Care is Everywhere

Disability Action Week and International Day of People with Disability are a time to celebrate how far we've come in access, inclusion, and respect for people with disability.  It's also a time to reflect on the work still to be done, to build a community where everyone is included and welcome, and their contributions recognised and valued. Employment is one area where there's been a lot of work done, but still much more to go.  Employment and entrepreneurship for people with disability brings the dignity of taking a calculated risk, the pride of a job done well, access to the community, and the freedom of financial independence. In this episode we meet four people with disability who are turning their career dreams into reality: personal trainer Shane Falconer, journalist and radio producer Braeden Jason, freelance virtual assistant Justine Fox, and nature photographer Michelle Taylor-Holmes. Useful links International Day of People with Disability information on the Carers Queensland website: https://carersqld.com.au/idpwd/  International Day of People with Disability website: https://www.idpwd.com.au/  Disability Action Week website: https://www.qld.gov.au/disability/community/awards-events/disability-action-week  Shane Falconer's story: https://carersqld.com.au/shane-is-living-a-fit-and-full-life/  Braeden Jason's story: https://carersqld.com.au/sunshine-coasts-braedan-set-for-commonwealth-games-glory/  Justine Fox's story: https://carersqld.com.au/justine-takes-her-business-to-the-next-level-with-the-ndis/  Michelle Taylor-Holmes' story: https://carersqld.com.au/michelle-credits-her-disability-with-enhancing-her-photography-skills/ Be Your Own Boss microbusiness program: https://carersqld.com.au/ndis/inclusion-projects/be-your-own-boss/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz & Emily Smith Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Carers Week every October is a time to celebrate the amazing efforts of Australia's 2.65 million unpaid family carers.  Carers Queensland has marked the week with events across the state to thank carers for their contribution not only to their loved ones, but the broader community and the nation's economy. It's a time to reflect, but also to look ahead - so we caught up for a chat with CEO of Carers Queensland, Debra Cottrell. In this episode we also meet carer Susan Peters from southern Queensland's Granite Belt region.  She's carer for two family members, one who has autism and the other complex mental health.  Susan also runs a business along with her husband Darryl, a counsellor, and is a part of her local carers' support group. Please note the transcript for this episode will be available soon. Useful links Carers Week information: https://carersqld.com.au/news-and-events/carers-week/  Carers Queensland's support for carers: https://carersqld.com.au/carer-program/  Carers Queensland's training offerings:  https://carersqld.com.au/support-services/training-program/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews & production: Jodie van de Wetering

MC Wheels is a Sunshine Coast-based hip hop artist known offstage as Nathan Tessman. Nathan uses a wheelchair, and for the last couple of years has lived independently with support from the NDIS. He's also been honing his craft, releasing new music, and performing at gigs around the southeast corner including opening for Bliss n Eso at the Brisbane Riverstage. Please note the transcript for this episode will be available soon.   Useful links MC Wheels website: https://www.mcwheels.com.au/  MC Wheels on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Up2XaeYrqdm2aN8hSJG3I  MC Wheels on iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mc-wheels/576999775  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Alberto Campbell-Staines is a Brisbane-based Paralympian in the T20 category, for athletes with intellectual disability.  He holds the under-20s Australian T20 record for the 200m, 400m and 800m sprints, and works as a teaching assistant while studying to further his career in education.  He's also living independently, with support from the NDIS. But his story begins on the other side of the world, in Jamaica.    Please note the transcript for this episode will be available soon.   Useful links Alberto Campbell-Staines' website: https://acampbellstaines.wixsite.com/runningman  Follow Alberto's athletics career on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertoCampbellStaines/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Mark Berridge is an author, speaker, family man, and ready to face up to a tough physical challenge. He had a successful corporate career that saw him working with international players like Rio Tinto, but that all changed in 2019 when Mark acquired disability in a cycling accident. Mark documented his recovery and his life with severe spinal cord injury in his book, A Fraction Stronger, and uses his experiences to motivate others to embrace challenges, personal growth, resilience, and meaningful connections. Please note the transcript for this episode will be available soon.   Useful links Mark Berridge's website: https://www.markberridge.com.au/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

The teenage years are an incredible time of change and adventure: leaving school, moving out, getting your first car, getting your first grown-up job, going to university, TAFE or starting an apprenticeship... all the milestones that go into building your independence.   For young people who need more support or time to reach those milestones it can be a very uncertain time, and a very stressful one for their families, parents and carers.    That's where Carers Queensland's School to Adult Life Transition project comes in.     Jasmin Fawcett Clarke from our Community and Mainstream team says the project works with families of 12 to 18 year olds, to make sure they start their adult lives with the same opportunities as their peers without disability.   In this episode we also hear from Anette Novis, who attended one of the first School to Adult Life Transition events as her daughter prepares for the next chapter of her life.   Please note the transcript for this episode will be available soon.   Useful links School to Adult Life Transition on the Carers Queensland website: https://carersqld.com.au/ndis/inclusion-projects/school-to-adult-life-transition-support/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS  Register for LAC Connect: https://carersqld.com.au/lac-connect-signup/   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

It’s great when the stars align and you can turn a passion into a career.  In this episode, we meet two blokes from the sporting world who have done just that.  Josh Pople is heavily involved with his local rugby league team the Redlands Parrots. He’s done some coaching training and he’s a League Safe Officer.  Josh has cerebral palsy and uses and electric wheelchair, and he’s an active and vital part of his local team’s community.   Archie Graham is a four-times world singles tennis champion and ranked number two in Australia in men’s singles tennis for players with intellectual disability. Like Josh he then turned his attention to coaching, and now shares his love of the sport with the next generation of tennis superstars.  Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.5-Sporting-Careers-transcript.docx  QRL Diversity & Inclusion information: https://www.qrl.com.au/diversity-inclusion/  Tennis Australia Diversity & Inclusion information: https://www.tennis.com.au/play/inclusion-and-diversity  Redlands Rugby League Club: https://www.facebook.com/RedlandsJuniorRugbyLeagueClub/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz & Jodie van de Wetering Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Joe-Anne Kek-Pamenter is a graphic designer and researcher focusing on access, inclusion and employment for people with disability. Her advocacy grew out of her own experiences getting – and keeping – jobs as a person with hearing impairment.   Joe-Anne says she’s not the only person in her family with hearing loss, and when she was young she didn't consider herself to have disability at all.  But it was very different in the workplace, and after several bad experiences with unsupportive jobs she's now working on changing the way Australia supports workers with disability. These days Joe-Anne wears many hats, including roles with The Hopkins Centre's Dignity Project, Griffith University's Reimagining Disability, and the advisory board for virtual business incubator Enabled.VIP.  As a freelance graphic designer, her work includes Media Diversity Australia's Disability Reporting Handbook and the Australian Disability Clearninghouse on Education and Training's guidelines for supporting Deaf and hard of hearing students in online learning. Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.4-Designing-inclusive-employment.docx  The Dignity Project: https://www.hopkinscentre.edu.au/project/the-dignity-project-26   Reimagining Disability (Griffith University): https://www.griffith.edu.au/research/reimagining-disability-creating-inclusive-futures   Media Diversity Australia’s Disability Reporting Handbook: https://www.mediadiversityaustralia.org/disability-reporting-handbook/  ADCET Guidelines: Supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Online: https://www.adcet.edu.au/resource/10475/guidelines-supporting-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-students-online  HabITec: https://www.habitec.com.au/  Enabled.VIP: https://enabled.vip/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interview: Fiona Stutz Voice artist: Kelly Jones Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Self-employment can be a great option for people with disability.  It means you can be flexible with your time and energy, work around your access needs, and avoid the barriers people with disability sometimes face when looking for employment.  It’s a way to harness your skill and passion and share them with the world, and along the way earn some income, increase your confidence and be more independent.    But starting a business on your own is a big task.  That’s why Carers Queensland is supporting people with disability who want to become entrepreneurs through the Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Program.  In this episode we talk to three small business owners who took part in the Be Your Own Boss Marketplace in Ipswich in December to celebrate International Day of People with Disability.  Bec is shining a light on diamond painting, Sue is hooking into crochet and craft, and Bella is harnessing her equestrian achievements to canter into agistment, horse treats and rug cleaning. Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.3-Be-Your-Own-Boss-transcript.docx  Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Project: https://carersqld.com.au/ndis/inclusion-projects/be-your-own-boss/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering  

Employment isn't just money in the bank: it's a social connection, recognition for your talent and hard work, and the satisfaction of a job well done. Dr Gary Allen is the founder of Enabled.VIP, a business incubator built around the needs of aspiring entrepreneurs with disability.  He knows a thing or two about business: his research ethics consultancy has worked around the world including contracts in far flung places like Lithuania and Kazakhstan.  Dr Allen says Australia has some catching up to do when it comes to people with disability’s involvement in employment and entrepreneurship.  Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.2-Enabling-Employment-transcript.docx  Enabled.VIP: https://enabled.vip/  The Dignity Project: https://www.hopkinscentre.edu.au/project/the-dignity-project-26  Be Your Own Boss Microbusiness Project: https://carersqld.com.au/ndis/inclusion-projects/be-your-own-boss/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interview: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Here at Carers Queensland, we’re growing access and inclusion, and where better to grow things than a garden? We're working with community gardens to help them attract green thumbs with disability and make sure everybody’s welcome and has equal opportunity to get their hands dirty. In this look at our Community Gardens Conversations project, you'll hear from: Talecia Bolton, who discovered the Yarrabilba Community Garden when she was reinventing her life after acquiring disability, and is now bringing the once-abandoned plot blooming back to life Jasmin Fawcett Clarke, one of the Carers Queensland team working with gardens across southeast Queensland to improve accessibility and inclusion David and Jill from Beachmere Community Garden, a brand new garden committed to making sure inclusion is built into their organisation from the ground up Micah Lean from Moreton Bay Regional Council, which is supporting community gardens as part of their broader goals around access and inclusion Nathan Freney from Swallowtail Nursery, who works with community gardens to design accessible solutions, and is harnessing his love of horticulture to provide green experiences and paid employment for other people with disability. Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/5.1-Community-Gardens-Conversations-transcript.docx  Community Gardens Conversations:  https://carersqld.com.au/ndis/inclusion-projects/community-gardens-conversations/ Yarrabilba Community Garden on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yarrabilba-Community-Garden-105745875316822/ Vera Street Community Garden: https://verastreet.org/  Northey Street City Farm: https://www.nscf.org.au/  Beachmere Community Garden: https://beachmerecommunitygarden.com.au/ Moreton Bay Regional Council community gardens information: https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Services/Community-Support/Community-Gardens  Swallowtail Nursery: https://swallowtailnursery.com.au/  Coolum Common Community Garden Project: https://www.facebook.com/coolumcommon/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz & Jodie van de Wetering Production: Jodie van de Wetering

Choice and Control is back very soon!  In season five we're talking to people with disability working towards full inclusion in the workplace, turning their sporting passion into careers, taking their first steps in entrepreneurship, and getting their hands dirty growing change and inclusion in community gardens.  

This year we not only had the excitement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we found out that Brisbane will be the host city in 2032. It's a great opportunity to boost the profile of parasport of all kinds and at all levels, and to get new sporting facilities with the very best accessibility built in. In this episode we talk about preparations for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, and some of the opportunities and challenges along the way. We'll hear from Paralympians Bridie Keen and Ella Sabiljak, head coach of the Australian Paralympic swimming team Brendan Burkett, and Dr Iain Dutia, a parasport classifier and researcher specialising in athletes with high support needs. Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-4-6-Brisbane-2032.docx  Paralympics Australia: https://www.paralympic.org.au/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering

The key to being more inclusive is to listen.  If you’re not sure whether your venue, activity, sport or event is accessible to people with disability - ask the people directly affected, and be prepared to act on what they tell you.  We sometimes think of accessibility in terms of big-ticket items like building upgrades, but it could be as simple as an attitude change and a welcoming smile. If you’re part of a sports group and wondering whether you could be more inclusive, there are tools available to help.  Sport Australia's inclusive sport framework can help you assess your current accessibility, and plan your next steps.  In this episode we catch up with Sport Australia’s Nick Abroms to find out more about the inclusive sport framework.  We also meet Paralympian Ella Sabljak.  She’s part of Paralympic Australia’s Athlete Commission, making sure the voices of athletes with disability are front and centre of every conversation and every decision that affects them.   Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-4-5-Inclusive-Sporting-Framework.docx  Sport Australia's inclusive sport framework: https://www.sportaus.gov.au/integrity_in_sport/inclusive_sport  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz, Jodie van de Wetering Production: Jodie van de Wetering

This year we’ve heard a lot about the Olympics and the Paralympics, but while we’re talking about sport and disability we can't forget the Special Olympics.   The Special Olympics is a global movement pushing for inclusion for people with intellectual disability.  They operate at all levels from local sporting activities through to the World Games.   One of Queensland's active Special Olympians is Ruby Lawler from Gladstone.  Ruby's a competitive swimmer, on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Australia, and she’s also an Athlete Representative and Athlete Leader.   In this episode we find out about the trip that inspired Ruby's passion for competitive swimming, what her role as a Board member and Athlete Representative entails, future plans for Masters swimming, and why she's nervous about big fish nibbling on her toes! Useful links Transcript for this episode: 

We talk about how sport is good for your mental health, physical health, it’s a great way to make friends... but it’s also enormous fun, especially the rush of something like water skiing.  Chris Beckett’s family is big on water skiing, and he founded the All Abilities Water Sports Club to make sure everybody in the family, and the community, has a chance to have a go.  They're even making their own accessible sitting water skis, the only Australian manufacturer to do so. The club is based in Townsville, and recently did a trip through an area where there’s aren’t always a lot of options for people with disability: the vast inland expanse of north western Queensland.  In Mt Isa they met Danielle, who also comes from a water skiing family.  Danielle has CP, which in the past often meant sitting on the bank while the rest of the family had fun on the water.  Now the All Abilities Water Sports Club means Danielle has opportunities to tear up the lake as well! Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-4-3-All-Abilities-Water-Sports.docx  All Abilities Watersports Inc: https://www.facebook.com/UCANSKI2AAWS/ Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops:

Ever wondered what those combinations of letters and numbers they use to describe Paralympic events mean?  In today's episode we find out how the Paralympic classification works, and whether it's putting some athletes at a disadvantage. The letter indicates the type of sport.  For example there's T for track, F for field, S for swimming - well, the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke events.  Breaststroke is SB, the medley is SM.   The number reflects the nature of the athlete’s disability and how it affects their performance in their chosen sport.  It’s a way of making sure athletes are competing against others with similar challenges, so the final result doesn’t come down to their disability but their skill, training and strategy, the things professional athletes spend years refining.  Generally, the lower the number the more severe the disability.  For example S3 competitors like Scooter Patterson have physical disability affecting all four limbs.  That could mean things like quadriplegia, quadriplegic cerebral palsy or multiple limb difference.  But there are often fewer athletes in those classifications with the smaller numbers.  That means there might not be enough people, from enough different countries, to make their competition viable.  Not only do those athletes miss out on the chance to compete, but without the chance of Paralmpic gold there may be fewer resources invested for people with high support needs to participate in that sport at all. The classification system is being constantly revised and improved, to ensure it's giving athletes of all abilities the most equitable possible opportunity to compete.  And while it's a work in progress, it’s important to remember the incredible good the Paralympic movement has brought to the world: for athletes with disability, for the broader disability community to see ourselves represented and celebrated on the world stage.  And for the mainstream community to see people with disability as strong and capable, to recognise what we can do and what we can achieve.    Useful links Transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-4-2-Paralympic-Classification-transcript.docx Paralympics Australia: https://www.paralympic.org.au/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops:

Sport has so many benefits: it brings communities together, it gets you moving, it’s a way to meet new people and to push yourself to find your personal best. In a world where a lot of people spend a lot of time sitting and looking at screens, sport’s not a bad habit to get into.  So how do we make sure everybody can do that?  In this episode we’re talking about making sport inclusive for people of all abilities.  We’ll see what we can learn from AFL Queensland’s Inclusion Team off the back of their spectacular exhibition game on the Sunshine Coast.  We’ll find out about wheelchair sports club The Suncoast Spinners, including their work in reverse inclusion - getting mainstream players involved in, and enthusiastic about, disability sports like wheelchair basketball. And Dr Ian Dutia is a researcher with the University of Queensland who has a particular focus on athletes with disability.  He says there are so many benefits in getting everybody involved in sport. Useful links Download the transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-4-1-Inclusive-Sport-transcript.docx  Suncoast Spinners: https://suncoastspinners.com.au/  AFL Queensland's all-abilities programs: https://www.aflq.com.au/all-abilities/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS   Credits Interviews: Fiona Stutz Production: Jodie van de Wetering Image: AFL Queensland & Highflyer Images

Sport has something for everyone.  It's good for body and mind, and a great way to connect with other people.  We all benefit when everyone's included: the individual, the team, and the whole community. In season four of Choice and Control we're talking about access and inclusion in sport of all kinds, from kicking a footy around with your mates to the Paralympics.  What does it take to get involved and reach your sporting dreams?  And how can we make sure everybody gets that opportunity? Season four starts very soon.  In the meantime, here are some of our past sporting episodes to get your ears warmed up: The GingerCloud Foundation: https://carersqld.com.au/choice-and-control-podcast/podcast/episode-3-2-gingercloud/ Emerald-born Paralympian Amanda Fraser: https://carersqld.com.au/choice-and-control-podcast/podcast/episode-2-6-amanda-fraser/ Para Ice Hockey Queensland: https://carersqld.com.au/choice-and-control-podcast/podcast/episode-2-4-para-ice-hockey/ Wheelchair racing: https://carersqld.com.au/choice-and-control-podcast/podcast/episode-1-8-speed-racers/  Dean Clifford: https://carersqld.com.au/choice-and-control-podcast/podcast/episode-1-2-dean-clifford-building-strength/ 

Music, theatre, cabaret... there's nothing like a night out with some live entertainment.  If you're in Brisbane, the Undercover Artists Festival from September 16 to 18 is a fantastic opportunity. Not only is it fully accessible, with Auslan interpretations and audio descriptions, but every act features people with disability, and the whole festival is disability-led.  To find out what's coming up and what that means, in this episode we're talking to festival director Madeleine Little. Useful links Download the transcript for this episode: https://carersqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Choice-and-Control-3-5-Undercover-Artist-Festival-transcript.docx  The Undercover Artist Festival: https://undercoverartistfest.com/  Carers Queensland upcoming events and workshops: www.carersqld.com.au/events  Carers Queensland NDIS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS