Stop The Abuse Of People With Disabilities

At last I have completed my studies to be a professional disability support worker. It has been an amazing journey and my teachers were excellent in their teaching abilities, passing on years of disability support workers experience.

One of the topics we learned about was deinstitutionalisation. The closing down of mental institutions that supposedly cared for people with mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities, ABI (acquired brain injury) etc.

The community in general felt it was better to have people with disabilities put into institutions so that they can be taken care of and put out of harms way. But whose harm were they thinking of. They weren't thinking about a persons dignity to be treated like a human being. They were thinking about the community in general of so called normal people. But what exactly is normal?

Advocacy For The Rights Of People With Disabilities

This blog site Voice For Disability attempts to be an advocate or a representative for people with disabilities.

What Is Advocacy?
The word advocacy is a term used in reference to someone standing up and speaking for the rights, needs and opinions of others.

Excuses Why You Can't Do Anything

Life is a real challenge when you have so many things to do in a day. What makes it worse is when you hear those negative voices ringing in our head, making excuses why you can't do things or get motivated.

What would you think if you heard someone speaking out loud those exact negative words that rattle around in your head making up excuses why:

• you can't get out of bed
• you can't go to school - YAY!!!   
• you can't go to work
• you can't go for a walk
• you can't do this
• you can't do that
• blah! blah! blah! blah!!!

You know what I'm talking about.

How can you get motivated just to get out of bed and do just the simple things that need to be done in your day?

Is Euthanasia Or Suicide An Option For Disabilities?

I recently saw a current affairs program on television about a woman who had Cerebral Palsy. She was fed up with her disability, so much so, that she wanted to follow the path of euthanasia and end her life of suffering.

In case you don't know what Euthanasia is, it comes from the Greek word 'Good Death'.  The Wikipedia on Euthanasia defines it as 'the practice of ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering'.

I was shocked that this woman who was able to talk fluently about her choices, had resigned to take an easy way out. Now that may sound harsh and judgemental on my part. But hearing this story reminded me of the time I also wanted to give up on my life because of:

• extreme pain I was suffering;
• the side effects of strong medication I was taking;
• the emotional pain and suffering my family was going through because of my disability;
• doctors saying I could end up in a wheelchair.

This woman's story has compelled me to write about my story, causing me to reflect on what I was going through at that time and how I just wanted to end it all. I'm so glad now, that I didn't end my life, whether it be termed euthanasia or suicide.

When Is A Disability Not A Disability

When you hear the term disability you may think of people who are unable to do activities or assimilate in society. A disability can be physical, intellectual, mental, visual and hearing impairments.

Disability is a negative word which focuses on the limitations of what a disabled person can't do.

This may lead to a negative perception of disabled people within the community due to misinformation. Unfortunately some people in the community may view disabled people as a burden on society and its economies.

The term disability, can also have a negative impact on a disabled person, where he/she may feel unwanted, dejected and may focus more on what they can't do, rather than what they can do.

This opens a discussion to the question When is a disability not a disability?

The purpose of David's Story - Documentary Video Production

This is a video that I am attempting to produce with fellow Canberra Institute of Technology students, studying Certificate III in Disability. The objective is to tell the struggles of people with disabilities.