Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS) has taken the lead in addressing the unique barriers that disabled young people face when speaking up, by creating a new resource hub to support them.
The Right to be Heard Hub has been co-designed by YDAS and a group of disabled young people who have navigated the labyrinthine complaints process.
It will support young people to navigate challenging experiences with support workers and service providers.
People like Elina, a 22 year old wheelchair user with hearing and vision loss who experienced instances of bullying.
Support workers made fun of her for using sign language and how she looked whilst communicating.
“It was a complete nightmare. If I had access to the Hub as a source of support then, I would have realised what was happening was not normal. I would also have felt so much more confident with my communication skills such as speaking up from the multiple bullying episodes by my support worker for 18 months,” Elina said.
The Right to be Heard Hub consolidates tools and resources for disabled young people to understand their rights and build their confidence to raise concerns with NDIS support and services.
It includes real life stories, step-by-step guides, factsheets and videos. Resources are available in accessible formats, such as Auslan interpreted videos, Easy Read translated information and PDFs tagged for screen reader compatibility, to ensure that everyone will have easy access to this information.
It also serves as a handy platform for NDIS service providers to understand the needs of young people, and make sure their voices are heard.
Willow, who was involved in the co-design, is a neurodivergent young woman who was denied flexible learning options at the university where she studied.
“I didn’t know other people going through the same thing. It made me feel like I was the issue. The Hub is a space where we can hear from other disabled people, which would have helped me so much,” said Willow.
Mijia Gwyn, head of YDAS, said the Right to be Heard Hub will give disabled young people the resources and information they need to make sure their rights are upheld.
“This is crucial for disabled young people, as they have not always had accessible information about their rights and how to make complaints.”
Visit the Right to be Heard Hub website or, for more information visit the YDAS website.