December Newsletter

Words from

George

International Day for People with Disability 

A Day Celebrated Globally with events throughout the week!!!!

On December 3rd, 2024, the International Day for People with Disability (IDPwD) acknowledges the challenges faced by individuals living with disabilities. Within Australian culture, it is important to reflect on the meaning of this day and understand the role that people with lived experience play. 

Unconscious biases can lead to misunderstandings of the term ‘lived experience’. Individuals with disabilities often encounter obstacles created by laws and legislations influenced by ableism from major stakeholders, including providers, NGOs, and government ministers. These entities sometimes do not promote positive change for inclusion. 

‘Lived experience’ for people with disabilities should encompass a person’s identity and life progression. This includes sharing personal stories about their advancements in life, support they received, self-perception, accomplishments, and aspirations. Emphasizing that life with a disability is about living, not being disabled, highlights the importance of language in driving meaningful change. 

Solution Ideas uses the core values of those with lived experiences to shape and inform societal needs authentically. Reflecting on a discussion with a gentleman in Canada, the term ‘disability’ was seen as limiting because society often focuses on individual weaknesses. Instead, the term ‘diversability’ was proposed, emphasizing what individuals can achieve rather than the barriers they face. This perspective suggests that barriers can be overcome through collective effort to strengthen the rights of individuals with disabilities to make autonomous decisions and choices. 

Words from

Kay

Hi Everyone it’s Kay here.

Today I’ll be talking to you about an important day to me! 
 
The International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD) is on the 3rd December. It is the one day out of the whole year where the focus is on people young and old with a disability. 
 
It is a time where we all come together from all over the world to acknowledge the achievements and successes of people with a disability in our society. 

Being a person with a disability I used to doubt myself about doing anything. I would get frowned upon or ignored because others see us as useless and worthless. This is why the 3rd December marks a very important day for the disability community. It is the day where we raise awareness and educate others so that we can be accepted for who we are. 
 
The day shows and celebrates that even though you have a disability, it should not stop you from achieving your dream. People with a disability should be recognised for their abilities, take leadership and control of their own life 
 
Having a disability didn’t stop Dylan Alcott from playing tennis and becoming the 2016 Australian Paralympian of the Year in Rio, or Stephen Hawking becoming a theoretical physicist and cosmologist and writing bestselling books. It didn’t stop Nick Vujicic, who is an Australian motivational speaker and founder of Life without Limbs.  
 
These are examples of people who motivate me. They took leadership and control of their own lives to become visible, successful and prove to people not to judge a book by its cover. Anything can be achieved once you put your mind to it. People with disability are just as important as everyone else. We have our own opinions, rights and voices. 
 
Being involved in Solution Ideas I feel like my voice is heard and I am accepted for being myself. I give my opinion and they listen. Solution Ideas is run by George who lives with a disability himself, alongside his wife Beverly. They are very supportive and are all about empowering and employing people with disability to be leaders. I feel like I am in good hands.

I would like to say Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates and a Happy New Year. Look after yourself and stay out of trouble!!! 

Words from

Julie

International Day of People with Disability is celebrated every year on the 3^rd December. This year’s theme is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disability for an inclusive and sustainable future.” 

To me this means an opportunity to be part of my local community, to represent People with Disability and our experience, and to educate others on social attitudes and behaviours. This year’s theme means a lot to me. I feel that I have grown in all aspects of the work that I do, especially in the last couple of years. I’ve come from mainstream into the disability community sector. That’s where I get my strength and resilience to overcome challenges and to become a leader myself. This provides an opportunity for me to give back to my local community. 

I started daily journaling through a selfcare event I attended recently, as part of Mental Health month. It was a “Be kind to yourself” kind of day; taking some time out for yourself.  

I now write a journal every day to get my thoughts and feelings on paper. It’s about my life, my lived experience. I will now share one with you…. 

For my journal entry today, I want to share the challenges I have faced navigating and applying for the NDIS. It is about my challenges, my strengths, capabilities and resilience.  

I am on my third attempt to apply for the NDIS after being declined twice previously two years ago in 2022. There were times when I was close to putting this in the “too hard basket” because of the stress and anxiety of it all. I remember going to one of my psychologist appointments and my psychologist said, “Julie are you alright?” “I can see you are getting stressed”? My response was “every time I talk about the NDIS, it becomes very stressful, and I feel anxious, and I am not in the right headspace, I find this process overwhelming and exhausting.” 

Six months ago, my peer and close friend George Ayoub, offered to be my advocate. He attended my appointments and assisted me with the language and terminology that the NDIA use. My sister (Maureen) and I both agreed that George would be ideal to offer his assistance, given he has worked in the disability sector for a long time and has a good understanding of the NDIS. He understands how the system works, the language, terminology and questions to ask to all my medical support team who are working with me. 

I have grown through the support of my family, especially my sister Maureen, from my Circle of Support and the team here at Solution Ideas. I want to give a shout out to George and Bev because they have supported me right from the very beginning when I first decided to overcome past experiences and re-apply for the NDIS. This time around they have provided both practical and emotional support. Fingers crossed. 

Happy International Day of People with Disability