Fighting the System

By bobb |

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

By bobb |

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.

Dismay at report on locking up children with disabilities

By bobb |

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.

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

By bobb |

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

By bobb |

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

By convenor |

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. 

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

By bobb |

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.

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