Accessible film screening gives unique opportunity

IDEAS recently sponsored the Access All Areas Film Festival Gala Screening, which took place on 4th December. It offered audiences the opportunity to experience the new Australian film, Red Dog: True Blue with a variety of accessible features and environments.

Red Dog: True Blue opens in cinemas on Boxing Day.  The world premiere of the film took place the night before the Gala Screening so the Gala audience were among the first people in the world to enjoy the film. It was important to the Festival organisers, The Bardic Studio, to offer this experience to people who so often have to wait until a film comes out on Blue ray. They hope to offer a new Australian film every year.

The film was popular with the audience and quite a few people said they’d been moved to tears at the end. There was an atmosphere of celebration as people expressed their pride in the standard of this new Australian film and chatted about their favourite moments. The two Red Dogs, Abby and Saffie, who were brought along by their generous handler Jamie, received an abundance of cuddles at the end of the screening as guests left the cinema.

This year, the Gala Screening moved to Event Cinemas Parramatta and was held on a Sunday at 11am. Many long term supporters attended and shared their experience of the growth and development of the Festival. There were also a lot of people attending for the first time and it was exciting to see the diversity of the audience.

The Gala screened in three screening rooms concurrently.  The first screening was with an audio description read live by Frances Mathey from Ericsson who also wrote the audio description for the film. The second screening was with open captions and Auslan interpretation by Yasmin. The third screening was a relaxed screening where people were welcome to be themselves and enjoy the film in whatever way they wished and move around as they needed to. There was also a chill out area adjacent to the screening room.

The organisers worked with Westfield Shopping Centre to create a document that detailed the best ways to access the building and get to the cinema complex. For the first time this year a Visual Story was created for the cinema complex and the film.

The 2016 Access All Areas Gala Screening stepped up the access offered by commercial cinema environments this year and the organisers are determined to build on those steps in 2017. They welcome feedback from the disability community, particularly ideas about additional features, supports or information that they can provide to enable more people to experience cinema with as much ease as possible. If you’d like to contribute your ideas please email jacqueline@bardicstuio.com.au

The Wiggles embrace sign language to create better accessibility

The Wiggles have been entertaining children for over 25 years. Their fans are diverse, loved by children in many countries, languages and, of differing needs.

They have recently embarked on their Dance, Dance the Wiggles Big Show, bringing entertainment to thousands of children across Australia. One defining feature about The Wiggles (and in large part to their success) is their ability to communicate with children. One of the main features (in addition to the music naturally) of this show is the inclusion of two large screens on stage featuring children signing, or Auslan, to all of The Wiggles’ songs.

Emma, more commonly known as “The Yellow Wiggle”, also ‘signs’ during the concert. Emma is passionate about making The Wiggles’ music accessible for everyone. Emma speaks about her passion for inclusiveness in this recent interview on Sunrise: https://youtu.be/AeGtTLPj80g. She has also recently embarked on a video combining Auslan and dance to a Justin Timberlake song: https://youtu.be/0IuOzO5YCAA.

Is this merely a momentary trend that will pass, or does it finally mean that children with disability are fully part of mainstream community?

Admittedly, there are definitely more occasions where children from all walks of life are appearing in mainstream advertising. Kmart recently featured an advert where one of the stars was a little girl who had Down Syndrome: https://youtu.be/eS3XwyNUsAE.

Whilst these are fantastic examples of companies and brands supporting inclusiveness through greater access to their music, products and services, here’s hoping that this is not a passing trend and is an opportunity for people with disability to live just like everyone else.

For more information on anything related to Auslan, why not contact the team at IDEAS on 1800 029 904 or visit www.ideas.org.au

The Man on the Melbourne Tram

Was it because he was dressed like everyone else? 

Was it because he wasn't rocking in his seat and counting cards? 

Was it because he didn't look disabled? 

Last week a Facebook user posted a photo of a man on a Melbourne tram and detailed her encounter with him as she saw it. The man was accused of being intimidating and threatening towards young women and more specifically young women of Asian decent. He was accused of being a drug user and called predatory. The post attracted in excess of 80,000 likes and was shared more than 10,000 times.  Immediately comments appeared under the post that called for various violent acts to be perpetrated against the man in retaliation. Among the frenzy of people tutting and mindlessly sharing the story was a prominent feminist activist and author, Clementine Ford, someone who does not shy away from publicly revealing the faces and names of alleged perpetrators. Hastags such as #silentnomore and #fightlikeagirl were added to the story and assisted in its circulation. The story was also picked up by the mainstream media and was published by online news outlets. Several hours after the story broke people who knew the man contacted the original poster, privately and publicly, and advised her that the man had Autism and often asks for high-fives on the tram (this has not been verified). It was suggested that he was not a violent person and was well known to at least some tram users. The post was not removed by the poster until she began to receive threats via private message. The threats against the poster were not necessary however it was also not necessary for her to post an identifying image of the man on a public forum with inflammatory remarks attached.

So why? Why was this story shared en masse without any questions being raised about the veracity of her claims? And why, despite his face being shared 10,000 times, was this man all but invisible to the poster and the eager social media sharers?

Upon first reading the article it occurred to me that the man was socially inept; he hadn't physically grabbed anyone nor had he verbally abused anyone. Lets have a look at the way the interaction is written about:

Both of these examples have the female poster extrapolating a malicious intent from a few socially awkward encounters. I do not deny that the women on the tram possibly felt intimidated and frightened. I do not doubt for a second that the female poster believed that this man was behaving inappropriately. What I do doubt is our ability as a society to discuss and deal with issues relating to disability. 

The Daily Mail published a follow up article on the 10th October 2016 which reveals that the man on the tram has Autism. Doing a search of Facebook hash tags for the original posters name reveals a handful of admissions from those who shared the original article expressing regret that they hadn't looked into it more thoroughly before sharing. What is absent though is commentary from the original poster and high profile sharers like Clementine Ford.

Why are we afraid to talk about disability?

The behaviours exhibited by the man on the tram may have intimidated the women involved but how do we address that? There is an absence of dialogue surrounding people with disability; we don't talk about disability - we hide it and ignore it.

"Mentally ill people were popularly considered ‘dangerous’ and were confined and separated from the broader society. The location of asylums away from large population centres reflected this principle. Mental illness was out of sight, and mostly out of mind" 1

The segregation of those with mental illness and intellectual disability referred to above is not ancient history. In the 1960s the global civil rights movement led to the growth of advocacy for those who had been institutionalised; 'Mental Hospitals' and 'Asylums' were renamed and the Mental Health Act was established in 1962. It wasn't until 1992 with the establishment of the National Mental Health Policy that reform began. This policy was followed by the Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People With Mental Illness which found that, unsurprisingly, "People affected by mental illness are among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community. They suffer from widespread systemic discrimination and are consistently denied the rights and services to which they are entitled."2

Currently there are only a handful of Psychiatric Institutions still operating in Australia and the general consensus among those treating patients is that integration in the community is beneficial to those suffering from mental illness or intellectual disability. I would also add that integration is also of benefit to the wider community especially within the school environment; encountering difference on a daily basis imparts an understanding and an acceptance that theoretical ethics can not. Perhaps if the original poster had encountered similar Autistic behaviours previously she may have reacted differently? Perhaps if society was more aware of disability in general we may have not seen these vicious social media attacks on an unnamed man?

Perhaps a better way to deal with this would have been to speak directly to the tram driver or having taken the picture she could have spoken to the police about the incident. The police may have been aware of the man if he is a frequent traveller and may have been able to contact him or his family to deal with the issue head on. They may have also been able to direct her to resources that could assist in the future should she encounter him again. No one has the right to make someone feel unsafe, however when we are dealing with mental illness or intellectual disability we can not expect that the same awareness around personal space for example exists. 

We, as a community, need to educate ourselves about disability. We need to see disability as part of OUR lives even if we may not necessarily be affected by a disability ourselves. Maybe then we will be able to deal with incidences like this in a way that doesn't result in public shaming and torrents of abuse. 

*** Since writing this article I have noticed a few anti-feminist websites and bloggers posting equally vicious and awful things to social media about the original poster and others who shared the post. I don't blame the woman involved for being frightened nor do I blame 'feminism'; what is lacking is an acceptable and inclusive dialogue about disability - nothing about us, without us!

If you or anyone you know is affected by challenging behaviours in children or adults who are on the Autism Spectrum you may find the following resources helpful: 

Challenging Behaviours Toolkit

Autism UK 

NICE Pathways
References: 

1. The Road to Recovery - a History of Mental Health Services in Queensland 1859-2009

2. Report of the National Inquiry into the Human Rights of People With Mental Illness

Other:

Daily Mail Article with the original post.

NDIS Portal Glitch Stretches to 8 Weeks

Glitches with the National Disability Insurance Agency’s portal and payment system are persisting with many service providers and NDIS participants questioning the Government’s lack of action.

The National Census website, which was brought down by alleged hack attempts, was immediately scheduled for investigation and repair to bring the site back online. In comparison the NDIS portal, through which participants manage their funds and make payments to their providers, has been working inconsistently for the last 8 weeks. As the weeks roll by one starts to wonder if the delays are a reflection of the Government’s commitment to the NDIS.

The Australian reported that some providers have had to turn away patients due to the delays in payment;

Speech pathologist Diana Bleby said she was owed more than $5000 by the NDIS and was now drawing on a line of credit to sustain her practice in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

“I don’t work as a speech pathologist to earn the big bucks,” Ms Bleby said. “We get some payments from the NDIS but it’s highly unpredictable. My line-of-credit loan is getting less and less flexible and I need to pay rent and contractors.” (Puddy, 2016)

Where will this leave patients? It is more likely than not that the patients have had to sit on waiting lists in the first place  just to be seen by their providers  and now they face cancelled appointments and breaks in treatment because providers can not afford to continue working without payment.  As a break in treatment could have devastating effects on a patient’s progress, many families are being forced to pay for treatments themselves to avoid being thrown back on to a waiting list.

Kate Bradbrook's family includes two children who are eligible for NDIS funding, a 12-year-old and a five-year-old. The elder child had her plan approved before the end of June but despite a planning meeting, the younger child's approval has been delayed because of the glitch.

 "My planner told me to start booking therapy when we had our planning meeting," Ms Bradbrook said. "She said it wouldn't take long for his plan to be approved. It's ready to go, everything's done, but because of the current issues with the system, his plan can't be approved."

Ms Bradbrook said NDIS told her any therapy he had received would not be covered until his plan was approved. "I'm probably up to $1,000 out of pocket, which I've been told won't be reimbursed," she said. (Waldhuter, 2016)

Unfortunately it seems that the general public’s disregard for people with disability resonates with the Government. How else can we explain the difference in the way that the census website was dealt with? Is it that the Census is a money-making endeavour where the NDIS is seen as a drain on the public purse or is there a more deep-seated issue at hand? With the NDIS we were told that PWD would finally have a voice; we can HIRE our own providers and we can FIRE them if they don’t live up to standards. The promise of self-determination and self-management, through the use of the NDIS Portal, has ended up in a huge technological bungle and no one who can do anything about it seems to care.

For too long PWD have been pushed to the fringe of society; we have been told we need to be grateful for what we get and not to complain about poor service levels. The introduction of the NDIS is the biggest change to the social services landscape since the introduction of the universal healthcare system in the 1970s.  It promised increased funding, autonomy and integration. It promised that PWD would be in control of their lives and their futures. Sadly these glitches have, at least temporarily, taken away the promise of self-management and replaced it with worrying delays and unexpected expense.

The Government needs to reassert its commitment to the NDIS by ensuring the portal is fully functioning and by taking the concerns of PWD and service providers seriously.

On the 5^th August Minister for Social Services and Disability Services Christian Porter announced a review of the implementation of NDIS IT system would be undertaken and has made assurances that what they deem as the ‘central issues’ with the portal have already been resolved.

The NDIA has advised that service providers will be compensated for the delays in payment and that affected parties can contact the NDIA on 1800 800 110 to discuss.

Works Cited

Puddy, R. (2016, August 4). Cash-strapped providers ‘turn away patients’ due to NDIS bungle. The Australian. Retrieved from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/health/cashstrapped-providers-turn-away-patients-due-to-ndis-bungle/news-story/6d412d8af84c1a9e12fa3d6816f6088b

Waldhuter, L. (2016, August 10). NDIS providers entering eighth week without payment as families face approval delays. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-10/ndis-providers-entering-their-eighth-week-without-payment/7711754