Strong Voices

Empowered lives

Sector

‘I had a dream to win gold’

August 22, 2023

“I had a dream to go to the World Games and win gold,” said Invercargill powerlifter Lynett Williams at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin in June.

Read more

Families wait for arrival of Rett drug

June 2, 2023

New Zealand families are celebrating the release of the first drug to treat the severe neurological condition Rett syndrome and wondering if they will see it here.

Read more

Win or not, these footballers will make history

June 2, 2023

The New Zealand football team has left for the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin where, winners or not, it will make history.

Read more

2023 Census has a new question on disability

March 2, 2023

Every five years Stats NZ runs the census – counting how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. The next census day will be Tuesday, 7 March 2023.

Read more

Powerlifter gets her chance to compete in Berlin

March 2, 2023

Medal-winning powerlifter Lynett Williams will now get her chance to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin this year.

Read more

All school staff to be trained to avoid physical restraint

March 2, 2023

The Ministry of Education has launched new rules and guidelines to help schools understand more about student distress and minimise the use of physical restraint. The guidelines also aim to eliminate the use of unjustified restraint.

Read more

Manaakiao shares his name with new term for Williams syndrome

March 2, 2023

When Manaakiao was diagnosed with Williams syndrome at the age of four, his parents Jamie-Leigh and Puke Timoti asked what the Māori term for Williams syndrome was.

Read more

The experts were in the room

March 2, 2023

The families who make up the New Zealand Williams Syndrome Association met for their summer camp in Whanganui in January – and there was a lot to catch up on.

Read more

New secure unit promises a fresh approach

November 25, 2022

A new national secure facility in Porirua is trying to achieve an uneasy balance between providing privacy and therapy and managing high-risk behaviour.

Read more

Project Employ has a new strategy to reach employers

November 25, 2022

Sarah Dann-Hoare is out to convince employers that young disabled people make great employees.

Read more