For most of us, living a life without our online social networks is not comprehensible. After all, you are currently reading this blog post online, the comments are interactive, this post is being shared and promoted across multiple platforms and is likely to prompt responses and reactions that will spark thought and feedback.
Like other Australians, people with disability are seeking further education and training in order to pursue employment opportunities and prosperous career paths. Post-secondary education is increasingly becoming an option for students with intellectual disability, and progressively, effective post-secondary education providers are running classes that are personalised, small, and focused on individual learning.
We know that people with disability are more likely than other members of the community to have life experiences that bring them in to contact with the law. They are more likely to be involved in criminal activity or be victims of crime. For example it is widely accepted that women with intellectual disability are more vulnerable to sexual assault. One research study found that people with intellectual disability were 3 times more likely to be victims of physical assault, sexual assault or robbery. People with intellectual disability are also more likely to experience discrimination and face barriers to accessing their rights and entitlements through the legal system. This is the case across all areas of life including family and relationships, housing, and money matters.
The inclusion into community experienced by people with disability often takes years to develop, and although this inclusion can be fragile, it has the power to provide life meaning and security. The Australian Government’s 2009 ‘Shut Out Report’ argues that for people with a disability, it should not require such extraordinary effort to live an ordinary life.
One of the true markers of an inclusive society is economic participation, especially through contribution in the workforce. In Australia, while 83% of people without a disability participate in the workforce, the same is not true for those with a disability. Far from being affirmed as valuable contributors to the workforce and the economy, Australians with a disability have long been seen as passive receivers of financial support and services.
In 2009, the Australian Government’s ‘Shut Out’ report clearly stated that people with disabilities are among our nation’s forgotten people. The common perception is that disability is someone else’s problem, someone else’s story. Yet, the statistics alone show that if we were living in an inclusive society, disability would be part of all of our stories, with 15% or 1 in 7 of the Australian population aged 15-64 years having a physical, sensory or cognitive disability.
