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The latest from CPActive
Resilience, community and representation – key lessons from CPA’s Paralympic Ticker Tape Parade
The amazing performance of Australian athletes with cerebral palsy at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics has inspired a new generation of young children with CP and similar disabilities. To celebrate the return of our Aussie Paralympians, CPA recently held a virtual Paralympic Ticker Tape Parade, pairing aspiring athletes with some of our most successful Paralympians living with CP for an uplifting evening of community and conversation. Culture and community Kicking off the event were Christopher Pyne and Ben Atkins, represent Australia’s Para-football team, the Pararoos. They spoke to up-and-coming CPA athlete Matty Engesser, discussing the special bond that athletes with cerebral palsy have, and the importance of building and connecting our CP community. “You need to find that special thing for a team to succeed, whether it be in football or athletics. With [the Pararoos], the drive, the determination, the spark was already there, it was just a matter of moulding and developing it. When
Window of Opportunity campaign: stories from the launch
Right now in Australia, there’s no standard program for screening babies for CP. That’s why the Window of Opportunity campaign exists: to advocate for a national Baby Movement Screening program for every child born, or BaMS for Bubs.
At the launch event the CPActive community heard from four parents about their child’s journey to diagnosis and treatment. These are their stories.
NDIS independent assessments scrapped
CPActive recognises the long-standing hard work of disability advocates in opposing the NDIS independent assessments and their big win in having the proposal scrapped. In February more than 20 organisations, led by Every Australian Counts, called on the Federal Government to abandon the plan, describing it as box-ticking exercise to cut costs. Disability advocates have for months been warning the independent assessment process was deeply flawed, including media reports of a person living with a disability who requires a wheelchair for mobility being assessed as not needing wheelchair support. The majority of Australians support the NDIS and its aim of placing choice and control with people living with a disability. It is vital any change to the NDIS is evidence-based, co-designed with people living with a disability and does not leave any one worse off. You can read more in this Guardian article here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/09/disability-sector-celebrates-after-coalition-forced-to-scrap-ndis-independent-assessments
19 August: Window of Opportunity campaign launch | A CPActive Online Event
Every baby born with cerebral palsy has a window of opportunity that makes a lifetime of difference. But in Australia, we’re missing it. Every baby born is tested for hundreds of health conditions, but not for cerebral palsy. It’s the most common physical disability in childhood, yet across Australia the approach to diagnosis is just ‘wait and see’. Treating cerebral palsy in those first few months of life has a massive impact on that child’s wellbeing for the rest of their life. Every baby deserves that chance, and every parent deserves to know how to help their child thrive. Register now for the launch of our new Window of Opportunity campaign at 7pm on Thursday 19th August. We’re calling on the Federal government to provide universal cerebral palsy screening for every baby born in Australia. We’ll share stories and discuss how we can work together to create lasting change Hope
Wrap-up: Activism 101 Skill Share
Our CPActive event ‘Activsm 101’ was a smaller skill share session where three prominent disability activists dropped in to share their wisdom with the CPActive community.
Grassroots campaigner Jerusha Mather, Jean Cotchin from the Every Australian Counts campaign, and Elly Desmarchelier from Women With Disabilities Australia joined us to discuss how they found their passion for activism, their experiences dealing with politicians and decision-makers, why the world needs to hear more voices with lived experience of disability.
Federal budget 2021-22 | What’s changing for the NDIS?
Yesterday the Federal government released its budget, which included another boost to the NDIS as well as new funds for community and support services. Here’s a brief breakdown of what’s new…
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