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Ryan’s making leaps and bounds
Northcott supports inquiry into PADP
Prestigious scholarship to stimulate new area of research
Montrose wins Minister's Award
Cootharinga wins 4 Excellence in Workplace Development awards
Phil Cave appointed as Ability First Australia Director
Ryan’s making leaps and bounds
Last year, four-year-old Ryan Dyer of Narangba was speaking in two-word sentences, and poor balance prevented him from running and climbing like other boys his age. Now, he can tell his Mum Danielle a story, and he can confidently play in the playground with his Mum and Dad.
They’re development milestones many parents would take for granted, but Ryan is thought to be the only person in Australia with Chronic Infantile Neuro-Cutaneous Articular (CINCA) Syndrome – an inflammatory disease with arthritic symptoms, that has caused him to spend much of his life in hospital.
Ryan is one of the first clients of MontroseAccess’ Early Childhood Program for young children with difficulties in areas such as play and speech, which – one year on – is celebrating some remarkable client achievements.
Read more details in the Montrose media release (PDF - 53Kb)
Northcott supports inquiry into PADP
Northcott Disability Services, an organisation that provides services to children and adults with a disability across NSW and the ACT have actively supported the Parliamentary inquiry into the Program of Appliances for Disabled People (PADP), with two senior managers recently providing evidence at Parliament before the inquiry.
Kerry Stubbs, CEO of Northcott Disability Services, is pleased to know that the inquiry has occurred and hopes that this will bring about positive systemic change for children and adults who are supported by Northcott and have experienced considerable delays in waiting for PADP to fund mobility equipment and other devices.
Read more details in the Northcott media release (PDF - 39Kb)
First ParaGolfer in Australia
Teenagers with a physical disability who use Northcott Disability Services Recreation program, will be the first in Australia to have access to the ParaGolfer, an innovative all-terrain special mobility device that enables people who use a wheelchair to be lifted from a sitting position to a standing position.
The wheelchair with stand-up function will not only allow people with a disability or restricted performance to play golf, but a range of other recreational opportunities. The ParaGolfer will be first trialled and presented to Northcott Disability Services on Friday, October 3 2008 at the Sydney Olympic Golf Centre in Homebush.
KidSwing International, a not-for-profit organisation that operates in Germany, generously donated the mobility device in partnership with Otto Bock.
Read more details in the Northcott media release (PDF - 33Kb)
Prestigious scholarship to stimulate new area of research
Research into treatment for cerebral palsy is about to take a whole new direction, thanks to a South Australian ‘star’ who has received a prestigious Australian-American Scholarship.
David Hobbs, a Senior Rehabilitation Engineer with Ability First organisation, Novita Children’s Services, has been awarded a 2008 Fulbright Professional Scholarship to undertake research into the field of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). FES is a method of artificially stimulating human muscles using an external electrical stimulus, and the scholarship will allow David to spend three months investigating the use of FES to improve functioning and quality of life for children living with cerebral palsy (CP).
In August, David will head to the United States to investigate FES with researchers at the renowned Cleveland FES Center and the Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.
FES was first used 40 years ago to artificially stimulate human muscles, primarily in people with spinal cord injury or after a stroke. FES research today is focused on CP, Australia’s most common childhood disability.
‘Recent FES trials involving children with CP have shown very positive results, particularly for children who have difficulty walking. Small scale trials show that FES treatment can improve walking patterns and coordination, resulting in easier and more energy efficient walking,’ David says.
‘Through my work with Novita I see the impact of CP on children every day. I’m hoping to use the opportunities and experiences I will gain through this scholarship to develop a FES program that will improve the lives of children across Australia – and the world – who are facing the many challenges of life with CP.’
The Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by US Senator J William Fulbright and the US Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the US and 150 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and US Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.
David is one of 24 talented Australians to be recognised as a 2008 Fulbright Scholar.
Montrose wins Minister's Award
MontroseAccess has been recognised for their outstanding work with children and young adults with physical disabilities at the 2007 Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Workforce Development and by the Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation.
The 2007 Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Workforce Development were announced at a presentation dinner in Brisbane on 24 October 2007.
The Minister’s Awards recognise non-government organisations in the community and disability service sectors. The award ceremony highlights the important work that these organisations do within the community to build the capacity of their workers and continuously improve services for clients.
MontroseAccess was overwhelmed to receive two awards in the categories of (Open and Regional) Collaborative Achievement (in conjunction with Parent Project Australia) and Sector Recognition.
Read the full story (PDF - 55.9Kb)
Cootharinga wins 4 Excellence in Workplace Development awards
Ability First Australia through it's Queensland founding members, Cootharinga and Montrose Access, received four winning awards out of five in the following categories:
- Effective Leadership by a Board of Management
- Sector Recognition
- Collaborative Achievement
Cootharinga was also the recipient of the winning award in the category 'Creating a Learning Culture'.
Community service organisations from across Queensland attended the awards with the special ceremony held at the State Library in Brisbane on Wednesday 24 October 2007.
Mandy MacDonald, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Cootharinga said, "The Ministers Awards for Excellence in Workplace Development gives Ability First Australia the opportunity to showcase the successful strategies and programs that it's founding members have developed and implemented, and allows Ability First Australia to share these strategies with other organisations in the same sector.
"At the end of the day , its about establishing a higher standard of service in the disability sector, by developing staffing skills and strengthening workplace practices. We at Cootharinga are proud of what we do, we accept that we can improve. The awards are an opportunity to recognise Cootharinga and its staff, who are forward thinking and are continually maintaining leading edge practices together with balanced and well structured organisational development. We see the Ministers Awards for Excellence in Workforce Development as vehicles which will assist us".
Media contact:
Mandy MacDonald
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: (07) 4759 2031
Email: mandy.macdonald@cootharinga.org.au
Phil Cave appointed as Ability First Australia Director
At its meeting in Brisbane in August, the Board of Ability First Australia (AFA) appointed Phillip Cave AM as a director and elected him Chairman. Mr Cave has been on the Board of one of AFA’s member organisations, Northcott Disability Services in NSW since 1986. In 1999 he became its Chairman, a position he still holds.
As well as his involvement with Northcott, Mr Cave has served on the Board of a large Independent School and has taken part in 15 Variety Club bashes. In 2006 he was admitted into Variety’s Hall of Fame.
In the 2007 Australia Day Honours list, Phil was made a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his contribution to the business and community sectors.
He has owned and operated a number of companies in Australia and Asia during the past 25 years. Currently he is the Chairman of Omni Industries, a large precision plastics business with operations in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Mexico, and is Chairman and major shareholder of Atlas Steel (Australia), Australia and Asia’s largest stainless steel distributor.
Phil still finds time to be a Visiting Lecturer on Corporate Governance with the Institute of Company Directors. He is also a speaker on Turnaround Management with The Executive Connection (TEC) and a member of the World Presidents Organisation.
Phil has been a keen supporter of AFA since its inception and has participated in Easter Seals (USA) conferences over the past three years.
The Board is delighted that Phil Cave has accepted the challenge of leading AFA’s Board and to work with us in developing AFA as a valuable resource to its member organisations and a positive force in the lives of the people with disabilities they support around Australia.
At the same meeting the Board ratified the appointment of Glenn Gardner as AFA’s first CEO. Glenn has been on the staff of Northcott Disability Services since 1988 and its CEO since November 1989. He will leave Northcott in November 2007 and commence full time with AFA early in 2008 when AFA will set up its National Office in Bridge Street, Sydney in premises provided pro bono by InterBank Capital Partners.
Glenn, along with several other current AFA’s directors, was instrumental in establishing AFA and in developing its affiliation with Easter Seals in the US. Glenn has been Chairman of AFA since its incorporation.
Glenn has a MBA with a major in Not-for-Profit Management and is a member of The CEO Circle, an organisation that mentors Senior Executives of major Australian companies. He is actively involved in the Rotary Movement and is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Parramatta City (NSW). Some years ago he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship.
Over many years Glenn has served on the Boards of several organisations within the Disability Sector. He recently became Chairman of FOLIA (Friends of Lamb in Australia) an association that provides educational and medical assistance for severely disadvantaged people in Northern Bangladesh.
Glenn is looking forward to working with AFA’s Board in helping AFA achieve its potential - especially in the areas of national fundraising and in providing a range of other benefits to its member organisations and their staff.
