Click here to view PDF flyer

Wednesday 13 June 2012

4:00pm- 6:30pm

TAFE Space, Wodonga

Who should attend?

This free professional development session will be beneficial to those who teach or support people with Autism, in particular high functioning Autism, including:

• Secondary school teachers
• TAFE teachers & University tutors
• Integration aides & support staff

What is the focus of the session?

This session will explore the characteristics of Autism and the impact of those characteristics on learning and share best practice strategies for teaching students with Autism, in particular high functioning Autism, in secondary and further education.

Who is the presenter?

Tricia Glass has education and welfare experience in primary, secondary and tertiary settings. Recently she worked as Victorian Team Leader for the national Australian Autism Education and Training Corporation delivering professional development to school staff across all sectors. Further to this she delivered workshops to parents and carers around Australia through the Positive Partnerships program.  She is currently the Autism Project Officer with Sandhurst Catholic Education.

RSVP:

Wednesday 6 June 2012

vdrage@wodongatafe.edu.au

Enquiries: 02 6055 6924

When registering please advise us of any dietary or accessibility requirements

This event is registered with VIT Pdi and counts towards professional development hours for registered teachers in Victoria.

Last year the Career Industry Council of Australia, CICA, engaged Miles Morgan to develop guidelines for effective career development services for young people (15-24) with disability.

The report has recently been released and can be downloaded online

Effective Career Development Services for Young People (15-24) with a Disability

From CICA’s website (www.cica.org.au) :

CICA is a unique collaboration of non-profit career practitioner associations and a world first in the career industry. CICA provides a voice for the career industry.

CICA receives operating funding from the Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

It is a focal point for government and other organisations concerned for and interested in promoting quality career development services in Australia.

Click here a flyer for Preparing Students with Disabilities for Transition.

This information session for parents and educators of young people with disabilities or learning difficulties in Secondary School in Victoria is a  free  event.

Wednesday 23 May 2012

5:45pm-8:00pm

Bairnsdale Sporting and Convention Centre

Click here for a map

The session focuses on options and supports that are available to students with a disability who transitioning from school in this region with a structured sequence of presentations.

Representatives from employment agencies, apprenticeship centres, further education, day programs, Centrelink and others will be in attendance to answer specific questions.

Who should attend?

Year 9-12 students with a disability or learning difficulty and those who advise them including:

• Parents
• Careers Advisors
• Year Level Coordinators
• VCAL or MIPs coordinators
• Integration Aides
• Welfare officers
• Youth and Disability Workers
• Special Education Coordinators

(Please Note: Information in the session will relate to students with a wide range of disabilities including physical, learning, intellectual, sensory, neurological, psychiatric and chronic illness.)

This session is registered with VIT and can be used to count toward Professional Development hours for staff.

This event is a joint partnership between the NDCO program, Gippsland East LLEN, Department of Human Services, East Gippsland Specialist School, Bairnsdale Secondary College, Nagle College.

RSVP:

Wednesday 16th May 2012

info@gellen.org.au 

Enquiries: 03 5153 1745

When registering please advise us of dietary or accessibility requirements.

The March issue of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ publication "Australian Social Trends" includes an article on "Disability and Work".

This article looks at the characteristics of working-age people with disability and their involvement in the labour force.

PDF link:      Disability and Work March 2012

Online link:  www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4102.0/

Friday 30 March 2012 marks the launch of the First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN). This national peak organisation will represent 37% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia who are living with a disability and also their families and carers. 

'This is a historic occasion, we now have a strong voice at a national level for our people with disability'  says Aunty Gayle Rankine, founding member of the FPDN.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disabilities are amongst the most disadvantaged Australians, yet the vast majority remain at the periphery of the disability service sector. 

The focus on Aboriginal people with disability has been from a health perspective. Whilst primary health care is essential, it has come at the cost recognising the social aspects of Aboriginal disability. This has meant that discrimination against Aboriginal people with disability remains firmly entrenched. The general wellbeing of Aboriginal people with disability has not improved in any meaningful way. It is time to bridge the disability gap in Australia.

“FPDN will advocate robustly for the promotion and protection of the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disabilities to ensure their equal participation within their own communities and the wider Australian community” says the FPND Executive Officer Damian Griffis.

“We are also developing a ten point plan for the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disabilities to ensure this policy meets the unique needs of indigenous Australians.”

Please join FPDG members, guests and Senator Jan McLucas, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities to celebrate the launch of the FPDN.

THE FACTS

• 37% of indigenous Australian (15 years+)  live with a disability.
• This does not include people with a psychological disability.
• This prevalence of disability is nearly twice that of the non‐indigenous Australians.
• The time for this to change is now. 

Damian Griffis and Gayle Rankine are available for media interviews: 0412 979 857 

Click here for the Media Release in PDF

Enquiries are now welcome for the next round of Australian Disability and Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund scholarships.

Closing deadline is 31^st  March 2011.

The Australian Disability and Indigenous Peoples' Education Fund (ADIPEF) aims to assist indigenous and non-indigenous people with disability to participate in both formal and informal education programs through small grants.

For many people with disabilities from both indigenous and non-indigenous backgrounds, education can go a long way to not only developing their skills but also their self esteem and the pride of their family, friends and community.

For many, a small financial grant will enable them to undertake a course. This education fund is about helping people complete or undertake courses and programs through providing small grants.

Our fund is looking to distribute small six monthly grants of up to $2,500 to assist people with disabilities to continue their learning.

People with disabilities of any age may apply for any assistance to help with both formal and informal education. While people may need assistance to complete the application, letters must be in the persons own words explaining why they want to learn.

To apply download the form below, complete it and send it to Frank at info@adipef.org.au  or post to:

Frank Hall-Bentick

Unit 4, 65 York Street,

Richmond Victoria 3121

Word  ADIPEF Application Form

PDF  ADIPEF Application Form

For further information contact Frank at info@adipef.org.au or phone on 03 9429 4210      

ADIPEF Brochure

ADIPEF Flyer

Media Access Australia has recently released a new publication called Sociability: social media for people with a disability.

For people with a disability, such as a hearing, sight or mobility impairment, social media websites and applications have their own barriers. In late 2011, Media Access Australia undertook research to determine how the accessibility issues found in each of the most popular social media tools can be overcome.

Funded by the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, the Sociability: social media for people with a disability review aims to enable all users to have equal access to the inclusion which social media allows.

Australia’s most popular social media tools were tested for their accessibility. Users with disabilities then contributed their tips and tricks on how to overcome each social network’s inaccessible features.

For further information view:

http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/online-media/social-media

Alison Watson Memorial Award provides educational assistance for young people in NSW with arthritis. (Not yet released but normally closes around May)

Deafness Forum Post-Secondary Educational Scholarship is a scholarships to facilitate the participation of people who are Deaf or people who have a hearing impairmentin post secondary education. Applications open 19 to 25 August 2012.

The ParaQuad NSW Scholarships-  established to assist NSW and ACT people with a spinal cord injury in education costs up to $5,000.  Applications close Friday, 17 February 2012.

Golden Stave Educational Fellowship is for people in NSW and the ACT with spinal injuryand is to be used for mobility, speech, computer equipment, fees, books etc. Applications close 17 February 2012

Gregory and Dolores Farrell Scholarship is to assist undergraduate and postgraduate students in NSWwho are wheelchair userswith the costs entailed in tertiary education, including textbooks, equipment to assist study, scribes and tutors etc. Further information and application forms can be obtained by contacting Elizabeth Mead at SpineCare Foundation on (02) 9890 0135 or spinecare@northcott.com.au Applications close 10 February 2012.

Kenneth W. Tribe Fellowship Fund is for NSW people who are deaf or hearing impaired, for study that will lead to improved employment outcomes.  The grants of up to $5000 close 30 June and 31 December 2012.

The NDCO, Disability Advocacy and Information Service (DAIS), Wodonga TAFE and Rural Access have partnered to create an exciting new leadership development short course for people with a disability.

TAKE PART- COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP TRAINING

This one day a week short course, beginning in April, aims to build the skills of individuals with a disability to have a say in their community.

‘Take Part- Committee Membership Training’ is the first in a four part series which make up a Certificate I in Leadership Development. 

Lunch is included as part of the training.

Click here for the PDF Flyer

Click here for the Word version Text only Flyer 

Click here for the application form

Places are limited.

Applications close Friday 19 March.  

The closing date for this course has been extend as limited places are still available.

For further information or to apply please contact DAIS on 02 6056 2420 or trainer@dais.org.au

Student mental health wiki is a resource for those working in the area of tertiary student mental health. Click here to view the Student Mental Health Wiki flyer.

It offers an opportunity for sharing of mental health promotion materials between institutions.

If you are working in an institution and looking to develop health promotion resources but don't have the time or money to do it from scratch,

then studentmentalhealthwiki.org is here to help!

If you have mental health promotion materials - posters, flyers etc., reports or any other material that you would like to contribute to assist other institutions, please create a page and post them on the site!

Following a successful call-in day on December 3, the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is extending their phone-in to weekday working hours to parents, students and educators to provide their views about what works and what could be improved when it comes to the education of students with disability in Victoria.

The survey remains online and phone lines will now be open throughout working hours for those who would prefer to speak to someone about their story.

More than 700 educators and more than 300 parents and students with a disability have responded to the on-line survey so far.

There are several ways you can still have your say:

Online

Complete our confidential survey at humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/disabilityinschools

Ring

Call 1300 292 153 or (03) 9032 3583. Lines are open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm.

If you need an interpreter, you can call the Commission using the interpreter service on 1300 152 494 or TTY (hearing impaired) on 1300 289 621.

Email

If you work in a community organisation or otherwise provide support to families, children and young people with disability, you can share your views by sending an email to research@veohrc.vic.gov.au. We will treat this as a written submission to our research.

All information is held confidentially. You do not need to provide your name, no person will be identified in this research.