Last week I visited a Riding for the Disabled group and witnessed the unique relationship that can develop between horse and rider. Equally special were the wonderful efforts of trainers, parents, carers and volunteers of all ages that made this whole uplifting and practical experience come together.
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What the riders at the Hills Riding for the Disabled group have achieved reflects their dedication to their craft and their animal but it is also about the existence of an Australia that can provide opportunity, inclusion and support.
The theme of the 2015 International Day of People with Disability on Thursday, December 3 is inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people with all abilities.
The day, known as i-day, highlights the significant work done by families, organisations, community groups and people with disability themselves to break down barriers to inclusion and opportunity.
Hundreds of events across Australia will recognise the significant work done by people with disability in communities, at work, in our cultural life and on the sports field.
It’s a good way to reflect on how much we have achieved and how far we have to go to create better outcomes for people with disability.
The NDIS is one of the largest social policy reforms in Australia’s history. It has received widespread community support.
The NDIS’s concept is for a whole-of-life approach to providing eligible people with individualised and flexible support they need for their circumstances.
The latest National Disability Insurance Agency’s Quarterly Report reports that satisfaction with the NDIS is high.
The NDIS’s vision of ‘an inclusive Australian society that supports by enabling people to fulfill their potential as equal citizens’ reflects the spirit of i-day and emerging already are some exciting advances in the nature of support being offered.
For instance, the government recently released our assistive technology strategy outlining the role technology will play in improving the lives of people with disability.
These technologies range from simple products to help with daily living to sophisticated artificial limbs. Also in the pipeline is a device that’s particularly extraordinary – a thought-controlled smart wheelchair.
One area where we need significant advancement is in the entrenched unemployment rates of people with disability so they can enjoy the social and economic benefits of a permanent and meaningful job.
A public consultation process is currently underway to help develop a new Disability Employment Framework. The framework will outline ways the government can improve disability employment services and support employers in creating fulfilling jobs for people with disability.
Please have your say on the discussion paper so we can better create new opportunities for long term and sustainable jobs for people with disability.
Supporting young people with a mental illness is another important focus and the government is funding trials next year to help young people with a mental illness to continue working or studying.
But the lessons of the hundreds of riding groups across Australia is that governments are only a part of the story and all Australians have a role in promoting the inclusion of people with disability. Enabling requires a whole of community effort but the deep rewards of that effort are all around us when we care to look.