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AUGUST 2017 v IN THIS ISSUE Sam Braham and Australian Ninja Warrior The best mistake I’ve made was no longer being ‘nice’ about my disability Guide Dog Brogan catches 300th Flight Taking Charge with Aiden Welcome to Your Voice, Your Choice Hi, and welcome to the Your Voice, This month we look at Sam that will keep you informed and Your Choice monthly newsletter Braham’s Australian Ninja able to use your voice to achieve from The Disability Trust. If you like appearance, we look at Empower your choice. what we are doing, or have any Golf and the things they are doing suggestions or feedback, contact all over Australia, we hear how If there is a topic, issue, program, us at [email protected]. guide dog Brogan recently caught funding, article, event, or anything his 300th flight, and, as always, for people with disabilities, their Well it’s finally here, the NDIS has we have some excellent opinion families and carers, and people started in all areas of Australia. articles and all the latest news working in the sector, that we From 1 July 2017 the NDIS is now about the NDIS. should know about, then contact available to anyone in Australia. us at [email protected]. It will take a few years before “Your Voice, Your Choice” aims everyone eligible for the NDIS has to provide the questions, and Editor: Sean O’Neill their own NDIS plan. hopefully most of the answers, The Disability Trust NDIS Services. Trust in Us. The Disability Trust is a highly respected provider of services to people with a disability. You can Trust us to provide the supports you need to live the life you choose! The Disability Trust covers an area from South East Sydney, to South West Sydney, south through the NSW Southern Highlands, Goulburn, Queanbeyan and the ACT, Cooma and south east to Bega, and all along the Coast from Sydney to the Victorian border. Make The Disability Trust your local NDIS provider. Contact our Miranda office on 9540 3011, or email [email protected]. Would you like to receive the Newsletter? Subscribe to the newsletter at www.disabilitytrust.org.au/newsletters For printed copies contact The Disability Trust Email: [email protected] Phone: 1300 DISABILITY (1300 347 224) Website: www.disabilitytrust.org.au Twitter: @DisabilityTrust or www.twitter.com/DisabilityTrust Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/The-Disability-Trust The newsletter is aimed at covering a wide variety of stories and issues across the disability sector. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of The Disability Trust. Should you have a story or information that you would like included in the newsletter please contact the Editor, Sean O’Neill at [email protected]. SPECIAL FEATURE Sam Bramham and Australian Ninja Warrior Melburnian Sam Bramham is two shoulder reconstructions, that surrounds disability is no stranger to testing himself so it was important to get disappearing and it’s because we physically. The gold medal- professional support. I definitely are putting ourselves out there. winning former Paralympic want to do it again next year, so I swimmer has tackled many will be working on my rope grip. What are you up to at the challenges throughout his life, moment? What has the reaction been? including reality TV (yes, that was Still chipping away at random him on Big Brother in 2014). I have been really overwhelmed things. I collect antique items and Sam, who was born without the with the feedback. Of course, nostalgic marketing pieces and femur in his right leg, has won my immediate contact circle are sell them within the collectors’ over new fans with his latest giving me s— for falling off so community. We are a strange TV challenge – taking on the early. But it has been great to bunch of people, but I like it. I gruelling course on Australian hear that my participation has am going back to training for a Ninja Warrior. He talks to us been inspiring people in some triathlon and a few swimming about his time on the show, and way. My partner, Rita, seems events coming up. My radio, his plans for the future. to be really impressed and speaking and commentary work we have dedicated ourselves takes up a lot of my time and What made you want to tackle to a fitness regime again – so keeps me out of trouble. My Australian Ninja Warrior? people’s feedback, in turn, has partner and I also want to open inspired me. I do hope that up an antique-styled wine bar The initial want came from does encourage the disability soon, too. seeing a guy with one leg from community to give stuff a crack, the US doing it. Someone from too. It’s a great way to build For the rest of the article go to the office sent me a YouTube confidence and understand www.theweeklyreview.com.au/ clip and I wanted to do it, too. what their bodies can actually meet/sam-bramham-australian- I always like to revel in new do. I think the negative stigma ninja-warrior. opportunities, if I don’t, I tend to get myself into some sort of trouble. Ninja Warrior was a great way to give the new prosthetic leg a bashing and to see if my body can still hack being pushed to its limits. Ironically, it wasn’t the leg-focused obstacles that brought my elimination, it was an upper-body one. How did you train? I should have prepared more. I arrogantly believed that muscle memory from my swimming days would be the best benefit for me on the course, but I was very wrong. I focused on building muscle [at the gym]. I have had Taking Charge with Aiden Seventeen-year-old Aiden struggled struck Aiden about his with motivation in life and at school sailing experience is before Winds of Change. how he and what he felt on board. “I would just give up on things that were too hard and I wasn’t much of “I felt in control on the a talker,” Aiden says, reflecting on his boat. It’s good to feel past self when we caught up with in control of it because him six months after Winds of Change when you’re doing all finished. the other things in life, you’re not,” he said. “Before, I was so reluctant to get things “And, in school, you get done. I used to say, ‘No, I’ll do it later, I’ll told what to do. But do it later,’ and I just didn’t do it.’” on the boat, you’re in control of it.” Sundays in winter, months after his Since he came on board the eight- program finished. week Sailors With Disabilities (SWD) Since Winds of Change, Aiden has felt Winds of Change program in late 2016, more able to take charge in his own For the rest of the article go to one of the biggest changes for Aiden life. He’s one of a few students who www.sailorswithdisabilities.com/ is his new-found take-charge attitude. chose to return and sail with SWD on news/25230/taking-charge-with-aiden. Although sailing is unpredictable, what ‘I never thought I’d find somebody like her’ when the pair began “Living in this complex is like winning chatting through email the lottery. It gave me the ability to two and a half years ago. get out and about and contribute to my community, not just be at home,” Today, now engaged he said. to be married, they are taking nothing for The 28-year-old also works for the granted. charity that is dedicated to finding and building homes for young “I never thought I would people with high-care needs outside find somebody like her,” of aged care. Mr Winther told TODAY show host Sylvia Jeffreys. “Through meeting Todd, I have seen firsthand the difference that Born with cerebral palsy, Youngcare has made to his life, and Mr Winther has used a in turn to mine,” Ms Lambert said. wheelchair for most of his How gaining independence led a life, which has been defined by a lack “If it wasn’t for Youngcare, I don’t young man to love. of choice. think we’d be together.” Like many, Brisbane couple Todd By 28, he was facing a future in For the rest of the article go Winther and Kat Lambert’s love story aged care, until he was offered an to www.9news.com.au/good- began online. apartment in a Youngcare complex news/2017/07/18/10/51/love-story- She was drawn to his “punny charm” at Sinnamon Park in Brisbane. man-with-disability-finds-love. Employment Success! Jake had a number of barriers to According to the Manager of the employment including no previous Outback Steakhouse, Lachlan work history and some anger issues Heffernan, Jake has become a valuable that needed to be addressed. member of the team over the last 12 Workskills was able to refer Jake to months. counselling, and over time his attitude became more positive and he was “Jake is one of our biggest success ready for work. stories. Hospitality can be quite a daunting environment to walk into. The Outback Steakhouse and Jake has handled it really well and Workskills have a working relationship it was great to watch him become After years of sitting on the couch spanning several years, and have confident and come to work with a watching TV and playing X-Box, Jake always provided a supportive huge sense of purpose” explained is now working part-time at Outback employment environment.