talked about the delays and complexities that sometimes happen with her NDIS funding and plan.  This can affect Susan’s ability to get on with her life. She also needs some major surgery that involves an extended waiting period. In the meantime, her mobility and life opportunities are significantly restricted.

When asked to nominate the biggest of her life’s challenges, Susan was quick to identify interaction with people – ‘difficult people!’. She readily acknowledges that she can sometimes be a bit impatient and that some of her reactions may result from her disability and past experiences.  However, Susan would like everyone to think about the way they might come across to people living with disabilities, when they meet in various situations. She sometimes feels that people may be thinking ‘What’s wrong with her?’ or ‘What is she doing here?’, whereas at other times, when people are friendly, welcoming and helpful, she feels much more part of the community.

Members of Susan’s family have been involved through her life and she gets a range of support from Windarring in Kyneton. As well as assistance and resources to develop and operate her microbusiness, Windarring assist Susan with shopping, recreation and other aspects of community living.

This week, Susan has her bag packed and is really looking forward to a long-awaited holiday to Yarrawonga with a friend and support workers. Their plans include a cruise, the pictures, a massage, eating out – a well-deserved break by the lake!

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"A major goal for me is for Kyneton and the Macedon Ranges to be an inclusive and welcoming place. It is great to see young families moving here who have heard that this is a good place to live." (Hayden)

Hayden’s life centres around his wife and his young daughter Shanaya; working to support his young family; and his involvement in various aspects of community life and advocacy. 

Hayden is a committed advocate for people living with a disability and he contributes to the work of the Dylan Alcott Foundation. Some of Hayden’s involvement in the Foundation is taking part in videos and other promotions to educate sports and social clubs and employers about the importance and benefits of including and recruiting people with disabilities. 

Karen O’Sullivan worked with Hayden to author his biography “If I can, you can”, released last year. Hayden says his main goal for the book was to show a role model who has Cerebral Palsy and to tell others that being born with a disability need not stop them, or their child, from having a full life and contributing to the life of others.

Hayden sees Macedon Ranges Shire Council as a key player in improving accessibility in our community. Safe footpaths are a critical factor for people with mobility challenges. Hayden knows from his own and others’ experience that uneven and slippery footpaths lead to falls, and that falls can have devastating results. Ramps into shops and community venues are also important to enable people to participate in all aspects of life. 

Hayden hopes that Council will continue to make improvements in these areas, through policy and funding. He also suggests that it is important to recognise businesses and organisations that go the extra mile to be accessible and welcoming, perhaps through recognition awards and funding of inclusion initiatives by businesses and organisations. 

With a young family to support, Hayden works two jobs. His full-time job is administration assistant in John Holland Construction IT procurement area, training in to the city two days and working from home. He also does a shift every second Sunday at the local Woolworths supermarket, where he has worked for 16 years. One of the most satisfying features of this job is the chat to his ‘regulars’ at the checkout. Hayden is very aware that some older people experience loneliness and this is one way he can brighten their day.

Goals for the future for Hayden and his wife include building their own home and for Shanaya to attend Hayden’s old school, Sacred Heart in Kyneton, with the same educational opportunities as him. Hayden also wants to keep promoting his book and get the word out to people with Cerebral Palsy.

Hayden hasn’t got where he is by sitting back and waiting for others to do things for him. He says his parents gave him a strong foundation for independence and his mentors have helped him build on this foundation. Hayden continues to manage some challenges to achieve his goals.  Sometimes the negative attitude of others gets him down. Over time, Hayden has experienced discrimination and unpleasantness from some who appear to resent people with disabilities who are having a crack at life. In fact, ‘having a crack’ seems to be one of Hayden’s mottos and he is certainly succeeding in his goal of being a role model for young people living with disabilities or other challenges. 

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