Latest News

Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability research alliance were proud sponsors of the Committee for Brisbane, ensuring people with disability are involved at all levels of 2032 Brisbane Games legacy planning to achieve maximum accessibility.

Hon Dr Steven Miles, Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning described the government’s plan to build wide, unobstructed footpaths outside of venues, precincts and public spaces, with full accessibility and accessible transport to drive inclusivity and employment for people with disability.

Inclusive Futures Engagement Council member and Paralympian Katie Kelly said the event is a tremendous opportunity to challenge the status quo.

“Accessibility goes beyond our physical space – it's also about challenging the deeply entrenched and habitual mindsets and attitudes that hinder people with disability,” Katie said.

“One way we can challenge our thinking is to ask whose voice are we not listening to? Then we must ask ourselves why aren’t they at the table?

“We must find ways of bringing those people into the conversation because the best solutions will come from people who are most affected by the problem and live with access barriers on a daily basis.

Working to improve sport participation for women, gender diverse individuals and people with disability, Griffith Inclusive Sport and Recreation program lead Professor Simone Fullagar said major sport events can be a catalyst for addressing stereotypes about disability.

“The event highlights the need to ensure people with disability are involved at all levels of legacy planning processes to contribute expertise and design insights from lived experience,” Professor Fullagar said.

“Pursuing opportunities to change our city requires an understanding of how different bodies navigate sport spaces and what inclusion feels like, as a sense of belonging, safety and being heard.”

Highlighting the potential and complexity of issues we face as we move forward towards the Games, Vice President of Griffith Industry and External Engagement, Dr Peter Binks delivered a rousing acknowledgement of Griffith’s The Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability team, researchers, citizens with lived experience of disability and Director Professor Elizabeth Kendall.

“The core of our research is citizen-led co-design and the solutions (and in fact the questions) are so different when they are led by people with disability,” Professor Kendall said.

“Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability members are willing to help the Committee For Brisbane to adopt a solid co-design approach to inclusion and accessibility.

“Thank you to the Committee For Brisbane, the Panel and audience who contributed such impactful discussion.”

If you’d like to work with Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability or connect with citizen scientists and co-designers with disability, please reach out by emailing: inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au

Authors: Monique Mita and Jo Kek-Pamenter

Image Description:

A montage of colour photos taken at the 'Roll, Stride, Ride & Glide: How to make Brisbane 2032 the most Accessible Games Yet" conference on Tuesday 18 April. This assortment of images shows the panel of speakers, and guests of Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability, Griffith University enjoying the event, including (1) Professor Elizabeth Kendall, Director IFRD together with Brad Kinsela GAICD, (2) Panel speakers on the stage, (3) Paralympian Katie Kelly OAM PLY with Paralympian Michael Dobbie-Bridges PLY (Panel Moderator), (4) IFRD table including Coral Gillet, Researcher, (5) Brad Kinsela with Prof Simone Fullagar, (6) Peter Binks from Griffith University addressing the congregation and bottom right the Griffith University logo on a red background.

Today, 11 April, Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability are observing #WorldParkinsonsDay.

Parkinson’s Disease is considered the fastest growing #neurologicaldisorder in the world. It currently affects over 8.5 million people, a number that has doubled in the past 25 years.

Some interesting facts about Parkinson’s that you may not know:

There are more than 100,000 people living with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s in Australia; Around 13,000 new cases are diagnosed each year; these numbers will increase by more than 60% in the next 20 years. Fifteen per cent of people living with Parkinson’s are of working age and there are more than 2,500 people in their 30s and 40s living with the condition. Up to 15% of people with Parkinson’s may not know that they have it. The total annual economic cost of Parkinson’s to Australia is estimated to exceed $11 billion; this is considerably more than that of Breast Cancer or Prostate Cancer.

Our guest authors in this month's blog are two people that understand Parkinson's Disease very well;

Prof. George Mellick is a Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at Griffith University, who works on all aspects of #neurodegenerative disease with an emphasis on Parkinson's Disease. George has, for many years, been an #advocate for people affected by Parkinson’s Disease. He is currently the President of Parkinson’s Queensland and Parkinson’s Australia, the peak State and National not-for-profit advocacy groups supporting the Parkinson’s community.

Prof. Elizabeth Kendall is a #psychologist and Director of Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability. Elizabeth cared for her mother, who bravely battled Parkinson's Disease for over ten years.

Prof. Kendall has built a long-term research agenda in #rehabilitation and service systems for people with #disability or chronic health conditions. Elizabeth is also the founding Director of The Hopkins Centre, based on a 30-year relationship between the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC), Metro South Health and Griffith University. She is a Board Director of Connectivity, raising awareness and appropriate treatment for #BrainInjury and has been on the working party founding the National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP). She is also working on Universities Enable, an initiative designed to promote the #inclusion of people with disability in universities as staff and students.

Our community needs to learn more about Parkinson’s to help improve the lives of all those impacted by the disease. Contact a Parkinson’s organisation near you and show your support. In Queensland, the community based not-for-profit, Parkinson's Queensland Inc. provides information and support to those impacted by Parkinson’s. The national organisation, Parkinson's Australia Inc, advocates across the country to improve the life and wellbeing of people affected with Parkinson’s and related neurological disorders.

Read the story in full on Griffith Enlighten: https://enlighten.griffith.edu.au/what-its-like-to-live-with-parkinsons-disease/

Imagine losing your sight.

In Australia, over 13 million people have one or more chronic eye conditions with close to 500,000 living with a vision-impairment or blindness. Ninety per cent of these cases are preventable or treatable if detected early.

‘Last Seen’ is a collaboration between the Queensland Eye Institute Foundation, Griffith University and Publicis Worldwide.

This poignant and inspiring creative showcase paired vision-impaired Australians with renowned artists and composers to depict their last, or most cherished, visual memory before their sight deteriorated.

The Queensland Eye Institute Foundation is the state’s largest independent academic research institute devoted to eye-related health and diseases. Relying solely on the generosity of donors, businesses and the community, proceeds from the evening, including a live auction of artworks, will support a focus on inherited eye diseases and the creation of Queensland’s first genetic eye diseases register to connect patients with clinical trials.

Griffith University is pleased to partner on this inclusive project, pioneering new ways for the visually impaired to experience and access the arts. Bringing together our Griffith University Art Museum, Queensland College of Art, Queensland Conservatorium and Griffith Film School, this partnership is a commitment to creating positive, meaningful change in our community.

We are grateful to Jane Britt, Oliver Fanshawe, Eleanor Lee, Michael Lyddiart, Alan Nemeth, Lorin Nicholson OAM, David Truong, Dr Jeff Usher, Santiago Velasquez and Inclusive Future’s Engagement Council member Katie Kelly OAM PLY for sharing their stories, including artist Tracie Eaton, who captured Katie’s memory of Merewether Baths in Newcastle (pictured), which raised $11,500 in the live auction.

We are in awe of the talented artists who took the time to not only produce incredible works of art, but also add accessibility into the exhibit, by including miniature tactile versions of artworks including texture, mixed media and braille, along with headsets where attendees could listen to audio descriptions.

Thank you to Professor Analise O’Donovan - Pro Vice Chancellor (Griffith Health) for the kind invitation and Claire Stokes – Director, Industry and External Engagement (Health) for being a generous host. We would also like to thank Anna Cottell; Rhonda Ganko; Professor Linda Agnew - Dean (Academic), Griffith Health; Warren Agnew; and Paul Poree for giving their time and joining us for this impactful evening.

We also extend sincere gratitude to Vice Chancellor and President Professor Carolyn Evans, for her kind words about the Inclusive Futures Research Alliance in her speech, and to Anna Cottell, who has very kindly funded an Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Scholarship for students with disability.

Find out more or apply via our website:
https://www.griffith.edu.au/research/inclusive-futures-reimagining-disability

Visit the ‘Last Seen’ website: https://lastseen.com.au

A conversation with authors Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM (author of Stronger)
and Nick Marshall OAM (author of Included), and Dr Maretta Mann.

Last week Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability hosted our inaugural Book Club event. The book club aims to promote awareness and to foster an inclusive culture, through the sharing of stories and lived experience of disability.

Hosted by Dr Maretta Mann, Inclusive Futures Strategic Development Manager, together with special guests Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM and Nick Marshall OAM, this interactive event gave attendees the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of disability from different perspectives.

Dinesh Palipana OAM is an Australian doctor, lawyer, scientist and disability advocate. He is the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland, Australia. He is the second person with quadriplegia to graduate as a doctor in Australia and the first with spinal cord injury and is Chair of the Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Engagement Council.

Dinesh talked about the discrimination he faced when becoming a doctor, and how this was overcome, though the support of his allies, as well as hard work and importantly, working to his strengths. He also talked about working to turn the tide, and helping others, the way others helped him when he was starting out as a doctor with disability.

“It is just one person at a time. If you can do that for one person, that's enough. So, I think that's how we made change in these systems. It is one at a time. And I remember the investment that people made in me, so I try to pay that forward every day.”

Nick Marshall OAM is an Assistant Professor at Griffith University and owner of Surf Life Physio, a multidisciplinary private practice on the Gold Coast. He is the Senior Physiotherapist for the Queensland Academy of Sport in Swimming, as well as the Australian Surf Lifesaving Team, and on-field Physio for the NRL referees at Broncos and Titans games, State of Origin and Test Matches. Nick is a 2022 Churchill Fellow and an advocate for children with a disability, and is the founder of the Albatross Nippers Inc, an inclusive surf lifesaving program.

Nick, who has dyslexia, shared how the Albatross Nippers idea come about… "One of the biggest things about nippers is the age‑specific criteria. Under-6 nippers, if they go past their waist, it is one‑on‑one water safety. So, my big argument was, if you're 25 and want to do nippers, so long as you can do what an under‑6 can do, you can do nippers. Surely, because an under‑6 will do that with extra assistance. It was the most foreign thing known for me to suggest that. There is an age manager with knowledge that everyone in their group can swim this far so they can take them to do an activity. That's what it is based on. It makes perfect sense but why not have a child stick with their similar age peer but have one‑on‑one water safety, and then they can join in with their friends. And so, you know, I kind of joked to people that you can be in between the flags where there's one life saver and 40 people but you can't do nippers when there's water safety around you and the safest place to swim. That was the start of it. I think it just was in the too hard basket for most people. "Why are you bothering with this? It is too hard. We don't need to do this." But it seemed right."

If you are a person with disability or lived experience of disability and have written a book or would like to be involved in a book club as a guest or conversation partner, we would love to hear from you.

We have a full accessible transcript of the event, if you would like a copy please email us at: inclusivefutures@griffith.edu.au

The Hopkins Centre have made many contributions to closing the life expectancy between First Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. Partnering with First Australian communities to achieve communities' research goals is a core component to addressing First Australian health disparities. These research projects provide a synopsis of some of the work The Hopkins Centre has engaged with.

Improving Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Scheme for First Nations People in Queensland

The experiences of First Nations Australians injured in motor vehicle accidents is not well understood. Many injured people do not realise that they may be eligible for rehabilitation and compensation through the CTP scheme in Queensland if they were injured in a motor vehicle accident that was not their fault.

Our project, funded by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission, aims to:

• Identify the factors that influence First Nations Australians who have experienced a motor vehicle accident to seek compensation, treatment and rehabilitation through the CTP scheme;
• Learn how First Nations Australians experience the CTP claim, treatment and rehabilitation process;
• Investigate how the CTP scheme can work in line with First Nations knowledge systems to improve the CTP experience and outcomes; and
• Understand the role of Elders and trusted advisors in the context of a CTP claim.

The project will assist by identifying:

• Ways of encouraging First Nations Queenslanders to seek compensation and rehabilitation through the CTP scheme; and
• Opportunities to improve the CTP experience of First Nations Queenslanders who are injured in motor vehicle accidents;
• How First Nations knowledge systems can be used to improve the rehabilitation outcomes for First Nations claimants.

For more information contact https://www.hopkinscentre.edu.au/contact

Preventing First Nations Deaths by Suicide

The First Nations community in the region of Mackay, Queensland have a long-standing partnership with Griffith University to address First Nations deaths by suicide. This partnership was triggered by a cluster of youth suicides that devastated the community. In 2020, the partnership developed the ‘First Australian Holistic Health Multi-Dimensional Model of Suicidal Ideation and Suicide-Related Behaviour”. Working with the community, we developed a First Nations holistic health framework to analyse the suicidal ideation and suicide-related behaviour experiences of 14 First Australian residents of the Mackay region.

The analysis resulted in the development of the Empowerment to Prevent Suicidality (EPS) Model. The EPS Model explains how participants’ experiences of powerlessness occurred within the complex context of their life circumstances to reach a point of saturation, leading to suicidality. It also explains how the counteracting experiences of empowerment could generate a positive disposition and support recovery. The model can help in identifying and addressing both the broad context and individual circumstances that can predispose First Nations people to suicide-related behaviours or thoughts.

For more information contact Dr Leda Barnett at l.barnett@griffith.edu.au

Assessing the Needs of Indigenous Prisoners with Disability

There is a need to better identify the needs of First Australian prisoners at the time of intake and have these needs inform prisoners’ pathways to employment upon release. As part of a national plan to improve outcomes for First Nations prisoners with disability, this project focused on the identification, assessment, treatment and follow-up of adult First Nations prisoners and ex-prisoners with ‘hidden disability’. Hidden disability includes disabling conditions that are common but often unnoticed and not diagnosed (e.g., hearing loss and cognitive impairment, such as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder or Acquired Brain Injury).

The findings revealed major challenges for disability identification and assessment in Australian prisons due to lack of training, time pressure and limited staff with cultural knowledge. During incarceration, additional challenges included the availability of modified programs, a criminogenic focus rather than a focus on rehabilitation, confusion about how NDIS interfaces with corrective services and inadequate or untimely transition planning. Consultations with First Nations community members with prison experience revealed over 180 distinct solutions highlighting the importance of culturally informed processes throughout the prison pathway.

Access the report at https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers/assessing-the-disability-needs-of-indigenous-prisoners

First Nations Recommendations for Improving NDIS Plan Utilisation in Queensland

First Nations Queenslanders with disability participated in this Queensland Government DSDATSIP research about how their NDIS plans were being utilised. Thirty-five (35) First Nations people with disability shared their experiences, 13 of whom lived in very remote communities.

The findings showed that many of these First Nations people with disability experienced harm within the NDIS system, caused by a lack of respect for First Nations perspectives and values. Many believed that their sexuality, gender or cultural needs were not honoured within the NDIS system.

Some solutions proposed directly by First Nations participants included;

• Employing more First Nations providers in the NDIS system;
• Providing First Nations NDIS information sessions and resources;
• Enhancing the cultural awareness and sensitivity of the non-Indigenous workforce through ‘on country’ immersion and understanding of safety requirements relating to cultural needs;
• Providing specific culturally-sensitive support to help First Nations people to understand their NDIS plans;
• Improving the numbers of local and culturally-informed (or First Nations) planners and coordinators who can provide face-to-face services;
• Enabling flexibility in service delivery to address the challenges of limited supply of First Nations services;
• Enabling innovative models of service delivery that enable First Nations people to be supported by First Nations providers and support workers.

For more information contact https://www.hopkinscentre.edu.au/contact

First Nations Self-Management of Chronic Disease

This study investigated the cultural appropriateness of the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (SCDSMP) for use in First Nations communities in regional, outback and metropolitan Queensland. Using a participatory approach, focus groups and interviews were conducted with Elders, First Nations and non-Indigenous health professionals and First Nations community members with chronic conditions.

This research showed that First Nations engagement with the medical system was influenced by five core principles; historical factors, the collectivity of First Nations community life, the First Nations concept of holistic health, the lack of cultural competence within the health system and the use of culturally inappropriate communication styles at the interface when First Nations people attended appointments. In addition to these broad factors, specific local health promotion differed across regions due to the unique features of each community. The way in which programs were accepted and used in regions depended on the nature of local systems (the interacting roles of gender and community Elders), cultural traditions and knowledge, local cultural communication styles, levels of community participation and First Nations leadership. How these local principles and broad overarching factors interacted reflected the different priorities and issues within each community, ultimately influencing the effectiveness of the delivery of the SCDSMP.

The associated journal articles from this research include:

Kendall, E. and Barnett, L. (2014). Principles for the development of Aboriginal health interventions: culturally appropriate methods through systemic empathy. Ethnicity and Health, 20:5, 437-452, DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2014.921897

Barnett, L., Kendall, E. (2011). Culturally appropriate methods for enhancing the participation of Aboriginal Australians in health-promoting programs. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 22(1), 27-32, DOI: 10.1071/he11027

For more information contact Dr Leda Barnett at l.barnett@griffith.edu.au

Dr Leda Barnett

Professor Simone Fullagar, Dr Georgia Munro-Cook and Dr Adele Pavlidis
Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability, Inclusive Play, and Sport and Gender Equity research hub

The theme of International Women’s Day - cracking the code to pursue gender equality – has invited us to reflect upon the experiences of women who are often invisible within hyper visible cultural spaces like sport. Despite there being over two-million women and girls with a disability (approximately 20% of all women), an Australian report has identified a persistent gender gap in knowledge about the impact of inequities that contribute to invisibility within policies, services and programmes and resources. Within Australian sport we have seen growing public conversations about improving both disability inclusion, as well as gender equity, through the ‘Green and Gold’ decade of major events such as the Brisbane2032 Paralympics and Olympics and the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

Paralympics Australia have importantly emphasised equity as a key principle to improve participation pathways, ‘We know that of the 4.3 million people with a disability, only one in four participates in sport, while three in four want to participate’. A broad focus on equity can, however, unintentionally disguise gender disparities. Hence, there is a need to develop intersectional understandings that make the cultural and structural inequalities visible as they continue to impact women, girls and also nonbinary participants with a disability. At the elite level, the Tokyo Paralympic team had only 43.6% women identified athletes, which though above the worldwide average for the games (42.08%), was well below the 54% of women in the Olympic team. At the community level, AUSPLAY 2022 data shows that women with a disability have lower rates of organised sport participation (19%) compared to both nondisabled women (34%) and men with a disability (27%).

From the limited research that exists, we know that women with disability tend to have less support than men with disability, and their bodymind capacities are underestimated by parents and medical professionals. Engaging in sport allows women, girls, and gender diverse people with a disability to challenge these limitations, their body coming to represent physical capacity rather than lack, as they can explore and push the limits of their embodied capabilities. Sport allows women with disability to build a communal space where they can negotiate their own understanding of their disabled bodies and capacities with others who are experiencing similar issues, building not only friendships, but a site of knowledge transfer. Through their exclusion from sport, not only are women with disability missing out on the traditional benefits of sport (body competence, leadership skills, friendship), they are unable to challenge the masculine, able-bodied nature of sport or reformulate the notion of what disabled bodies can ‘do’. Importantly, research informed by feminist disabilities studies can guide change beyond ableist models by drawing on the experiences of women, girls and gender diverse people who have developed innovative ways of living with disability and ways of imagining cultural change within and beyond sport.

Gender matters in the analysis of sport systems and research, given the historical norms that value nondisabled masculine bodies, and where unconscious bias, willful ignorance and discrimination are major barriers to cultural change. There is scope to develop a focus on gender and disability in the new National Sport Research Agenda (2022-23) that seeks to engage the sector to better understand ‘why sports participation in both playing and non-playing roles is, or becomes, less inviting or appealing for some’ (specific populations and Australians of all abilities). This is also important with respect to the other key priorities focussed on the value and benefits of sport, high performance, major sport event legacy and sport system sustainability. If Australia is to be true to its ‘sport for all’ ethos, then the intersectional inequalities that women with disability experience, need to be addressed in our sport system to move beyond siloed thinking that perpetuates both ableism and sexism.

To date disability and gender have been largely considered as separate categories in various policy, programs and funding arrangements which has resulted in gaps in provision. While there has been significant investment in growing ‘women’s sport’ this has largely excluded disability (expansion of elite competitions (AFLW) and major events, FIBA and FIFA world cups), at the same time, there has been little strategic focus on gender inequity in most disability sport organisations. While good practices and programmes certainly exist (e.g. WSNSW Her Sport), this is ad hoc rather than systemic change in sport organisations. With a number of major sport events on the horizon, there is an opportunity to build on the momentum for change that recognises disability inclusion and gender equity as key to a future that is responsive to different bodies, desires and ways of living (universal design, safe spaces, belonging, social connection etc).

The Griffith Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability research programme on Inclusive Play recently held a co-design event to develop collaborative ideas for change. Out of this process we identified the need to advance research to close the gender gap in disability sport to improve participation and contribute to a more equitable future. Australia is increasingly an ageing society with diverse experiences of disability, there are multiple benefits to be gained from applying a gender lens to accessible spaces, safe and innovative services. Our research conversations and collaborations seek to bring a ‘gender lens’ to future innovation in disability sport provision that will have enduring benefits for women, girls and nonbinary people with a disability (and indeed for men who may not identify with stereotypically masculine sport identities). The ‘benefits of sport’ for all is a common refrain in the promotion of government investment in major sport events, yet research points to the difficulty of facilitating change in participation, especially for marginalised groups.

The Brisbane2032 games seeks to create a participation legacy that will engage 500 000 more people with a disability in sport, however, without an intersectional focus on gender (including income, culture, Indigeneity, sexuality, age, location) such initiatives are likely to exacerbate rather than reduce inequities for women. Especially given the negative impacts of Covid-19 on Australian women and in particular, those with disability and health conditions (economic, mental health, violence etc). Given this context there is a strong argument for why public funding and investment in sport should be gender responsive to maximise the potential health, social and economic benefits of sport for women, girls and nonbinary people with a disability.

Our recently funded Australian Research Council project will enable a step forward to address inequities in sport participation for girls, women and non-binary people (with disability and nondisabled) by exploring how lived experience can inform legacy planning for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. Addressing existing gaps in knowledge about sport legacy planning, the research will produce an evidence base to guide equitable and inclusive sport participation processes for those who are disengaged or marginalised from sport. Using a unique collaborative approach the project will contribute different voices and insights from diverse experiences of inequality to engage key stakeholders involved in legacy planning for 2032.

If we are going to ever ‘crack the code’ to gender equality, we need to start disrupting those spaces and practices where normative assumptions about sport remain unquestioned (able bodied, masculine, white, heterosexual). Sport is one of those areas of cultural life that is potentially one of the most powerful everyday spaces for challenging what has been considered natural and normal. Playing, watching, managing and transforming sport with a focus on disability led innovation and gender equity can turn normative practices upside down and inside out, making room for diverse bodies and abilities in mega-sport events, local clubs, professional codes, media stories, policy and research frameworks.

Social media links

Twitter –
@GriffithUniSAGE
@simonefullagar
@adele_pavlidis
@Gmunrocook
@GU_Incl_Futures

Inclusive Futures LinkedIN - https://au.linkedin.com/showcase/inclusive-futures-reimagining-disability

Image Credits:
Madison de Rozario copyright Griffith University
Photograph by Luke Marsden

Feminist Sport Poetry Workshop
Photography by Simone Gorman-Clark

Women's Competitive Football
Taylor-Adeline Mapusua and Lauren Brown
Copyright Griffith University

On 1 March, Griffith University’s Inclusive Futures and The Hopkins Centre are collaborating to celebrate International Wheelchair Day. International Wheelchair Day is an annual day of events and activities which take place around the world. It is an opportunity for wheelchair users to celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has on their lives.

Since it was first launched in 2008, celebrations have taken place across the globe. The Aims of International Wheelchair Day are:

• To enable wheelchair users to celebrate the positive impact a wheelchair has in their lives.
• To celebrate the great work of the many millions of people who provide wheelchairs who provide support and care for wheelchair users and who make the World a better and more accessible place for people with mobility issues.
• To acknowledge and react constructively to the fact there are many tens of millions of people in the World who need a wheelchair, but are unable to acquire one.

Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability

Griffith’s Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability research alliance seeks to deliver innovative solutions and shape policy to improve quality of life for wheelchair users, and others with disability and disabling conditions through sport, recreation, education and work, and communities that promote health, wellbeing and social connection.

We aim to work with people with disability to create products, services and places focused on reducing impairment and increasing participation in a reimagined, inclusive society.

Of our Engagement Council is made up of nine (9) community leaders with disability–who are ambassadors and advocates that guide our research towards meaningful positive impact for people with disability. Of our nine Council members, five (5) are wheelchair users. In the blog that follows, they shared what International Wheelchair Day means to them.

The Hopkins Centre

The Hopkins Centre is passionate about creating supportive community-based and service-delivery environments for wheelchair users, their families and carers, through evidence-based knowledge and its translation into practice. Our ability to approach complex challenges of disability and develop rapid rehabilitation solutions, is enhanced by our interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral teams and networks.

A cornerstone of all our work, is that we center the lived experience of people with disability, collaborating meaningfully and co-designing solutions which uphold dignity and respect. One way we center the experiencial knowledge of people with disability is through our Ambassador Council, which promotes citizen engagement in research, with many projects either being led by citizen researchers or involving active citizen engagement. The Ambassador Council members work with THC researchers to ensure our research is in line with the needs of those who use disability and rehabilitation services, and address topics of relevance and importance to the community with lived experience. Justin Hua is one of our Citizen Ambassadors and a co-researcher at the HabITec Lab.

Lisa Cox

Speaker, Media Professional & Griffith University Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Engagement Council Member

“We need to rephrase the way wheelchairs are spoken about so that the general public can reimagine what is possible for the life of a wheelchair user. I acquired my disabilities nearly two decades ago, and when the wheelchair was presented to me, it was done so in a way that made it clear that they (the staff) thought my life would be 'less than' as a wheelchair user, than if I was walking. Around me, pop culture indirectly referenced a wheelchair as burdensome and a limitation on my freedom. However, in my personal experience, I am safer, more independent and more free in a wheelchair than I ever was when I tried to walk. Those wheels have taken me around the globe, around the gym and down the aisle. Words have power, so it's important for our media to stop using words like ‘confined to a wheelchair’ and ‘wheelchair-bound’ that only add to the stigma experienced by many people with disability.”

info@lisacox.co | www.lisacox.co | IG lisacox.co

Michael Dobbie-Bridges PLY

Griffith University Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Engagement Council Member

Paralympian & Strategic Advisor (Disability) APM

International Wheelchair Day provides an opportunity to reflect on all the journeys that my wheelchair has allowed me to go on. For me this year has a little extra meaning because in a few days’ time, I will actually be celebrating using a wheelchair for exactly 50% of my life. In that time, having a wheelchair has allowed me to contribute to my community, be part of the workforce, spend time with my loved ones, represent my Country on the world stage and travel to many many places. I think it’s also important to reflect on the advancements in technology in that time, now custom made in every sense, lighter and stronger and with more accessories (hello power assist!!) that enable me to have a better quality of life.

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Engagement Council Chair, Doctor, Lawyer & 2021 Australian of the Year (Qld)

“I was at an event for children when a little girl asked during question time, "do you use a wheelchair because you think it's cool?” There’s a lot to unpack in her question. But, in amongst all of that, to this little girl, a wheelchair is cool. I think that's just gravy.”

Daniel Clarke

Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability Engagement Council Member<
2021 Young Australian of the Year (Qld) & Co-Founder Tears in the Jungle

“As a person with a disability who has been in a wheelchair for most of my life, I recently was asked by a friend, “if I could have the option to not have my wheelchair, would I take it?”. My friend assumed I would give everything away at a chance of not needing my wheelchair. However, the answer for me is a quick and simple ‘No, I wouldn’t change it even if I could’. My wheelchair is part of my identity and while it has never defined who I am, I have been fortunate to experience so many opportunities I believe I would not have had if I wasn’t in a wheelchair. For me, my wheelchair is a means to an end, it makes me unique, and people want to listen to what I have to say on issues I am passionate about. There is no good or bad things about being in a wheelchair, it’s just different and as society becomes more inclusive, we are able to embrace our difference and to be proud of the person you are and what makes you, you.”

Justin Hua

The Hopkins Centre and HabITec Citizen Ambassador and

Student, Diploma of Counselling, TAFE Queensland

Justin Hua (Jay) is a Citizen Ambassador for HabITec at the Hopkins Centre, Griffith University. Justin has been a quadriplegic using a wheelchair for over 7 years.

“Prior to my accident, I was an apprentice mechanic who enjoyed working on cars and going on long drives with mates. I had two 90’s Honda Civics, a 02 Commodore and a 1971 VW Bug (not all at once though).”

“One positive impact being a wheelchair user has had on me, is that I now appreciate how amazing it is to live in this country and how nice it is to be able to go out and enjoy different things without having to worry too much about having access – granted, there are some exceptions. Also, the companion card is great.”

“Recently, I went to see Hamilton at QPAC with my friend and the staff there are really helpful and friendly. The next week we went to see a Candlelight Quartet performance at St John’s Cathedral, which had me concerned about wheelchair access, as it was an older building. But lo and behold, accessibility was fine. The view from my seating area however, was obstructed by one of the columns that supported the roof. I asked my friend to check if we could move to the middle of the aisle seat where the view would be clearer. A minute or two later, he came back and moved us to the left side of the front of the stage. He then tells me the guy he asked wasn’t sure if we’d be blocking people and then one of the staff ladies said “those seats up there are empty, why don’t you seat them up there? This experience was definitely a win and greatly appreciated.”

“If I could give a younger version of myself advice about being a wheelchair user, it would be to spend “the extra time to test ride/drive a new wheelchair and see how it feels, and to be patient during the setup. It would also include gathering a team around you, people that support or inspire, and for me, these people include “my brother Wil, all of the staff at the PA Hospital (Cleaners, Doctors, Nurses, OT’s, Paramedics, Physios etc.) As well as all the carers, friends and family of wheelchair users.”

Professor Linda Agnew, an immunologist who is blind, has been appointed the new Dean (Academic) at Griffith Health after many years in leadership roles at the University of New England. To read more information about this exciting appointment, please click on the title to be directed to the story.

The Hopkins Centre recently announced the release of their 2023 Interdisciplinary Seed Funded Research Grants and Clinical Fellowships. The aim of these grants is to support new research that will improve disability and rehabilitation clinical practice, service delivery, and systems, as well as develop and maintain a credible exchange of scholarship and knowledge transfer to benefit rehabilitation services and the people who utilise these services.

Expressions of Interest are due by 5pm on 15 February 2023. For more information, visit the Hopkins Centre website.

Georgia Munro-Cook, the captain of Australia's National Wheelchair Basketball team at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics is the most recently appointed Research Fellow at Inclusive Futures: Reimagining Disability beacon. Click the title to read more about her experiences. This will open a new webpage.