Monday, 16 February 2015

Advocate, Participate, Include Me


In yesterday Sunday Age, there is an article about Michael Sullivan who presented at the recent Having a Say conference run by VALID in Geelong.

Michael proposed the NDIS or National Disability Insurance Scheme should be renamed the National Disability Investment Scheme.  So powerful is the new name Michael gave for the NDIS, that it become its unofficial name during the conference. Colleen Pearce, the Victorian Public Advocate embraced it, as did others.

So what is in a name?

A lot!

It is about expectations, and ownership and perceptions.

Invest in me.... see what is possible. People, who live with a disability, want to be part of their community, not living around its edges.
 
How does the person you support participate, and make decisions? Does everyone understand how the person communicates?

Can this be improved?

It is important that a person's communication system is valued.  When was the last time the person you support had their communication assessed? Are there other ways everyone could be communicating with the person you support?

 Ask for an assessment and review of the person’s communication. Put it in their plan, and then follow this up with an appropriate Speech Pathology assessment and intervention plan.

Cathy


Cathy Basterfield
Speech Pathologist
Access Easy English
0466 579 855 

No comments:

Post a Comment