John Mckenna's News and Views on Disability

Intellectually Disabled Individuals who Offend – Sexually

Posted by John on 15 May 2012 0 comments

I now think a bit differently on a couple things after running focus groups with prisoners who have an intellectual disabilities, during 2008/09

There are no bad people, just people with bad behaviours………
The importance of risk assessment tools for individuals that display behaviours of concern……

During a recent catch up with Frank Lambrick (Office of the Senior Practitioner Department of Human Services Victoria) he was telling me of an assessment tool known as, ARMIDILO-S

ARMIDILO-S is the acronym for Assessment of Risk and Manageability of Intellectually Disabled IndividuaLs who Offend – Sexually

Frank along with 6 other Australian and overseas authors have developed this online risk assessment resources.

It’s an online instrument/resource designed specifically for use with intellectually disabled individuals who have offended sexually or have displayed sexually offensive behavior.

Practitioners who wish to use the ARMIDILO-S are not required to hold a university degree,

but should have a basic understanding of risk factors related to sexual offense recidivism and principles of psychological assessment.

The practitioner also should have specific training related to the use of the particular actuarial test that will be implemented as part of this assessment process.

Risk assessment is an integral part of clinical practice with all offender populations including those with intellectual disabilities.

Risk assessment tools can be used for several purposes such as

Making decisions on a client’s current status
Determining their suitability for treatment and rehabilitation programmes
Assessment of present and future placement
Level of staffing required to support the individual
Level and intensity of support required to safely manage the individuals risks in a secure facility or in a community setting

After spending some time clicking on the “easy to navigate.” menu options I came away with a new appreciation for the work goes on behind the scenes.

Getting Your Act Together

Posted by John on 8 May 2012 0 comments

NICAN have been around for donkey’s

They are the “disability go to people” who administer the Qantas Carer Concession Card and also have National focus on leisure and travel.

Whilst in Canberra last week I met up with guy from NICAN and he was telling me about a new resource called.

“Know before You Go”

Not just a catchy name but a great planning tool for service providers and people with disabilities alike to increase skills and confidence when developing lifestyle/leisure plans

This planning kit provide support to.

Undertake a self-audit, with tips, tools, checklists and examples
Develop an action plan including a shell action plan with project owners, timeframes, deliverables and commitments
Develop a checklist for inclusive events covering issues ranging from accessible parking to inclusive communications

There’s a lot to it which is to be expected as it covers off on all disability types.

I believe the real value in it is not necessarily around travel or leisure but also for those people involved in “person centred planning” check it out.

Those wondering what NICAN acronym stood for, as I did?

It is, the National Information Communication Awareness Network.

A quick friendly dig, I had to go to Acronym Finder to find this out…..(A great site I discovered whilst researching this story, not related)

Australians Unite to Make The NDIS A Reality…

Posted by John on 30 April 2012 0 comments

Couple of important quotes from today’s NDIS Rally’s that were held across Australia.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard

“Today I can announce that in the May budget my government, your Labor government, will fund our share for the national disability insurance scheme, we will also launch a full year sooner than the Productivity Commission suggested”

John Della Bosca Campaign Director NDIS campaign

“It was a policy idea whose time has come”

Comfort Dignity Independence Less Back Injuries…. About Time

Posted by John on 24 April 2012 1 comment

Imagine you’re a dolphin being lifted out of the water in a sling.

That’s how I feel when being transferred using a “patient lifting device”

Introducing an extremely innovative lifting solution that doesn’t use slings and gives the dolphin oops… I mean the person the option to independently operate it using a remote control.

Now we are talking independence…….. It’s called the ” HANDI- MOVE”

You are going to have to check out the video clip I did to fully appreciate how it works

I guess the real thing that impressed me was how versatile it is

A brief list of things it can achieve that are normally extremely time-consuming, so you don’t do them, or tasks you have to do which can be uncomfortable.

Getting dressed, pants on & off,,,,,, easy peasy……….
Actually sitting on a toilet, whilst also being supported, (Haven’t done that for 40 years as I use a special chair on wheels)
Getting in & out of bath or swimming pool
Being repositioned in a wheelchair, an important pressure sore prevention strategy.
Getting on the ground, without it being an accident

Naturally this lifting device is not for everyone due to the fact that we all come in different shapes and sizes have different abilities.

A lot of these tasks also can be achieved independently if you have a track mounted on the roof which is not always practical or acceptable depending on the circumstances

It’s a great design feature that has been missing for a long time and it’s nice to think that we can do away with the hammock or two-piece sling for some tasks

The Australian distributor for this product is Equip4Living (site is being updated, call and they will send you a DVD)

Get on the One Tram, with the One Epilepsy Plan

Posted by John on 16 April 2012 1 comment

What does

An Epilepsy Management Plan (EMP) have in common with The National Disability Insurance Scheme NDIS?

Answer

For it to work, we all need to be on the same tram.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria, has just released the “One Person, One Plan” Initiative

This is overdue initiatives will hopefully reduce past poor practices such as.

Multiple versions of an EMP
They were too long, poorly written & complicated
Not updated or reviewed
Lack of essential information, such as possible triggers for seizure and what to expect?

For some it can be a life or death situation, so invest some time in “You Tubing & Surfing” to better understand what’s going on. Is

The One Person One Plan should allow disability support workers to provide consistent, appropriate support to the person with epilepsy no matter which service they are attending with the ultimate aim of reducing risk and improving safety.

I have heard on too many occasions from support workers that were not aware the person that they were supporting had such a plan seizure management plan.

Managers and Coordinators need to take some ownership of this.

Distractions for Sick Kids

Posted by John on 10 April 2012 0 comments

I’m a bit of Kids Hospital Connoisseur having had heaps of corrective surgery and if I totalled the time spent including my six monthly break, (I’m talking bones)………….it would be around 18 months.

Memories flooded back as I recently had a guided tour of the new Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH)

It was obvious that they have done their homework around “Best Practices” when it comes to children’s healing.

Very different layout with 80 precent of beds being in private rooms and plenty of positive distractions to entice a speedy recovery as well as reasons to get out of bed.

The old RCH had & (still has) McDonald’s but now there are other great things to check out.

Full-size movie theatre along with beanbags
An amazing Aquarium where you will sometimes see divers swimming around
Starlight Express Rooms, designed for fun only
Science Works
The Meerkat enclosure

The Meerkat are renowned for their family values as they look out for each other to survive.

For families experiencing the stress of hospitalisation, I can think of no better example than the Meerkat to show us humans a lessons or two on pulling together when the family dynamics change.

Supporters or Pretenders?

Posted by John on 2 April 2012 0 comments

The National Disability Insurance Scheme continues to be a talking point in the media and on the street

Now we wait to see what comes out of a meeting this Wednesday between State and Federal Treasurers

Simon Kneebone’s illustration, sums it up beautifully.

States Meet To Discuss The National Disability Insurance Scheme

The Human Headline & Neil Mitchell Talk To Me About the NDIS

Posted by John on 26 March 2012 1 comment

Friday 23rd of March I attended the 2011 Quill Awards for excellence in Victorian Journalism and came away with a new level of respect for journalism whilst listening to the nominations for numerous awards.

I now have a greater appreciation for the work of a journalist as I listened to examples where good journalistic research exposes issues that need to be exposed.

One of the many highlights during the night was when 3AW and the Herald Sun’s Neil Mitchell agreed to sit down with me for a chat where he shared his thoughts on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDS)

I was able to also congratulate him for being the winner of the 2011 Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award.

As a humble blogger feeling pretty stoked at this point another guru, Derryn Hinch also agreed to be interviewed on the same topic, the NDS

There was definitely support for the NDIS from Neil and Darryn, and if you know these guys, they call it as I see it.

via YouTube

Disability Resource Go To “You Tube” It’s A Great Starting Point

Posted by John on 20 March 2012 0 comments

Self-direct………… self-direct………. yes this approach is great, however for it to work we and others need to be resourced.

It’s all about sourcing information so that we can make the right decisions which in many cases involves explaining what you want to achieve to others.

I’ve chosen to work with international students as my support workers, and of course we work through the language barrier.

What I have discovered as an extremely effective tool has been You Tube

The beauty of using You Tube is so many people can access it, so before I meet a potential carer I direct them to specific links that will give them an idea of my requirements.

Of course you’re going come across content that possibly contradicts the way you think in relation to how a particular task can be achieved.

It’s just a matter of investing a little time and am sure you’ll be surprised on some of the things you will discover.

This is a brief list as example on what’s out there in the You Tube world.