Fighting the System

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By Linton Besser, Klaus Toft, Jeanavive McGregor at ABC Four Corners

"I brought him into this world, and I love him. I do all I can to help him. I'm 88 soon. I'm still battling." Jean, mother

On Monday night Four Corners exposes what happens behind closed doors in some taxpayer funded group homes for the disabled and talks to the mothers and carers taking on the system.

"It's about time for me to tell this." Maria, mother

Children with disabilities 3 times more likely to be maltreated but risk varies by disability type

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A Telethon Kids Institute study has found children with disabilities are three times more likely to be maltreated compared to other children but that risk varies by type of disability.

Researchers analysed 524,534 children born in Western Australia between 1990-2010 for the study “Maltreatment Risk among Children with Disabilities”, published in the journal Pediatrics.

Overall, they found 4.6 per cent of all children had a maltreatment allegation.

Disability Groups Slam Govt for Scrapping Royal Commission Into Abuse

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​Ellie Cooper

The federal government’s decision to rule out a royal commission into violence and abuse against people with disability has been condemned by an alliance of disability advocacy groups.

A Senate committee proposed the royal commission in November 2015, following months of investigations into claims of abuse and neglect of people with disability in institutional and residential settings.

“There were so many accounts of violence, abuse and neglect that it is clear that abuse is widespread and occurring all over Australia, it is clear a royal commission is needed,” committee chair and Greens Senator Rachel Siewert said at the time.

However, the government said it would not follow the committee’s key recommendation.

Dismay at report on locking up children with disabilities

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Lauren Martyn-Jones

THE mother of a child who was locked in a cell-like room for time-outs at a Hervey Bay primary school wants a State Government review to ban the practice totally.

The incident involving her autistic son Tate Smith triggered a State Government review and the appointment of a department "watchdog" to oversee the education of children with disabilities in Queensland.

The review has found that the restrictive practice experienced by Tate should be used as a measure of last resort to prevent harm to staff and students.

But Tate's mum Kelly-Ann Brooks said she was disappointed the review did not go further and call for an all-out prohibition on the use of restrictive practices on children with special needs.

Inquiry into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition

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A4's submission

A4 made a submission to the inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on the NDIS into the provision of services under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition. 

Tasmania: DHHS Provides A Free Evidence-Based Platform with Best-Practice Intervention Tools

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Today, 1 in 63 children will be diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (according to A4 2015).
For the past two years, the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services has been supporting schools and families in behaviour management and skill development with the world’s leading evidence-based platform Rethink.

Rethink provides a free on-line solution that helps teachers:

  • Develop custom learning curriculum (aligned to Australian Curriculum)

  • Monitor and track student progress

'We almost lost him': Canberrans with special needs turned away from hospital

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Sherryn Groch

As new research reveals Australians with intellectual disabilities are dying avoidable deaths, two Canberra carers share their own 'horror' stories.

It started with just a runny nose and a routine trip to the doctor. Then Gungahlin mother Therese Bean noticed her son was losing weight. 

Nicholas, 23, who has non-verbal autism, began spending all day lying on the couch and struggled to keep food down. A lump the "size of a 50 cent coin" appeared under his chin. Eventually, it became difficult for him to breathe.

Urgent need for cause of death reporting system for Australians with intellectual disability

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DAN WHEELAHAN

The deaths of more than 700 Australian adults with an intellectual disability could have been avoided with more appropriate health care and monitoring, a UNSW study has revealed.

Research by UNSW has found that while Down syndrome itself doesn’t cause death, it is still coded that way in a flawed classification system. Photo: Shutterstock.

A total of 732 Australian adults with an intellectual disability died in NSW over six years, many from causes or conditions that could have been avoided with more appropriate health care and monitoring.

thank you for Care not Custody report

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Corporate Affairs, Victoria Legal Aid
 
Thank you for your report <http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/sites/www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/files/vla-care-not-custody-report.pdf> , Care not Custody which includes an interest in and advocacy for vulnerable autistic children. And congratulations on the recent publicity <http://a4.org.au/node/1390>  for the issue.
 

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