รายละเอียดกระทู้

By Emma Sykes and Terri Begley http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/08/19/3828965.htm Todd Winther knows all too well the challenges that young people with disabilities face in accessing appropriate care. The political sciences lecturer and PhD student is finally living in age appropriate supported living in a Youngcare facility in Cinnamon Park in Brisbane's west...but it took him a decade to find his way. "I was living a very structured life: at the same time I'd have to get up, same time everyday I'd have to go to the toilet, same time every day I would have to eat. "These are things people take for granted, but now I can go to the toilet when I want and I consider this a luxury." Promoting not-for-profit charity Youngcare, Todd said the navigating the health care system as somebody with a disability is a confusing and daunting undertaking. Youngcare, which provides appropriate housing for young people who need care, erected a giant inflatable maze in Brisbane's CBD on Monday to illustrate how families trying to access disability help struggle to navigate the system. "The maze is a very apt metaphor, because it took me 10 years to find the appropriate supported accommodation," he says. The 29 year-old was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was eight months old and now "cannot move his arms or his legs proficiently" so is confined to life in an electric wheelchair. He says despite his clear disability, there were times he struggled to access help. "I remember ringing up Disability Services Queensland when I was 18 and they actually said 'you're not disabled enough'," he says. "They took that my parents earned a double income for granted," he says," but my parents concern was what happens to me when they die." Youngcare will look to build their third accommodation centre in Wooloowin, in Brisbane's inner-north, after the Newman government gifted a $2 million dollar parcel of land to the national charity in early August. Youngcare spokesperson Kathy Packenas says the next accommodation project will go a long way towards the goal of putting young people with a disability into age appropriate care.