SUB.100.02248_0008
Your submission
In sharing your experiences with us, you may find the following questions a useful starting point.
Please kindly see responses to all of the questions below
What issues have you experienced as a person with disability or a carer or family member of someone with a disability? Did you tell someone else about it? Was the issue resolved? Why or why not?
GROUP SUBMISSION
*Consulted 20 service users of Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association (MDAA) of NSW under the Encompass Program, consisting of parents and/or carers of children with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds. This was a group of service users from mixed CALO backgrounds at the Co-design forum on the ?fh of June.
IDENTIFIED ISSUE- relates to experiences of children with disability and their parents and/or carers
Parents of children with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALO) and non-English speaking (NES) backgrounds shared multiple challenges and barriers they faced. Issues range from lack of information on and access to appropriate services; unmet or undermet needs; lack of available and suitable options; inconsistent quality of services; and inaccessible, non-inclusive and complex systems that are challenging to understand and navigate. On top of these, there are also cultural and language barriers that affect children with disability and their parents or carers. In some cultures, there is shame and stigma associated with having a disability.
One service user shared that she faced discrimination even before applying for a preschool for her child. She shared that she found it quite challenging to understand and navigate enrolment process. Eventually, more than three preschools rejected her application without providing a valid reason. She said that the greatest challenge was
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dealing with discrimination and negative attitude. The other parents agreed with her and disclosed similar experiences.
Another service user shared that she found that the school did not have adequate policies and systems in place for her child to succeed. She said that it was unfair for her child to struggle due to lack of support. Another parent stated that the Department of Education does not allocate enough funds to provide support staff such as teacher’s aide. She said that even school activities such as sports and excursions are not inclusively designed, hence, it is hard for children with disability to fully participate and integrate.
Several parents also brought up that children with disability experience bullying at a greater rate than children without disability. They said that schools either do not have sufficient policies in place, or a healthy culture to eradicate school bullying. They did acknowledge some supportive and dedicated teachers who are fighting against a broken system.
Cultural and language barriers are common among children with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds and their families. Some parents admitted that they were not keen to get their children diagnosed despite needing the NDIS funding because of the shame and stigma from other family and community members. They also explained that their native countries do not have a similar NDIS system, so they are still learning the systems of support in Australia.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
The group of services users agreed with the following recommended actions:
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Readily available and accessible, timely support and services
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A wide range of high-quality disability-specialist and inclusive mainstream services
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Adequate funding particularly for the education system
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A well-trained, qualified, and experienced workforce that can meet the needs of children with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds
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NDIS-system that is supportive of and adequately funds children with disability from CALO and NES backgrounds
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- and continued long-term funding for disability advocacy services such as MDAA to assist with individual and systemic advocacy
Would you like to provide supporting material? No
If you would like assistance to attaching your files, please contact the Royal Commission by calling 1800 517 199 or emailing DRCEnquiries@royalcommission.gov.au.
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