Annie in wonderland

    Hey guys so this is   the start of the new year and I am going to be focusing on the YouTube and podcast a lot more but this is a topic that is very close to my heart and it goes right to the heart of disability culture and it’s support worker culture, and I know I have to be very careful about what I say but can I say that some of you need to have a refresher in ethics in support. As some of you are doing one of two things that people that doesn’t help people with a disability. Either treating them like a friend and gossiping with them, and forgetting that this is a massive breach of ethics and privacy for support workers, friends and family and depending on the client a massive risk to yourself. Or going the extreme other way and treating   a clients right to privacy as an excuse to not check in with them, and to leave them isolated and without support and favouring other clients. So we need to find the middle ground of what support they needs. I am also needing to make it cl

    Hey, guys, this is a back-to-basics post and I recently discovered that some support workers don’t know what services are out there that can help people with disabilities or have misconceptions about what some of these places can provide, this is focused on my area Toowoomba but in the comments feel free to add what you have in your are as well and feel free to add to in for your area’s and even things that I am not aware of online. As we see despite the digital divide in the disability community some sometimes people will help them access things, such as education, training, or even websites that help communication and sell things.     Also, this won’t be everything around it’s just what I am aware of and how to work with clients that are motivated as I know that some people aren’t motivated to save or to achieve their goals, and need to be pushed as well. As there would be more work in meal prepping and or for clothing might need soaking before wearing.   I am not going to list b

    So, we are on the run down for this year and I still have not monetized the Blog or YouTube, but I am working on it, and these are some of my goals/ things that I am not going to do in the new year. Fiscal ·        Not being unnecessary things so what I am not going to buy is. o      New clothing (except new under where so singlets, undies, and bras) o    Not going to by excess food, (so starting to meal prep and plan) o    Not going to by excess stationary o    Not going to by expensive cleaning products (I am going to go to the local discount store) o    I have an embarrassing number of toiletries and hygiene products, so I am going to use them up (I do not have combination skin and I am ok with finishing products as well)   I am going to try to stick to a budget and put my savings towards some day trips and possibly a holiday that I need but I know some of the medical appointments this year will be expensive as well. ·        Gifts o    I am going to start bu

   This is going to be an end-of-the-year post and it’s going to be a more in depth one, so I have one of my community access team (support organization) going on personal leave. But she is so on the ball and a true team leader in that she suggested to my mum we get my finances in order and it’s never too late or even to early if you have a disability to have your finances in order and the first step we are doing before we even need to think about doing a budget is doing something really basic, a list of things that I am no longer allowed to buy and this then shift me from the day to day goals and living to being able to have a holiday or a trip of some description, so this is going to be the start of that list   as I think most people as we are heading into Christmas are doing a combination of planning for Christmas and the new year as it makes sense when a lot of gift type items are around to by them when they are on sale and put them aside for the new year. I have a wardrobe full

The whole uniform debate in the support worker realm is like arguing over the color of deck chairs on the Titanic. Seriously, people, let's not miss the forest for the trees here. We're fussing over whether support workers should wear uniforms while completely ignoring the fact that having support at all is the real victory. Sure, some folks don't want to wear their "I have a disability" badge loud and clear. They argue against uniforms like they're fashion police. But, excuse me, uniforms aren't just about making a fashion statement. They're about accountability and easy identification. In a world where judgment is as common as a Monday morning coffee, knowing who's who can spare someone from unnecessary side-eye. Now, cue the Facebook warriors who think uniforms are the equivalent of a scarlet letter for disability. Please, spare me the melodrama. If you've got real dehumanization issues, it's not because your support worker is decked out

 So this is going to be a very basic post and it’s one that I discovered needed doing as people are not understanding the NDIS and disability Jargon. I do admit it’s a lot to get used to and to be aware that you have to learn a new language essentially and if English isn’t your first language it gets even harder.  I have done a video on this that is embedded in the blog post but, ADLs are the foundations of life, they are Activities of Daily living, the really basic stuff, being able to move around without a mobility aid, being able to dress yourself, being able to eat, grooming and toileting and showering. There is a crossover between these and life skills and some could be considered both like hygiene in the home such as cleaning, changing bed sheets being able to vacuum or mop a floor, and cooking goes with being able to eat, but they are what make up the foundations of life and you can see how we say that it’s where you are first assessed on with applying for the NDIS  as the f

    I am writing this on a Saturday, and I am getting used to the weather and changing my routine Given that I can’t drive I am reliant on others to drive me or to have workarounds such as public transport or taxis.   I am also grateful for people who will despite working long days listen to me or take me home or go walking with me as I make the effort to be a better person as I haven’t for a long time been my best self. I have been trying recently to defend my connection with others despite this being a challenge for me to connect with others. I do have a struggle with what is appropriate and what is an excuse vs what is a reason for me to need support and it’s a challenge that I didn’t realize until I started doing some background reading for this post to be aware that it’s a challenge for people, who also live with disabilities and being higher functioning to be able to accept the help.   It reduces the burden on the family as well, it’s just a question of how to use the support y

  So this is a post that I am not even sure will make it to publication but hey sorry there is not a nice way to say it, so I am going to come out and say it and this isn’t an attack as there are some amazing workers out there that do understand the assignment.  Some of you support workers need to go back to school.   A lot of support is basic common sense, don’t overcomplicate it, so some of the really basic things that you should know by the time you graduate high school are and I can’t believe that I am saying this, and some of you young ones need to get off your phone and learn about the reality of the world.   It’s not the LGBTIQ community that is the biggest minority in the world it’s actually people with disabilities and we don’t see the community celebrating our existence, we actually see them complaining about the cost blowout to the NDIS but do you know how many pages the final Royal commission report is? ( that is a whole other blog post.   But let me lay down some facts for

  We need to do better. I am writing this as an observation that in Australia we are failing people with disabilities on so many levels and this is not great at all to see and observe.  I saw on the news stream that we on a federal level have a surplus and I understand that this is a good thing but we need to be aware that people need to do better for people with disabilities.  Those of us in the disability community are waiting for the final reports from the disability royal commission and we are still counting the cost the cost is just fiscal it’s the harm that has been caused in people's lives and not only that how many people through the impact’s of not having the care they need or the encouragement they need to be better or to achieve what they are capable of, as we need to be aware that people with a disability as we have seen are at greater risk of harm from the very people supposed to protect them. We are seeing that many disability service providers don’t pass the bu

  So, I debated long and hard this post about writing due to the people involved and we are still dealing with the fallout, but I will do my best to censor myself and not throw myself under the bus. The first thing I need to say is that I am no angel and get tired of advocating for myself.   In the same organization. Most people who have disabilities that are in the higher functioning range are sick of hearing it, and sick of telling support workers what they need, or even being dictated to by agencies, But what happens when a support worker abuses their power and this happens more than you would think to the point that there is a term for it due to the prevalence, Its called being care resistant and it means that everyone when the client finally accepts care they have to do extra work to gain the clients trust due to the fact that they can’t trust the very people who are supposed to care for them. [i] I have on YouTube and on this blog written about being abused by support worke