Did you know that Microboards Australia have partnered with Curtin University to develop two new post graduate qualifications for disability service professionals across NDIS and Education? We are are developing the content and delivery of the courses with will see post graduate students graduating with qualification in Positive Behaviour Support and Supporting people with Complex Communication Needs.
These qualifications will be commencing in Feb 2024 however we are well underway in developing content and forming how the units may look.
A key difference to these courses is that much of the content and the delivery will be in partnership with people with a disability, their families and their support networks. At all times the content and discussion will target being neurodiversity affirming, uphold people’s human rights and principles of co-design.
Our first unit is on human rights and quality of life but not from the perception of ‘professionals’. We will be talking about this from the experiences and knowledge of people with a disability.
As part of this process we have been talking with Merger of Minds about human rights and going through the Convention on the Rights of People with a Disability. Whilst it is common practice for us to talk about human rights, it has made us think…. how often do we actually go through the whole convention with our loved ones or the person we support? How often do they get the opportunity to explore their human rights and what it means of them? How often do we listen to which right means the most the them right now and why?
Whilst we are at it… are the human rights listed under the convention made available to talk about in the language or vocabulary they most access? Are there images around or in the person’s communication device or system?
Here is one way the rights listed under the convention was simplified for discussion with Merger. It’s not rocket science! But it is simply enough to talk about…
In our discussions with Merger, the crew talked about things that most mattered to them at the time, including the right to life. Maybe take some time to consider how are you talking about rights with the person you support?
