DARU Update31 October 2011

IN THE NEWS

EVENTS

PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES

TRAINING

SUBMISSIONS, CONSULTATIONS AND FORUMS

PAID AND VOLUNTARY POSITIONS

IN THE NEWS

Here We Go Again: Deafness and Polio Michael Uniacke, On-line Opinion, 25 October 2011

Almost like the polio epidemic of some decades ago, Queensland business-woman Dr Dimity Dornan's alleged comparison of deafness with polio has erupted around the country. She is reported to have said that deafness was a scourge that can be eradicated and consigned to history, like polio. This alleged comment is spookily similar to another made a quarter of a century ago. In 1987, Dr Terry Hambrecht, an American rehabilitation expert, declared that the purpose of research into the cochlear implant was to eradicate deafness "in the same way that diseases such as smallpox had been controlled".

Smallpox? Polio? Take your pick. Dornan's alleged comment has a bone-wearying here-we-go-again quality to it. Deaf people have a language, a culture, a history and a strong sense of community. Linking deafness with a physical illness is a shop-worn cliché. But prominent educationalists, medical specialists and the occasional politician have been chirping this particular song for more than a century.

The difference now is that media- and tech-savvy deaf people are swiftly hitting back at comments they find offensive. In The Age report on 14/10, Dornan back-pedalled. She said, "deaf children will always be deaf and they should be proud of that". Until that moment, Dornan

had at least maintained a consistent line in her firm belief that all deaf children should learn to speak. But this gentle nod to deaf children was so out of character. It was as if Australia's premier meat lover, Sam Kekovich, suddenly announced that vegetarians were nice people and should be proud they don't eat meat.

This furore is the latest in a controversy that is still going strong after more than a century. It is really about who defines deafness, how it is defined, and who decides what it means to be deaf. The common thread in pronouncements like Dornan's is that they are made by hearing ideologues who view the panorama of deafness through a pinhole camera. Medical specialists see deaf people as medical cases presenting in clinics, surgeries and consulting rooms. Educationalists like Dornan see deaf people as helpless children and deal with their confused and vulnerable hearing parents. Can such influential people claim to know any deaf person simply as a friend? Or even as an adult, and treat him or her on equal terms, as they would anyone else?

One of the many reasons this controversy endures is because deafness remains an unknown attribute of what it means to be human and a reason for that is deaf people are yet to tell their stories. There are almost no writers, artists, or film makers, deaf or hearing, who have brought to the world the deaf experience, and I do not refer to dime-a-dozen stories of the "conquest" of deafness, which position the deaf as an inferior species of the hearing.

The real stories that are yet to emerge are about how untold millions of deaf and hearing-impaired people negotiate a world that is mostly indifferent to the nuances and paradoxes of deafness. Some do this very well, some get by, and some don't. But many develop an array of skills, sets of attitudes and a certain rat-cunning, such that deafness becomes something quite different to the canon of oralism, that at all times it is a disability that must be conquered. These stories and these attributes are incomprehensible to the Dimity Dornans of this world.

Now that polio has been anointed the latest comparator du jour of deafness, it is fitting to leave the final word to someone who actually had polio, and so used a wheelchair. The late Elizabeth Hastings also happened to be Australia's first disability discrimination commissioner. In a speech in Adelaide in 1997, she said of herself: "disability is not always convenient, attractive or desirable, but . . . it is my life and I have absolutely no wish for it to be otherwise". Hastings

acknowledged that not all people with disabilities shared her attitude, but she insisted that many "do not wish to be altered, cured or transformed". She was clear in what she wanted – equal access to everything the community had to offer.

This was a provocative comment from someone in the most emphatic symbol of disability there is – a wheelchair. Lack of interest in a cure and questions about traditional forms of disability are unsettling, but will not go away. Until ideologues like Dimity Dornan are prepared to listen to deaf people, they will remain as the ones constrained and restricted, just as iron calipers once did to the limbs of children with polio.

To read the full story visit: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12791

Bid to Try Thalidomide Case Overseas The Age, Farah Farouque and Andrea Petrie, 25 October 2011

Australia’s first thalidomide case to be fought out in the courts should not be litigated in Victoria, according to the former German manufacturer of the drug linked to a multitude of birth defects.

Pharmaceutical giant Grunenthal, named as a defendant in two class-action claims that could deliver millions of dollars in compensation for more than 100 disabled victims, told the Victorian Supreme Court that it was not an appropriate forum for the issues to be tested.

In a bid to thwart lead plaintiff Lynette Suzanne Rowe, who wants her case brought to trial next year in Melbourne, legal argument will be heard before Justice David Beach in December.

Grunenthal's legal team will put before the court details of German law - the company's headquarters are in Aachen, Germany.

Ms Rowe, attending court yesterday with her elderly parents who serve as her carers, was born in Box Hill Hospital with no arms or legs in 1962 after her mother, Wendy Rowe, took thalidomide for about five weeks during her pregnancy.

Outside court, solicitor Peter Gordon said Ms Rowe did not even have a passport to travel overseas and so ''getting to Germany'' to fight a

case would not be easy. ''Lynne's case is about trying to achieve some justice - albeit delayed,'' he said.

The long delay in seeking compensation is due to her becoming aware only in or after February this year that her injuries were probably caused by thalidomide and the negligence of the defendants.

Her barrister, Julian Burnside, QC, told the court that the forum to try the case should be decided by her personal circumstances, which were serious.

Marketed under the brand name Distaval, thalidomide was provided as a sample to Ms Rowe's mother as a tranquilliser or to alleviate morning sickness half a century ago. Ms Rowe's conditions include narrowing of the ear canals, scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and eye and mouth abnormalities.

Professor Harold Luntz, from Melbourne University, said no case involving thalidomide had been litigated in Australia. Out-of-court settlements, however, had been reached previously involving other thalidomide sufferers.

To read the full; story visit:http://www.theage.com.au/national/bid-to-try-thalidomide-case-overseas-20111024-1mgcn.html#ixzz1bjzsgnuv

Chiropractor's Oxygen Treatment Created False Hope from Hot Air The Age, Kate Hagan, 25 October 2011

A chiropractor who provided hundreds of hours of hyperbaric oxygen treatment to a man with cerebral palsy took advantage of a vulnerable patient for his own financial benefit, a tribunal has heard.

Dr Malcolm Hooper, 51, has admitted making false representations about his ability to treat cerebral palsy with oxygen in providing 231 hours of the treatment to patient 'Mr T', a disability pensioner who incurred debts of more than $44,000.

Mr T also received 66 hours of treatment on a treadmill-like device that purportedly helps the body relearn how to walk. The patient initially believed that he was benefiting from the treatment but later

told authorities he had seen no lasting improvement and felt betrayed by Hooper.

He paid Hooper thousands of dollars, including the proceeds of fund-raising, for treatment at his Collins Street clinic from September 2007 to May 2008.

A three-member panel sitting at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal yesterday heard that Hooper also claimed the oxygen treatment could improve epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, infertility and AIDS.

Hooper has claimed that hyperbaric oxygen treatment - involving the inhalation of 100 per cent oxygen in a pressure chamber - could ''promote functional immune responses by correcting hypoxia in damaged tissue structures''.

But Ian Freckelton, SC, for the Chiropractic Board of Australia, said Hooper had fudged the real state of the scientific literature to sell unproven treatments, describing his conduct as ''disgraceful and dishonourable''. He said advertising on Hooper's HyperMED clinic website was deceptive because it invited potential patients to draw inaccurate inferences about the effectiveness of his treatments.

Dr Freckelton said it would be inappropriate to view Hooper as a martyr or pioneer battling the medical establishment when, in fact, he had been in a position of power over his patients. ''[Hooper] held out promises and hope when there was no proper basis to do so,'' he said.

The tribunal will deliver its decision at a date to be fixed.

To read the full story, visit:http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/chiropractors-oxygen-treatment-created-false-hope-from-hot-air-20111024-1mgd8.html#ixzz1bjyk3cc6

Disadvantaged Groups to Receive More Assistance to Find a JobJoint media release - the Hon Kate Ellis MP Minister for Employment Participation and Child Care and Bill Shorten MP Federal Member for Maribyrnong, 25 October 2011

Up to 40 jobseekers will be helped to find work through the Sustaining Employment Economic Development (SEED project), thanks to $150 000 in funding from the Australian Government’s Innovation Fund.

Minister for Employment Participation, Kate Ellis, and Bill Shorten MP, Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, launched the project today in Moonee Ponds, Victoria.

Mr Shorten welcomed the announcement of funding that would help job seekers Maribyrnong to find work. “This project, delivered by Disability Works Australia Ltd in Melbourne, will help a number of disadvantaged job seekers, including young job seekers and those with disability, on their path to finding and keeping a job,” he said.

Disadvantaged job seekers will be helped into employment by developing a personal participation plan identifying potential barriers and personal needs, to enable them to participate in training, mentoring and job opportunities.

The project participants will be matched with an employer for a minimum of 26 weeks in a paid work placement, where they will also be supported by a workplace and/or a SEED mentor/case worker.

“The Innovation Fund harnesses the energy, the passion and – as the name suggests – the innovation, of Australians to come up with new ideas for how we can better support unemployed people to find work,” Ms Ellis said.

“The Innovation Fund has helped make sure disadvantaged job seekers weren’t left behind during the global recession and it continues to assist job seekers to get the skills and experience they need to find work during this period of low unemployment.”

The fund also contributes to the achievement of the Australian Government’s Social Inclusion Agenda. For more information on the Innovation Fund visit:http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/JSA/Pages/InnovationFund.aspx

Community Organisations to Reduce Violence against Women with Disabilities Joint Media Release The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for Social Inclusion and Member for Sydney and Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis, 24 October 2011

Minister for the Status of Women Kate Ellis and Minister for Social Inclusion and Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek have announced new funding today two community organisations supporting women with disabilities to take action to reduce violence against women.

The Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis today announced that People with Disability Inc in NSW and Montagu Community Living in Tasmania will share in almost $400,000 as part of the Government’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

“Shockingly, nearly one in three Australian women experience physical violence since the age of 15, and almost one in five women are victims of sexual violence,” Ms Ellis said.

“Women with disabilities are often more vulnerable to this type of gendered violence and that is why our Government knows we need to work with community organisations on the ground, with expertise in disability, to promote relationships that are based on respect.”

“All forms of violence against women are unacceptable - in any community and in any culture - and it is everyone’s responsibility to reject and prevent violence.”

“These grants will support activities that prevent, respond to, and speak out against violence, change community attitudes and behaviours, and encourage community responsibility to support the reduction of violence against women with disabilities.”

The Australian Government will provide: $147,720 over three years to People with Disability to develop

and roll out a domestic violence abuse and neglect training package focused on women with intellectual disability, staff and service providers.

$250,000 to Montagu Community Living to deliver its Find a Friend, Keep a Friend project to support women with disabilities in Hobart and Glenorchy.

People with Disability Executive Director, Michael Bleasdale said the grant will help the organisation carry out a training project that will provide “women with intellectual disability, and staff that support them, with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify what their rights are, what it looks like when these rights are being violated, and

the complaints mechanisms they can access in order to achieve positive change.”

Minister for Social Inclusion and Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek said she was delighted to announce this new investment for local community organisation People with Disability.

“There is limited knowledge about how best to address and support women with intellectual disability who are affected by domestic violence,” she said.

“Through this training package, staff and service providers across Australia will have access to the latest knowledge and skills to help them identify violence against women with disabilities, and what systems can help prevent violence from occurring.

Montagu Community Living CEO, Mary Gays is pleased about the grant as it acknowledges “that the needs of women who live with a disability have been recognised as a priority area, requiring targeted interventions in the prevention of violence against women.

“Women living with a disability have an increased vulnerability to domestic violence and often have difficulties initiating, developing and maintain friendships, and our project aims to encourage participation in a skill building training course which enables them to learn from and be supported by other women living with a disability,” she said.

The Australian Government has committed $3.75 million for Community Action Grants, which will be distributed amongst 17 community and sporting organisations across the country.

A range of funded projects will support different communities, with these two projects specifically supporting women with disabilities - one of the grant’s priority groups.

A copy of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 is available at:http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

To read this media release online, visit:http://www.kateellis.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/2011/pages/ellis_m_reduced_violence_24october2011.aspx

Blind Worker Stays: Bowen The Age, Michelle Griffin, 24 October 2011

Blind social worker Simran Kaur has won her two-year battle for permanent residency after Immigration Minister Chris Bowen overruled a tribunal decision that her disability would be a financial burden.

''It finally means security,'' Ms Kaur said. ''For two years, it has been like a sword hanging over our heads.''

But while Ms Kaur, 30, and her husband, Jasmeet Singh, are jubilant, the laws that reject almost all disabled applicants for Australian residency remain, more than a year after a parliamentary committee's report called for greater flexibility in the regulations.

''We congratulate the minister for his actions here,'' said Ms Kaur's advocate from Vision Australia, Brandon Ah Tong. ''But the system needs to change. All we're asking for is that a real person be assessed on what they can do.''

Ms Kaur was born in New Delhi with a degenerative condition that has left her legally blind, but she lives independently with her husband and five-month-old daughter Janiya, and works for Vision Australia. With a master's degree in social work and a specialty in aged care, Ms Kaur has skills that Australia's under-serviced aged care and disability sectors desperately need. Her mother, brother and in-laws live in Australia and she has no other immediate family in India.

Yet her application for permanent residency under the skilled migrant visa was rejected, first by the Immigration Department in 2009 and then by the Migration Review Tribunal in 2010 because her impairment would qualify her for a disability pension she doesn't want.

Ms Kaur's appeal was backed by several member of Parliament, by Vision Australia and other disability groups, and by a 2000-name petition.

''We've been hopeful but it's been such a rollercoaster ride,'' Ms Kaur said. ''For two years, you cannot make decisions, you cannot get credit, you cannot buy a house. I was worried, what will happen to my little one? Will I have to take her back?''

The regulations were condemned by Professor Ron McCallum, chairman of Vision Australia's board, as ''very old-fashioned''. ''They're based on the premise that if a disability is going to potentially cost money then we shouldn't admit the person. If I were seeking as a law professor to come here, I wouldn't be allowed in,'' he said.

''The tribunal should be allowed to weigh the cost against what that person or their family can contribute.''

To read the full story online, visit:http://www.theage.com.au/national/blind-worker-stays-bowen-20111023-1mem9.html#ixzz1beFrBOHq

Cancer Screening Boost for Women with DisabilitiesMedia Release, The Hon Mary Wooldridge MP, Minister for Mental Health, Women’s Affairs and Community Services, 24 October 2011

A new initiative to help increase cancer screening of women with an intellectual disability was announced today by Community Services Minister Mary Wooldridge.

The Victorian Coalition Government is providing $93,000 to assist Cancer Council Victoria, PapScreen Victoria and BreastScreen Victoria in increasing awareness and participation in screening for women with an intellectual disability.

Ms Wooldridge said a new Victorian population health survey of people with an intellectual disability shows women with an intellectual disability are less likely to be screened for breast and cervical cancer.

The survey found only 55 per cent of women with an intellectual disability aged 50-69 years had a mammogram in the past two years, compared to 76 per cent of women in the general Victorian population. Only 15 per cent of women with an intellectual disability aged 20-69 years had a pap test in the past two years, compared to 71 per cent of women generally.

“Screening saves lives, so it is important some of Victoria’s most vulnerable women don’t miss out,” said Ms Wooldridge. “We need to better inform women with an intellectual disability and health professionals to successfully close the screening gap.”

Cancer Council Victoria CEO, Todd Harper said the funds will allow the Cancer Council to develop resources and partner with organisations to assist women with an intellectual disability.

“We know screening such as mammography and pap tests improves the likelihood of cancer being detected at an early stage, which significantly improves the chances of the cancer being treated successfully,” said Mr Harper. “We are extremely pleased this funding will allow us to improve our engagement with women with an intellectual disability to ensure they have the same opportunity to access breast and cervical screening as women in the general population.”

The Victorian population health survey of people with an intellectual disability was conducted by the Victorian Department of Health. It contains a wide range of information relating to the health of adults with an intellectual disability and the determinants of that health.

The survey report and fact sheets are available from:http://www.health.vic.gov.au/healthstatus/

To read this media release online, visit:http://premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2313-cancer-screening-boost-for-women-with-disabilities.html

EVENTSRemember that all events included in the DARU Update also appear in the DARU online Events Calendar at:http://www.daru.org.au/ecalendar/calendar/index.chtml

STAR Victoria 41st Annual General Meeting

When: Wednesday 23 November 2011, 12:00noon – 3:00pmWhere: Ross House, 4th Floor, Hayden Raysmith Room, 247

flinders Lane, MelbourneRegister: RSVP by Friday 18 November for catering purposes.

Phone 9650 2730 or email info@starvictoria.org.au

Bryan Woodford, Chair of the Premier's Taskforce on NDIS implementation in Victoria, will be the guest speaker. So come along and hear the latest news.

Bryan’s speech will be followed by the presentation of the annual report and election of new board members (two vacancies). Only financial members can vote or stand for office.

Light Refreshments will be served at the meeting

To download the information flyer, visit:http://www.daru.org.au/ecalendar/items/2011/10/386090-upload-00001.docx

Bridging the AT Gap - ARATA National Conference

When: Wednesday 22 - Friday 24 August 2012Where: Sydney Masonic Function Centre, Sydney NSW

It’s an exciting and interesting time, and with so many factors contributing to all aspects of Assistive Technology (AT) we need to ensure that we can influence, connect and inform. The ARATA 2012 Conference: “Bridging the AT Gap” will provide all stakeholders the opportunity to share their knowledge, experience and expertise to help bridge the AT gap between clients, technology, funding and policy.

We would like to invite you to participate at “Bridging the AT Gap”. This is an opportunity to become an integral part of the development and implementation of Assistive Technology while helping to influence thinking, increase understanding and improve the experience for all stakeholders.

Expression of Interest for presentations is now open and abstracts need to be submitted by 18 November. Exhibition and sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information about the application process and to download forms, visit:http://www.arata.org.au/conf.php

For more information and enquiries, contact A.M. Meetings Plus, Conference Management on phone (03) 9372 7182 or email arata12@ammp.com.au

Australia’s Welfare 2011 Conference

When: Thursday 24 November 2011, welcome dinner: Wednesday 23 November 2011

Where: National Convention Centre, Constitution Avenue, Canberra, ACT

Register: Go online to:https://www.cvent.com/events/australia-s-welfare-2011-conference/registration-ef375aad9b2147a280454d239e99bf24.aspx?i=c5f22be6-db5f-43b4-be4f-d05d89301e8f

There will be a range of engaging speakers who will provide informed commentary on:

breaking the cycle of entrenched disadvantage policy challenges for the welfare sector combatting disadvantage through employment services meeting the needs of diverse communities population ageing: challenges and opportunities housing in the two-speed economy

The speakers will be a mix from government, academia and non-government organisations including:

Simon McKeon 2011 Australian of the Year Father Chris Riley Founder and CEO, Youth Off The Streets Patricia Faulkner Chair, Australian Social Inclusion Board The Hon Susan Ryan AO Age Discrimination Commissioner Tony Nicholson Executive Director, Brotherhood of St Laurence Professor Adam Graycar Dean, Australian National Institute of

Public Policy Professor Paula Barrett Founder, Pathways Health and

Research Centre UQ Thérèse Rein Managing Director, Ingeus Limited Robert Fitzgerald AM Commissioner, Productivity Commission Ian Winter Executive Director, Australian Housing and Urban

Research Institute Jacqui Watt CEO, Community Housing Federation of Victoria Rosemary Young AM National Director, Frontier Services Simon Schrapel Chief Executive, UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide

For more information about the conference, including program and speaker bios, visit;http://www.cvent.com/events/australia-s-welfare-2011-conference/event-summary-ef375aad9b2147a280454d239e99bf24.aspx?i=c5f22be6-db5f-43b4-be4f-d05d89301e8f

Having a Say Conference 2012: My Life, My Way

When: 8 – 10 February 2012Where: Deakin University, Waterfront Campus, GeelongRegister: Earlybird rates are open until 25 November 2011. For

information about registration and to download a registration form, visit: http://www.valid.org.au/conference/default.htm

VALID is pleased to announce that the conference program is now available on the Having a Say website.

It is a full & exciting program of presentations & performances by self-advocates, along with workshops & Information Sessions. As usual, the social & Come & Try activities are also featured. The Advocacy Stream for delegates, families & workers will feature sessions on the Auditor-Generals report into individual funding, NDIS & Individual Support Packages (ISP's).

To view the program and find out about other associated events such as the art competition and the Dinner Disco, visit:http://www.valid.org.au/conference/default.htm For more information, contact VALID on 03 9416 4003 or freecall, 1800 655 570 or email havingasay@valid.org.au

Social Participation: Knowledge, Policy & Practice

When: Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 November 2011Where: La Trobe University, Melbourne CampusRegister: For information and to download a registration form, visit:

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/isp/Registration%20(2).pdf

Issues of social participation are much-discussed and debated. The Institute for Social Participation (ISP) is committed to better understanding and enactment of the principles of social participation which we (provisionally) understand as the individual’s right to experience self-determined modes of engagement in all aspects of society. Such a definition refers to spheres of possible social engagement (e.g., interpersonal, social, vocational) and to individuals’ health, economic resources and social attitudes.

The conference will be a large, diverse, interdisciplinary, national and international event. In addition to outstanding keynote speakers and presenters from various health care and related professions, it will provide a space in which health care consumers, those who may have experienced curtailed capacities for social participation and others can tell their stories in their own voices.

We want this to be a dynamic, varied event but one with a unifying theme. By the end, we hope that we will have clarified the meanings and the implications of the term ‘social participation’, deepened community understanding of how it can be facilitated, and that the conference itself will have been a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding example of social participation in action.

To find out about the keynote speakers and to download the program, visit:http://www.latrobe.edu.au/isp/conference.html

For more information, contact Samantha Nugent by emailing S.Nugent@latrobe.edu.au

PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES

Disability Studies Quarterly: Mediated Communication IssueVol 31 No 4 2011

Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) is the journal of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS). It is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities and arts, disability rights advocates, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities.

In this issue: Can there be a Disability Studies Theory of "End-of-Life

Autonomy?" Communication Mediated by a Powered Wheelchair: People

with Profound Cognitive Disabilities Deafening Silences: Researching with Inarticulate Children Mediated Communication in Context: Narrative Approaches to

Understanding Encounters Between Health Care Providers and Deaf People

Managing Social Exclusion through Technology: An Example of Art as Mediated Action

Talking with Our Son: Helping an Autistic Child Navigate the World of Neurologically Typical Communication

To read this journal online, visit:http://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/issue/current

Enable Website

The United Nations Enable website contains some useful information on topics related to disability and the work of the United Nations for people with disabilities to advance the rights of persons with disabilities. Visit the website at:http://www.un.org/disabilities/

TRAINING

DARU Workshop: Doing IT Better

When: Wednesday 16 November, 1:00pm-4:00pmWhere: VCOSS Boardroom, Level 8, 128 Exhibition StreetRegister: Download a registration form from:

http://www.daru.org.au/ecalendar/detail.chtml?filename_num=359281

We are pleased to have Linda Budd from field come and demonstrate free and low cost applications that could be used within our organisations to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Due to a change in facilitator, the session will now be shorter and the content will be slightly different.

For more information, contact DARU on 03 9639 5807 or email admin@daru.org.au

SUBMISSIONS, CONSULTATIONS AND FORUMS

Information Technology and Mental Illness

SANE Australia is conducting a study that explores how far the use of IT and social media is helping people with mental illness find the information they need and to stay connected with others.

Information technology is changing the way we seek information and stay connected. For people living with a mental illness, accessing and using information technology can be a challenge as well as an opportunity.

The study has been developed especially for people affected by mental illness, either directly or as friends and family of those with a mental illness. Please note that all information is anonymous and there is no record of who completes the survey.

To complete the online survey, visit:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NC3CVKV

Victorian Legal Aid Website Survey

Whether you are a frequent, occasional or non-user of the website, your input will help us improve our service. The survey will be running until Friday 18 November 2011. The seven questions should take less than five minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous.

To complete the survey, visit:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VLA_website_survey

Call for Inquiry: Abuse of Children with Disabilities in Victorian SchoolsJulie Phillips, 17 October 2011

As a Disability Advocate, I have been approached over the past 4 years by a number of parents of children with disabilities, particularly those who attend special schools, with reports of:

physical abuse solitary confinement chemical restraint splinting

Most if not all of these parents have taken their concerns to the senior school level, the Regional Office, and/or human rights commissions in Victoria and Sydney. Others are taking their matters to courts.

They have received little consolation, as the formal position of the DEECD is to justify physical abuse, solitary confinement and chemical restraint in the name of "behaviour management".

To read the full letter, visit:http://www.daru.org.au/links/items/2011/10/386810-upload-00001.docx

In the Name of Treatment, referred to in the letter, is available online, at:http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=in%2Bthe%2Bname%2Bof%2Btreatment&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bcc-asa.org%2Finthenameoftreatment.pdf&ei=stGtTsr7BLCkiAfH-KDoDw&usg=AFQjCNFMd6Eb3otyGItm60UNUV7fgHL9WA&sig2=QLuyybEnF6ZKuvGrVpH8kg

For more information, contact Julie Phillips on mobile 0417 570 197 or email email2jphillips@yahoo.com.au

PAID AND VOLUNTARY POSITIONS

Inclusion (Access) Project Co-ordinator, City of Sydney

$87,082 - $98,968 pa plus super Full time permanent Option to work under a 19 day month arrangement

The City of Sydney is a vibrant capital city in Australia, and an exciting opportunity awaits you to help make this City an inclusive and accessible place for people to live, work and visit. The City is seeking to employ an Inclusion (Access) Project Coordinator to facilitate a whole of Council approach to ensuring dignified and equitable access to the City's services, infrastructure, facilities and events.

To be successful in this role, you will have strong disability policy experience and demonstrate the leadership required to affect change within the organisation. You will have a proven record in managing complex projects with competing timelines, and strong interpersonal, consultation and negotiation skills.

Applications must be made online and address the selection criteria contained in the position description. Applications close 13

November 2011. To download relevant documentation and find out more, visit:http://cityofsydney.mercury.com.au/ViewPosition.aspx?id=10537

For more information, phone Susana Ng, Manager Social Plan Access and Community Development on (02) 9246 7874.

We are an EEO employer and encourage applications from diverse cultures and people with disabilities.

Welcome to the weekly Update from the Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU).  If you would like to be removed from this list or kept up to date another way, please reply to this email and let us know.

DARU has been funded by the state government. It is run by a governance group, including members of the Victorian Disability Advocacy Network (VDAN), and the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS). DARU’s staff currently includes a Co-ordinator, Sharon Granek, and an Administration Officer, Natasha Brake.

We are always happy to hear from people who are interested in what we do. If you have a question, an idea, some news you’d like to see in the next update, or even if you just want to tell us something we’re doing is good or bad, get in touch! Call us on 03 9639 5807 or email admin@daru.org.au.

Please note that material contained in the DARU Update copy does not necessarily reflect the policy of DARU or the views of any staff members. Statements in the DARU Update do not comprise advice and readers should avail themselves of professional advice where appropriate.