ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
IN THIS ISSUE
Industry Event
30th Annual Charity Golf Day
In the Community
Les is Loving Life
Research News
Dyskinesia Toolkit Launched
IN THIS ISSUE
Contents 3 CEO’s View 4 Introducing Bradford Views 6 A Bicycle Built for Two 6 Dyskinesia Toolkit Launched 7 Ability Centre’s 30th Annual Charity Golf Day 8 A Day at the Beach 9 Les is Loving Life 10 Congratulations Telethon! 11 Camp Promotes Communication and Friendships 11 Rikki and Tyng at iFLY 12 Pain No Barrier for Melissa 13 Ivica Elected to City of Stirling Council 14 International Day of People with a Disability 15 CP Respiratory Checklist
Ability Centre PO Box 61, Mount Lawley WA 6929 info@abilitycentre.com.au
The Christmas season and summer holidays are upon us and we are nearly at the end of 2017. With another incredibly busy year almost complete, I would like to thank all our customers and their families for your ongoing support and acknowledge the hard work of the Ability Centre team in another year of change for us all. Over the last year we have built on the work of 2016 and have a strong team to collectively tackle the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities presented through the once in a generation change associated with the NDIS. This year has almost entirely been dedicated to change and we have been facing it with courage and an unashamed focus on our customers – current and future. Innovation is the key to a thriving future and we continue to put our efforts into revitalising almost every aspect of our service delivery. We support people from our heartland of cerebral palsy, and also from other physical disability categories plus
Brand News ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
CEO’s
View autism, intellectual disability and acquired brain injury to name a few. We are ensuring that our wide and varied customer base is well supported and continues to benefit from our organisation’s incredible expertise.
Equipment services through CP Tech and Dreamfit continue to expand and we look forward to expanding even further, continuing the ground breaking communication, mobility, recreation and sleep services we are so proud of.
Through the work of our Innovation Hub, we have developed excellent approaches to bringing customers into our organisation through the development of our new Customer Contact and Customer Engagement teams. A single unified approach to welcome new customers and check in as to how we are going with our existing customers is developing very well.
Goodwill Engineering remains the market leader of double brick ties in Western Australia through the incredible work of our supported employees and the staff who assist them to achieve their dreams. Create Employment this year opened in four new Perth locations and has greatly increased its market share which is a credit to this hard working team.
Our Shared Living new service delivery prototype has been launched in four of our shared living houses in the City of Bayswater and by all accounts is working very well. We have also had the one year anniversary of our Staunton shared living service which has been very successful with outstanding customer satisfaction. Therapy Services has expanded substantially across all locations, most particularly in the southern suburbs of Perth and the lower south west of our State. We launched a new service delivery model in the East Metropolitan suburbs this year and the rollout will continue in 2018 in Perth metro and country areas.
None of our service delivery could occur without our amazing staff, who every day operate with passion and commitment to live our purpose where people release their abilities. I thank them for their continued dedication and expertise. I would also like to thank our Board of Directors, led by Chairman Justin Scanlan, for their continued support for our organisation. Their work is largely unseen but we truly appreciate their guidance, wisdom and good humour in all that they do. We are not letting the grass grow under our feet and we are excited about the future. I am immensely proud of the work
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Suzi Cowcher Chief Executive Officer
that has been achieved over the past year and am so looking forward to 2018 which by all accounts, is going to be our best year yet! My best wishes for the holiday season to you and your loved ones. Regards, Suzi
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Introducing Bradford Views Everyone has a right to live in a home of their choice. Somewhere they feel safe, comfortable and welcome, a home that enables them to express their individuality and enjoy independence.
“We’ve been working on the redevelopment of Hillroyd since 2015 and we’re excited to see our vision for contemporary and homely shared living accommodation coming to life!” For many years, people with high physical support needs have had to live in institutionalised facilities that often resembled a hospital ward. While these may have been acceptable in the past, we know it does not reflect what people want. That is why we started the journey to redevelop Hillroyd, a 20-bed facility that was built in Coolbinia in 1985. The building was no longer fit-for-purpose and limited people’s choices and opportunities to control their
own life and the environment in which they lived. We’ve been working on the redevelopment of Hillroyd since 2015 and we’re excited to see our vision for contemporary and homely shared living accommodation coming to life! These amazing new villas, funded by Disability Services Commission, Lotterywest and Ability Centre through a bequest, will become a flagship in shared living. The villas will be known as Bradford Views, named by housemates and their
families, and they will provide the optimal environment to live life with complex support needs. The design we’ve created has been based on feedback from customers and their families, and we’ve also drawn on learnings from our visits to shared living models across Australia. The villas are nestled in a prime location, with beautiful views of Coolbinia Reserve that helps to bring smells and the sounds of the outdoors in. Each villa is light and spacious, offering
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Industry Event
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housemates the choice of enjoying the privacy of their own room or relaxing in the kitchen, large central lounge room or balcony. Technology has been embedded throughout the design of the villas and each housemate will have the technology customised to their individual requirements, giving them even greater control over their environment. There is an activities centre which will provide a wonderful place for housemates to hang out together, enjoying a pizza night, watching a movie or cheering on their favourite team. There will also be the opportunity for housemates to take part in events organised by community organisations, plus they’ll be able to use the arts and craft studio as a creative space. The landscaping provides a sensory experience where people can enjoy the colour, taste, fragrance and texture of a variety of plants and vegetables. It’s entirely wheelchair accessible and the water features will provide a relaxing environment for people to just be. We’re hopeful housemates will be able to celebrate Christmas in Bradford Views, making memories in their wonderful new homes.
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Research News
A Bicycle Built for Two Getting out and about has taken on new meaning for Kim Hassett who is now enjoying her new tandem bike. Thanks to some clever knowhow from our Dreamfit team and a Community Living and Participation Grant, Kim took delivery of the bike in October and is loving her new wheels. Alongside some modifications to ensure the bike matched Kim’s needs, ease of transport and storage for such a large item were key considerations. This is where Phil Falconbridge from Dreamfit stepped in to customise the American sourced bike and build a trolley for transportation. “I’ve never seen a bike like this before and it took about two weeks to work through all the requirements. The key to it was to build a frame for the bike that meant it could be tipped on its side and put in the customer’s van safely.
“I am really pleased Kim is enjoying a new level of freedom and achieved her long term goal to ride a bike.”
Dyskinesia Toolkit Launched It was a great honour to host the West Australian launch of the new Toolkit for Identification & Measurement of Dyskinesia in Children with Cerebral Palsy written by Dr Kirsty Stewart. Dr Stewart is based at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney. The toolkit is the result of Dr Stewart’s two year research fellowship, sponsored by the Centre for Research Excellence in Cerebral Palsy (CRE-CP), and will be valuable for many clinicians across Australia.
This is the first knowledge translation event run by the CRECP, which has a focus on ensuring research findings become widely available to clinicians. Our thanks to Annie Chappell, Senior Physiotherapist at Ability Centre, and Sarah Love, Physiotherapist at Princess Margaret Hospital and CRE-CP for their work to share this great resource. More information about the toolkit is available by contacting Dr Stewart at kirsty.stewart@health.nsw.gov.au
30th Annual Charity Golf Day For 30 years, Perth’s corporate community has come together on the green in support of children and adults living with disability. Ability Centre’s Charity Golf Day was centred on the idyllic Joondalup Golf Course and was a fantastic day out for all golfers, staff and volunteers involved.
Golfers enjoyed perfect weather for a gourmet BBQ lunch before teeing off for 18 holes of golf ambrose-syle. Our major sponsor, Scarboro Toyota, as always was an integral part of the day with two teams out on the green. They also generously supplied a Toyota C-HR 2WD for our hole-in-one prize, which sadly no one walked away with. There were a variety of other treats on the course, including
premium wine tasting courtesy of Watershed Wines, for the risk-takers there was a betting hole located on the other side of a steep quarry, and all the traditional novelty holes.
valuable time to be MC and Auctioneer for the night. James’ enthusiasm was contagious and with his help we were able to raise much needed funds for our programs.
The day rounded out with a scrumptious three course dinner and charity auction. We were lucky enough to have James Lush, presenter of the Breakfast Show 720 ABC Perth and CEO of Lush Digital, volunteer his
All profit raised through this exciting event went towards helping Ability Centre provide vital services to almost 2000 children, adults and their families in Western Australia.
Brand News ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
Ability Centre’s
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Community News
A Day at the Beach
Michelle Smith (pictured with Scott Langmead) now has the freedom to roam the beaches thanks to the all-terrain Scout Crawler and Coogee Surf Life Saving Club. Coogee Surf Club has kindly offered to look after the electric vehicle in their clubhouse and now that summer is here, customers are able to take advantage of this exciting and unique piece of equipment. The Scout Crawler is able to fit a range of manual wheelchairs, and with its sturdy frame, chain drive and joystick control, users are able to go offroading with ease. Traditional beach wheelchairs can be quite cumbersome and not independently controlled, with the Scout Crawler users can navigate through sand, gravel, grass and even snow. Michelle, who lives in our Minderoo Villas had a great time tearing it up on the beach with
members of the team from CP Tech and Opportunities. Scott Langmead from CP Tech, who accompanied Michelle on the outing said that “This is what Opportunities is all about. This is a big part of our desire to see that people have the ability to do what they need to do.” Pieces of equipment like the Scout Crawler are central to Ability Centre’s work to see that people with disability are able to access new environments and opportunities in the community.
Once summer ends, Ability Centre is hoping to find a new location in local bushland or national parks to store the Scout Crawler so customers are able to explore the surrounds easily and independently. The Scout Crawler is available for all Ability Centre customers to use over summer. If you’re interested in finding out more information, please get in touch with your primary contact at Ability Centre.
Brand News ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
Les is Loving Life
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Long term customer Les Potter has not let cerebral palsy stop him living life to the full and making lifelong friendships. Now 72, Les reflects on the change in the services and supports available to children with disability in Western Australia. “I am the eldest in the family and have two brothers and one sister. When I was born we lived in Bayswater and my family used to push me around in a cart. I used to go for physiotherapy at what was then the Crippled Children’s Association and when I was about seven, it became the Spastic Welfare Association. Dad was a wood machinist and he worked in Northbridge. Mum was from Wongan Hills and she was a hard working country lady. Once a week she used to walk from Perth train station up to Princess Margaret Hospital pushing me in a pram for my appointments. She did this until I was six years old. I went to Bayswater Primary School and then Forest High School and generally I found people accepted me. I liked school but found it quite hard especially spelling. I made lots of friends at the house on Rookwood and Vale Streets in Mt Lawley in the 1950s. I remember Joe Michell and his son Warwick. Joe really got things started and found lots of support for kids with
cerebral palsy. Every Sunday I remember my parents had to help with maintenance for this Mt Lawley house. I also remember Dad helping with fundraising – all over Perth they went to places and put some masking tape on the ground and people would place coins on it as a donation. They even went to some of the country shows. I lived at home with mum and dad until I was 38 and they had to go into a retirement village and now live in Ballajura by myself. I enjoy my independence. I worked as a groundsman at Langley Park for 10 years, as a storeman for Chamberlains tractors and at Trevor’s Carpets in Osborne Park until I retired. I’ve made many friends over the years and still enjoy visiting people. I also enjoy my friends through Hash House Harriers and have been on some great trips overseas including India and the UK. Most recently I went to Japan and Hainen in China – I loved both places. I also love my football and support West Perth and the Fremantle Dockers.
Over the years the service I have experienced as a customer has become more professional and I have been very happy with Ability Centre in all its different forms.”
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Industry Events
Congratulations Telethon! Telethon has always been a key event in the West Australian calendar since its inception in 1968 and has hosted a range of stars over the years, including Steve Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr and Celine Dion. This year, the community donated a remarkable $36,431,381, a staggering $10 million more than 2016. Ability Centre is fortunate to have a great partnership with Telethon and the money raised previously has helped to fund a range of our programs including our In Home Baby Intervention Service. This free service is for infants who have been identified by medical professionals as being at risk of neurodevelopmental delay. This innovative familycentred program monitors infants’ developmental progress and offers advice and strategies to support their development and wellbeing. Telethon with their 26 hour non-stop entertainment attracts large crowds every year, but the stars of the show are always the two Little Telethon Stars. The Telethon kids selected have been a patient at Princess Margaret Hospital over the past twelve months and are chosen to represent all the children who benefit from the money raised. One of the Little Telethon Stars this year, was Olivia Riley who acquired a brain injury after complex surgery to remove a brain tumour. Olivia has been making amazing progress over the past year with Ability Centre. Physiotherapists and Speech Pathologists have been helping Olivia to re-learn how to walk
and talk, as her surgery caused damage to her motor skills. Although it’s been a tough year for Olivia, her mum Bianca says she’s a ‘real battler’. Unfortunately Olivia was too sick to go to Telethon this year, so Telethon and the Sunrise crew went to Princess Margaret
Hospital to surprise Olivia with a visit. Olivia was delighted to meet some of her favourite stars and she couldn’t stop smiling. Thankfully, Olivia is now out of hospital and is continuing towards her goal of walking before Christmas.
Brand News ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
In the Community
Camp Promotes Communication and Friendships
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A number of our staff gave up one of their October weekends to volunteer at the Variety Motor Mouth Camp. Celeste Fell, Kav Samuell, Suzi Wills and Louisa Dawkins all supported the four day camp for children with Assistive and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and their families. The aim was to provide intensive therapy for AAC users an increase the children’s use of AAC during daily activities. The camp was packed full of fun opportunities including treasure hunts, craft activities, sensory exploration, book sharing, a disco and concert performances centred around this year’s camp theme – Shipwrecked! Mermaids, lobsters, sharks and pirates were some of the many arrr-tistic costumes seen at the camp disco! Parents and siblings were provided training and education on how to communicate and support the AAC user. There
was also a guest and mentor, Mel Smith who is an adult AAC user, who flew in from Melbourne to share her experiences. Mel’s talk was so positive and powerful that she had inspired a teenage AAC user to share her own story and experience with peers at school. It was a great success and many gains in communication were made and friendships formed between AAC users, siblings and their parents. We highly recommend to others that they volunteer on future camps and encourage customers to apply to attend. A Teen AAC camp will be running in the first half of 2018.
For further information, please contact: Variety – The Children’s Charity www.variety.org.au/wa Kids Support Team 08 9355 3655
Rikki and Tyng at iFLY iFLY Indoor Skydiving is not just a thrill ride but the latest in action sports. Thanks to iFLY, two of Ability Centre’s customers, Rikki and Tyng were able to experience floating effortlessly into flight inside a giant glass tunnel. After consultations with iFLY Flight Instructors and Ability Centre Therapists about the physical requirements needed to fly, Rikki and Tyng were given the all clear. They arrived at iFLY to meet their personal flight instructors, Danny and Lee who
guided them through their preflight training and take-off. Excitement pierced the air while Rikki and Tyng were being suited up for their flight. They both had a blast flying and their smiles said it all.
iFLY is a great example of organisations that are working towards accessibility for everyone. They believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience the amazing feeling of flying, and we couldn’t agree more.
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In the Community
Pain No Barrier for Melissa
Newly appointed Board member and cerebral palsy advocate Melissa Northcott recently took on the Perth Kilt Run with great success personally and for Ability Centre. In September, Melissa and her parents, Keith and Sharon, completed the 2.5 kilometres to raise awareness for two causes close to their hearts - Make a Difference Support Cerebral Palsy and Ability Centre. Melissa has hemiplegia cerebral palsy and participating in the event was at times painful with the challenge of flat and hill/ incline surfaces on roads and footpaths. Throughout the course people were asking about Ability Centre and cheering Melissa and Sharon on to finish. Despite the difficulties, Melissa finished in an impressive 59 minutes 36 seconds.
Commenting on the day Melissa said, “While I may have taken virtually an hour to complete the Kilt Run, I am proud that I was able to show that a person with cerebral palsy and disability can achieve no matter the time and pain with determination. To have people say ‘good on
you’, ‘keep going you can do this’, made me fight that bit harder to achieve that finish line.” The Perth Kilt Run is a fun challenge between Perth Scotland and Perth Canada as part of the annual Scottish Highland Gathering hosted by the City of Armadale.
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Industry Events
International Day of People with Disability
International Day of People with a Disability is held on December 3 each year, where the community comes together to celebrate the achievements of people with a disability and to promote public awareness and understanding. Each year the UN announces a theme and this year it was “transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all” with the overarching principle to ‘leave no one behind’. Using these themes, the aim is to focus on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for people with disability. In Western Australia alone there were nearly 50 events held
state wide in celebration of the day. Ability Centre celebrated with our own morning tea at Westfield Innaloo with customers Lindy, Sue-Mary, Beverley and Ian (pictured). Westfield and Ability Centre staff also attended, with the wonderful Ox and Rabbit café hosting the celebrations. Ability Centre also supported the NDS WA Lunch celebrations on the same day. Staff and customers were invited to enjoy this amazing event with over 500 people in attendance. The atmosphere was one of celebration, with a major focus on employment and showcasing the importance of increasing employment opportunities using innovative approaches. One exciting presentation was by the mother of The Really Useful Recyclers, a microenterprise founded by Perth locals Joshua Flintoff and
Courtney Smith. The team collect recycling from local business and create beautiful handmade, unique paper art pieces. The small business was started after the founders Joshua and Courtney, who are both on the autism spectrum, had difficulty finding employment. Their business is a great example of the innovative thinking needed to achieve entrepreneurial success and helps to empower other people in a similar situation. Events like Ability Centre’s morning tea and NDS WA Lunch celebrations are an important part of raising awareness and inclusion for people with disability and we are passionate about our continuing involvement in celebrations in the years to come.
1 in 14 young people with CP are admitted to hospital with respiratory illness each year.
1 in 14 young people with CP are admitted to hospital with respiratory illness each year.
2 in 5 of these are re-admitted to hospital with respiratory illness the next year.
2 in 5 of these
are re-admitted to hospital with respiratory illness the next year.
The CP Respiratory Checklist helps identify risk factors for serious respiratory illness. TheRespiratory checklist is Checklist for younghelps people The CP with CPfactors aged 1-26 years ofrespiratory age. identify risk for serious
When he improved enough to run for To findThe out your respiratory risk factors, go to: illness. checklist one minute, Adrian experienced beingis for young people www.abilitycentre.com.au/cp-checklist/ out of breath for the first in his life, years of age. with CPtime aged 1-26 bringing a sense of panic and anxiety. find out your respiratory risk factors, go to: The expert To Xcelerate team worked with him to manage these feelings lifted This checklist is based on researchand conducted in Western Australia between 2011 and 2017. www.abilitycentre.com.au/cp-checklist/ For more information contact Marie.Blackmore@abilitycentre.com.au his confidence and fitness levels. This checklist is based on research conducted in Western Australia between 2011 and 2017. For more information contact Marie.Blackmore@abilitycentre.com.au
Brand News ISSUE 06 DECEMBER 2017
New CP Respiratory Checklist
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Let us support you 1300 106 106 abilitycentre.com.au
Ability Centre 106 Bradford Street, Coolbinia WA 6050 PO Box 61, Mount Lawley WA 6929 Tel 1300 106 106 Email info@abilitycentre.com.au ABN 79 057 702 959 ABN 79 057 702 959