IT WAS no surprise to read the story of Christine and her son, identifying the need for increased disability services, especially long-term accommodation.
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In 1971, my son acquired a brain injury through open heart surgery at the age of one year.
At that time, I was told by a top specialist to “put him in an institute and forget you had him.”
In that era, this was the answer to “mentally retarded children” and I was known as a non-compliant mother for refusing!
The 1980’s, with the passing of the “Intellectually Disabled Persons Act of 1986” de-institutionalisation commenced and from that time on children were not placed into institutions.
Services and funding for “children with a disability” improved greatly and they stayed home with their parents.
I am told it takes two generations to change community attitudes and thinking.
Now 35 years later, we are seeing the first generation of “children” with ageing parents and carers, many whom themselves have major health issues and are struggling to cope.
Here, in Bendigo, I am aware of one mother in her 90s caring for two sons with a disability, another mother whose husband has very poor health, has had a stroke and now struggling to care for herself her husband and her daughter.
The list goes on.
Several groups and many parents are attempting to resolve the accommodation crises.
We do not want to see our children in aged care and nursing homes!
Recently, I managed to get my son, now 44-years-old, into supported accommodation – not without many difficulties.
I am so grateful to have him placed while I can support and assist him through the process without waiting for an emergency i.e. for me to have a stroke or heart attack and for him to be placed anywhere as a crisis response.
Had I placed him in an institution as advised in 1971, on conservative figures it would have cost the tax payer over $4 million dollars to have kept him in care!
I would like to acknowledge the work of the Department of Human Services, who are doing as much as possible to resolve the problems, but they are restrained by funding and Government policies.
In other words the problem is political.
We all hoped that the National Disability Insurance Scheme would address or relieve many of the issues around disabilities, but unfortunately NDIS will give little relief to ageing parents.
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