Strong Voices

Navigating banking can sometimes feel overwhelming. Whether you’re managing money on behalf of a family member, dealing with bereavement or struggling to understand complex systems, help is available.

In May around 50 people from the autism community gathered for a special hui in Hamilton to discuss a recent incident in which a young autistic girl was misidentified and handcuffed by police and taken to Waikato hospital.

A groundbreaking new web app called Volition, launched in March, aims to revolutionise the way disabled New Zealanders make decisions about their daily lives.

IHC’s Self-Advocacy Advisor David Corner pays tribute to the late Dame Tariana Turia.

In an age of internet scams that affect everyone, it’s clear that more support and safety resources tailored for people with intellectual disabilities are needed. Hōhepa Canterbury decided to address this gap and has developed the Digi Citizens Framework – a resource designed to educate and empower digital users with intellectual disability.

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Heather Walker is working on making herself redundant. That will only happen when Nelson’s Inclusive Sports Trust achieves its goal and disabled sports players are accepted into mainstream sports clubs.

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Sailability Wellington, a charity giving disabled people the opportunity to sail, has launched an ambitious project to build six new boats.

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Young Whangārei school-leaver Aston Donker was clear about one thing when he turned up to the new Āhei work experience programme earlier this year. He didn’t want a job involving customers.

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Jo Ellis put her life on hold 17 years ago to care for her disabled son Harvey. She wants to tell the new Government what that meant for her – how she sacrificed her career and lived an isolated life, struggling to find the support she was entitled to but didn’t know about.

Psychologist Dr Olive Webb has spent 50 years so far working with people with intellectual disabilities and says it’s time to ditch the ‘them and us’ way of thinking.

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