Disabled shafted yet again in S.A

[Sojourner]

Sad day when the Labor Party turns its back on the disabled, hopefully Dignity for the Disabled bear it to mind when they have to allocate their preferences.

Considering the massive increase in revenue that S.A is getting from the GST, there is no excuse for this.

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No money for disabled
CRAIG BILDSTIEN
March 28, 2007 02:15am

FAMILIES and Communities chief executive Sue Vardon has admitted that key services for almost 100,000 disabled South Australians are suffering because of cost pressures in her department.

She has revealed that the financial pressure on Disability SA is "severe" and conceded that vacancies for crucial support staff are deliberately not being filled to save money. While describing the problem as "regrettable", Ms Vardon confirmed that only areas of "highest priority" would be filled as she grappled to contain her budget.
Her comments, in a letter dated March 21 to the Public Service Association and obtained by The Advertiser yesterday, prompted a stop-work meeting of about 80 disability workers in the southern suburbs. They passed a motion condemning the department for failing to fill 10 positions at Christies Beach and Daw Park.

The group, including speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers and child and youth therapists, said that some clients had been waiting since before Christmas for help and support.

The PSA has labelled the department's management as "incompetent" and accused it of "putting human lives in jeopardy and creating misery".

General secretary Jan McMahon said there was a shortage of about 60 professionals state-wide and the service network was on the verge of collapse.

She said workers were putting their own health and safety at risk by shouldering "atrocious workloads", and the vulnerable clients they cared for "must not be left to rot".

Dignity for Disabled president David Holst said yesterday disability services had been "strangled to the point of chaos".

"The budget has been stretched and stretched and stretched to the point where they are trying to squeeze blood out of a stone," he said. "Unless the Government stops the hyperbole and starts putting in serious resources, the best chance any disabled person will have of improving their life will be to win a chook raffle."

Disability Minister Jay Weatherill yesterday denied there had been any budget cuts, claiming cost pressures were the result of increased demand for services.

He would fly to Brisbane next week for a meeting of state and territory Disability Ministers to ask Canberra to put more funds into disability services.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 10,00.html

[PhilG]

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[Snaggletooth Tiger]

COALITION PROPAGANDA!!!!
What did Li'l Johnny Howard do after the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996?
Create an amnesty 'Buy-back scheme' taking firearms away from ordinary law abiding Australians such as myself!
Populist tactic after a National tragedy methinks!
Meanwhile all the f'd up units kept their weapons under wraps & still go boonta to this day!
ie. Brad Murdoch (open for arguement... Stinks of a set-up!)
Howard. Abbot, Costello & co. are pulling out ALL stops to make the ALP look bad!
Don't get sucked in folks!

[TroyGFC]

As STT mentioned its all scare tactics from a running scared liberal party.

[Psyber]

It's the same in Victoria!

PUT IN MORE MONEY FOR THE DISABLED!!!

What do they want? Another Port Arthur? I'm serious! Money for proper support would have given Martin Bryant the support he needed and that massacre would never have happened!!

Putting in more money may not solve anything - the administrator's another post said "could not run a chook raffle" would just waste they too. What is needed is an overhaul of the system and good administration of a fair budget.

Martin Bryant is another story. I am not sure money would have prevented that bomb going off!

[Sojourner]

No money for disabled
CRAIG BILDSTIEN
March 28, 2007 02:15am
Dignity for Disabled president David Holst said yesterday disability services had been "strangled to the point of chaos".

"The budget has been stretched and stretched and stretched to the point where they are trying to squeeze blood out of a stone," he said. "Unless the Government stops the hyperbole and starts putting in serious resources, the best chance any disabled person will have of improving their life will be to win a chook raffle."

I can assure you that ex Glenelg Footballer David Holst has no allegiance to either the Labor or the Liberal party, the fact that both shaft the disabled is the reason why he set up the Dignity for the Disabled party. Read the article, the department has not put on the staff that it has budgeted for and people have been waiting for essential services since before Christmas.

It is a total and utter disgrace, disabled people in S.A are being treated like dogs, with the encouragement of the state Labor party, that is quite factual.

[PhilG]

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[McAlmanac]

No money for disabled
CRAIG BILDSTIEN
March 28, 2007 02:15am
....

I can assure you that ex Glenelg Footballer David Holst has no allegiance to either the Labor or the Liberal party

Unlike the author of the article, a serial Liberal Party pre-selection candidate.

[Squawk]

It is not just the disabled who aren't getting enough money. No one is. Services are now offered at an all time basic level.

Last year - every dept had to cough up 8% savings across the board.
This year - depts can only ask for extra money if they offer equivalent (matched) savings.

The govt is making its own spending decisions as a Cabinet, not based upon the needs of depts. They are scrimping every cent to put towards infrastructure before the next election, and dont want to have to borrow to do so. They want to keep the AAA credit rating and demonstrate an ability to manage money post state-bank, but are happy to ride the bumps in the early years after an election because the public have short memories.

Lets not forget that in the wake of their first election win, they gave a few hundred thousand dollars to Brighton Secondary School to do their music tour of Singapore because they had to cancel the first one due to an outbreak of SARS there. These days you cant get that sort of money for anything other than extra media advisers for Cabinet Ministers.

[PhilG]

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[Psyber]

Martin Bryant is another story. I am not sure money would have prevented that bomb going off!

Whilst it's true that we'll never know for sure, if PROPER support had been available (which does take money to provide) he might not have been in the state of mind that caused the massacre in the first place. And a wider term of reference for what requires "compulsory support" (if I could use that term) - to put it another way, widen the intervention powers beyond just suicidal tendencies.

I suspect his state of mind may be genetic, but I agree that with proper services provided the tragedy may have been avoidable.

1. Some people need to be in long-term supervised care - the old purpose of the Asylum.

2. The problem with gun availability is the inadequate scrutiny of who gets a licence. I think the buy-back did not really address that issue. The problem people are possibly still acquiring guns, but from illegal sources now.

[PhilG]

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[Psyber]

Re the guns - Maybe, Psyber, but it would be costing them a lot more. Both for the gun itself and for the ammunition. Can you see any disabled people on a pension being able to afford the upkeep? I can't.

Re the Asylums - I happen to support that view in general. Of course (and I think you were insinuating this anyway) it needs to be treated as a refuge and support establishment, and not in the strictest sense a hospital per se. That was the problem with the old asylums - there were quacks in there trying to treat conditions they just simply didn't understand and had the generic term of "mad".

I'd take up residence in one if everything was done correctly. Priority should be given to those who have no chance of working.

I know of two Disability Pensioners who kept Armalite rifles at home - not cheap even when they were legal. Most of those I know who own guns at all, and are not farmers, are on lower incomes - it is a cultural thing of a sub-group of the lower social classes like smoking, habitual gambling, and drinking primarily to get drunk - they can't afford those either theoretically. The middle classes tend not to do those things - they buy BMWs or something similar instead.

Yes, I was referring to "asylum" in the strict sense, and since many who went to them, when they did exist, had at least some borderline psychiatric disorder some medical input was appropriate or they would have been chaotic and dangerous to be in - like the cheap boarding houses or caravan parks or public housing those people wind up in today! However, one would have to ensure they were not havens for bludgers.

Only the public used the term "mad". Effective treatment for psychiatric disorder began with Largactil and Lithium in the late 1940s, but did not really get going until the late 1950s, which lead to the emptying of long stay hospitals during the 1960s.

I have had social acquaintanceship with two people with mild Asperger's Syndrome. One is a teacher and one a general practitioner. It does not automatically mean one cannot work - it depends on severity and on motivation.

[Coorong]

It's the same in Victoria!

PUT IN MORE MONEY FOR THE DISABLED!!!

What do they want? Another Port Arthur? I'm serious! Money for proper support would have given Martin Bryant the support he needed and that massacre would never have happened!!

Phil, read so many of your posts, read your web site too. You DONT have a disability. like a guy with one leg or a person with cancer or an individual born with some of our "more normal" members of society. You phil just happen to be a DH (and of your own making)

[PhilG]

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[Coorong]

Coorong I have a FORMAL diagnosis of Aspergers - and it's backed up....TWICE!

So don't you DARE call me not disabled ever again.

Again, again and again

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Coorong I have a FORMAL diagnosis of Aspergers - and it's backed up....TWICE!

So don't you DARE call me not disabled ever again.

Again, again and again

Phil, is this around the mark ?

Asperger syndrome — also referred to as Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's, or just AS — is a pervasive developmental disorder related to autism. It manifests in individual ways and can have both positive and negative effects on a person. It is recognized by the medical community as one of five neurobiological pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) considered to be part of the autistic spectrum. It is typically characterized by issues with social and communication skills. Due to the mixed nature of its effects, it remains controversial among researchers, physicians, and people who are diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

Asperger syndrome is not differentiated from other autistic spectrum disorders by a minority of clinicians and instead they refer to it as high functioning autism (HFA) [1] in that early development is normal and there is no language delay and thus the symptoms differ only in degree from classic autism. Some people with AS do have learning disabilities; however, IQ tests may show normal or superior intelligence in diagnosed individuals.[2][3]

The diagnosis of AS is complicated by the lack of a standardized diagnostic screen. Instead, several different screening instruments and sets of diagnostic criteria are used. AS is often not identified in early childhood, and many individuals are not diagnosed until they are adults. Assistance for core symptoms of AS consists of therapies that apply behavior management strategies and address poor communication skills, obsessive or repetitive routines, and physical clumsiness. Many individuals with AS can adopt strategies for coping and do lead fulfilling lives - being gainfully employed, having successful relationships, and having families. In most cases, they are aware of their differences and can recognize if they need any support to maintain an independent life.[4]

Make of that what you will.

[PhilG]

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[Sheik Yerbouti]

OK, I only wiki'd it to see what it was all about, your site goes onto search here.
Does that mean that you take strong offence to anyone that disagrees with you, that's what I'm reading from your post above?
That's not a dig btw, but you come over as pedantic & blinkered in some posts where there's a disagreement with another poster. As in the ''smoking thread''. Is that a nice way of putting it?

[Psyber]

The Autistic Spectrum Disorders include a very wide range of disorder, from those who are severely disabled with classical Autism and usually live in institutions as they become unmanageable at home, to those who are barely disabled at all - such as the general practitioner and teacher I know. In the mildest forms you observe little things like a certain emotional aloofness, and some rigidity and obsessiveness about things including issues of what is right and wrong in society. The observer may also pick up the problems with reading other people's body language and emotional state, and a tendency to be intellectual about everything. The GP comes across as just a little vague and pre-occupied, but generally compensates well.

Mild ASD sufferers may pop up among hobbyist groups - flying model aircraft for example - and the highest incidence of ASD among children is in Silicon Valley among the children of the computer nerds. Bill Gates may well have a mild ASD - it obviously has not totally disabled him in business though it may have impaired his social skills from what I have gleaned.

So, having a diagnosis of ASD does not mean you are automatically disabled in real terms - it is a matter of how severe it is. There is no treatment as such, but learning where one's condition can hamper you and using your intellect to compensate can help. Sometimes someone trained in working with this problem can help work out compensating strategies.