Category Archives: Disability

‘Holding cell’: Melbourne family with disabled son stuck in ‘transitional’ housing for a decade

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Rosalie Dow asked department for modifications to home but was told the policy was to transfer dwellings – which is yet to occur

When Rosalie Dow moved into transitional housing in Melbourne with her two young children in 2013, she thought it would only be for a few months.

Dow’s son, Mayer, was two, and showing signs of what would soon be diagnosed as Coffin-Lowry syndrome, a rare and often debilitating genetic condition with complications including intellectual disability, seizures, hearing impairment, sensory and behavioural issues, and an inability to walk.

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Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study

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People with disabilities more likely to cut back on energy use and food, Resolution Foundation says

Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.

Research from the Resolution Foundation found people with disabilities had an available amount to spend that was about 44% lower than that of other working-age adults, exposing them hugely to the rising cost of essentials.

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Australian man says he was booted from Qatar Airways flight because of his disability

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Craig Nolan incident comes after disability royal commission hears airlines are ‘dehumanising’ passengers with disabilities

A man requiring a wheelchair claims he was booted from his Qatar Airways flight after boarding the plane and left stranded at Melbourne airport because of his disability.

The story of Craig Nolan, an Australian man with spina bifida whose plan to return to his home in Finland via Doha was disrupted, comes after the disability royal commission heard evidence in recent weeks that airlines are “dehumanising” Australians with disabilities, who they treat as an “afterthought”.

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‘Dream come true’: young football fan thanks Jack Grealish for goal celebration

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Finlay Fisher, who has cerebral palsy, thanks England footballer for keeping promise to celebrate goal with special dance

A young football fan with cerebral palsy said seeing Jack Grealish perform their special goal celebration was “a dream come true” – and urged the England star to do “the Finlay” each time he scores.

Grealish had promised Finlay Fisher he would perform the shoulder waggle celebration after the 12-year-old wrote to him upon learning that the player’s sister Holly also has cerebral palsy. True to his word, the Manchester City forward pulled out the dance after scoring the sixth goal in England’s 6-2 win against Iran at the World Cup in Qatar on Monday.

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‘Second-class citizen’: man lifted on to plane as Darwin airport had no ramp for wheelchair users

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Being carried across the gap between the air bridge and the plane risked his, his wife’s and airline staffs’ safety, says passenger

An Australian man has said he was made to feel like a “second-class citizen” by being lifted on to a Jetstar flight in Darwin, as disability advocates call for a complete overhaul of the way airlines treat passengers.

Brad Wszola, 50, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2016. He uses a wheelchair, but was not able to navigate the gap between the air bridge and the plane when boarding a Jetstar flight from Darwin to Cairns on 12 August.

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Disabled woman wins legal challenge against DWP over automatic benefit deduction

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High court rules DWP scheme to deduct money without consent is illegal and breaches ‘obligation of fairness’

A disabled former police officer has won a legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions over its policy of allowing utility companies to automatically deduct hundreds of pounds a year from individuals’ benefits without their consent.

Helen Timson, 51, of Leicester, argued it was unlawful and immoral that the DWP enabled water and energy firms to draw down up to 25% of a claimant’s monthly benefit income at source without undertaking any form of check with the claimant. Hundreds of thousands of claimants are understood to be subject to the deductions.

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Thousands of outstanding NDIS legal appeals to be reviewed by new taskforce, Bill Shorten says

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Former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes will lead independent body aimed at blitzing massive backlog of cases

A new independent body will review thousands of outstanding national disability insurance scheme legal appeals in an attempt to “cut the bullshit” for participants and applicants, the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, has said.

Speaking to a disability advocacy group seminar on Tuesday, Shorten said the situation was “repellent and repugnant” for people with disability, who had been forced into an “opaque” appeals process.

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Laughing all the way to the West Bank: the blind Palestinian comedian tearing down barriers

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Joke by joke, standup sensation Sherihan El Hadwa is challenging lazy stereotypes about victimhood

On a small stage in Tulkarm, a city in the north of the occupied West Bank, Sherihan El Hadwa emerges from the wings to a Palestinian pop song. Dancing and waving the long white cane she uses to navigate the world, the visually impaired comedian already has her audience laughing and clapping along to the music.

Hadwa did not have an obvious route into standup comedy, and the many difficulties of life as a disabled woman in the Palestinian territories are not a straightforwardly humorous topic.

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6m disabled people in UK to get £150 cost of living payment in September

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Government says one-off sum for those on certain benefits will be paid automatically from late next month

About 6 million disabled people across the UK will receive a £150 cost of living payment from the end of next month, the government has said.

The one-off payment, announced in May, will be paid automatically to people who receive certain disability benefits from 20 September, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.

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Passenger kept from boarding after Jetstar’s refusal to assist with wheelchair makes discrimination complaint

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Exclusive: Complaint lodged with human rights commission after man turned away at gate of Sydney airport flight

A passenger with a disability has lodged a discrimination complaint after he was turned away at the gate when trying to board a Jetstar flight in Sydney.

Tony Jones, who suffered a spinal cord injury after falling off a balcony at the age of 18 and has since relied on a wheelchair, said he had contacted the airline to organise assistance in advance of his flight to Ballina in May last year.

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‘I’m so angry’: UK model’s prosthetic leg edited out of Spain ‘beach bodies’ ad

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Sian Green-Lord says use and alteration of her image without her knowledge in government poster was ‘beyond wrong’

A British model has been left “literally shaking” with anger after Spain’s summer campaign encouraging women of all shapes and sizes to hit the beach used her image without permission and edited out her prosthetic leg.

Sian Green-Lord is the second model to complain that her picture was used without her knowledge in a body-positivity promotion called “Summer is ours too”, which was launched on Wednesday by the Women’s Institute – part of Spain’s equality ministry.

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Disabled woman fined for using disabled parking space in Wales

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Space allocated to Cardiff woman’s flat is inaccessible, so she uses one reserved for disabled visitors

A disabled woman is reportedly facing fines of more than £1,000 for using a disabled-driver car parking space outside her flat.

Cerys Gemma, who lives in Cardiff, told reporters the space allocated to her flat is inaccessible as it has a pillar on one side and another car parking space close on the other.

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Indigenous boy featured in NDIS promotional material placed in state care after funding cut

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Disability royal commission begins hearings in Alice Springs focused on NDIS for First Nations people

An Indigenous teen once featured in national disability insurance scheme promotional material was placed in state care after the agency running the NDIS cut his funding package, an inquiry has heard.

The disability royal commission on Monday began five days of hearings in Alice Springs, focused on the experience of the NDIS for First Nations people with disability in remote communities.

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Wheelchair user dragged himself up stairs ‘after rail staff refused to help’

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Chris Nicholson was left stranded on platform at Milton Keynes station in 31C heat

A wheelchair user was forced to drag himself up stairs at a railway station platform, saying staff refused to help him owing to health and safety policy.

Chris Nicholson, an athlete and spokesperson for the Myprotein sports brand, was travelling to address an event in London on Friday when the incident took place at Milton Keynes station.

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Disabled Kenyan singer goes to court over rejected presidential candidacy

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Reuben Kigame’s campaign team claims the Electoral Commission discriminated against him because he is blind

A gospel singer who wants to be Kenya’s first disabled presidential candidate has brought a case in the country’s courts after being barred from the electoral race.

Reuben Kigame, who is blind, filed against Kenya’s Electoral Commission (IEBC) last Tuesday, claiming he had been blocked from entering the 9 August election.

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Lizzo removes ‘harmful’ ableist slur from new song Grrrls after criticism

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Pop star says she ‘never want[ed] to promote derogatory language’ and re-releases song, removing offensive term for spastic diplegia

Lizzo has removed an offensive term for disabled people from her latest song after days of public criticism, saying she “never want[ed] to promote derogatory language”.

Grrrls, the latest track from the musician’s upcoming album Special, was released on Friday. In the opening verse, the pop star – who has become well-known for her lyrics championing acceptance and self-love – used a derogatory term for spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.

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Two directors of care provider charged with criminal neglect over death of Ann Marie Smith

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The 54-year-old, who had cerebral palsy, died in 2020 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment

Two directors of the care provider for Adelaide woman Ann Marie Smith have been charged with criminal neglect over her death.

Smith – who had cerebral palsy – died in hospital in April 2020 from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment.

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National Disability Insurance Agency boss resigns amid speculation over his future

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Advocates call for NDIA to be led by person with disability after Martin Hoffman steps down as chief executive

The chief executive of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Martin Hoffman, has resigned ending weeks of speculation about his future.

Hoffman, who took on the role in November 2019, was heavily criticised during the last government’s term by Labor’s then NDIS spokesman, Bill Shorten, who accused the NDIA leadership of losing the trust of the disability community.

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Tanzila Khan: disability rights campaigner tells young women ‘the world is yours’

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Winner of the inaugural Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment award says she saw mainstream culture did not represent her, so she created her own space

Tanzila Khan does not like people feeling too sorry for themselves – or for her.

“I don’t like sob stories or tragedies,” said Khan, who is a disability and women’s rights campaigner in Pakistan. “I’m not saying they don’t exist – we can all face adversity – but I think we need a more positive approach to solving problems. I wanted to present people with disabilities in a more positive way.

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‘I want a voice that fits me’: teenager’s quest for communication aid with Walsall accent

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Daniel Challis, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is auditioning people to provide his new voice

Daniel Challis was born and brought up near Walsall, surrounded by family members with distinctive regional accents.

Yet the communication aid he uses to speak with sounds nothing like them, instead vocalising in a robotic version of received pronunciation. The 18-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak, is appealing for people to audition to provide his new voice – providing they have the right accent.

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