Posts tagged Disability

For Indigenous people – Is the NDIS lost in translation?

0 Comments read Disability, Indigenous, NDIS
Joseph Archibald, Manager Aboriginal Service Development at Windaan, which services the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Birpai Nations that covers the mid-north coast of NSW. Photo Credit: ©Windaan

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 07.07.2022 (Hireup News): For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability, there are multiple obstacles when trying to access the right NDIS supports. That’s according to Joseph Archibald, Manager Aboriginal Service Development at Windaan, who says a lack of trust and understanding of the scheme, along with the scarcity of culturally appropriate services, are the main barriers.

“For example, a family has had three members on NDIS plans for the past three years, but they haven’t utilised a single dollar from any of the plans. They don’t have a trusted relationship with any of the services within the community, where they live, so they don’t reach out to them,” says Archibald. “When they have reached out to services, the conversation isn’t translated or articulated in a way they can relate to, so no progress is made.”

Windaan services the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Birpai Nations that covers the mid-north coast of NSW, providing services in remote, regional and interstate locations.

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Challenges providers face in delivering disability supports to remote Indigenous communities

0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science, Indigenous, NDIS
William Tatipata, co-founder and owner of XtremeCARE Australia, with Charlie Kris, an NDIS participant, on Thursday Island in Torres Strait. Photo Credit: © XtremeCARE Australia

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 27.05.22 (HireUp): Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are twice as likely to experience disability, and more likely to experience increased barriers to accessing disability supports compared to non-indigenous Australians. In this first of the three articles, Indigenous service providers share the many challenges they face in delivering disability services and supports to their communities in remote, regional and rural areas.

“Many people in rural and remote Indigenous communities still do not know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and its role and functions in disability care,” says William Tatipata, Managing Director of Xtremecare Australia, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability service. “We begin with making them aware of the scheme [how to apply and obtain a disability assessment] and then educating them on the supports and services the scheme offers.”

Tatipata says, “Our people are confused around what services and supports are covered by ‘health’ and what falls under the NDIS. If a diabetic person requires a new diabetes monitor, for example, it is covered by ‘health’. But if the participant’s motor skills are impaired, the NDIS will fund the monitor following a functionality assessment by an occupational therapist.”

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Include assistive aids in universal health care: UN report

0 Comments read Disability, Health & Science
Almah Kuambu and a prospective assistive technology user during a National Orthotic and Prosthetic Services outreach programme in Popondetta in southern Papua New Guinea. Copyright: National Orthotic and Prosthetic Services (PNG).

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 17.05.2022 (SciDev.Net): Almost one billion children and adults with disabilities, and older people, are unable to access the assistive technology they need, according to a UN report, which calls for more investment in these life-changing products.

Access to assistive technologies such as glasses, hearing aids, mobility or communication devices is as low as three per cent in some low-and middle-income countries, according to the report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched on 16 May.

It says more than 3.5 billion people will need one or more assistive products by 2050 due to population ageing and the increase in incidence of non-communicable diseases. At present, the figure is 2.5 billion.

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