From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host Sam Colley.

From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host Sam Colley.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

If the deaf blind person is only getting half the message, they're going to have all of these problems, they're going to have misunderstandings, and they're neither going to be taken seriously nor understand important information that's being communicated to them. So I think it's really important to build this recognition that, hey, you know, deaf blind people have their own ways of signing, and if you do it correctly, suddenly they understand things and they can do things that otherwise are just, you know, not happening. Well.

If the deaf blind person is only getting half the message, they're going to have all of these problems, they're going to have misunderstandings, and they're neither going to be taken seriously nor understand important information that's being communicated to them. So I think it's really important to build this recognition that, hey, you know, deaf blind people have their own ways of signing, and if you do it correctly, suddenly they understand things and they can do things that otherwise are just, you know, not happening. Well.

Welcome to the program. This week we're speaking with senior lecturer of linguistics at Monash University, Louisa Willoughby, who's catching up with me to talk all about tactile Auslan and a short course that Monash will be running later this year to upskill practitioners of Auslan in Australia to better serve the needs of the deafblind community. That interview is coming up very shortly, so make sure to stick around to hear more from Louisa. And then after my chat with Louisa, we hear from Powered Media's Emma myers, who spoke with Skye Kakoschke-moore, CEO of Children and Young People with disability, about what she hopes will be included in this year's federal budget. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Louisa Willoughby is a senior lecturer in linguistics at Monash University. Her work focuses on the intersecting areas of language and identity. Language policy and service provision for speakers of minority languages, particularly in health and education settings. She's here today to talk to me about tactile Auslan and a series of workshops and modules. Monash University will be running later this year as part of a short course to upskill Auslan interpreters to better service the deafblind community. Louisa, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time today.

Welcome to the program. This week we're speaking with senior lecturer of linguistics at Monash University, Louisa Willoughby, who's catching up with me to talk all about tactile Auslan and a short course that Monash will be running later this year to upskill practitioners of Auslan in Australia to better serve the needs of the deafblind community. That interview is coming up very shortly, so make sure to stick around to hear more from Louisa. And then after my chat with Louisa, we hear from Powered Media's Emma myers, who spoke with Skye Kakoschke-moore, CEO of Children and Young People with disability, about what she hopes will be included in this year's federal budget. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Louisa Willoughby is a senior lecturer in linguistics at Monash University. Her work focuses on the intersecting areas of language and identity. Language policy and service provision for speakers of minority languages, particularly in health and education settings. She's here today to talk to me about tactile Auslan and a series of workshops and modules. Monash University will be running later this year as part of a short course to upskill Auslan interpreters to better service the deafblind community. Louisa, welcome to Talking Vision. Thank you very much for your time today.

Thanks, Sam.

Thanks, Sam.

Now, today we're here to talk a little bit about tactile Auslan, as well as some accredited training that's coming up in the pipeline over the next little while. But before we get into the details around the training, let's jump in to the details around tactile Auslan itself. So could you give us a bit of an overview of how tactile Auslan works?

Now, today we're here to talk a little bit about tactile Auslan, as well as some accredited training that's coming up in the pipeline over the next little while. But before we get into the details around the training, let's jump in to the details around tactile Auslan itself. So could you give us a bit of an overview of how tactile Auslan works?

Yeah, sure. So tactile Auslan is a form of sign language used by people who are both deaf and blind, where they're putting their hands on top of the person who's signing and feeling what's being signed. But as you can imagine, that's not entirely foolproof. Sign languages like to use facial expressions a lot to tell us things, so you might furrow your brow to show that you're asking a question. Or you might have a sort of happy or a sad facial expression to show something of the emotional evaluation of what's going on. All of that stuff gets lost when you're just feeling a sign. And also sign languages like to use pointing a lot and direction a lot. So I might put someone in a signing space and then, you know, Bob is on my left and Jill is on my right. And if I'm signing that, I emailed Jill. I don't sign her name, I just sign in that direction. And this whole kind of working out, what's being pointed out is, of course, a daily challenge for anyone who's blind. And so things like this have to change when you're using a tactile form of Auslan, rather than what I'll just call visual Auslan, but is the sort of the normal deaf Auslan that people use.

Yeah, sure. So tactile Auslan is a form of sign language used by people who are both deaf and blind, where they're putting their hands on top of the person who's signing and feeling what's being signed. But as you can imagine, that's not entirely foolproof. Sign languages like to use facial expressions a lot to tell us things, so you might furrow your brow to show that you're asking a question. Or you might have a sort of happy or a sad facial expression to show something of the emotional evaluation of what's going on. All of that stuff gets lost when you're just feeling a sign. And also sign languages like to use pointing a lot and direction a lot. So I might put someone in a signing space and then, you know, Bob is on my left and Jill is on my right. And if I'm signing that, I emailed Jill. I don't sign her name, I just sign in that direction. And this whole kind of working out, what's being pointed out is, of course, a daily challenge for anyone who's blind. And so things like this have to change when you're using a tactile form of Auslan, rather than what I'll just call visual Auslan, but is the sort of the normal deaf Auslan that people use.

How have practitioners of tactile Auslan gone about bridging those gaps in the past, how much sort of success has there been in terms of adding those little pieces of information in other ways and adapting the language in that way? Has there been much success in that regard?

How have practitioners of tactile Auslan gone about bridging those gaps in the past, how much sort of success has there been in terms of adding those little pieces of information in other ways and adapting the language in that way? Has there been much success in that regard?

Look, I think it's been very ad hoc. So most people who are tactile signers started life as deaf people with at least some vision and sort of learnt the visual language and then through things like retinitis pigmentosa, have lost their sight over the years and have sort of moved to this tactile way of signing. And so for both the deafblind people and the people supporting them, it's often just been very ad hoc as a learning process of what works. So there's not a there hasn't been any official training in Australia about how to use tactile Auslan with deafblind people. What's just tended to happen is people have been either employed as support workers for deafblind people and learnt to work with them or for whatever reasons, have been an Auslan interpreter who's like, yeah, I'm going to give this a go. And then, you know, might build up a relationship working with and interpreting for a specific deafblind person and sort of coming up with some strategies over the years, but really, really ad hoc in terms of how people solve these problems.

Look, I think it's been very ad hoc. So most people who are tactile signers started life as deaf people with at least some vision and sort of learnt the visual language and then through things like retinitis pigmentosa, have lost their sight over the years and have sort of moved to this tactile way of signing. And so for both the deafblind people and the people supporting them, it's often just been very ad hoc as a learning process of what works. So there's not a there hasn't been any official training in Australia about how to use tactile Auslan with deafblind people. What's just tended to happen is people have been either employed as support workers for deafblind people and learnt to work with them or for whatever reasons, have been an Auslan interpreter who's like, yeah, I'm going to give this a go. And then, you know, might build up a relationship working with and interpreting for a specific deafblind person and sort of coming up with some strategies over the years, but really, really ad hoc in terms of how people solve these problems.

And following on from that, Louisa, I think there is a really important topic around greater awareness of tactile Auslan. So I'm interested to get your perspective around the importance of raising awareness of language like tactile Auslan and enabling people around Australia and all the world in some respects to understand a fair bit more about it.

And following on from that, Louisa, I think there is a really important topic around greater awareness of tactile Auslan. So I'm interested to get your perspective around the importance of raising awareness of language like tactile Auslan and enabling people around Australia and all the world in some respects to understand a fair bit more about it.

Yeah. And look, I think it's one of these things where awareness raising is really important to know that, yeah, it is its own skill, but also so that people realise that, oh, if I'm working with a deaf blind person and I'm not doing this stuff, or I've got an interpreter who's just an Auslan interpreter but doesn't know tactile Auslan especially well that if the deaf blind person then comes out of it a bit confused or says the wrong thing or things like that, you know, we so often judge people as just, oh, this person's a bit slow, they're a bit stupid, they're not very competent. All of these things because we assume that the communication has been flawless. But of course, if the deaf blind person is only getting half the message, they're going to have all of these problems, they're going to have misunderstandings, and they're neither going to be taken seriously nor understand important information that's being communicated to them. So I think it's really important to build this recognition that, hey, you know, deaf, blind people have their own ways of signing, and if you do it correctly, suddenly they understand things and they can do things that otherwise are just, you know, not happening.

Yeah. And look, I think it's one of these things where awareness raising is really important to know that, yeah, it is its own skill, but also so that people realise that, oh, if I'm working with a deaf blind person and I'm not doing this stuff, or I've got an interpreter who's just an Auslan interpreter but doesn't know tactile Auslan especially well that if the deaf blind person then comes out of it a bit confused or says the wrong thing or things like that, you know, we so often judge people as just, oh, this person's a bit slow, they're a bit stupid, they're not very competent. All of these things because we assume that the communication has been flawless. But of course, if the deaf blind person is only getting half the message, they're going to have all of these problems, they're going to have misunderstandings, and they're neither going to be taken seriously nor understand important information that's being communicated to them. So I think it's really important to build this recognition that, hey, you know, deaf, blind people have their own ways of signing, and if you do it correctly, suddenly they understand things and they can do things that otherwise are just, you know, not happening.

Well, people listening out there may be thinking now and then, you know, I would really like to know a bit more about Auslan. And then the jump on top of that, getting into tactile Auslan, what would you say is the biggest jump from people who have perhaps learned a spoken language as a second or third language, and then that jump between the spoken language to the sign language, like Auslan and then tactile Auslan on top of that. What are the biggest things for people to be aware of as they jump in to, you know, learn the language and interpret for people out there in the deafblind community?

Well, people listening out there may be thinking now and then, you know, I would really like to know a bit more about Auslan. And then the jump on top of that, getting into tactile Auslan, what would you say is the biggest jump from people who have perhaps learned a spoken language as a second or third language, and then that jump between the spoken language to the sign language, like Auslan and then tactile Auslan on top of that. What are the biggest things for people to be aware of as they jump in to, you know, learn the language and interpret for people out there in the deafblind community?

Look, I think one of the things that comes up a lot with sign languages is that people, for some reason, tend to think that sign languages aren't real languages in the same way that spoken languages are. So there are lots of surveys that have been done with people who are studying sign languages at university where, you know, the majority of students will say something like, oh, yeah, you know, sign languages are really just sort of English on the hands or something like that, where, you know, of course they're totally not. They have their own grammar, they have their own word order, they have all their own different ways of doing things. And there are yeah, there are words in English that might have 2 or 3 different signs that are the same thing, depending on exactly what the meaning of the word is. And there are, of course, other words in English where you might have 2 or 3 words in English that are just the one Auslan sign. So often it's this whole getting over this mindset that no, they are actually real languages, but then also to getting into the fact that you have to pay attention to a whole new range of articulators. So yeah, we're used to listening carefully to words and working out that, you know, P and B are different, you know, different sounds or, you know, sounds are different sounds, but we're not used to necessarily paying attention that someone's got their finger extended, their index finger extended like they're pointing, and now they've just hooked that finger a little. And that that difference between a straight out point and a hooked point might be meaningful. And we're also not necessarily used to showing grammatical markers on our faces. So as sighted people will often have expressions of surprise or happiness or something like that. But we're not used to this idea that we might always sort of furrow our brow for a question, or always smile when we say the word happy, or when we sign the word happy. So those sorts of things are an adjustment. And then for the deafblind side of things, I think people who are both sighted and hearing often have this real sort of adjustment of just what do I need to be doing to make my signing clear? So if someone's trying to feel what I'm signing, how I need to change all of that to suddenly be a lot clearer when it's perfectly clear visually. And what do I need to include? So just like with audio description for blind people, for deaf blind people, they sort of need a sense of who's in the room, what's going on in the room? Are there people asking them with hands up, asking questions, all of that kind of stuff? And so just remembering to include that is important and challenging for many people.

Look, I think one of the things that comes up a lot with sign languages is that people, for some reason, tend to think that sign languages aren't real languages in the same way that spoken languages are. So there are lots of surveys that have been done with people who are studying sign languages at university where, you know, the majority of students will say something like, oh, yeah, you know, sign languages are really just sort of English on the hands or something like that, where, you know, of course they're totally not. They have their own grammar, they have their own word order, they have all their own different ways of doing things. And there are yeah, there are words in English that might have 2 or 3 different signs that are the same thing, depending on exactly what the meaning of the word is. And there are, of course, other words in English where you might have 2 or 3 words in English that are just the one Auslan sign. So often it's this whole getting over this mindset that no, they are actually real languages, but then also to getting into the fact that you have to pay attention to a whole new range of articulators. So yeah, we're used to listening carefully to words and working out that, you know, P and B are different, you know, different sounds or, you know, sounds are different sounds, but we're not used to necessarily paying attention that someone's got their finger extended, their index finger extended like they're pointing, and now they've just hooked that finger a little. And that that difference between a straight out point and a hooked point might be meaningful. And we're also not necessarily used to showing grammatical markers on our faces. So as sighted people will often have expressions of surprise or happiness or something like that. But we're not used to this idea that we might always sort of furrow our brow for a question, or always smile when we say the word happy, or when we sign the word happy. So those sorts of things are an adjustment. And then for the deafblind side of things, I think people who are both sighted and hearing often have this real sort of adjustment of just what do I need to be doing to make my signing clear? So if someone's trying to feel what I'm signing, how I need to change all of that to suddenly be a lot clearer when it's perfectly clear visually. And what do I need to include? So just like with audio description for blind people, for deaf blind people, they sort of need a sense of who's in the room, what's going on in the room? Are there people asking them with hands up, asking questions, all of that kind of stuff? And so just remembering to include that is important and challenging for many people.

In amongst that is the need for an increased number of tactile Auslan interpreters to provide such a service like this and be able to enable people who are from the deaf blind community to communicate more openly with more people and have that bridge between conversation partners when they're trying to communicate important information to one another. So let's talk a bit about that need for an increased number of interpreters.

In amongst that is the need for an increased number of tactile Auslan interpreters to provide such a service like this and be able to enable people who are from the deaf blind community to communicate more openly with more people and have that bridge between conversation partners when they're trying to communicate important information to one another. So let's talk a bit about that need for an increased number of interpreters.

Absolutely. And so at the moment, if you want an in-person interpreter or you normally need, of course, two interpreters because they'll swap every ten minutes or so, it's important with tactile signing, people need to swap very regularly because the pressure of sort of having someone's hands on your hands while you're signing, even if they're sort of super light and super gentle, can cause shoulder injuries if you do it for too long at a time. So to get two tactile Auslan interpreters at an event in person, we're often booking two months in advance at the moment, Whereas I can rock up and say, hey, I want a sign language interpreter online and I can normally get one tomorrow. So yeah, it's a really big skill shortage and shortage of people who can and will do this work at the moment. So very important and as you say, really important for inclusion as well because, you know, deaf blind people are doubly isolated. You know, blind people can access telephones and always have been able to and have radio and various ways of connecting with each other. And Braille deaf people have these days, video phones. Deaf blind people have often had a school experience that hasn't left them with wonderful literacy. They've often become blind late in life as well. So a number of them are not really fluent Braille readers. They can't use a video phone to sign with people. They can't use a normal phone to call with people, so they're just at huge risk of being really socially isolated.

Absolutely. And so at the moment, if you want an in-person interpreter or you normally need, of course, two interpreters because they'll swap every ten minutes or so, it's important with tactile signing, people need to swap very regularly because the pressure of sort of having someone's hands on your hands while you're signing, even if they're sort of super light and super gentle, can cause shoulder injuries if you do it for too long at a time. So to get two tactile Auslan interpreters at an event in person, we're often booking two months in advance at the moment, Whereas I can rock up and say, hey, I want a sign language interpreter online and I can normally get one tomorrow. So yeah, it's a really big skill shortage and shortage of people who can and will do this work at the moment. So very important and as you say, really important for inclusion as well because, you know, deaf blind people are doubly isolated. You know, blind people can access telephones and always have been able to and have radio and various ways of connecting with each other. And Braille deaf people have these days, video phones. Deaf blind people have often had a school experience that hasn't left them with wonderful literacy. They've often become blind late in life as well. So a number of them are not really fluent Braille readers. They can't use a video phone to sign with people. They can't use a normal phone to call with people, so they're just at huge risk of being really socially isolated.

And this is where the accredited training comes in to boost the numbers of tactile Auslan interpreters around Australia. So let's get a bit of an overview of the accredited training for people out there.

And this is where the accredited training comes in to boost the numbers of tactile Auslan interpreters around Australia. So let's get a bit of an overview of the accredited training for people out there.

Yeah. So this is something that's very very new to Australia. And that doesn't happen in a lot of parts of the world either. So I think, you know, Norway and Sweden are two of the only places currently where people are really being routinely trained as deafblind interpreters. But what we're planning on doing is we have a four part module for the training. The first part is stuff that a lot of people will have already done and we'll be able to get prior learning for. And that's around some of these basic introduction to deafblindness units or courses that are offered. So for example, Deafblind Victoria at the moment offer a kind of introduction to Deafblindness day. So for people who haven't already done that, we'll have some pathways for them. But many of the people coming into the course will have that basic knowledge about Deafblindness. Then they'll come to us for a two day weekend workshop of hands on training, of course, quite literally hands on, where we're working through some of these strategies and, you know, with a focus on tactile Auslan, but also looking at other ways that deafblind people sign. So for folk with Usher's syndrome, they'll often use what's sometimes called restricted visual frame signing or close signing. So where what, you're really trying to hold the hands in a very tight envelope where they can still see them. And so overview of the techniques to use with all of this. Then people go out into the world for a month or two. They do some jobs working as deafblind interpreters and reflect on those. They do some readings with us and some ethics based training about some of the ethical issues in working with deafblind. And then they come back to us for a final weekend training, where we debrief around some of the stuff they've been doing, problem solve, and talk a little bit more about some of the working as a team of tactile interpreters.

Yeah. So this is something that's very very new to Australia. And that doesn't happen in a lot of parts of the world either. So I think, you know, Norway and Sweden are two of the only places currently where people are really being routinely trained as deafblind interpreters. But what we're planning on doing is we have a four part module for the training. The first part is stuff that a lot of people will have already done and we'll be able to get prior learning for. And that's around some of these basic introduction to deafblindness units or courses that are offered. So for example, Deafblind Victoria at the moment offer a kind of introduction to Deafblindness day. So for people who haven't already done that, we'll have some pathways for them. But many of the people coming into the course will have that basic knowledge about Deafblindness. Then they'll come to us for a two day weekend workshop of hands on training, of course, quite literally hands on, where we're working through some of these strategies and, you know, with a focus on tactile Auslan, but also looking at other ways that deafblind people sign. So for folk with Usher's syndrome, they'll often use what's sometimes called restricted visual frame signing or close signing. So where what, you're really trying to hold the hands in a very tight envelope where they can still see them. And so overview of the techniques to use with all of this. Then people go out into the world for a month or two. They do some jobs working as deafblind interpreters and reflect on those. They do some readings with us and some ethics based training about some of the ethical issues in working with deafblind. And then they come back to us for a final weekend training, where we debrief around some of the stuff they've been doing, problem solve, and talk a little bit more about some of the working as a team of tactile interpreters.

Let's go into the details of how and where and when the training sessions will be delivered. If you have that information. Yet, I understand it's still in some ways in the pipeline, and you might not have all the details at hand as we speak, but how can people keep in touch? To find out more about the sessions, if they'd like to take part and skill up in such an important area?

Let's go into the details of how and where and when the training sessions will be delivered. If you have that information. Yet, I understand it's still in some ways in the pipeline, and you might not have all the details at hand as we speak, but how can people keep in touch? To find out more about the sessions, if they'd like to take part and skill up in such an important area?

Yeah, excellent. So we're planning on running the weekend workshops in July and September, and they will this year just be in Melbourne. But we're talking about options to roll out better nationally in the future. So in order to come to these workshops, people do need to already hold a naati qualification as either an Auslan interpreter, a provisional Auslan interpreter, or an ATI deaf interpreter. And if people would like to be on the waiting list, or it's not so much a waiting list, but be added to the list of people who are told about the formal application process. They can do that just by emailing me. Louisa. Louisa. Dot Willoughby w I l l o u g h b y@monash.edu, and we'll make sure that you're sent all the information you need to register your interest when the time comes.

Yeah, excellent. So we're planning on running the weekend workshops in July and September, and they will this year just be in Melbourne. But we're talking about options to roll out better nationally in the future. So in order to come to these workshops, people do need to already hold a naati qualification as either an Auslan interpreter, a provisional Auslan interpreter, or an ATI deaf interpreter. And if people would like to be on the waiting list, or it's not so much a waiting list, but be added to the list of people who are told about the formal application process. They can do that just by emailing me. Louisa. Louisa. Dot Willoughby w I l l o u g h b y@monash.edu, and we'll make sure that you're sent all the information you need to register your interest when the time comes.

Perfect. I've been speaking today with Associate Professor Louisa Willoughby, Senior Lecturer at Monash University, here to chat to me today all about tactile Auslan and a short course featuring a series of modules and workshops run through Monash University on offer later this year for accredited Auslan interpreters to skill up in tactile Auslan. Louisa, thank you so much for your time today. Great to catch up with you.

Perfect. I've been speaking today with Associate Professor Louisa Willoughby, Senior Lecturer at Monash University, here to chat to me today all about tactile Auslan and a short course featuring a series of modules and workshops run through Monash University on offer later this year for accredited Auslan interpreters to skill up in tactile Auslan. Louisa, thank you so much for your time today. Great to catch up with you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to Talking Vision. On Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of Reading Radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Louisa Willoughby. If you missed any part of that conversation with Louisa or you would love to hear it again. Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply head to VA radio.org. That's VA radio all one word.org to find more episodes. You can also find Talking Vision on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library on the evening of Tuesday the 25th of March, the federal budget. The fourth of this current government will be handed down. So what will it mean for the disability community and how will it affect their day to day lives? Powered Media's Emma myers spoke with Skye Kakoschke-moore, CEO of Children and Young People with disability, about what she hopes will be included in the budget. Emma began by asking Skye to highlight what she hopes will be included in this year's budget, in terms of measures to benefit the disability community.

I'm Sam Cully and you're listening to Talking Vision. On Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of Reading Radio and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Louisa Willoughby. If you missed any part of that conversation with Louisa or you would love to hear it again. Talking vision is available on the Vision Australia Radio website. Simply head to VA radio.org. That's VA radio all one word.org to find more episodes. You can also find Talking Vision on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library on the evening of Tuesday the 25th of March, the federal budget. The fourth of this current government will be handed down. So what will it mean for the disability community and how will it affect their day to day lives? Powered Media's Emma myers spoke with Skye Kakoschke-moore, CEO of Children and Young People with disability, about what she hopes will be included in the budget. Emma began by asking Skye to highlight what she hopes will be included in this year's budget, in terms of measures to benefit the disability community.

It's cider. We made a pre-budget submission and very broadly speaking, the themes that we centred our submission on were investment in a truly inclusive education system for children and young people with disability, um, investment in a fair, safe and accessible NDIS system, as well as foundational supports and all supports really inside and outside of the NDIS. We're also calling on the government to address the unemployment and underemployment of young people with disability, as this is really closely linked to the significant cost of living pressures that many in the country are experiencing right now. And finally, we've called for an increase in investment in individual advocacy services, specifically for children and young people with disability. We know that with all of the changes that are happening to the NDIS, and the fact that foundational supports are still a concept and not yet a reality, there's likely to be an increase in children and young people who aren't receiving or can't access the support they need. So the demand on in the demand on individual advocacy is only going to grow.

It's cider. We made a pre-budget submission and very broadly speaking, the themes that we centred our submission on were investment in a truly inclusive education system for children and young people with disability, um, investment in a fair, safe and accessible NDIS system, as well as foundational supports and all supports really inside and outside of the NDIS. We're also calling on the government to address the unemployment and underemployment of young people with disability, as this is really closely linked to the significant cost of living pressures that many in the country are experiencing right now. And finally, we've called for an increase in investment in individual advocacy services, specifically for children and young people with disability. We know that with all of the changes that are happening to the NDIS, and the fact that foundational supports are still a concept and not yet a reality, there's likely to be an increase in children and young people who aren't receiving or can't access the support they need. So the demand on in the demand on individual advocacy is only going to grow.

And what would you like to see in the realm of foundation or support?

And what would you like to see in the realm of foundation or support?

From my conversations with children and young people and their families, we've heard about the importance of peer networks as a form of connection, as a form of sharing information, but also as a way that self-advocacy skills are often built. Um, these peer networks, traditionally, um, some have received funding from the federal government, some may pop up quite informally, and we've had some discussions with the community about some of those initiatives that might be operating now, but don't receive any or receive very little government funding. And so when we made our submission about foundational supports, we recommended the government implement what we called a grassroots connector funding model, which would enable the government to fund larger organizations that meet the legal requirements that have the board set up that understand how to manage risk funds. Those organizations who will then pass on smaller amounts of funding to those initiatives that have been initiated by the local community. So they're really driven by local demand. So it might be, you know, a drop in, um, type center arrangement, or it might be a peer network or it might be, um, a website or a social media group that's really taken off. Those organizations, um, or the people running them often can't apply for government funding on their own because they don't have those things, like a proper board set up and risk management frameworks in place. So we think that this grassroots connector model would be a way that the government could fund those locally driven initiatives in a way that's supported by larger organizations who can help with things like compliance and reporting.

From my conversations with children and young people and their families, we've heard about the importance of peer networks as a form of connection, as a form of sharing information, but also as a way that self-advocacy skills are often built. Um, these peer networks, traditionally, um, some have received funding from the federal government, some may pop up quite informally, and we've had some discussions with the community about some of those initiatives that might be operating now, but don't receive any or receive very little government funding. And so when we made our submission about foundational supports, we recommended the government implement what we called a grassroots connector funding model, which would enable the government to fund larger organizations that meet the legal requirements that have the board set up that understand how to manage risk funds. Those organizations who will then pass on smaller amounts of funding to those initiatives that have been initiated by the local community. So they're really driven by local demand. So it might be, you know, a drop in, um, type center arrangement, or it might be a peer network or it might be, um, a website or a social media group that's really taken off. Those organizations, um, or the people running them often can't apply for government funding on their own because they don't have those things, like a proper board set up and risk management frameworks in place. So we think that this grassroots connector model would be a way that the government could fund those locally driven initiatives in a way that's supported by larger organizations who can help with things like compliance and reporting.

And so what are you hoping to see on budget night?

And so what are you hoping to see on budget night?

I like to think of myself as a bit of an eternal optimist. And so if I put my hope that on, what I'm hoping to see is recognition from the government that the NDA is here to stay, that we're going to have a national disability Insurance scheme that is funded in order to meet the support needs of children and young people with disability. Um, I'm really hoping to see some stronger signals from the government about how much Commonwealth funding is going to be delivered to support foundational supports, and potentially even some more detail about what those sorts of supports or services will be funded through foundational supports. That's still a big question mark at the moment. Um, I would love to see some funding in there, um, towards more inclusion in schools. So this could look like, um, an increased funding from the Commonwealth to do something like a national roadmap for inclusive education, which was one of the recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission. Um, and one other thing that site has called for is the establishment of a national oversight body that would ensure that education providers at all levels are meeting their inclusion obligations to students. Um, it would also be great to see, um, increased funding for individual advocacy. As I said earlier, we're just seeing that there's a huge amount of unmet demand currently. And that's going that's going to grow. Um, we would also love to see an increase to the rate of the disability support pension. Like, I know from our conversations with young people and also talking to organisations that do individual advocacy with young people, um, getting access to the DSP is a huge issue. Um, so at least seeing the rate of that increase would, would be a step in the right direction.

I like to think of myself as a bit of an eternal optimist. And so if I put my hope that on, what I'm hoping to see is recognition from the government that the NDA is here to stay, that we're going to have a national disability Insurance scheme that is funded in order to meet the support needs of children and young people with disability. Um, I'm really hoping to see some stronger signals from the government about how much Commonwealth funding is going to be delivered to support foundational supports, and potentially even some more detail about what those sorts of supports or services will be funded through foundational supports. That's still a big question mark at the moment. Um, I would love to see some funding in there, um, towards more inclusion in schools. So this could look like, um, an increased funding from the Commonwealth to do something like a national roadmap for inclusive education, which was one of the recommendations from the Disability Royal Commission. Um, and one other thing that site has called for is the establishment of a national oversight body that would ensure that education providers at all levels are meeting their inclusion obligations to students. Um, it would also be great to see, um, increased funding for individual advocacy. As I said earlier, we're just seeing that there's a huge amount of unmet demand currently. And that's going that's going to grow. Um, we would also love to see an increase to the rate of the disability support pension. Like, I know from our conversations with young people and also talking to organisations that do individual advocacy with young people, um, getting access to the DSP is a huge issue. Um, so at least seeing the rate of that increase would, would be a step in the right direction.

And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Coley saying bye for now.

And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Coley saying bye for now.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 486 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 486 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.