 |
| HOME | BLOG ARCHIVE | ABOUT ME | LINKS | CONTACT JO-BLOGS |
Blog Archive
| Focus on Ability 10th anniversary It's Focus on Ability's 10th anniversary. Head over to http://www.focusonability.com.au/ to check out what the festival is all about, get involved, or view some of the great films from previous ... More >> |
Focus on Ability Short Film Festival 2017 Entries for the Focus on Ability Short Film Festival are open until the 30th of June, so there's still time to submit a video of 5 minutes or less.
You don't need professional equipment to ... More >> |
| 2016 IASSIDD World Congress Day 4 It's our final day at the IASSIDD World Congress and the small amount of people around makes me think things are winding down here. Yesterday I made a few new contacts to help spread the word about ... More >> |
| 2016 IASSIDD World Congress Day 3 Day three of the IASSIDD World Congress in Melbourne is here. Things are moving along but our TV has decided to work only when it chooses to. Current theories as to why this is range from it being bored ... More >> |
| 2016 IASSIDD World Congress Day 2 It's day two of the IASSIDD World Congress in Melbourne and we're continuing to show the difference employing people can make, not only to the person being employed but to the whole community. ... More >> |
A better way of describing the autistic spectrum How many of us have thought of the autistic spectrum as a straight line from 1 to 100. The media often portrays autism as affecting the traits of people in the same way and to the same degree. All people ... More >> |
Ouch Disability Talk Podcast The Ouch Podcast talks about news and issues affecting those with a disability, all with a humorous touch added to the mix. The presenters themselves each have a disability so they speak from personal ... More >> |
Have you heard of Anosmia I had a basic familiarity of what Anosmia is but I didn't know a lot about it. When I read this article about A ... More >> |
When society thinks you'd be better off dead I recently read an article about a man named Amir Hussain Lone who plays cricket without any arms. Playing cricket with no arms
He spoke about ... More >> |
I'm not being anti-social When you have a disability getting involved in social gatherings or activities can be difficulty. When you turn down someone's invitation there are usually statements made, and questions asked about ... More >> |
Time to think about how to create a more inclusive Australia I hadn't given any thought to the upcoming election. But With the recent new indicating that the federal government may hold the election in July, I thought it was worth thinking about what we can ... More >> |
World Down Syndrome Day The 21st of March is world Down Syndrome Day. A day to raise awareness of what Down Syndrome is, and to recognise the contribution people with Down Syndrome make to society.
You can help raise awareness ... More >> |
Start adding captions to your videos Since I started adding captions to my videos for the Let's Get Working blog, whenever I watch a video on Facebook or YouTube I check to see if captions have been added. They're usually missing ... More >> |
The situation for disabled people in the UK just got worse It looks like it's going from bad to worse for disabled people in the UK as the current government continues in their effort to incentivise people to get a job by reducing the amount of support they ... More >> |
Don't let others put you down I'm less capable at something's. This is a fact and I don't deny that. But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing everything. There are always people who feel the need to put you ... More >> |
Triathlon for disabled kids 9 year old Bailey Mathews from the UK has Cerebral palsy, but this hasn't held him back. Last July he completed and finished a triathlon.
Since completing the triathlon he has created a triathlon ... More >> |
I don't think we need to update the disability icon It's been making progress for several months now, so maybe you've heard of it. I'm taking about the push to change the International Symbol for Access, which has started in the US. While the ... More >> |
Travelling and Accessibility My travelling experiences are limited to family holidays across the eastern states of Australia, and a cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
These trips were all enjoyable experiences, but some of ... More >> |
1st grade class is taught sign language so they can communicate with their deaf classmate School can be a hard enough time for a young kid, lots of new things to learn and people to interact with. I imagine this would only be made harder if you couldn't communicate with most people around ... More >> |
Using sound to see the world around you Daniel Kish's eyes were removed when he was just 13 months old. However that hasn't hurt his ability to perceive the world around him. When you watch Daniel move around you notice that he repeatedly ... More >> |
Looks like at least one bus driver in London needs more education on disability A disabled woman in London was left at the bus stop after the bus driver appeared to be too impatient to help her.
Melody Powell was waiting to catch the bus with a friend. The bus arrived and the ... More >> |
Creating a voice bank for when you're no longer able to speak Jason Liversidge was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2013.
Eventually he will lose the ability to speak. But before this happens he wanted to make sure his children would remember the sound ... More >> |
Making the beach more accessible I haven't been to the beach in a long time, probably getting close to a decade. This isn't because I haven't had had the opportunity. It's because walking on the soft, uneven, and shifting ... More >> |
Helping people to walk again using robotics Over the past 5 years we've made good progress in the creation of powered exoskeletons.
Science fiction depicts exoskeletons as giving the user super human strength, speed, and endurance. The movie, ... More >> |
The first boy diagnosed as autistic Donald Grey Triplett born in 1933 was the first person to be diagnosed as autistic.
His parents knew he was different from other children. He didn't communicate the same way, nor did he have the ... More >> |
About inspiration and admiration Let's talk about the matter of inspiration and admiration of disabled people from the perspective of my experiences.
A situation more common for me during the warmer months when my AFOs are more ... More >> |
Communicating with only yes or no A stroke is a debilitating event, and the effects of a stroke can stay with a person for the rest of their life.
In 2013 Graham Pawley had a severe stroke that left him with limited movement in his ... More >> |
My disability is common but most people have never heard of it I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT). Now I imagine most of you just thought,
What's that?or I've never heard of it?I'll start with what throws people off when they ... More >> |
Wheelmap - Worldwide Information on wheelchair accessible locations Do you worry when you leave the house that where you're going won't be accessible?
Wheelmap is a free online map that stores information on wheelchair accessibility, worldwide. It was created ... More >> |
International Day of People with Disability Today is the International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD). Their are lots of events planned with the purpose of recognising the progress made in breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive ... More >> |
Ultrasonic canes give the blind more information about their surroundings Ultrasonic canes have been around for years, so many of you may be aware of what they are and what they allow people to do. For those of you who are unaware, like I was before I wrote this article, read ... More >> |
Disabled or Differently Abled Disability is a subject that makes some people uncomfortable and that's why different words are sometimes used to describe it. Some people prefer differently abled because it's used to talk about ... More >> |
How do you play games when you can't use your hands Whether it's via PC, Xbox, or PlayStation, gaming is a very popular form of entertainment that everyone should be able to enjoy. Games bring happiness to people, but they can be much more than that. ... More >> |
A step in the right direction towards greater accessibility When it comes to ordering without face to face contact, it can difficult to impossible for someone who is deaf or has a hearing impairment. There just aren't a lot of services out there to assist ... More >> |
The importance of thinking before you speak I recently read an article on invisible illnesses that got me thinking about all the times I've had to explain myself to people regarding my disability.
From a quick look at me you might not be ... More >> |
Just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't wear a costume Halloween has just past us by so I thought now would be a good time to talk about the inclusion of disabled people in the cosplay and acting world. While Halloween is not a big deal in Australia it's ... More >> |
3D printing is helping those who are missing limbs I wear Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFOs) on my legs to help me walk and stand without falling over. So advancements in Orthotics and Prosthetics are of interest to me.
A professional prosthetic hand can cost ... More >> |
Holograms to help prevent misuse of disabled parking spots If you're like me you know it's a gamble each time you go out as to whether or not you will find any available disabled parking spots. Worst still is when you notice a car in one of these spots ... More >> |
Hi I'm Steven-2.jpg) After nearly a year sitting silent, Can-Do-Ability is back in action.
Hi I'm Steven and I will be taking over the responsibilities of posting information on Can-Do-Ability. I will still be bringing ... More >> |
Goodbye The time has come for me to move on from Jo Blogs and Lets Get Working and let someone else with a new vision take over.
It has been fun working on Jo Blogs for two and a half years and Lets Get Working ... More >> |
The Horse and Boy I recently saw this video that I would like to share with you today. Many people know that animals have special senses and they understand when people need more patience and understanding.
For example, ... More >> |
Tying Shoelaces a thing of the past If you are like me you probably curse shoelaces every time you have to do them up.
As a small child I was taught how to do my shoelaces up by leaning against the corner of the wall so my left arm stays ... More >> |
Mindful Journeys with Aldo Earlier this year, in May, I wrote about the Perfect Reject and how these adorable toys were breaking down barriers for people with disabilities by showing that these ‘different’ toys were still special ... More >> |
Beautiful Works of Art You know when someone says ‘that’s impossible!’, the we normally try harder to prove that we can do it right!
Well, if I told you that the picture you see on the right of this page was produced using ... More >> |
Carbon Black For you guys who are old enough, do you remember ‘Kit’ from ‘Knightrider’?
Well… I think I just found the wheelchair alternative!! This beautiful looking wheelchair look really special. Made ... More >> |
Demerit Points for Parking in Disabled Parking Space Illegally Finally, harsher penalties are being set for those who illegally park in disabled parking spaces.
Now people will lose demerit points off their licence as well as have to pay a hefty fine of $519 if ... More >> |
KISA Phones Finally, some very wise people have created a phone for the Visually Impaired and elderly who cannot use the everyday phone.
The everyday phone that is on the market assumes you can use a touch screen. The ... More >> |
Down Syndrome leads to early onset Alzheimers I recently read an article that has made me so sad. Apparently people who have Down Syndrome face the onset of Alzheimer’s at about the age of 50.
Not only is it a challenge for a person with Down ... More >> |
Nodding Syndrome I recently heard about this really devastating syndrome on the radio and it made me very sad that in Uganda, Nodding Syndrome has taken hold of young children and ruined their lives.
What starts out ... More >> |
Outsider Art Outsider Art is a phrase that has be coined to encapsulate those artists who have produced art without any formal training. The producers of this art are normally people with a disability who have used ... More >> |
Movember Foundation Movember started back in 2003 by 40 men in Melbourne. Movember is now a global phenomenon. Raising money and awareness in the area of men’s health!
Movember gets people talking about men’s health. ... More >> |
The Elbee About 15 to 20 years ago Australia had a bike for people in wheelchairs to use. It was called the Nippi and you did not need a licence to drive it!!
The Nippi also had a tendency of tipping over ... More >> |
No drivers licence no Optus mobile phone if you are blind I have often had a lot of trouble in getting a mobile phone plan because I do no have a drivers licence or a credit rating. I often have to get plans in my husband’s name and before that my dad’s name.
It ... More >> |
Disabled TV Characters According to a TV analysis, there are more characters playing ongoing disability roles on TV this year. Although this is good news, not all the actors have a disability.
I know that at the end ... More >> |
Sons and Mothers At the end of September I was privileged enough to see a theatre performance at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre called Sons & Mothers that was performed by Performing Lines.
Sons & Mothers ... More >> |
Disability Hate Crime in Northern Ireland Its hard to believe that in this day and age where one in five people have a disability that disability hate crime exists at all.
People with a disability are usually to scared to report this in Northern ... More >> |
Car Modifications Recently my husband and I have been researching the idea of buying a car and having it converted so that it can take my electric wheelchair.
We have figured out that the best car would be a KIA Grand ... More >> |
900 Alternative Learning Programs I was listening to the radio while I was out and about and I heard an interview on the topic of alternative learning.
I am a big advocate of online learning as well as other alternative ideas. As ... More >> |
Its in the Genes Jen Bricker was adopted out when she was born as she had no legs. Her adoptive parents raised her well. They told her there was no such word as “can’t”!
Jen grew up independent and strong and took ... More >> |
Injured Fire Fighters I recently came across this story in the news that makes my blood boil.
Two fire fighters that have put their lives on the line to look after and save their community from the damage of fires have ... More >> |
The government is obsessed with funding cuts and may need its own therapy A couple of weeks ago I watched an interesting episode of ‘Insight’ that talked through the topics of obsession and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
OCD is a compulsion that interferes with your ... More >> |
Ice Bucket Challenge for Motor Neuron Disease The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has taken off in the US and Europe and many millions of dollars have been raised.
Whoever came up with the idea is genius as it is exposing what Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ... More >> |
Housing crises in the UK for disabled people Most houses in the UK are upstairs-downstairs and for a wheelchair user or someone with mobility issues, stairs are impossible.
A lot of the bathrooms are also upstairs, front doors and corridors ... More >> |
Self-Harm myth busted Self-harm is a hard behaviour to watch people go through as you can see that there is a lot of underlying emotional pain that the person is going through and the self harming gives a release to that pain ... More >> |
Some people are just SICK I found this quite disturbing article that has people is social media making fun of those with a disability.
Whether it be in person or on the net, there is no stopping the judgements of those ‘more’ ... More >> |
Together a Difference is Made Whilst trawling the internet to find a story to write about, I stumbled upon this photo of a blind man carrying a paralysed man on his back. The photo was taken by Tancrede Dumas circa. 1889.
You ... More >> |
Kanye West bloops big time And the most embarrassing behaviour award goes to… Kanye West!
At a concert Kanye declared he would not sing until everyone stood up! Two people in the audience remained sitting. Kanye stopped ... More >> |
Companion Card For years I have been needing to get myself a Companion Card as my carer can get in at a cheaper price or for free when I go to the movies, the tennis or man other events.
Most times the attendants ... More >> |
Getting Married From time to time mother’s express their hope to me. The hope is that their disabled son or daughter will find a partner who can love them, respect them and work with them as my husband works with me.
Right ... More >> |
AXIS turns 25 AXIS is a dance company of able bodied dancers and dancers in wheelchairs. AXIS has been wowing audiences for 25 years and has shown that a wheelchair can be used as part of dance and not seen as a hindrance.
AXIS ... More >> |
Diesels Model Jillian Mercado Jillian Mercado is a fashion designer and loves it. Having been born and bred in LA, she went to fashion school at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Jillian new she may not be accepted in the ... More >> |
Disabled Fashion Models How is fashion clothing made for people with disabilities? It’s not considered at all.
I have always loved buying clothing that is fashionable but there are times when I am utterly frustrated. Pants ... More >> |
iFly Downunder One thing I have had on my ‘bucket list’ for ages is to go Skydiving. I have wanted to do this for many years but it has always been out of my reach. There was a skydiving group running out of Penrith ... More >> |
Jobs disABILITY Attitudes Self Belief On INSIGHT on Tuesday night, there was a discussion on whether people with a disability on DSP should be working. It was a discussion that has come about due to the government wanting to get as many ... More >> |
Google Glass As a person with Cerebral Palsy I am extremely frustrated that I cannot take my own photos. I always have to rely on someone else to take the photo for me and it is not always what I would have captured ... More >> |
Where is our Focus Robin Williams Recently I was watching a few Focus On Ability, NOVA Short Film Entrants, when I read that Robin Williams committed suicide. These things together made me think of the book ‘A Fine Balance’ by Rohinton ... More >> |
The Inspiring Duck that Taught Lemon is one lucky duck and a very handy teacher too.
Lemon was one of four classroom project hatchlings, however, when he hatched it was very clear that he was ‘different’ to the rest. Lemon ... More >> |
Alex McKinnon wants to walk again Alex was a professional rugby league player until a tackle that left him a quadriplegic in March.
Alex’s determination to recover is so inspiring that he has recovered a lot so far. He has gone from ... More >> |
Waiting Have you ever felt as though you have been waiting so long for something that you have altogether lost sight and perspective on what you have been waiting for?
Recently, I was given some rather shocking ... More >> |
The Shocking News About a year ago I started experiencing these big muscle spasms in my arms that were very painful and contorted my arms in ways I could not stop. I not only found these ‘attacks’ humiliating, I also ... More >> |
Mastering your home blindly Nicole C. Kear is the author of a forthcoming memoir called “Now I See You”. The New York times posted a snippet of the book that you can read here: More >> |
The trains are on the improve Last week I had to travel by train. It was the first train ride I had been on since last year. When the train pulled up there was already a difference in that alternate carriages were marked with ... More >> |
Carers targeted by the Liberals Carers are now being targeted so that the Liberals can get their precious budget in the black.
Carers do a lot of work caring for the sick, elderly and disabled. They save the government a huge ... More >> |
Rooty Hill RSL Fire Alarm Evacuation A couple of weeks ago I was at a NOVA Dinner at Novatel Rooty Hill on the first floor. We were having a pleasant time. Food was being eaten, drinks were had, presentations had taken place and we were ... More >> |
Turia Pitt Update About 18 months ago I wrote about how Turia Pitt was burnt savagely in a bushfire while she was in a race. Turia Pitt was in the fight of her life to recover and she has done that and more.
Turia ... More >> |
At Home Grants I recently found an ad for ‘young care at home grants’ that is sponsored by GIO. If you are aged between 18 – 65 and have high care needs and could be at risk of having to live in a nursing home then ... More >> |
Dyspraxia is no longer a Paralympics Swimming Category In the world of Paralympics swimming, Dyspraxia (lack of co-ordination, spatial awareness, learning disability), commonly found in people with Aspergers is no longer seen as a swimming disability category. ... More >> |
Rewiring Your Brain to Learn There is a school in Canada, started by Barbara Arrowsmith, that is helping children rewire their brains so they can, read, write, do mathematics and be able to learn.
There are a large number of ... More >> |
Awesome Lizzie Fights the Bullies Lizzie Velasquez is one, awesome, inspirational woman! Lizzie has been bullied all he life because of a rare syndrome where she does not have any fat and Lizzie has also lost sight in one eye.
Lizzie ... More >> |
Disabled Asian Female Today I came across this eloquently, beautiful story, written by, Nafisa Khanbhai, a Disabled Asian Female who shares her hopes and shattered dreams of living in Mombasa, Kenya.
Nafisa Khanbhai, works ... More >> |
| Thank you NAB for your generous sponsorship It's my pleasure to announce that the National Australia Bank (www.nab.com.au) have generously offered to sponsor the 'most online votes' section of NOVA's focusonability short film competition. Quick ... More >> |
Toni Braxton has issues with having an Autistic son I was shocked to see that Toni Braxton feels that one of her sons is a punishment because he has Autism. To think that God punished her for having an abortion earlier on is ludicrous. To ... More >> |
Autism does not make you crazy or unsafe There has been a lot of media exposure over the shooting spree Elliot Rodger brought about and the shooting of eight people including himself. Although this story focuses on gun laws in the US,More >> |
Accessible Yellow Taxis I had no idea that the Yellow New York taxis only had a very small percentage of wheelchair accessible taxis!
It is only by adding a surcharge of 30 cents that half the taxis’ fleet will become wheelchair ... More >> |
My Mate Emma There is this amazing chick that works at NOVA Employment’s Transition to Work Program, who lights up any room she walks into. Emma has this great bubbly personality, has a warm heart and makes you ... More >> |
Disabled Boat Party A journalist is in trouble after throwing a bottle four storeys down and hitting a boat that had disabled passengers on it.
There was no message in the bottle for the disabled passengers, however, ... More >> |
Uncomfortable around Disabled People Okay, so I guess its time to confess that I too am sometimes uncomfortable around disabled people!!! I often go past someone else in a wheelchair and think, do I have to acknowledge them? Do I have ... More >> |
NDIS Stalled if Abbott had his way If Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party had their way the National Disability Insurance Scheme would be reviewed. This is a lovely underhanded way of slowing down the roll out of NDIS as well as hopefully ... More >> |
Disabled Passenger Forced to Stand for Duration of Flight Sam Cawthorn was Young Australian of the year in 2009 for Tasmania and a motivational speaker who always travels with Virgin Airlines and has always been happy with their service.
Until his overnight ... More >> |
More Cuts to Disability Services Sometimes I wonder if we should be really worried that the Liberal government is not trying to wipe out disabled people and their services.
I recently read a news article that more funding cuts were ... More >> |
The Perfect Reject The creator of ‘Perfect Reject’, Nina Salerno, recently posted on Can-Do-Ability and I couldn’t go past writing an article on such beautiful, imperfect toys.
The toys that you can purchase at More >> |
Budget hits Disability Support Pension I am all for people with a disability working and I think it is a good idea for many reasons such as, having something to do each day, contributing to society and improving your skill set and self esteem.
What ... More >> |
Football Stadiums in the UK lack wheelchair access In the UK Soccer is part of everyday life and there is a lot of money in the sport, but did you know, that most of the stadiums lack wheelchair access? Having only three stadiums that meet the ... More >> |
UK Train Stations no disabled access One of the things I liked about having the Olympics and Paralympics in Sydney was that public transport got a real boost and was made mostly wheelchair accessible. For the 14 years since Sydney hosted ... More >> |
The Ride Have you heard of the documentary ‘The Ride’? Well you have now, so go check it out!
It’s about 3 paraplegic guys and 1 quadriplegic guy, Craig, Jim, Anton and Terry, who quad bike 5000km across ... More >> |
Sesame Stairs My cousin recently posted a link to this YouTube video that showed stairs retracting and a lift appearing for people in wheelchairs to use called the Sesame Stairs.
Although it is a great concept ... More >> |
James Sanders does not play disabled roles James Sanders is an actor who is determined not to be put in ‘disabled’ roles.
James started his study before becoming a quadriplegic and after recovering from his accident and going back to study, ... More >> |
A Touching Goodbye How beautiful is it when an animal knows a human is sick or unwell and the animal tenderly sits with the human with all the patience in the world.
My dogs are very sensitive in this way. When they ... More >> |
Mums Invention Helping Children to Walk How awesome is this invention? When growing up I always tried to put my feet on my mum or dad’s feet so I could get the idea of how to walk and what it would be like to walk.
I think this idea ... More >> |
Albania MOVE Did you know that when you become disabled through an accident in Albania, there is no Rehab to go to?
The people in Albania who become disabled have a very bleak future where there families have ... More >> |
Disabled Sex Symbol Amy Conachan I have come across a story where a student of the Royal Conservatoire Scotland, who is in her second year of a BA in Acting and Performance has made an impact in the Scottish Theatre with roles that ... More >> |
Youve just got Concussion A couple of weeks ago I fell backwards off my wheelchair and smacked my head on the bathroom tiles.
It was a pretty bad fall which has had me worried for some time as I felt I may have dislodged some ... More >> |
Soccer Discrimination So here we are in 2014 and discrimination and bullying are still massive issues kids with disabilities are still having to cope with even in after school sporting activities.
A mum by the name of, ... More >> |
Out and About in Melbourne I have found that there is an app that helps you get out and about in Melbourne! The app can be found at: http://outandaboutapp.com.au/. unfortunately ... More >> |
Accessible Fitness I don’t know about any of you, but when I have gone to the gym in the past I have always felt very self conscious and like I am not really supposed to be there.
I get looks that say, ‘you poor thing’ ... More >> |
The scars we endure I would like to bring your attention to this article titled, “Are we There Yet?” (http://thestringer.com.au/are-we-there-yet/ ).
The ... More >> |
Escaping Death Row I have come across a very interesting article where it claims that a Florida man, Eddie Lee Hall, has escaped Death Row due to a mental disability.
Twelve years ago the state of Florida prohibited ... More >> |
Egyptian Couple in Harmony There is a story I found at: http://egyptianstories.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/disabled-couples-provesthere-is-hope.html ... More >> |
Disabled Dog - Xiong Xiong I think we have all heard the rumours about certain countries not having any cats or dogs because they are used in their cooking… well I have recently found a story where a dog with paralysis was found ... More >> |
Doctors that dont listen A few weeks ago I fell backwards out of my wheelchair and smacked my head on the tiles that were on the floor. I heard an eerie crack when I hit the floor and so I thought it best to have an ambulance ... More >> |
Less Intellectually Disabled people in the Workforce A friend of mine sent me a link to a very important story and issue. Being that there are less Intellectually Disabled people in the workforce. An easy option is to stick the Intellectually Disabled ... More >> |
The Ferry Trip Did you know that if you want to travel on the ferry they take you up onto the ferry in an electric wheelchair due to OH&S requirements and so as not to strain their backs with the big fat people.
I ... More >> |
Kangaroo Island Resort Recently my husband and I went for a holiday to Kangaroo Island, South Australia. I decided to look for accommodation on bookings.com and I ticked ‘disabled access’ to find a hotel that would suit.
What ... More >> |
Disabled Mannequins Whilst looking for a blog article to write about I came across this great story on disabled mannequins.
A disability advocacy in Switzerland, called, Pro Infirmis, have celebrated disabled bodies ... More >> |
Pauline Davids Train Commute Nightmare Whilst using public transport I have learnt that I have to do my homework as to how the trains are working and if there is any track work happening.
I also know that I have to be very pro-active ... More >> |
Tough Tilly Recently on ‘The Project’ there was a story on Tilly Wilkes who has Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Tilly’s skin blisters at the slightest touch. Every morning her blisters need to be popped to decrease ... More >> |
Maysoon Zayid A friend gave me a link to this TED Talk by Maysoon Zayid.
She is not only funny but really inspiring ... More >> |
Hi Daddy A little girl, Kate, who has Autism was travelling with her mum who placed Kate in the middle seat so that she would not annoy people opening and closing the window shutter. The down side to sitting ... More >> |
Music and Disability Alex Lubet, author of Music, Disability and Society has completed a ten year research study into music and its influence on people with a disability.
People come alive when they are singing or playing ... More >> |
Der Ziesel My husband recently found this website http://derziesel.com/wordpress/?lang=en.
This is so cool. I plan to be asking for this machine ... More >> |
Westfield Penrith I thought I’d share a little bit of news. Something that a friend did recently that caused me to smile proudly. A very good friend of mine, Vanessa, was out shopping and she noticed a load of trolley ... More >> |
NDIS Stories NDIS has now been rolled out and in place for the past 6 months in small Local Government Areas in each state.
The stories found on the NDIS website show real forward progress and acknowledge how ... More >> |
Paraplegic Mark Speakman is finally a racing car driver 19 years ago Mark Speakman had a motorcycle accident that paralysed him from the waist down. Mark had to ditch his racing deal in 1993.
Since them, Mark has been fighting to be allowed to race ... More >> |
Tim Ferguson Tim Ferguson, one third of the Doug Anthony All-Stars has recently revealed that he has MS.
When I discovered this I decided to do some research and found this great interview at: More >> |
You want to Get Fit Exercise and people in wheelchairs has never been a pairing that has sat comfortably with me. I have always felt odd when I have gone to the gym. Like I have no right to be there at all.
I think ... More >> |
Toilet Map How many times have you gone somewhere and needed to find a disabled toilet and you have no idea where to start looking for one.
Well, you can find out where they are here: More >> |
DressAbility If you have a hard time doing up buttons or zippers, or need bigger openings to get clothing items on then check out this website: www.dressability.org.uk/!
I ... More >> |
BeautyAbility Tiffiny Carson has created a website called ‘BeautyAbility – Celebrating the Beauty in Everyone’ that looks at being beautiful even when you are in a wheelchair.
Tiffiny became a quadriplegic when ... More >> |
Merry Christmas and I'll see you all again in 2014 Dear Jo Blogs readers,
Thanks for your support and opinions of what has been written on Jo Blogs in 2013. It has been an interesting year seeking out articles to share with you all as well as ... More >> |
Transition to Work Graduation 2013 This year’s Transition to Work Graduation was unforgettable! The venue was ‘The Cube’ at Campbelltown. There were 366 people who attended that were made up of trainees, graduates, parents, advocates, ... More >> |
Working Man Scott Hutton I had the pleasure of working with Scott Hutton as he came to NOVA looking for work.
Scott was an inspiration to me from the get go. He used public transport like a boss! Scott had the attitude ... More >> |
Engadine High School Shame on You Four students from the Support Unit, at Engadine High School were not invited to their Year 10 formal party.
The party was held at the prestigious ‘Doltone House’ where an adult would have had to ... More >> |
MLC Kelly Vincent Whilst researching blog ideas I have from time to time come across Kelly Vincent giving her view on certain issues and I have to say that I am really impressed by her holistic approach to how she addresses ... More >> |
Talking About Sex in Wheelchairs tasiw.com is an online outlet that talks openly about sex, love an intimacy for people in wheelchairs.
People with disabilities are often seen as non-sexual ... More >> |
Sitting Pretty Violet Valentine’s book, Sitting Pretty for Chicks in Chairs, is a ‘must have’ book on the bookshelf for us chicks that want to achieve their dreams of living the life they want.
I love Violet’s ... More >> |
Cerebral Palsy Child Model In the past there has been an Autistic model who has covered the front cover of Marks & Spencer which I blogged about earlier in the year.
Now, seven year old, Holly, is the new face of Mini Boden! Holly ... More >> |
Finding and retaining a job when you have a mental health condition The ideal of being work ready when you have a mental health condition is a tricky one, but it can be done.
As a mental health condition can’t be seen and cannot be tested without the stresses ... More >> |
Cheerleading on One Leg A piece on ‘The Project’ shows how big cheerleading has become as well as showing this amazing girl, Roya Abdolhosini, of the Vipers, who was born with one leg doing her thing. She does everything all ... More >> |
Retarde T-shirts causes Globalize owner Clayton Cross to have a brain malfunction A South Australian store, Globalize, has started selling shirts with ‘Retarde’ written on them. There was a protest of about 40 people saying the t-shirts lacked respect and dignity for those people ... More >> |
Nothing is impossible In an article http://www.the-arthouse.org.uk/blog/view/16 you will find the following words; "...life is what you make of it. You ... More >> |
KORE KORE (Kauai Ocean Recreation Experience), helps people who are Autistic or have physical disabilities experience surfing again or for the first time.
KORE is made up of an army of volunteers from ... More >> |
Google Chrome 25 has Voice Recognition Support When Google released Chrome 25 earlier this year, they noted that the browser now has Voice Recognition Support.
This would be of great benefit to those with disabilities that have a hard time typing ... More >> |
Lonely Little Bird There is this beautiful little story about this girl with Cerebral Palsy who wrote into to a radio station she listens to, in China, and shared that she had been depressed for over two years.
The ... More >> |
TheraSuit The TheraSuit http://www.suittherapy.com/therasuit%20info.htm is a suit you can wear on your body if you have Cerebral Palsy to ... More >> |
| The Struggle to find Work when you have a Disability |
Matthew Ames an amazing bloke Matthew Ames was like any other man, husband, father, until he developed a sore throat last year. Matthew though it was the ‘man flu’. It was far more serious than that. He had developed toxic shock ... More >> |
Alistair Lee I was recently watching ‘Revealed’ on Channel 10. There was a story about a remarkable person.
Alistair Lee was born blind, with Cerebral Palsy and other medical ailments. The story was so inspiring ... More >> |
Rethinking Disabilities Are the ways disabilities are seen correct? Can there be a new approach that can assist people to understand disabilities better? What fresh approach would give more understanding to disabilities?
Whilst ... More >> |
The Stories As a person with a disability it’s hard not to have a chip on your shoulder because you know that you are going to be treated as ‘special’ or ‘different’ the minute you step outside your front door.
It’s ... More >> |
Africa plans to move ahead in disabilities In the following article: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jul/21/disabilities-discrimination-africa ... More >> |
When people dont listen Last week I had to go and have a CT Scan.
When my doctor was writing the referral he asked me if I could lie still for one minute? I replied with a laugh and a prompt ‘No!’ My doctor added ... More >> |
When will classroom technology cater for the disabled In a rather compelling article, http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/09/08/classroom-technology-must-accessible-those-with-disabilities/svRyLPnmnBSNCDUuQaUEVJ/story.html ... More >> |
The Other Superman I was recently watching Australia’s Got Talent and I saw this maniac swinging on silks, whilst strapped to his wheelchair.’
He calls himself, ‘The Other Superman’! I call him, crazy, amazing, brave ... More >> |
The ongoing bus trip My first trip home by bus was a dream!
My first trip to work was something entirely different. I got to the bus stop on a rainy morning and the bus was six minutes late. When the bus did ... More >> |
Catching the Bus About 18 months ago I wrote about wanting to catch the bus home in my new electric wheelchair. A lot has happened in the past 18 months to stop me from following through on my plans. I have struggled ... More >> |
Dogani A Korean film called ‘Dogani’ (‘The Crucible’) http://www.hancinema.net/2011-top-10-stories-disabled-are-silent-no-more-36880.html ... More >> |
A Credo Today’s blog shows a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wunHDfZFxXw of a group of ... More >> |
Dean Zimmer is a musical drummer Dean answered a ‘rock drummer wanted’ ad and really impressed them with his abilities and got the job!
When you first see Dean you may think that he looks like a man who has had a hard life. I guess ... More >> |
Man with CP fulfils Soccer Dream Kyle Kauffman has always dreamed of playing soccer and Stevenson University accepted him as part of their soccer family.
Kyle has Cerebral Palsy which hinders his walking. Although this may be ... More >> |
Sterilisation not on In past blogs I have written about the sterilisation of women with intellectual disabilities being sterilised without consent and the emotional distraught this has caused when the women have discovered ... More >> |
I want a Hippocampe please I dread going to the beach – simply because it is a great struggle to get on the sand with a wheelchair. I either need to be carried on or I have to crawl to the position on the beach where I want to ... More >> |
Phuket Access Travel A friend of mine just came back from a holiday in Thailand. Whilst in Thailand Karen travelled with a guy who had a disability. Thailand is very hard for a person in a wheelchair to get around and so ... More >> |
I'm going to Keep On Keeping On As I have shared previously, I have Cerebral Palsy. The messages from my brain to my arm and legs don’t always run as smooth as I would like them to and so I end up with involuntary movements. These ... More >> |
Online businesses the way to go for disabled people in China The following link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-01/07/content_11805628.htm tells of how two disabled ... More >> |
Autistic man defrauds the tax system An article that crossed my path recently http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/07/30/05/08/autistic-man-jailed-for-defrauding-tax-office ... More >> |
The Gift The Gift is a movie about Charlie, who has Cerebral Palsy, wants to lose his virginity for his birthday by hiring a prostitute who comes ... More >> |
Disabled Woman Gets to Live Where She Wants Can you imagine your parents deciding where you live and who you can be friends with?
Jenny finally won the right to go live with her friends Kelly and Jim. As you can read in this post:More >> |
Tank Chair In this article found at: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/24/disabled-aussie-man-has-wheelchair-banned-from-roads-because/ ... More >> |
The Annual Focus on Ability Short Film Competition The Annual Focus on Ability Short Film Competition is now open for Voting.
Check out the amazing films that are a part of this years NOVA Employment Focus On Ability Short Film Competition at More >> |
A Seriously Funny Look at Autism In the blog http://www.autismseriouslyfunny.com/ a dad shares about his 16 year old son, Elijah, who is serious funny, talented, smart and Autistic.
Although ... More >> |
Cast Offs I have always wanted to be on Big Brother and other shows like Wheel of Fortune. I have also been aware that due to the severity of my disability that there is no way I would be accepted on the show ... More >> |
Emma I hope you enjoy watching the YouTube video on Emma here http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/5/3219685/wrex-robotic-exoskeleton-arm-3d-printing.
It’s ... More >> |
By being a person with a disability I give others joy and purpose I came across this blog http://severedisabilitykid.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/why-inspirational-stories-bug-me.html ... More >> |
Sticks and Stones This amazing book has come to my attention which acknowledges the abuse faced by people with disabilities. The following website: More >> |
New Disabled Symbol I found this article http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/25/4365554/new-york-city-planning-to-use-a-more-progressive-handicapped-symbol ... More >> |
Centrelink strikes again I had to deal with Centrelink to report my earnings as I do every fortnight. This took me all day long.
I began my mission to report my earnings at 6.45am. I tried online (my preferred option) ... More >> |
Books about Disabilities and Awareness There are some children’s books out there that can be helpful in educating other children on disabilities.
This website More >> |
Golf in an Electric Standing Wheelchair I have been seeing a few pictures on Google with guys playing golf in standing wheelchairs and I thought it may be interesting to follow the link and see what the stories are about.
It so happens ... More >> |
Powerful Documentary Photography Stories I have discovered the following page: http://121clicks.com/photo-stories/15-powerful-documentary-photography-stories ... More >> |
Stories of Experience There is a website/blog called: ‘I am disabled – Stories of Experience’. One of the stories called “Disabled but Thankful”: http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Am-Disabled/3127952 ... More >> |
Self-Defence I have found a self-defence video on YouTube that you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svg6Q1rnFho&feature=player_embedded.
I ... More >> |
How the Rich take on Disneyland I recently read an article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP ... More >> |
Disabled Childrens Inclusion in Sport The following article: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/taking-disabled-children-away-from-the-sidelines-8637279.html ... More >> |
Dignified Death still Elusive Last night on The Project, the topic of euthanasia was discussed in a story that had two people with serious illness wanting the right to a dignified death.
You can read more of this story by following ... More >> |
Jetstar bars cerebral palsy woman from flight Jetstar strikes again with another big blunder. Check out the following story: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/2013/06/03/06/41/jetstar-bars-cerebral-palsy-woman-from-flight
I ... More >> |
Youve got my Car Park want my Disability too Recently I found this great Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YouveGotMyCarParkWantMyDisabilityToo
The ... More >> |
Lifts and Ramps in Malta Today I would like to share more of my experience in Malta. I found the lifts and ramps really interesting,
In Australia you know that most ramps are going to be of an Australian Standard and easy ... More >> |
Smoking and Mental Illness On my way home from work on Friday I heard a news story saying that it is important to get people with mental health issues to stop smoking.
According to the following online fact sheet: More >> |
Malta now have Disabled Toilets I have recently travelled to Malta for some time with my extended family. The last time I was in Malta was 14 years ago and a lot has changed since then. One particular change that has ... More >> |
On a wing and a chair - Dave Jacka Dave Jack is an extraordinary man who has beaten great odds to fly a plane despite having a motorbike accident at the age of 19 and becoming a quadriplegic.
You can read his inspiring story here: ... More >> |
100 things Do you have a bucket list? Everyone has at least one thing they HAVE to do before they die. Some people even have a list. How many goals and dreams on this list are actually achieved you ask. At the ... More >> |
For Grace - Cynthia Toussaint For Grace is a website founded by Cynthia Toussaint. Cynthia was a Ballerina and for the past 30 years has suffered from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Cynthia now has Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis ... More >> |
Shana's Story - Doctor told her it was all in her head I recently read a story about Shana who has Lupus. The following link has her story: http://cure4lupus.org/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=226&chapter=4
It ... More >> |
Inquiry investigates Sterlisations of Disabled Youth An inquiry investigating the sterilisation of disabled women makes me feel sick!
As the following story at:http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2013/s3712708.htm ... More >> |
Mental health support goes mobile There is a new mobile phone app out that is aiming to give young people experiencing mental health issues some hope.
This story can be read at: More >> |
Charisse Living with Cerebral Palsy I have discovered this inspirational woman on youtube.
Charisse has been making youtube videos for the past 3 years to express herself when she has felt judged and misunderstood. Charisse has low ... More >> |
The Sessions In the amazing blog by Chana Bloch http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/245502 Chana writes about the experience of knowing Mark ... More >> |
Nick Cannon is a Celebrity Living with Disability Nick Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and radio/television personality.
http://www.whatdisability.com/inspiration/554-today-s-celebrities-living-with-disabilities ... More >> |
11 Illegal Interview Questions You Don't Have to Answer Did you know that there are certain questions you do not have to answer in a job interview because they are illegal?
|
The Hunter at forefront of disability services planning In an article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-09/hunter-at-forefront-of-disability-services-planning/4509694 ... More >> |
The Great Disability Scam You can see it happening: The great Disability Scam will happen in Australia if we don’t keep then honest.
It goes something like this: A shiny new tender to help disabled people gain employment, ... More >> |
Think Positive The Body Shop have put together a campaign to get people thinking positively. Is your glass ‘half full’ or ‘half empty’?
It’s sad to think that Australia is losing its ‘happy go lucky’ traits and ... More >> |
Batyr - giving a voice to the elephant in the room A friend of mine told me about this great website that I would like to share with Jo Blog readers. The website is: http://www.batyr.com.au/
What ... More >> |
Little improvement on disabled job prospects in decades It is well known that people with disabilities do not represent much of the Australian workforce.
A college recently heard a radio interview between Rebecca Price and Jodie Owen, the old Jo Blogs, ... More >> |
5 Questions with Alexis Wineman Miss Americas First Autistic Contestant A friend of mine led me to this article: http://style.time.com/2013/01/11/5-questions-with-alexis-wineman-miss-americas-first-autistic-contestant/
... More >> |
Workers with disabilities win landmark wage fight Gordon Prior and Michael Nojin, were being paid $4 an hour just because they have disabilities. The following story link tells all: More >> |
Because “Because” is a great Ad Campaign that has seven people with disabilities pursuing and realising their goals and passions because of the support and encouragement they received from everyday people in ... More >> |
handSteady the cup to suit our needs As a person with Cerebral Palsy I like to be fiercely independent and so I use a straw to drink all my drinks. Sometimes I would just love to drink from a cup. There is nothing like the feeling of water ... More >> |
Guitarist with no arms Tony Melendez was born without arms. Even though he was fitted with artifici9al arms, they were more a hindrance than a help.
The following link: More >> |
Bank of America Charged with Discriminating Against Homebuyers with Disabilities Two people were discriminated against when they went to apply for a loan with Bank of America
As was discussed in an online story: More >> |
Paralysed woman controls robot arm with her brain Imagine becoming paralysed and then learn how to move a robot arm using your brain?
The following link tells this story: More >> |
I am a Parent with a Disability I found this heartbreaking story that I wanted to share on Jo Blogs.
The followingling: More >> |
Relief from the Stress of Finding an Available Disabled Parking Space A New Zealand company have created a device that lets authorities know that someone is illegally parked as they do not have a corresponding device in their car.
I think this is a fantastic idea ... More >> |
Surviving the Heat January is the hottest month in Australia. Extreme heat can be detrimental to those who have debilitating conditions or are in a wheelchair for most of the day. About 400 people die every year from ... More >> |
Nike Designs Accessible Shoe for a Disabled Student How’s this? – you write a letter to Nike CEO Mark Parker with a special request – a shoe with no laces. You can read the story here: More >> |
Asperger's removed from leading health manual
When I was studying my Counselling diploma I had to buy the ‘American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder IV’ book for my studies. The book is soo big ... More >> |
England and Pakistan proved disabled teams are an inspiration to all At the moment it is cricket season here in Australia so I looked for a story that related to cricket and disabilities. I found a story that is hopeful for those aspiring cricketers who have a disability. ... More >> |
Paralysed Little Girl Writes Letter to Drunk Driver On July 9, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas, a 9 year old girl, Chilli was riding in a car that was hit head on by Jeremy Solis. Solis had stolen the car and was driving with a blood alcohol level 3x's the ... More >> |
Disabled children sent offshore for processing There are two families in immigration detention at present who each have a daughter with Cerebral Palsy.
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3638188.htm ... More >> |
Hoarding Hoarding is very different from collecting. Hoarding is very dangerous especially when fires breakout and the occupants need rescuing.
There is actually a TV show on hoarding that can be found ... More >> |
The hidden cost of postnatal depression A new report by beyondblue has found that, if left untreated, there is a costly and long-lasting impact of perinatal depression on the community to the tune of nearly $500 million.
|
Northern Territory Taxi drivers get more cash to transport disabled A lot of people with disabilities use taxis as their only mode of transport to get around as they do not have access to a family car that they can roll their electric wheelchairs into.
I found ... More >> |
Quentin Kenihan a fellow Brittle Bones survivor Hi, It’s Jodie Owen here, AKA Jo Blogs, reporting from my temporary new home in Adelaide. Since getting out and seeing my first live AFL football match, the weather has improved immensely and the days ... More >> |
The Intouchables
There is a new movie that just came out at the Cinemas here in Australia titled ‘The Intouchables’. It is a French film with subtitles. I urge you to go and see it if you can as it is a remarkable ... More >> |
DES - What is the government doing In the middle of the year NOVA and many other Disability Employment Services put in a tender with the Government to keep and expand their outlets. The tender was a massive project which consisted of ... More >> |
Jailing of mentally disabled man is 'intolerable' As the following link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-23/jailing-of-mentally-disabled-man-27intolerable27/4329358 ... More >> |
Watch Politicians Get Thrown off Script when Disabled Adults Interview Them This is a really funny article I just had to share. Written by Erin Gloria Ryan (http://jezebel.com/5953353/watch-politicians-get-thrown-off-script-when-disabled-adults-interview-them), ... More >> |
Reactions to appearances A few days ago a friend was sharing a story about a mutual friend who had an interview to work in an Apple Store. This man was very knowledgeable of Apple products but he still didn’t get the job. The ... More >> |
Abort the abnormal foetus Do we have a right to abort foetuses that have been tested positive to have a disability?
As technology improves and more disabilities are detected in the womb – do mothers/parents have a right to ... More >> |
Positive Exposure POSITIVE EXPOSURE is incredible! It photographs different genetic disorders in a positive way. The following link gives more information: http://positiveexposure.org/about-the-program-2/
I ... More >> |
Aaron Wheelz Fotheringham If you are a mad skater or just a fan you would have heard about, Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham. Aaron is a 20 year-old wheelchair moto-cross athlete from Las Vegas, Nevada. Aaron was born with Spina ... More >> |
Do you know anyone as brave as Terry Vo I remember seven years ago there was this story on the news about this ten year old boy, Terry Vo, who was play backyard basketball, did a ‘slam dunk’ and the garage wall collapsed on him severing ... More >> |
Focus on Ability Awards Night On Thursday night I attended the Focus on Ability Awards evening and what an extravaganza it was. There was a red carpet and a celebrity photo spot.
When I got there the place was abuzz with people ... More >> |
GUEST BLOGGER JODIE OWEN Swans v Crows AFL Game Since leaving my job in May, as Disability Social Facilitator for NOVA Employment, and moving to Adelaide in South Australia, a lot of elements of my life have changed. Not only have I had to slow down ... More >> |
Crackdown on Speeding Scooters Recently A Current Affair segment was about a crackdown on pensioners speeding in their mobile scooters.
I don’t watch much TV, and when I saw this I felt that A Current Affair were really scraping ... More >> |
Can Social Media change how we view Disabilities This year Marks and Spencer's Christmas catalogue, features a four-year-old boy with Down's Syndrome as the star model.
The following link tells how: More >> |
Sue Austin flies underwater in her wheelchair In the world’s first self-propelled underwater wheelchair, Sue Austin performs contemporary dance that is graceful and utterly beautiful. You can read more about this extraordinary experience ... More >> |
Focus on ability 4 short film competition - VOTE NOW All films are in and it is now your turn to VOTE! By voting you can win yourselves an iPod!
I sat and watched all the films – some make you laugh, some make you cry, others are inspiring... We ... More >> |
Durga Maya from near death to a hopeful future A friend of mine visited Nepal recently and learnt about International Nepal Fellowship (INF) who help people rehabilitate after becoming disabled and set them up to be able to start cottage industries ... More >> |
Jacqui Scolari is one of a kind Recently the University of Newcastle (UoN) Newsletter (http://www.newcastle.edu.au/experience/#article-studying-with-a-fresh-approach), ... More >> |
Arnulfo Castorena swims fast with no legs and only one arm Arnulfo Castorena of Mexico won a silver medal in swimming men 50m breaststroke sb2. Arnulfo has won the first ever medal for Mexico in the Paralympics. His winning of the silver medal has lifted the ... More >> |
Fighter - Turia Pitt A few weeks ago on 60 Minutes (http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8461954) there was a story on a lady ... More >> |
Dale DiLeo - Free Seminar Monday Night Dale DiLeo is a widely sought-after speaker and consultant, and well known advocate for people with disabilities.
NOVA Employment invites Dale DiLeo to share his expertise and knowledge ... More >> |
I dont stand up I stand out - Push Girls PUSH GIRLS is an uncensored glimpse at what it means to be sexy, ambitious and living with paralysis in Hollywood. These girls are just like any other girl. Push Girls traces the lives of four dynamic, ... More >> |
Depressed - R U OK Tomorrow (Thursday 13th September) is R U OK? Day. Statistics show that talking about suicide can prevent it from happening. Asking if someone is OK? Is great. Its also ok to say “No, I’m not” as ... More >> |
Cerebral Palsy couple hold on tight to their babies I just watched a documentary on Lawrence Clark and his wife Adele, called “We Won’t Drop the Baby”.
What an extraordinary couple! They just want to be seen as an ordinary couple just doing what ... More >> |
Angela Rockwood Quadriplegic Model Lands Huge Nordstrom Campaign Angela Rockwood is a beautiful girl, in her 20’s she was a model who had it all. Angela was in a car accident 11 years ago where she became a quadriplegic
At the age of 37, Angela is modelling ... More >> |
Hunter banned from signing his name So, imagine your name is Hunter, you are a deaf three year old boy, and the signing method you use, known as Signing Exact English, which is meant to mimic spoken words, is said to violate your schools ... More >> |
Daniela Di Toroin On the eve of the Opening Ceremony here is a story about one of Australia’s Paralympian.
Daniela Di Toroin will be one of the seasoned veterans on the team in the London 2012 Paralympics, after already ... More >> |
City Rail Announcements leave Blind Travellers in the Dark City Rail Announcements leave Blind Travellers in the Dark
For two years, Graeme Innes has asked RailCorp to provide better announcements. After mediation failed, Graeme, who is blind, decided his ... More >> |
Down's Syndrome Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy SMH reported a story (http://www.smh.com.au/world/down-syndrome-pakistani-girl-accused-of-blasphemy-20120820-24h15.html) ... More >> |
Kurt Fearnley Kurt Fearnley is heading into his fourth Paralympic games at the end of August to compete both on the track and road.
In his three previous Paralympic games he has won three gold, five silver and ... More >> |
Perth
So, I am back from my holiday – I had a wonderful time in Perth. The highlight of my trip was the exceptional public transport and the ease of moving around the streets and really nice disabled ... More >> |
Travel Concierge So, you have a successful career and your job requires you to travel which is great, however you are on crutches and need assistance getting your luggage off the conveyor belt at the airport and carrying ... More >> |
Workplace modifications Currently I am in the process of waiting for an electric wheelchair for work as I need to be able to get myself to a number of premises that are within walking distance of each other. I would like to ... More >> |
Can you hear me Have our services kept up with the technological needs of those with a hearing/speech impairment?
For a person who is deaf or has a hearing or speech impairment communicating via the telephone has ... More >> |
Disabled parking is in demand Today I heard on the radio that the State Government of NSW is cracking down on who gets Disabled Parking Permits!!! I’m hoping it wasn’t just a dream! The news report said that the Disabled Parking ... More >> |
Holidays I don’t know how many times I have thought about going on a holiday and after doing some research have decided not to go as I have not found any wheelchair accessible accommodation, the accommodation ... More >> |
Individualised funding and NDIS Individualised funding is a really important concept when you are wanting to gain employment and are in need of personal care.
What the government supplies is a care system that YOU have to fit into. ... More >> |
Helen Keller Helen Keller was born in 1880 went deaf and blind at the age of 18 months after she had a serious fever.
As a child Helen had angry outbursts and a temper due to the fact that she could not communicate. Helen ... More >> |
Employers need Disability Awareness In a past blog I mentioned how the government and disability employment services need to educate employers on how people with disabilities are just like any other employee they would hire except they ... More >> |
Research shows that Wage Subsidy's don't work There was a report written by the Department of Family and Community Services, nine years ago titled “Improving Employment Opportunities for People with a Disability” which I read all 63 pages of with ... More >> |
Wage subsidies - really May I pose a very BIG question to my readers?
The question is: How would you feel if your workplace was given money to employ you? Answer: Like a
|
For the love of Art Vincent Van Gogh I love art and I am always drawn to the work of Vincent Van Gogh. I love his choice of colours and the way he saw the world in which he replicated onto canvas (probably wasn’t canvas at the time).
Vincent ... More >> |
How Centrelink can wreck havoc with your work life and give you 'no' options On Monday I went to report my earnings with Centrelink, a task I do every second Monday, to keep the powers that be happy. On this particular occasion the process did not go through and it flagged me ... More >> |
Limbs 4 Life On Sunday night I was watching The Project and saw the last bit of a story about amputees playing golf. Today I looked up their website and thought I would share some info with you.
Melissa Noonan ... More >> |
Why are employees with disabilities so loyal to their job Ok, so I’m sharing all my secrets here about why I rarely have a day off unless I’m unconscious and why I plan to stay working at NOVA until I or NOVA drops dead!
The stats show that employees with ... More >> |
Michael J Fox - gave up his job to do his life's work I find Michael J. Fox one of the most inspiring people of our time as I think he really knows what it is to ‘live’.
It was in a recent interview that I saw on Channel 7’s Sunday Night that he ... More >> |
43 billion economic boost by raising employment for people with disability - you reckon A report launched last month at the Australian Network on Disability’s (AND) National Conference revealed that Australia’s GDP could be increased by $43 billion over the next 10 years if more Australians ... More >> |
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly dictated with the blink of an eye Whilst researching who to write about on Jo Blogs I came across a story about a 44 year old French man, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine when he suffered a stroke and ... More >> |
Please answer ME when I ask the question On the weekend I went shopping with my husband for some new boots, it was a shop I frequently visit.
I was looking at some new boots and hoping I could find a pair that covered more of the leg. There ... More >> |
Temple Grandins unique perception of the world revolutionised the livestock industry People with Autism have certain ways they view the world. When they don’t behave like ‘normal’ people they can be teased and ridiculed and put down.
I have seen this all take place, as my husband, ... More >> |
How do you get to work using a wheelchair As a person with a disability who is in a wheelchair, I am always having to think about how wheelchair accessible some places are.
The truth of the matter is that I am unable to get off my driveway ... More >> |
The Brain and Dance How can something as simple as dance repair and regrow the bodies wiring?
As a person with Cerebral Palsy I know how hard it is to get my limbs to do what I want them to do and so I have to admit to ... More >> |
I'm Martha Hi, my name is Martha and I will be taking over for Jo Blogs while she is away.
I have been working at NOVA Employment for almost a year and a half as a job coach. I have supported, encouraged and ... More >> |
RIP Jo Blogs Sadly, today I have to say goodbye to you all……. It has been with great pleasure that I have worked as Jo Blogs for NOVA Employment for the past three years, bringing you up to date disability related ... More >> |
Miss and Mister Deaf International 2012 - Lauren's journey In February of this year, I did a story on Miss Deaf Australia, where I interviewed a friend of mine, Lauren, I captured her experience of the pageant and followed her on her journey as she was crowned ... More >> |
Influenza Vs The Common Cold With cold and flu season fast approaching here in Oz, I thought it might be helpful to share some facts and myths with you all about how to stay healthy this winter.
Almost two years ago now, I had ... More >> |
Power people with disabilities leading the world I find it really inspiring when I learn of famous or successful people who have a disability; it gives me great hope that there is room for people like me in the professional world, and we are making ... More >> |
Medical malpractice Curable disease kills 15 year old English girl We always have faith in our doctors, and hope in them, that they are offering advice that is in our best interest. But what happens when more than one doctor gets it so dead wrong? That’s what grieving ... More >> |
Paralysed woman finishes 42 kilometre marathon with bionic suit Claire Lomas, who was a chiropractor before a horse riding accident in 2007 paralysed her from the chest down, was never expected to walk again, let alone complete a marathon, which is what she proudly ... More >> |
Sex sells but can this concept work for people with disabilities too We are constantly bamboozled with media advertisements on a daily basis, which are filled with half naked models that have been airbrushed within an inch of their lives.
I’ve always had an interest ... More >> |
What effect today's pop culture is having on little girls Now, I’m no prude, and I don’t know if this is a sign that I’m getting old or not, but I have to agree with an article in the Telegraph that I read this morning about children dressing too provocatively ... More >> |
Go YELLOW for Wishbone Day There are thousands of fundraising events every year, around the world, so many that it’s hard to keep up with when you’re supposed to wear what colour on which day, and buy what pin from where.
It ... More >> |
Chloe Maxwell admits on television; 'I wanted my Autistic son to run into traffic' Not having any children myself, yet, I don’t personally know of the happiness that comes with finding out that I’m pregnant. I don’t personally know what it’s like to begin the planning process in my ... More >> |
Who is really looking after your disabled child when you’re not around? When you send your children off to school, you are hoping, and trusting that they will be in good hands, not only to receive the education you expect, but to be protected from bullying, predators and ... More >> |
This man didn't want to go to work, so he cut his own foot off! If you’re anything like me, and love horror movies, you’d remember the ankle sawing scene from Saw I, where Dr Lawrence Gordon is forced to manually saw his own foot off, to free himself from shackles, ... More >> |
Autistic individuals are being left behind NOVA Employment held an Autism Forum this week in Sydney’s West, hosted by Professor Carol Schall, Director of Training and Technical Assistance and the Autism Center of Excellence, Virginia Commonwealth ... More >> |
Rachael Leahcar blitzes her 'Blind Audition' It seems that reality shows have taken the modern world by storm, with shows like Next Top Model, The Biggest Loser, Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, Master Chef and The Amazing Race, we can’t get away from ... More >> |
Disabled Boy Restrained and Shocked Over Thirty Times, for Seven Hours!!! In 2010, I wrote about a centre in America that treats people with special needs, who display behavioural difficulties, such as intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disorders and autism, with alternative ... More >> |
Professional Dress Is The Key To Success! Looking for a job can be quite a daunting task, and there are a lot of things that need to be considered before you go for that important interview. Things like: your resume, having good knowledge of ... More >> |
Finally, A Reason NOT To Go To The Dentist, As Researchers Link Dental X-Rays To Cancer Reports have come out of the US today, warning us against the risk of frequent, unnecessary dental x-rays. According to research, a link has been discovered between people who receive frequent dental ... More >> |
Disabled Boy Abused By School
When you send your children off to school, you expect them to be looked after, especially if they have a disability. For Mathew Wright’s mother, Janice, her trust was shattered when she walked into ... More >> |
Family Fun Day At The Sydney Family Show Everyone loves a good carnival, the smell of fairy floss and popcorn in the air, the sound of kids’ laughter and the look of excitement on their faces, as they gaze around at the rides, showbag pavilions ... More >> |
Reggie, The Paralyzed, Bodybuilding Superstar! In my job, I am lucky enough to work with some wonderful people, from all walks of life. I have been blessed, in the past three years, to form some great friendships, and get to know some awesome young ... More >> |
Be Inspired By The Little Dog That Could Last week, I received an email from a friend, entitled – ‘Brave Little Dog’, it remained unopened in my inbox for a few days, until I finally decided to do a bit of a clean-up, so I opened it, and had ... More >> |
The Woman With The Giant Legs Almost everyone on the planet would have to have heard about the Elephant Man, if you haven’t; let me bring you up to speed.
Joseph Merrick was born in 1862 perfectly healthy, his two siblings both ... More >> |
Really Wheely Extreme Sports Today’s blog was derived from a video clip that I saw on a media website, of a woman bungee jumping whilst in her wheelchair, which you can see here: http://video.dailytelegraph.com.au/2213041287/Wheelchair-bound-woman-bungee-jumps ... More >> |
Rescue Dog Shows Gratitude To Her New Family And Their Disabled Son I am such a dog lover, the way they will love you, regardless of how bad your day has been, what you look like, or how much you earn. They are always there, to greet you with a big waggly tail and expressive ... More >> |
The Man Who Is Fighting For His Right To Die It’s heart-wrenching to see someone suffering from a terminal illness, and sometimes all you wish for that person, is to be able to take away their pain.
There is a vast worldwide debate, which has ... More >> |
From Make-up Lover To Make-up Blogger How To Look Beyond Your Disability To Reach Your Goals I always believe that you should support the little guy, and there's no littler guy, well girl actually, than Sophie Keay, who's my subject for today's blog. So, from one blogger to another, ... More >> |
Caught In The Act: When Celebrities Steal Handicapped Spaces Last weekend, my husband, Todd, and I, decided to take an impromptu trip to the movies, after some friends we were entertaining for the day, left our house. At my local shopping centre, there are four ... More >> |
Zippy Wheels For Toddlers With Disabilities Babies reach different milestones at various ages, and no two babies are the same. Depending on whether they are ready or not, they will gain strength, and learn how to make their own way around, either ... More >> |
Forty New Apartments Built Especially For Crippy's If you’ve got a physical disability and want to maintain an active, social life, finding somewhere suitable to live, can be quite difficult.
A lot of people with severe physical disabilities are ... More >> |
Francesca Martinez; The Wobbliest, Funniest Lady Around Some people with disabilities try all their lives just to fit in, they want to aspire to be like their friends, siblings, and role models, they want to feel normal. But how many people do you actually ... More >> |
Deaf MP Told To Pay $30,000 For Her Own Workplace Adjustments People with disabilities have come a long way in society, especially since the days that they were more likely to be labelled ‘stupid’ and hidden away from the world. We are still making advances all ... More >> |
People Need To Know, When To Offer Assistance, And When To Back Off A few weeks ago, while doing my day-to-day thing, I had a bit of a brain snap and got frustrated with the able bodied world. The cause was from a series of offers of assistance, for things that I do on ... More >> |
Jo Blogs' Block-O-Wood I have created and just finished uploading a video that I’d like to share with you all….
I’ve come up with what I think is a rather snazzy invention which enables me to get up the gutter outside my ... More >> |
Half An Arm Doesn’t Mean Half A Man As discussed in this morning’s Jo Blogs LIVE webisode on my CanDoAbility website, despite Eli Pierre’s disability, he didn’t expect to be turned away when he was interviewed for a job at a Californian ... More >> |
A Short Tale About Some Big Boneheads Lots of people have fears, they can be valid fears, or very unusual. I have a friend with koumpounophobia, a fear of clothes buttons. When he first told me, I honestly couldn’t stop laughing, and didn’t ... More >> |
Uterus Nappers: The Frightening Truth Behind Forced Sterilization The birth of a child would have to be one of the most, if not the most, enjoyable events to occur, in a person’s lifetime. When a child is born with a disability, however, the usual parental concerns ... More >> |
The Man Who Almost Cooked His Legs Off I’m sure at once stage in your life, you’ve heard the phrase ‘feel the burn’ in relation to exercise. For Stuart Lines, this term has taken on a whole new meaning.
Stuart, who lives in Queensland, ... More >> |
Miss Deaf Australia 2012: Who Will Be Crowned The Winner.jpg) On Friday 3rd February, I attended Miss Deaf Australia, where I interviewed a long-time family friend of mine, Lauren Patrick, who was born profoundly deaf. As the only one with a hearing impairment in ... More >> |
Researchers Invent Miracle Fracture Putty To Heal Broken Bones After experiencing approximately 300 broken bones in my lifetime, I can honestly say that I would give ANYTHING to learn of a treatment that could heal bones quickly.
Everyone’s bones renew themselves ... More >> |
I DON'T Feel Better Now Thank You Medibank Private! Once again, my own life has led to a blog…. As some of my regular readers may remember, last year I began walking on some Canadian crutches, to build up the strength in my legs, however, after just a ... More >> |
Jo Blogs LIVE If you’re one of my regular followers, you would most likely know why there is a little box at the top of the home page now with me in it, and what it does…. If not, let me fill you in.
I have just ... More >> |
‘Party Drug’ Could Offer Cure For Severe Depression Depression can be a debilitating illness that can go unnoticed to the outside world. Since the 1950’s, the leading method of treatment has been anti-depressant medication, which is formulated to regulate ... More >> |
Who Needs A Working Spinal Cord When You Have An Awesome Attitude I was completely blown away by a picture that one of my Facebook friends posted this morning, so much so, that it’s led to today’s blog….
You see, when you have over 4000 virtual friends, like I do, ... More >> |
Jetstar…… Need I Say More? After reading another disgraceful article, yet again, about Jetstar, I can’t say that it surprises me, perhaps just makes me dislike the airline more and more.
Reports surfaced last week that 78 year ... More >> |
Rick Hansen: Around The World In 730 Days Rick Hansen was just 15 years old when he lost the use of his legs, from an auto accident. Forty years on, and he’s gone from strength to strength, and is now planning on changing the way people with ... More >> |
Push Girls: Reality Show Roll Models Unfortunately, Hollywood and disabilities aren’t a likely match, but a hit US television producer is hoping to change all that this year, with her new show, ‘Push Girls’, which is set to air in the US ... More >> |
Don't Have An Abortion, Because Your Next Child Will Be Born Disabled Now I believe I’ve heard everything after reading an article that has been recently dug up again from the internet files of 2010. Virginia State Delegate Bob Marshall was heard claiming that disabled ... More >> |
Gone Too Soon, Australia’s Young Driver Epidemic Hundreds of people die from horrific motor vehicle accidents each year on Australian roads. Most of these accidents are a result of speeding. And, they are almost always preventable. Those who aren’t ... More >> |
Big Brother Saves Toddler From Drowning Thanks To School CPR Classes We hear far too often about young children falling into pools and drowning these days. Once unconscious and the brain begins to lose oxygen, it only takes three minutes for brain damage to start, which ... More >> |
Wrongfully Imprisoned And Neglected For 10 Years Intellectually disabled man, Marlon Noble, from Western Australia, was released from prison on Sunday, the 10th January, after spending 10 years behind bars, for a crime he says he never committed, and ... More >> |
Monique's Second Chance At Life This story just amazed me when I heard it, and I had to share it with you all.... It sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood script, a paralysed woman, who lost feeling from a car crash, has ... More >> |
Fun Was Had By All At The TTW End Of Year Gala Day Last Friday I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the NOVA Employment Transition to Work End of Year Gala Day, all be-it I was working, but still had a ball regardless.
NOVA Employment runs a ... More >> |
Fighting To See The Foo's Last Thursday night I got to see one of my favourite bands, EVER, perform live: the Foo Fighters, who performed songs from their latest album, Wasting Light, plus, heaps of their greatest classics, and ... More >> |
No Time For Love To Wait Speaking as someone who has just gotten married (almost 4 weeks ago!), I can honestly say that it was one of the most beautiful, emotional, stressful and special times in my life. As fast as the day flew ... More >> |
Roller Coaster Of Death Kills Amputee When it comes to theme parks, I’m certainly no dare-devil.... I could barely go on a ‘family’ water rapids ride, whilst on my honeymoon in Queensland this year, let alone any kind of roller coaster. Luckily ... More >> |
British Police Attack And Push Over Man In Wheelchair Today was the first time I’d heard about, or viewed footage of, the horrific treatment of a disabled man during student fees protests that occurred in London last year.
Jody McIntyre, who is a 21 ... More >> |
Memories That Will Last A Lifetime After 18 months of planning our wedding, I just couldn’t wait to relax with my new hubby on our honeymoon. Unfortunately, I kept waking up early so didn’t get to catch up on much sleep, but that didn’t ... More >> |
Watch Out, Disabled Hoons About! Penrith Council have recently discussed implementing a speed limit around the Penrith area, for people who use mobility scooters, as reported in the Penrith Press newspaper on Monday.
With information ... More >> |
Mrs Owen Has Arrived ***Click on this link to see a sneek peak of my wedding day, courtesy of two lovely ladies who are filming a documentary about me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLTllc8wnLM ***
I am back in one ... More >> |
You Gotta Fight, For Your Right, To Parrrrrrrrking I recently wrote about the terrible state of my local hospital's car park at the moment, due to Nepean Hospital's hospital and car park development, which isn't scheduled to be completed until ... More >> |
Miracle Sleeping Pill Reverses Brain Injury Effects Sam Goddard and Sally Nielsen from Brisbane, QLD in Australia, who met in university, had their whole lives to look forward to. Sam was an accountant, and Sally, a wedding planner, both in their 20’s ... More >> |
Washing Machine Tears Limb From Toddler A washing machine is something that almost everyone in the world has. They have come a long way since they were first invented, back in the 1700’s. The first method of washing clothes and garments was ... More >> |
Judge Caught On Tape Whipping Disabled Daughter With Leather Belt This story is something that, thanks to the internet, has been sweeping across the world over the past week, and it is horrifying to see.
I am talking about the video footage that was posted by a ... More >> |
Goodbye Miss De Ruvo, Hello Mrs Owen!!! This is my final pre-wedding blog and last day at work.... I have written some blogs that will be uploaded during my absence, so you will not miss out on a weekly slice of Jo Blogs...
So last weekend, ... More >> |
Is Centrelink Becoming A Dictatorship? Many people who receive welfare payments in Australia will be facing lots of changes ahead...
Recently, there was the announcement that as of next year, most people who receive disability payments ... More >> |
Where Will Political Correctness End British funny man, Ricky Gervais has recently been caught up in some controversy over various ‘tweets’ that he’s posted via his Twitter account.
The 50 year old star and creator of the hit television ... More >> |
Keeping Bridezilla At Bay Last week’s blog finished off with me crossing my fingers about the hotel check-out time for the morning of the wedding....
Just to re-cap, I booked this beautiful deluxe two bedroom suite for me ... More >> |
Ties That Can Never Be Cut Tate and Nash are brothers with a special bond that could never be broken. Tate, who is 9 years old, was born with Cerebral Palsy, due to a lack of oxygen at birth. Nash, is 11 years old, and absolutely ... More >> |
Lunacy, Of The Wheelie Kind Aaron Fotheringham isn’t just another guy with a disability. He’s an awesome adrenaline junkie, who has more guts than most able bodied people!
Nicknamed ‘wheels’, Aaron is just about to turn 20, on ... More >> |
Thank Goodness For Credit Cards Now we’re down to 20 days until the wedding, three weeks and I can’t believe it! It feels like we’ve been planning this day forever. Well, the planning did begin almost 18 months ago, which I suppose ... More >> |
One Woman's Fight For Wheelchair Accessible Coaches In the news this week was a story of a fellow disability activist, who was born with brittle bones or Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). Julie Haraksin, who uses an electric wheelchair, is suing an Australian ... More >> |
Four Disabled People Discovered Inside American Horror Dungeon I came across an article today, which could have easily been mistaken for a fictional Hollywood blockbuster, but instead, it is the real life horror story for some of the most vulnerable people in America, ... More >> |
Hen Night Madness Happy Friday everyone!!! So today is exactly 4 weeks until my nuptials... That’s 27 days, 22 hours and 50 minutes. Who’s excited?! I certainly am. Things are really kicking into gear now, starting to ... More >> |
Disabled Parking Of A Different Kind Hospital’s can be a saviour if you or a family member becomes sick or injured. They help to cure people and nurture them back to health and without them, we’d be lost. But what if the hospital that you ... More >> |
O I Don't Know How Social Services Can Be So Ignorant We all hope that child protection services exist, to do exactly that... Protect our children, but all too often, we hear of horror stories of children being taken away from innocent, loving parents, whilst ... More >> |
Five Weeks To Go And I’ve Got Butterflies Although the weather in Sydney this week has been terribly cold and rainy for October, things have remained pretty quiet on the wedding front, with not too much happening...
Today we have reached ... More >> |
Never Judge A Book By Its Cover Some of the biggest misconceptions about people with a disability stems from lack of knowledge towards them... People, who don’t personally know someone with a disability, can make false judgements about ... More >> |
A Royal Pain In The Ankle, But I Won’t Let It Ruin My Wedding So the countdown continues... As I found it very difficult to climb out of bed today, once I awoke, I realised that, not only is it Friday, but we are now down to 6 weeks until d-day!!! That’s 6 weeks ... More >> |
Where Unwanted Disabled Animals Go When someone is born with a disability these days, they are usually given the best chance at a ‘normal’ life. Doctors intervene, pointing new parents in the right direction about where the best places ... More >> |
What To Wear... Kids Blowing Daddy’s Budget For One Night Of Fun Do you remember your school formal, or for my American friends, your prom?
I missed out on my formal, because I left high school early, and completed my studies at TAFE, so I unfortunately didn’t ... More >> |
The Countdown Is On For This Pocket Wife-To-Be The countdown begins.... Since my wedding is on a Friday, it is exactly 7 weeks today, until I get married. That’s 48 days and approximately 1,174 hours. Therefore, it is now 7 weeks until I become a ... More >> |
Pushed To Breaking Point Or Natural Born Killers? Some mental illnesses, like depression, can be a serious after effect from the loss of a loved one, trauma, abuse or stress, but it can also be the result of a hereditary abnormality in your ancestor’s ... More >> |
Pocket Sized Motivator Just because someone lacks height, doesn’t mean they can’t reach for the stars....... I am three feet tall, yet I haven’t let that stop me from continuously reaching for my goals.
Today I wanted to ... More >> |
Fourteen Years In Prison For Murdering Ten Year Old Girl, Where Is The Justice??? In Australia, someone is reported missing approximately every fifteen minutes... In fact, 35,000 people are reported missing ‘down under’, every year, 95% are located within a short time. Only a very ... More >> |
Today's The Day To Ask 'Are You OK?' More people than you could possible imagine are affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts each day... In Australia, more than 2,100 people take their own lives each year, and men are at four times more ... More >> |
NOVA Employment's Own Medical Pioneer If you live outside of Australia, or you just happened to miss this week’s episode of Sunday Night on channel 7, then you’ve come to the right place...
The current affairs show, featured one of NOVA ... More >> |
Strength To Carry On The Coble family was a typical American family, living in California, living out their dream. But in an instant, their world came crashing down around them, changing their lives, forever.
While Chris ... More >> |
Carer Of Disabled Son Beats Breast Cancer And Graduates From Uni With Honors Tonight will see Julie Gilmore, a full time carer for her disabled son, proudly graduate, with honors, from a university in Western Australia.
Julie has taken care of her young son Mitchell, all his ... More >> |
Disabled Women More Likely To Be Affected By Breast Cancer Did you know that breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancers that affect Australian women? It accounts for 27% of all cancer diagnosis amongst females living in Australia.
In Australia, ... More >> |
Small Businesses Still Hesitant To Hire Workers With A Disability Reports surfaced last week on Australia’s Daily Telegraph website, suggesting that some employers are still quite reluctant to hire someone with a disability, over a non-disabled person.
While I have ... More >> |
Focus On Ability III Was A Hit Last night was NOVA Employments night of nights... Where we all gathered together for the airing of the finalist’s films, for The Annual Focus On Ability Short Film Competition at Fox Studios, in Sydney. ... More >> |
How To Tell If Your Unborn Baby Is A Boy Or Girl A lot of my friends, family members, and people around me are pregnant at the moment... It’s funny, it’s like it’s something that happens in waves. I remember a couple of years ago, when a whole bunch ... More >> |
If You Cant Walk You Cant Board - Wheelchair-Bound Athletes Endure Disgraceful Discrimination Last weekend was the 39th Annual Falmouth Road Race, held in Massachusetts, where around ten thousand runners compete for the winning title each year. The race also has a wheelchair division, where devoted ... More >> |
Father Kills Disabled Son, Cuts Off Head "In Heaven I believe you're a beautiful star and you will always shine bright inside my heart, inside everybody's heart. If I could go back and change yesterday, I would. But I can't. You ... More >> |
Cowards Beat Fragile Man To Death Harvey Sanderson Jr. was a 27 year old man who had a great sense of humour, a kind heart, and was loved by many of his family and friends. He was pint sized (like me), born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta ... More >> |
One Small Step For J-Gill, One Giant Leap For Crippy-Kind I find it a bit sad, that on one of the biggest days in Australian disability history, when I clicked on The Daily Telegraph website at around midday, the three main featured stories were about the London ... More >> |
Miracle Mum Wakes From Coma On Mother's Day From Daughter's Touch Emma De Silva, a beautiful, vibrant young woman from Sydney, had just realised her dream. Into the third week of her new baby girl’s life, Emma and her husband Yoshi thought that life was absolutely perfect.
Earlier ... More >> |
Are Disabled To Follow Footseps Of Nuns And Become Celibate? Ok, so this is going to be a very ‘touchy’ subject, (pun intended)....
Today on The Daily Telegraph website, a story has been run about disabled people using government paid health care workers, to ... More >> |
Girl Sues Her Mother's Obstetrician For 'Ruining Her Life' - Fair Complaint Or Whinger?< Halina Jane Gillet was born in October of 1985, in Newcastle, which is located in northern NSW. The pregnancy was the fourth for her mother Marilyn Benson-Gillett, and she noticed that during this pregnancy, ... More >> |
J-Gill May Finally Be Onto A Winner With Tighter DSP Guidelines Thank goodness someone has finally said what we’re probably all thinking! Today I read an article relating to the new Australian disability pension cuts that were announced by Julia Gillard last week, ... More >> |
Where's Wheely Good To Go Out? Getting out on the town means great things to most people, it can relieve stress, allow you to catch up with old friends, let loose, and have a good old boogie. For someone in a wheelchair or with a disability ... More >> |
The Real Iron Woman While researching, I came across this story, it’s old, but I never knew about it, and thought it to be a very interesting and tragic tale.
In May 2008, Dianne Odell, from Jackson, Tennessee, passed ... More >> |
The Boy Who Can Count To 34 On His Fingers And Toes Akshat Saxena from Uttar Pradesh, in Northern India, is just one year old, but is already a world record holder.
As Akshat was their first child, his parents were very excited to welcome him into ... More >> |
A Tortoise Who Knows How To Rock And ‘Roll’ As I’m sure my regular blog readers know by now, I’m a sucker for animals. Whenever I hear a happy ending to unfortunate events relating to a pet or wild animal, it makes me all warm and gooey inside! ... More >> |
Grumpy Pilot Orders Disabled Man Off His Plane John Morris is a 24 year old paraplegic, who has limited control of his upper body, as a result of a snowboarding accident in 2006, and now requires the full time use of a wheelchair.
Last month, ... More >> |
Has Your Child Been Diagnosed With Fake Autistism Spectrum Disorder? Claims have been made today on The Daily Telegraph website, that some parents and doctors are conspiring together, so that their children are ‘labelled’ as autistic, in order to receive further assistance ... More >> |
Hot Tips For Photoshoots And Wheelchairs So Todd and I just had our pre-wedding photo shoot the other week. It was a good way for us to get into practice for the hundreds of wedding photos we’ll be smiling for in a few months. Todd’s not much ... More >> |
No Bedside Manner Here Today I read a blog, written by a young man named Carl, who has Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis.... He was discussing the way in which specialists have referred to him in the third person, as if he isn’t ... More >> |
Political Correctness Gone Awry Is this political correctness gone mad? On Wednesday night, Lady Gaga performed for an intimate crowd of 1000 fans at Sydney’s Monster Hall in a one off show.
The arrival of Gaga has been dubbed one ... More >> |
Get Your Voting Fingers Ready!!! It’s Focus On Ability time!!! Entries for NOVA Employment’s annual short film competition have now closed and voting is now open.
As of yesterday, you, the public, now have the opportunity to vote ... More >> |
Disabled People Don't Have Choices For Their Wedding There are so many tasks to be completed during the lead up to a wedding. You just don’t realise exactly how much is involved, until it’s your own...
I have so many questions that have been answered ... More >> |
A Great Place To Make New Friends And Kick Up Your Heels Breakaway Recreation and Holiday Service Inc, is a great organisation that assists adults from the Western Sydney area, with intellectual disabilities, by getting them out and about, experiencing activities ... More >> |
| Burst A Lung In Support Of The NOVA Employment Sydney Razorback's This Weekend! |
Will Jet Star Ever Learn Last week, the Scott family; Trudi, her husband, and their two children, took a flight from Wellington to Auckland, in New Zealand, to see the production of ‘Walking With Dinosaurs’. During their short ... More >> |
Disabled People Don’t Need Fancy Wedding Venues Onto part three of my wedding planning madness. In last week’s blog, I explained how I came to find my beautiful wedding dress, that will be unveiled no sooner than 11/11/11. I talked about how difficult ... More >> |
A Day Out At The Australian Museum Yesterday was a great day for me and some of the Job Coaches and Trainees from Transition To Work here at NOVA Employment. We got to spend it at the Australian Museum in Sydney.
We caught the train ... More >> |
Granny Vandal On The Run When Lorraine Palmer picked her disabled granddaughter up from school to take her for a trip to the shops one afternoon in early June, she definitely did not expect what was in store for her when she ... More >> |
Disabled People Don’t Wear Pretty Wedding Dresses Last week, I wrote about how I (tried) to go wedding dress shopping for the first time, and it ended in an epic fail, with the shop assistant virtually ignoring me the whole time I was there.... I was ... More >> |
Tom Herbert Has A Golfing Handicap Of A Different Kind Lots of people with disabilities play sports. Whether it’s to keep up their fitness levels, for socialising or just as a hobby, it’s a good way to fit in with able-bodied people, especially if you’re ... More >> |
Dr Death, Dead At 83 I have discussed assisted suicide in the past, and I personally feel that it should be legalized. Who wants to die a long painful death? Don’t human beings suffer enough in life? The law says we must ... More >> |
Disabled People Don’t Get Married! As some of you know, and for those of you who don’t, I am engaged and am getting married later this year. With just under 5 months left until my nuptials, I thought I’d share my experience of the wedding ... More >> |
Nothing Can Stop A Strong Will And Determination Rob Cook was a typical strapping, young farmer, living in the remote town of Suplejack Downs, which is located pretty much in the middle of nowhere, in Australia’s Northern Territory, when his whole world ... More >> |
Come And Cheer For NOVA Employment's Own Wheelchair Basketball Team!!! If you love watching wheelchair basketball or you just love sport in general, then you need to pay attention to this!
Come along and support the NOVA Employment Sydney Razorbacks wheelchair basketball ... More >> |
Does The Government Really Care If You Live Or Die? Is the majority of the medical industry more concerned about making profits than saving lives when it comes to terminally ill cancer patients?
Some of the most trusted and common cancer treatments ... More >> |
Do You Think We Are Worthy Of A 'Fighting Chance'? Following the death of her husband David to cancer in 2008, Sue O’Reilly was forced to return to her home country of Australia, after years of living in the UK, where her and her family moved to seek ... More >> |
Independently Accessible Trains There is currently a wheelchair ramp trial at Box Hill train station in Victoria, this prototype could mark the beginning of something wonderful for people with mobility issues if it becomes permanent.
The ... More >> |
Last Chance To Enter NOVA Employment’s Short Film Competition It’s almost time for entries to close for NOVA Employment’s annual short film competition. With this year’s theme Focus on Employ Ability, we’re sure to see some amazing talent, yet again!
Last year, ... More >> |
Socially Disabled: Latest Illness To Be Formally Named Well I had an interesting weekend... Thought I’d share my tales with you. So, I was enjoying a lovely quiet, Saturday on my own, with my dogs and cat of course. Cleaned up a bit, did some washing, that ... More >> |
Are Ethical Issues Obstructing Scientific Medical Advancements For People With Disabilities? Breakthroughs in science have greatly contributed to the medical advancements in the disabled world. But, at what cost?
Many people see scientific developments as a blessing, something that is going ... More >> |
Three Blind Photographers Recently, a friend of mine emailed me a story about a blind photographer. I had a look at his work, which was amazing, considering, he couldn’t see a thing... While researching about him, I also came ... More >> |
Drawing His Way Down To Melbourne Would you like to help someone with a disability out? Whilst also gaining something cool for yourself?
I did an interview with a man by the name of Brent Harpur back in March. Brent is legally blind, ... More >> |
We All Have Some Sort Of A Disability In 2009, for International Day of People With a Disability, I attended a breakfast, where I did a talk about my car and it’s conversions.
There were around 100 people there, and it was my first talk ... More >> |
Tiniest Crime Fighter Ever! Ryan Berger from California may just be the world’s smallest detective, measuring up to only three feet two inches tall.
34 year old Ryan, was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bones (like ... More >> |
MISSING Aspergers Boy!!! Please help to locate him safe and well!
Alex Rowe is 18, he was reported missing yesterday after he didn't return home from the city.
His mobile phone was on when he spoke to family yesterday ... More >> |
Public Servant Jobs For Disabled On The Decline Reports today in ‘The Australian’ claim that the number of people with disabilities working in the government sector has been halved since 1986. Figures show that there has been a decline from 6.9 per ... More >> |
Raising Children With Disabilities One really important thing to remember, if you are raising a child who has a disability, is to make sure they’re aware from an early age, that there is nothing ‘wrong’ with them, they just do things differently ... More >> |
Blind Positivity Equals Happiness For Nick Gleeson Earlier this May, I invited a delightful man, who I met at a conference for people with disabilities, to talk at NOVA Employment. When I first met Nick Gleeson, who works for Vision Australia, I thought ... More >> |
Independent Living - Assistance Around The Home When You Have A Disability Alright everyone, you asked for it, so here it is..... Some information on how to live alone, or independently from the people you live with, when you have a disability.
Now, as I’m based in Sydney, ... More >> |
Bisphosphonates, Helpful Or Harmful? I came across some rather startling news this morning, which confirmed something that I was already partially aware of....
This news is almost a year old, but I feel, is still worth some discussion. ... More >> |
Look Mom, No Hands - The Jessica Cox Story Jessica Cox, who was born in the early 80’s, has become the first woman in history to fly a plane, without arms.
Jessica was born with an unexplained birth defect, which resulted in her missing both ... More >> |
Disabled Materchef Australia Contestant Causes Some Heat In The Kitchen Masterchef Australia is one of the hottest shows on television at the moment. With series three just getting into the real competition now, one of the fifty finalists attracted quite a bit of media attention ... More >> |
How To Access Disability Employment Services Aloha everybody! Please take a look at my latest video of me doing a talk at the OI Conference.... It's a 'how to' guide on getting into a disability employment service, a little history on ... More >> |
2011 Australian Federal Budget - What Are Your Views? I'd love to hear what your personal views are on this year’s Australian budget.
It seems to me that the crack down on eligibility criteria for the disability pension is something that is desperately ... More >> |
UPDATE: Saving Each Other: An Unlikely Match Made In Heaven Last month I wrote a blog about Irwin, the kangaroo who has been adopted by an American woman who was going through depression.
Irwin, was paralysed through an accident while living in an animal sanctuary, ... More >> |
Wishbone Day – May 6th 2011 – International Brittle Bones Awareness Day – Go Yellow! This Friday, 6th May, please wear a touch of yellow to support Wishbone Day!
What is Wishbone Day? I hear you asking... Well it only officially began in May last year, and was created to raise awareness ... More >> |
Gillard Promises $200m Boost For Disabled Students With details of Australia’s 2011 Federal Budget trickling out ahead of next week’s full announcement, it has been reported that Prime Minister Gillard will provide $200 Million to the Australian school ... More >> |
Watch The Touching Moment Of When A Deaf Baby Hears For The First Time I wanted to share with you a video of something that I find very beautiful, having posted it on my Facebook page yesterday, it got quite a passionate reaction from a lot of my readers.... Most thought ... More >> |
Saving Each Other: An Unlikely Match Made In Heaven For 39 year old Christie Carr, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, depression almost ended her life. Over a year ago, she attempted suicide, but thankfully survived.
After recovering, she decided to volunteer ... More >> |
More Discrimination..... Jetstar Does It Again! Last week, New Zealand disability advocates, Tanya Black and Dan Buckingham, who both use a manual wheelchair, were unable to board their flight with Jetstar, because the captain believed they required ... More >> |
Improving The Lives Of The Disabled, One Stem Cell At A Time Wouldn’t it be great if there was some wonderful cure for all different types of disability? To cure those born with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, sufferers of Strokes, Alzheimer’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, ... More >> |
What Is This World Coming To? On Monday morning at 11:30am in Alice Springs, in Australia’s Northern Territory, a wheelchair bound woman was making her way down a dirt track, when she was approached by four men, stabbed and robbed. ... More >> |
Autistic Boy Saves Family In House Fire, Then Tragically Dies Have you ever thought how scary it would be in an emergency situation, like a fire? Now think about that situation while you are living with a disability. Things like that worry me all the time, how I ... More >> |
Boy Wthout Arms, Honoured With Own Penmanship Award What were you like in year five at school with your handwriting? I wasn’t the neatest, and I remember being denied my ‘pen licence’ because my writing wasn’t neat enough....
However, I just recently ... More >> |
Cop Confuses Cerebral Palsy With Drunkenness A disabled Englishman, who’d been visiting Australia during a working holiday, was wrongly accused of being drunk and disorderly, and forced to spend hours in a prison cell.
After a night out in Melbourne, ... More >> |
Autistic Boy Struck By Train Every parent’s worst nightmare would be having their child going missing. The thoughts that would run through your head, as a parent of a missing child, I could imagine, would be nothing but chaotic. ... More >> |
| What's Your Interpretation Of Employ-Ability??It’s that time again! Time to get out your video cameras and make a short film about focusing on the positive side of disability.....
Last year, we had three categories, which saw entries flooding ... More >> |
World Autism Awareness Day Puppies With World Autism Awareness Day fast approaching on April 2, I thought I would share something that I found, relating to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Firstly, some of you may already know of my ... More >> |
Adaptive Living Tips For People With A Disability I think that everyone who lives with a disability has at least one adaptation that they’ve created to make their life easier. It’s just something that comes natural to living, like second nature after ... More >> |
Unbreakable Spirits I’d like to share something exciting with you that I experienced over the past weekend..... I attended my very first OI Conference... The Australian OI Conference is organised as part of the OI Society ... More >> |
Do The New CP Commercials Give A Negative Outlook For All? You may have noticed the new Cerebral Palsy Alliance television commercials that have been aired on Australian television recently.
The Cerebral Palsy Alliance was formerly known as the Spastic Centre, ... More >> |
Hospital Refuses To Save Baby Joseph For the parents of 1 year old baby Joseph Maraachli, there will heartbreaking times ahead of them.
Their second born son, Joseph, has Leigh syndrome, an extremely rare, hereditary neurological disorder ... More >> |
Brent Harpur – The Blind Cartoonist I recently interviewed Brent Harpur at his Art Space in Sydney’s hip suburb of Newtown.
The room we sat in certainly matched the trendy surroundings of Newtown, with its colourful paintings of flowers, ... More >> |
The Man With Half A Body I wanted to share with you, a story I heard about a man with half a body.
Kevin Easterday, who grew up in Pennsylvania, was born with a rare disability, called Sacral Agenesis, this means his spine ... More >> |
The Disabled Should All Be Sent To Siberia To Freeze To Death After it became public that a New Hampshire, House of Representatives legislator stated that, all disabled people should be moved to Siberia, a public lash back has caused him to hand in his letter of ... More >> |
Disabled Left Behind During Disasters In a report in the Los Angeles Times newspaper last week, it was stated that LA has a plan for its city, in the event of a disaster, as most major cities do, but the plan in LA doesn’t take into account ... More >> |
Breaking Down Barriers In The Virtual World Hans Smith is 24 and lives in Idaho in the US. He was born with Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, which means that, although he is mentally capable, he is unable to feed, dress or care for himself. ... More >> |
Show Your Support For Disability Sports! Do you wish you could play rugby league but feel limited because you’re in a wheelchair? Have you considered joining up with the New South Wales Wheelchair Rugby League Inc.?
New South Wales Wheelchair ... More >> |
"Rollin' Around The World With Zach Anner" As I’m sure everyone in the whole world would know, Oprah Winfrey is one of the most successful women on the planet. But for anyone who has been living under a rock for decades, she has been the most ... More >> |
A Must Watch - Britain's Missing Top Model Tonight marks the beginning of BBC’s hit show ‘Britain’s Missing Top Model’ on free to air television in Australia.
The six part series, which aired in the UK in 2008, follows the journey of eight ... More >> |
10 Tips For Talking To Someone In A Wheelchair ‘Wheels for a day’, is a campaign that is organised through Paraquad in Australia. It has been running for five years so far, and is held in November, during Spinal Cord Awareness Week.
It gives high ... More >> |
Do You Dream Disabled??? I have been thinking about dreaming lately. Some say that dreams are a result of your subconscious mind exploring something that you are unsure of or scared to do. It could be a fear that you have and ... More >> |
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire The idea of a house fire can be a terrible thought to imagine. All of those personal, irreplaceable belongings, that could be lost forever. Everything that’s been accumulated through hard work over a ... More >> |
Voting With A Disability: Finally An Easier Way! With the NSW State Election looming, this can cause some concern for those of us living with a disability.
Getting to your nearest polling place can be a hassle for the most agile person, but for ... More >> |
Clothes That 'Suit' - Finally, A Clothing Website For Wheelchair Users I wanted to share with you something that I came across today that may prove very useful to anyone in the disabled community.
Izzy Camilleri is a Canadian fashion designer who has designed clothes ... More >> |
‘Air Kevin’ - The One Armed Basketball Star When Kevin Laue’s mother was pregnant with him, she and his father were expecting a healthy baby. But during his development in his mother’s womb, Kevin’s umbilical cord became wrapped around his neck ... More >> |
Government Wants To Cut Disability Pension To Rebuild QLD Following Floods Something that has been reported on in the news all around the world recently, is the disaster and devastation that has been left behind from the floods in North Queensland.
As much as I feel for ... More >> |
‘Spastic’ Is No More The Spastic Centre has been around in Australia, since 1945, and is one of our most well known charities.
The organisation was created after a group of parents of children with Cerebral Palsy, wanted ... More >> |
Mother's With Wheels Over a year ago, I became friends with a girl from America who, like me, has brittle bones, also known as OI. Her name is Kara, after dating her partner Adam for 9 years, they married almost 2 years ago. ... More >> |
Have You Read NOVA’s Ezine Lately? Have you checked out the NOVA Employment Ezine? It’s like a magazine, but for the internet.... You will be able to read about all of the great work that’s being done by our helpful staff here at NOVA ... More >> |
George Has A Tonna’ Passion George Tonna was born with Cerebral Palsy. When he was a young boy, he attended a regular mainstream school, and he rarely participated in sporting activities, but when forced to, he stuck close to the ... More >> |
Jo-Blogs on Facebook... Hello there.
Please don’t forget for those of you that check back here regularly, I also have a Facebook page.
So if you’ve already come across to the other side, like most of the world has, then, ... More >> |
Living With A Disability In A High Tech World As technology advances, the disabled world must advance along with it. I’m sure there’s at least one person you know who has an I-Phone at the moment. I thought it would be a great opportunity to look ... More >> |
What Did You Just Wheel In?!?!?! Just think about this for a second... When you walk, do you really know what you’re stepping in? Spit? Urine? Chewing gum? Faeces? Dirt? Grime? Vomit? Lots and lots of things that you would never want ... More >> |
Drug Dealer Allowed To Stay In Public Housing An Australian report was put out this week, about mentally ill and homeless people having their welfare payments cut.
This has caused uproar amongst welfare lobbyists, when facts stated that over ... More >> |
Monica & David: A Love Story Monica and David are a young couple who met in a life skills class..... Monica already had a boyfriend and David had his eye on her... As soon as Monica became available, David snagged her. They fell ... More >> |
Loud, Proud and Passionate! A group of very passionate women with disabilities from all over the world came together to attend a three week leadership program in Oregon last year. It’s the 5th time that the ‘Women’s Institute on ... More >> |
The Noise Of 1000 Voices We all hear about disabilities in medical terms as written by professionals, doctors or researchers, but we rarely get to hear about people’s disabilities and personal journeys in their own words...
1000 ... More >> |
Bride-to-be Breaks Neck On Hen’s Night It should’ve been the happiest time of her life, 24 year old Rachelle Friedman and her close friends were celebrating her upcoming marriage to partner of five years, Chris Chapman, that was due to occur ... More >> |
Transition To Work End Of Year Celebrations Yesterday I helped celebrate the end of year Christmas party and 2010 graduation of some of the NOVA Employment Transition To Work Trainees.
Transition To Work, is a traineeship that is offered to ... More >> |
The Blind Not Allowed To Vote In 2010 There was a story reported on an Australian news website back in September, about a man who lives in South Australia who is vision impaired and unhappy with his state’s current voting system for people ... More >> |
Dogs & Disabilities Go Hand In Hand While doing my usual searches on the net for interesting anecdotes, I stumbled across a story about a great business.
Dog Central is a doggie day care centre for dogs that have owners that work full ... More >> |
Do You Know Someone Who Is Faking A Disability To Receive Financial Benefits? An article in the Australian, has brought up a very interesting point that I would like to share.
Due to reports, it has been documented that apparently, more Australians are unable to work due to ... More >> |
Assistance For Older Carers Of People With A Disability Do you care for an adult son, daughter or grandchild with a disability?
Anglicare’s Support Co ordination Program (Nepean) may be able to help you.
This service is funded by ADHC (Human Services ... More >> |
'Emerge'-ing Into A Leader.... Throughout the year, I have been attending a leadership course called Emerge. It is organised through the Spastic Centre, together with ING Direct, and is designed predominately for young people with ... More >> |
Look me in the eyes.... I said the eyes What does the name Tanja Kiewitz mean to you? Probably not much, yet. But it will...
Tanja is a 35 year old mother, and a graphic designer turned European model, and disability activist. Tanja was ... More >> |
Wheelchair Hoist For Sale!!! A lovely lady by the name of Helen has contacted me, she has bought a van that came with a wheelchair hoist installed. She doesn’t need the hoist and the person who was using it has passed away and the ... More >> |
Wheeling Inspiration... A fellow brittle bones sufferer, who lives in Canada, was recently featured in a story that appeared on Montreal’s CTV (a Canadian news television station).
The name of my “Facebook friend” is Natalie ... More >> |
Livewire... Livewire, which is an initiative of the Starlight Foundation, is an Australian online peer support program, designed specifically for families who are affected by disability, chronic health condition ... More >> |
Get ConnecTeD and Stay ConnecTeD... You are invited to a ball..... The ball’s theme is ‘Live. And Let Live’ Bond with ConnecTeD, and it is being held on the 16th of October to support the children and young adolescents with rare genetic ... More >> |
MyTime Play Group My friend, Julianne, has told me of a new program starting up in Emu Plains in Sydney’s West, called MyTime, it’s a play group run for parents and their young children under school age, who are living ... More >> |
Results for NOVA Employment’s Short Film Festival An awesome night was had by all who attended NOVA Employments first ever Short Film Festival, on Wednesday 25th August, at Moore Park’s Entertainment Quarter. It was an excellent turn out with around ... More >> |
FREE MOVIE FESTIVAL COMPETITION For your chance to WIN 1 of 2 Prize Giveaways of:
--2 VIP tickets to the Focus on Ability Film Festival +
--2 Hoyts La Premiere Tickets.
Step 1--Simply go to http://www.focusonability.com.au/films.asp ... More >> |
Focus On Ability Short Film Competition Is Ready To Announce Some Winners!!! Earlier this year, there was a short film competition run by NOVA Employment which closed on the 30th June, called Focus On Ability.
The competition had three different categories for people to enter ... More >> |
Accessibility At The Sydney Opera House I took a visit to the famous Sydney Opera House for a guided tour a few weeks back. It was incredibly beautiful up-close, and I am not normally impressed by architecture. The inside of the building is ... More >> |
Hope Street More people than you may think are one pay cheque away from becoming potentially homeless. A "homeless person" is someone who is without a conventional home and lacks the economic and social supports ... More >> |
Aaron Nielsen – Riding for sick kids Last year, I did a story on an awesome little guy called Aaron Nielsen, he went for a walk from Penrith (in Sydney’s West) to Bondi, to raise money for the Starlight Foundation, (an Australian organisation ... More >> |
Sniffing For Autism A trendy American fast food chain called White Castle (made famous by popular teen movie – Harold & Kumar go to White Castle), has teamed up with the organisation Autism Speaks to help raise money for ... More >> |
Ame's Army Ame Barnbrook is a 21 year old girl from the NSW south coast of Australia. She loves sailing and playing the trumpet. Doesn’t sound too amazing does it?
What if I told you that Ame was born with Phocoamelia? ... More >> |
Gay Dogs Not Allowed In Thai Restaurant In May last year, a vision impaired man was denied entry into a Thai restaurant in South Australia because the staff thought he was trying to enter with a ‘gay’ dog.
When Ms Lawrence went in to ask ... More >> |
Helpful Disability Reference Sites... Here are some very helpful websites for the worldwide disabled community:
http://ableize.blogspot.com/ - a funny and insightful website for people with disabilities
http://www.pwd.org.au/ - a helpful ... More >> |
Housing NSW Negligence – An Accident Waiting to Happen North St Mary’s resident Karen Heald, is living in an unsuitable NSW Housing property. The 45 year old was born with Spina Bifida and requires the full time use of a wheelchair to get around. She has ... More >> |
Disabled Tourist Bashed by Lowlife Teenagers There have been reports of a disabled Canadian man being attacked in Sydney overnight.
The 35 year old man was allegedly trying to leave Mt Druitt station last night at around 11pm, when two teenage ... More >> |
Real Estate Rort Rort: to cheat, rip off, beat, defraud, hack or scam.
Talking with one of my ‘Facebook friends’ the other day, I was advised of an Australia wide real estate agency that offers a service that assists ... More >> |
Marvel-lous Wheelchairs On the 9th February, I went to Wheelchair Sales at Moorebank in Sydney to check out a brand new wheelchair fresh in from Canada called Marvel Wheelchairs. Wheelchair Sales are the first Australian distributors ... More >> |
Shocking! Treatments for Autism There is controversy surrounding a treatment that has been used for many years to treat residents at the Judge Rotenburg Centre in Canton, Massachusetts.
The Judge Rotenburg Centre or JRC as its commonly ... More >> |
FOR SALE: 1 Wheelchair Hoist I have been asked to advise everyone that there is a wheelchair hoist, suitable for a van or people mover, available in the Foster, Tuncurry area in NSW, Australia.
It is in great condition and looks ... More >> |
Sport For Everyone! Special needs sports groups are great to help people with disabilities make new friends and get out and about...
Just ask Kim McLaughlan from Mount Riverview in western sydney, who said "It makes ... More >> |
That's Life! ... More >> |
A Behind The Scenes Look at: Australia's Next Top Models - Cripple Style Please click on the link below to see a behind the scenes look at what happened to Elvira Alic and I at our Australia's Next Top Model audition at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne. I have put ... More >> |
Jo-Blogs on the Today Show!!! Hello all...
For those who didn't catch my appearance on the Today Show in Australia or if you did see it and would like to watch it again, please click on the link below
http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/life-with-brittle-bones/xasazk8 ... More >> |
Join Me on Facebook! If you want to join me on Facebook and chat to me live or just to meet some of my interesting Facebook friends.... Then click on the link below!
http://www.facebook.com/DisabledAccomplishments
I'll ... More >> |
UPDATE: Hit & Run Death That Should Never Have Happened Back in October last year, I wrote a blog about an elderly man, Arthur Waller, who died from a hit and run accident.
Mr Waller, who was aged 85, had to cross busy Canterbury Road, Hurlstone Park alone, ... More >> |
UPDATE: Australia's Next Top Models- Cripple Style For everyone who is wondering what happened with the Australia’s Next Top Model auditions that Elvira and I attended, here is an update.
As I said, the flight to Melbourne was at 6:30am and we got ... More >> |
Cerebral Palsy Man Cured Through Dancing This is an amazing story about a man who defied all odds to walk without being stared at anymore. Gregg Mozgala is 31 years old and was born with Cerebral Palsy, so he was never able to walk without his ... More >> |
Andrew Hewitt - Australia's Most Inspirational Drummer In the beginning of January this year, I interviewed a very inspirational man named Andrew Hewitt.
Andrew was born with Cerebral Palsy, he could walk with walking aids but he now requires the fulltime ... More >> |
Australia’s Next Top Models – Cripple Style Elvira Alic from last year’s story, ‘Disabilities Can Be Beautiful Too’ and I, will be auditioning for Australia’s Next Top Model, at Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne tomorrow – 20th January 2010. ... More >> |
Great Australian Day Out - 2010 If you’re still thinking about what you’re going to do on Australia Day – 26th January 2010, then look no further.
The Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith Lakes is holding a free day of ... More >> |
Lose The Post Christmas Flab! Do you have a physical disability and want to keep active but think that paying for a regular gym membership would be a waste of money because of your disability?
Well, if you live in Sydney, I have ... More >> |
SCOOP: NOVA Employment will be hiring soon! NOVA Employment is going to be opening up new offices during January - March 2010 and you are the first to read about their new locations! When these offices open, new Employment Consultant and Management ... More >> |
Does CityRail Wheelie Care?? St Mary’s train station in Sydney’s west states that it has wheelchair access by the way of elevators, but more often than not, these elevators are out of order. The only alternative to get to the other ... More >> |
Disabilities Can Be Beautiful Too! I would like to introduce you to a lovely young lady; Elvira from Melbourne Australia. Despite being born with Type II Spinal Muscular Atrophy, she has the spirit of a fighter who never gives up.
At ... More >> |
International Day Of People With a Disability I went out on the 3rd December to Picton Bowling club for the International Day Of People With a Disability. They have an annual breakfast on this day every year to celebrate what people with disabilities ... More >> |
Jo-Blogs interviews David Bradbury A couple of weeks back, I interviewed local member for Penrith’s Lindsay Electorate, David Bradbury. I asked him all sorts of questions relating to disability issues. A video of the interview has been ... More >> |
Gentle Giant Paralympian Kahi Puru Visits NOVA Employment.JPG ) Paralympian Kahi Puru came to our Nova Employment head office at St Marys to do a talk about work safety to the Transition To Work Trainees, I was there to capture all the great photos.
Kahi Puru who ... More >> |
‘Superhuman’ Paralympian Left To Crawl Through The Airport To His Plane Paralympian Kurt Fearnley, who has just completed his 10 day journey by crawling his way along the Kokoda track in Papua New Guinea, has been humiliated by Jetstar after they told him he had to check ... More >> |
Sailability – Sailing With A Disability I went to the Sydney International Regatta Centre, which is situated at Penrith Lakes, where the rowing and kayaking took place for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
It was an excursion day for Nova ... More >> |
| Hit & Run Death That Should Never Have HappenedSadly an elderly man’s life has been taken in unfortunate circumstances that should have never occurred.
A man aged 85 years old, and now indentified by his distraught family as Mr Arthur Waller, ... More >> |
Better late than never..... I’m a little bit late in announcing this great news but a big congratulations is in order for NOVA Employment Caringbah and Café 64 in Broken Hill for their award winning performances!!!
NOVA Employment ... More >> |
Penrith Carer Car This is one of the best disabled friendly cars I have ever seen. It’s called the Penrith Carer Car and has been imported from Japan by Rossco Hutchison with the help of his mate Al Palmer of Al Palmer ... More >> |
Overcoming Challenges With A Smile Little Cody McCasland was born six weeks premature in October 2001 via emergency caesarean, he was rushed off to the NICU and was not expected to live. Undiagnosed, all they knew was that he had 4 toes ... More >> |
“Don’t Be Scared To Put Yourself Out There” This article and all it's comments have been removed by request of it's interview subject... More >> |
Autism – The Devil? An American Autistic organisation called ‘Autism Speaks’ has released a very controversial video to raise awareness about Autism.
In the video which pictures real home video’s of children with Autism, ... More >> |
Deaf Orphans With Christmas coming up, I thought this would be a good cause to mention after a friend sent me the details... Lances Deaf Orphans is an organisation that is based in Kenya, Africa.
It is run mostly ... More >> |
Quadriplegic Sails Solo Round The UK This is the story of one of the most inspirational women I have ever heard of.
She was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy when she was around the age of 15; this is a debilitating disease ... More >> |
| Disabled News Readers This is awesome; it’s a video that features a group of American reporters who have a mixture of intellectual and physical disabilities. They met over 10 years ago at a summer camp and decided to start ... More >> |
Miracle Baby Refuses To Die For parents, Leigh and David, celebrating their son Warwick’s 1st Birthday, seemed like a dream come true.
Warwick was born 11 weeks premature, the doctors predicted that if he survived, he would be ... More >> |
Would You Want To Work For $1.50 Per Hour? Today’s blog is about sheltered workshops, for those who don’t know, these are organizations that specifically hire people with disabilities to work together in various types of workplaces. The employer ... More >> |
| Teachers Aide Assaults 3 Year Old Autistic Student This is horrible! A 3 year old autistic boy appears to be getting assaulted by his teachers aide in America. Scary stuff.... Some people just should not work with children or disabled people.... To view ... More >> |
Guide Dogs Not Allowed In Taxis With Their Owners This blog is about blind passengers who are refused entry into a cab because they are accompanied by guide dogs.
I have read many articles on this issue, I stumbled across this one whilst researching ... More >> |
‘The First To Go’ – The Killings Of Disabled People During WWII I came across a video of a play called ‘The First To Go’ written by British actor, Nabil Shaban (pictured above); who like myself, suffers from Brittle Bones and is confined to a wheelchair. The stage ... More >> |
Pension Increase! – It’s about time... It has been announced that from the 20th September 2009, there will be an increase to pensioner payments. This is urgently needed and should’ve happened a while ago, everything goes up but the poor pensioners ... More >> |
Danish Businessman Hires Only Those With Autism Thorkil Sonne, who owns an IT business in Denmark, is happy with his decision to hire only employees with Autism. This decision was inspired after his third son Lars, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum ... More >> |
Businesses Still Discriminating In 2009 Today’s blog was inspired by a story from the BBC in Wales. It states that a law was passed in 2004 that allowed for a ‘reasonable adjustments’ clause to be added to the Disability Discrimination Act, ... More >> |
No Legs, No Arms, No Worries... This guy is amazing! He was born in Australia with no arms or legs and now travels the world as an inspirational speaker. I will definately be getting in contact with him... This is a link to his own ... More >> |
Beach Wheelchairs These are pretty cool for getting around on the beach.... Ahhhh, if only I had a spare $2,499 to buy one, but look, it's GST free! Huge savings!!
No but seriously, excellent invention, I am just ... More >> |
Aussie Airlines Upset Disabled Passengers I found this article on the www.SMH.com.au website, it says that a survey was carried out last year on 110 people with disabilities and only 14 said they had a pleasant experience whilst travelling on ... More >> |
Disabled: Too Poor To Rent Accessible Properties This article was also found on the www.SMH.com.au website. It talks about how people with disabilities live in lower income areas, they believe this is not an option but more likely they are forced to ... More >> |
Landmine Victims Compete For A New Leg I found this story at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ and http://www.thenational.ae/ – it’s a story about a Miss Landmine Cambodia contest that was to be held in Phnom Penh in Cambodia as an exhibition ... More >> |
| Victory: Jo-Blogs 1, Parking Inspector 0 Just an update on my parking fine that I received from the airport a week ago. I sent them an email saying that they were in the wrong and I am not going to pay the fine. Some of what I sent included: “I ... More >> |
New Disabled Parking System - What Do You Think? I have just read an article about disabled parking in the Daily Telegraph. It’s about Bill Shorten, the parliamentary secretary for disabilities, he is trying to change the guidelines in which someone ... More >> |
No Mr Parking Inspector! It was recently my birthday and my wonderful brother flew down from Queensland just to celebrate with the family and I.
Taking him back to the airport the other day, I drove... Parked in the 5 minute ... More >> |
Inspirational Soccer Player I found this article on the SMH website; 12 year old Rae from the Central Coast was born with Cerebral Palsy. With years of treatment and rehabilitation, she has been able to get rid of her wheelchair ... More >> |
Travelling to Egypt in a wheelchair I found this article on the SMH website, this lady is wheelchair bound and has muscular dystrophy and osteo arthritis. Despite all that, she wanted to make her husband's 50th Birthday dream come true ... More >> |
| Reverse Discrimination - Part 2 This one is very funny! It's part II of the first Reverse Discrimination video I put up. It really shows how 'normal' people patronize people with disabilities, even if they don't mean ... More >> |
| Reverse Discrimination This video is really good, it's how it is for disabled people but in reverse, an able bodied man gets treated 'differently' because he's surrounded by people with disabilities. It's ... More >> |
A fair go for the disabled I feel terrible for this blind man who was in the Parramatta Sun newspaper on Wednesday the 15th July 2009. He says he has a range of experience in Office and Call Centre Customer Service positions but ... More >> |
Welcome.... This is my new blog page, I will be writing on here a few times a week with subjects that are relevant to people with disabilities.
I appreciate any feedback you may have and suggestions on topics ... More >> |
| Deaf OrphansWith Christmas coming up, I thought this would be a good cause to mention after a friend sent me the details... Lances Deaf Orphans is an organisation that is based in Kenya, Africa.
It is run mostly ... More >> |
Website Under Construction Hello all...... This is my new Jo-Blogs website, it is in the process of being updated so please bear with me. All of my blogs have not been completely added yet so to see my full blogs, please visit ... More >> |
Baby Robot Wheelchairs At the University of Delaware in the United States, researchers have come up with a mini robot-like wheelchair for toddlers.
Babies as young as six months old have been able to operate the wheelchairs, ... More >> |
Children Walking For Sick Kids Aaron Nielsen is now a happy and healthy 11 year old Boy who survived a major life-threatening kidney operation two years ago. While he was critically ill, he says that the crew from the Starlight Room ... More >> |
Blind Chef This article was found on the SMH website. It is a very inspirational story of an apprentice chef, Tony Carter, who has 4 per cent vision in his right eye, no vision in his left and no peripheral vision. ... More >> |
| Autism Therapy Click on this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVG8lYEsNs - to view some of the excellent work that's done to help teach children with Autism. More >> |
| Living With Autism Click on this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbVG8lYEsNs - to see an interesting video that explains what it's like to live with someone with Autism. More >> |
Lost Dog Saves Down Syndrome Boy This story was found at http://news.ninemsn.com.au – It tells the story of a lost dog, who saved 21 year old Christian Segovia’s life, he has Downs Syndrome and was having a seizure. Christian’s neurologist ... More >> |
Can You Heal Your Own Disability Or Illness? This is a video that I found on the ABC Television website from an episode of Catalyst. It’s about stem cells and how Japanese scientists have discovered that stem cells can be taken from an adult and ... More >> |
Can NOVA Help You? NOVA Employment doesn't only help people with serious physical and intellectual disabilities, but they also do great work with sufferers of mental illness such as, but not limited to; bi-polar and ... More >> |
Little Josh’s Battle Will Continue On This blog talks about the little boy called Josh Koman; when he was only three years old, in February this year, he fell into his family’s backyard swimming pool and almost drowned.
He was unconscious ... More >> |
A Brave Little Angel This story is about a little boy called Mattie Stepanek, who isn’t in the current news headlines, but has stuck in my heart and mind ever since I saw him on The Oprah Whinfrey Show in 2001.
Mattie ... More >> |
Family Of Autistic Boy Forced To Leave Australia This story is about a family with an Autistic son, Jonah; they have been forced to move to the UK to get the necessary assistance with education for their youngest child, which clearly isn’t on offer ... More >> |
No Policing For Disabled Parking I was at Henry St Medical Centre in Penrith earlier this week, trying to find a parking space. There are only three disabled spaces available directly outside of this particular medical centre, all of ... More >> |
Disabled Drivers Obtaining A License And A Car My Story- If you are in a wheelchair, depending on the degree of disability of course, you can usually get a licence. You just need to do your research, so here is my story on getting my licence and setting ... More >> |
The Power Of Companion Dogs As I’ve said before, I think dogs are a very important part of a person’s life, especially if that person has a disability.
Dogs are great as a companion and a helper, at Assistance Dogs Australia, ... More >> |
| Copyright © 2024 Nova Employment Limited |