Disability activism....

More than 20 people protested outside an early screening of the film at the Embassy Theatre in central Wellington last night, chanting "assistance to live, not assistance to die" and "tell sad stories about your own lives".

Protest organiser Esther Woodbury said negative attitudes towards people with…

He is a representative with (Lived Experience of Disability) on the Reference Group and he speaks about the genesis of the current strategy.

The strategy had 15 objectives, spanning all the usual areas of one's life…

voila!

"All New Zealanders
live well
stay well
get well"

(or else!)

It has succeeded in enriching the same folk as their local sponsors and chums, so yes. Now what's the 'opposition' going to do about it?

Yep. Can't connect to the MoH site from home lately (strange glitch) to download the Strategy to read for myself, but the way he describes it seems perfectly consistent with the direction of travel since 2008. Won't end well.

Don Matheson's paper "The NZ Health Strategy: refreshed or eviscerated?", evaluating the new Health Strategy, is well worth a read...hopefully available here.

A former America’s Cup official has taken a top job at the Health Ministry as it continues with a major restructure.

and….

Stephen O’Keefe, a former general manager of KiwiRail, will be the new chief financial officer.

The Miserly have their Strategy to implement and…

And then people…

Listen here.

Peter and I listened closely, and we were both struck by the parallels between the shitty, shonky services…

T'would appear that Our Friends at the Miserly felt the time is right to remind all those people with disabilities who are utilising Hosted Schemes ( Individualised Funding, Enhanced IF and Enabling Good…

And (I appear to have bent the PA word limit for a single comment) it would appear that IHC did just that…

Time, perhaps, to go back to first principals?

[13] In addition the Ministry relied on other matters to support the policy not to fund employment of family members, including:
[a] Funding the employment of spouses, parents and resident…

Australia Citizen's Jury enquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scam run by People With Disabilities Australia. At its best the NDIS could get close to the ACC model, but in practice it seems to have all the paperwork but none of the funding. The report is interesting to read,…

She's thorough and accurate, it is a good job.

I don't understand why the system appears to allow the Crown to bring in irrelevant material, such as its fear that a case will open floodgates. Surely cases should be looking primarily at the…

More great work by Kirsty Johnston too. Following and untangling and explaining the complex world of disability and care.

the ways that Ms Spencer's case differed from the original Atkinson decision, saying that claim had been about Disability Support Services while Ms Spencer's was more about residential care.
...

The Crown also made mention of "natural support", an argument it ran in the Atkinson case…

It's hard to come away from that without the sense that there's at least one organised clobbering machine infesting the Guardian's comments these days. One commenter, GreenExerciseAddict, raised the disturbing memory of Shahraz…

Yeah, well, they are rather expensive to keep and wouldn't you rather have a TAX CUT?
Its fiscal strategy, said Mr Key this week, "is to keep a tight rein on spending, focus on results from public services,…

Hmmm...he could be standing in line to throw squeaky toys at the Prime Minister but that would probably not be grounds to deny residence. (unless of course he actually threw one and hit the mark:-))

Having…

Not just disabled but also... Beneficiaries, the homeless, the poor, the disenfranchised, protesters, in fact all that disagree with them.
This is similar to so many cases where the government, through interference, uses the public service to do their dirty work and claim…

Agreed
This government hates a lot of people.

And that's exactly it.

It's not about the cost to the nation to provide supports to these less than perfect wannabe New Zealanders. If it were, then I can come up with about $50 million that the government has budgeted for disability…

Another we don't like your kind around here story.

An award-winning Auckland University mathematics professor will leave the country after his residency application was rejected because of his stepson's autism.

Once I saw that Immigration New Zealand had decided it is above the UN convention of human rights,…

Juliana was one of the few people who approached Peter and I as we held our wee protest against deaths of disabled people through neglect by providers at the 2014 Health and Disability Conference.

We were pretty much shunned…

With mental health issues now firmly under the heading of 'disability' I guess this...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/75161125/governments-dogged-determination-to-deny-mental-health-problem-in-canterbury

...should be here.

The Misery of Health strikes again with its determination that there are no significant mental health issues arising from the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes.

Despite

Canterbury police…

...to a new way of reporting on disability issues. In the New Year we'll be mainstreaming our disability coverage, to bring stories to a wider audience across both our radio and digital platforms. You'll see more of our disability stories here and hear them on…

Yes...if Angela and her Twin meet the very strict criteria...

The Reference Group will be made up of approximately 10 – 12 members including representatives from government agencies and Disabled People’s Organisations.

The members of the Reference Group will collectively bring…

The view from outside of these departments and advisory groups seems to show a system which sidelines those with expertise and passion; when they are involved…

And why not?

Just got off the phone from the Office for Disability Issues asking why the latest incarnation of the Disability Action Plan contains no reference to Funded Family Care or the Part 4 amendment to the Public Health and Disability…

and that is worth a million times more than any award handed out amidst glitz and glamour...

Funny how that goes....

(Alex's story mirrors the one of friends of mine....only their story began nearly fifty years ago.)

not

http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/disability-services/contracting-disability-support-services/auditing-disability-service-providers/developmental-evaluation-disability-support-services

. There have been 30 staff dismissals since January 2015, with five more pending. Some dismissed staff have sabotaged Te Roopu,

Lapses in Health and safety, infection control and general cleanliness of the…

The agency and its nearly 700 employees serve as a hub, connecting clients – who range in age from infants to senior citizens – with services they need in order to be more included in the community and live more independent lives.

It is one of 21 regional centres…

about a comment on reddit about mental illness that led to over 7000 further comments...this is treasure.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3ukp0f/serious_psychiatristspsychologists_of_reddit_what/

"Child with autism who was struggling with her difficulty making and keeping friends: "It's okay if I don't have any friends. Having friends makes you happy but it doesn't…

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/health/74568734/Disabled-people-find-public-transport-in-Wellington-and-Auckland-too-hard-to-use

There have been some very fine and able people on the case for access...including Gerry and Roger featured in this article...but the situation does not seem to improve.

I thought we had Laws?

Rights?

A Convention FFS!

Gerri Pomeroy finds using public transport in a wheelchair so stressful…

Very good point.

Has this been done?

Does anyone know if the NASCs' funding is per client, per client depending on SNL, per refferral to a Service provider, per $$$ amount of client's support package (i.e. actually accessed not just…

Rationers. If they were assessed on actual results achieved per dollar, they aren't even very good at that.

They appear to keep notes on the call they make to you...but not the calls you make…

It is. Very difficult. And yet this information is one of the three core tasks of the NASCS (1 Assess 2 co-ordinate 3 budget).…

(This too needs it's own post, but I haven't the time at the moment...so here goes...)

Disabled people living in their own homes who have been able to have a family member as their paid caregiver (including spouses) are being…

There have been a few Journal articles born in our family. I have a fairly good understanding of the attention required to produce such a piece...and the timing is exquisite. Well done both of you.

If Giovanni was…

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11546668

"Does autism make me bad?" ....seven year old.

No you didn't!

The set of perverse incentives we
have described emanates from a system
that is almost pathologically obsessed
with costly verification, placing little or
no trust in educators and families. Under
this regime, it is not probative to say that
our levels of expenditure are…

I don't do twitter...but the tweets following the scan read like "Yes, Prime Minister"...my bedtime reading this week.

Good work Kirsty!

RNZ Checkpoint item here.

Many…

Middlemore still provides a dental service, either free or low cost depending on whether you go through their referral system or not

Yay!!!

Peter on the Super now, after over a decade of Invalids Benefit and SLP. With me attached as his spousal carer.

And you're right...it works…

which I suppose are legitimately trying to encourage people to save more, but which completely overlook those permanently seriously disabled and unable to work people who subsist, often…

http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/20151107

well worth a listen.

Kim Hill at her very best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Zxy3Z2i34

All is well in NZ is what I hear every day in the media, cleansed of certain known critics, and disability and so are swept under the carpet, when it comes to discussion and challenges of the…

Of course it cannot be compared with what happened in Germany in the past, but nevertheless, some slight resemblance to trends may show:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeit_macht_frei

http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/GP%20CME/Friday/C1%201515%20Bratt-Hawker.pdf

Dr Bratt must be one of the best paid propagandists for government, we have now…

https://www.teawamutu.nz/courier/archive/2015/2015-11-03.pdf

"Volunteers rally for Tokanui forgotten."

The stigma of mental illness left 450 Tokanui dead in unmarked graves in an unofficial cemetery, that in modern times became part of an Agresearch farm.

This was in today's Courier...that link is to a big…

Obfuscation. Cloud with issue with insufficient and arbitrary data and They can make all manner of wild and inaccurate claims and costings and declare...

"Eek! Shriek! Funding these supports will bankrupt…

We must be a fearsomely scary lot since this decision making group has been so heavily weighted to counter-balance our 3? representative voices. Sam of CCS is good value, I don't know the others.…

I'm really struggling with the whole stunting of the growth thing. I can speak with some authority on this particular issue. I agree...it can be difficult or even impossible to go some places, do some activities...and heaven knows…

Though that third party is likely to be an integral part of that person's life support arrangements. I'd really rather have a court or ethics committee untangle all that. Fundamentally, much stronger support for all disabled people and families is…

It is non…

Yes. How brave of them. From p5 of their October meeting notes:

The decision to run one post-censual survey after each census and for Te…

We were talking about this as we drove up to Auckland today so himself could have yet another invasive procedure to ensure his non functioning bladder drains.

We were talking specifically about babies with spina bifida. First surgery will be…

I have only just downloaded the initial documents from the govt disability data working group, which turns out to be stacked with departmental reps and only one each for all DPOs and all Providers.

Frankly…

We actually have no legal age when children generally, not just disabled children,…

....and there's another curly one right there.

Do the stalwarts on DPA NZ facebook still rise up in arms at yet another article in MSM about some kid's family fundraising for an extra cochlear implant?

We would read those comments and wonder if perhaps Peter should…

Some of the general principles are indisputably important (‘’equality’’, ‘’respect for inherent dignity’’, ‘’respect for difference’’ and ‘’non-discrimination’’) but some would be impossible to apply to Charley purely because of her circumstances.

I disagree. Because of the level of her impairment all the Articles of…

Society is often quick to judge, but not as ready to offer support.

and

Any examination of legislation should consider the current financial, physical and psychological support networks in place for people with disabilities and their…

Dude needs a new hobby, anyway, being securely monitored for a year or so might…

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11538130

The young man has Asperger's...is it appropriate for him to be held responsible for his on line porn peddling?

A young man of our family's acquaintance, with CP (non verbal) used such a method.
He could blink, and cast his eyes up to the left. He could consciously move one arm... slightly. Sometimes we would spell words, he had a picture board, or we would do this…

The point is terrible things are still been done to disabled people and, by and large,…

Yep. Having spent the past eight years or so tracking the disability $$$ and reading the narrative that accompanies each new happy clappy 'don't we just love the disabled' document I've noticed a creep of the…

I hate to invoke Godwin, but nothing else can sum it up more effectively.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EuthanasiePropaganda.jpg|60000 Reichsmarks: this is what this person suffering from hereditary defects costs the Community of Germans during his lifetime. Fellow Citizen,…

It was an over-the-top parody of the slippery slope argument.

Farrar fans are in full flight. The "discussion" rapidly degrades from

There cannot be the slightest shadow of doubt that the parents have the best interests of their daughter at heart and that they love her dearly.

It’s…

From one of the stories from ....http://aim.org.nz/aspirations/

I guess that's a big fail…

I'd also like to have firmly enshrined rights, and those entitlements Hilary, before these conversations get serious. Chuck in there talk about doctor assisted suicide.

Decisions of this nature cannot be influenced by fear of further reduction in…

http://philippatston.com/blog/child-s-medical-treatment-highlights-tension-between-principles-and-reality/

and from the link that Joe put up...

"“There are well developed ways to manage severely disabled people in New Zealand and to assist family members,” the panel wrote. “ **To consider alternatives raises the concern that these are…

We always do.:-)

While I was mulling over this issue, back then, being torn between a 'rights' based approach and my natural tendency towards practicality and pragmatism...this popped up...http://attitudelive.com/blog/amy-hogan/amy-hogan-why-i-believe-some-parents-should-have-right-sterilise-their-disabled-child

Amy Hogan writes with refreshing independence and genuine insight.

Peter had not quite finished growing when he broke his neck, Within a couple of years he had reached his full height of around 6'4"...and weighed about 75kg. (A No. 8 he was, in his walking days) His Mum,…

that probably depends on what it enables.

powerful stuff, oxytocin.

again, is this unnecessary medical intervention?

A thread, methinks.

http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/disability-rights-commissioner-calls-law-change/5/235586

An entire thread of its own, methinks.

One awesome journalist/reporter/writer.

Consistently produces sound, solid, quotable work.

(P and I still feeling a tad guilty we didn't do a piece with her about spousal caring. We didn't want to do the video thing....and we have media trust issues. Not that we didn't trust…

That will be something to look forward to. Even when they do 'consult'...its largely pantomime.

Is no-one else totally pissed off that "the same shit with schools etc that we…

We've got a guest post about the problems with planned power cuts coming. The people most…

"cost-effective" is another ghastly phrase MoH love using

Onya, Hilary!

How can we help?

Set fire to ourselves on the steps of the Beehive perhaps....start our own 'Disability Spring'?

I am so far gone down the road to complete and utter cynicism...

What is needed is non government funded disability advocacy...the steel…

Hah! I got thrown off. Too angry. Too radical. Too Human Rights obsessed. Too open about some of the less glamorous aspects of disability. Too keen to hold certain people to…

You know Hilary, I downloaded that puppy the other day. Peter and I read through it.

Nearly flicked it up here(somewhere)...and decided...what's the point?

For a bloody start...the Plan is "2014-2018"....they will have the next one in the pipeline already.

Secondly....judging…

Aspergers Syndrome NZ is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASNZGROUP/ and welcomes folk both on the spectrum and…

You don’t need to fork out money to Microsoft in order to create your word documents.
There are several open source and cloud word processing applications that work with *.doc and *.docx formats and are free (as in…