NSW DET Teacher Consultants conference:Keynote Speech

Graeme Innes

17 May 2007

May I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land.

I'm pleased to have the opportunity to speak with you today. Firstly, because I know a number of you, and conferences like this are the only chance I get to catch up. That probably says something about the busy lives we all lead in the 21st century, as well as about how slack I am in keeping up with old friends.

Secondly because, many years ago, I personally benefited from a service similar to yours when I attended high school as an integrated student with a disability. The Teacher Consultant Service began in 1976, over 30 years ago. Sadly, my high school years were even further back in the mists of time- not much further, though, I hasten to add. But the service in which you work now originated from the service provided to students with disabilities who were integrated into NSW high schools. So, as a student who benefited from, and encouraged, the service, perhaps you can thank me - and the thousands of others who benefited - for being in the jobs you're in today.

Thirdly, I'm pleased to be talking to you because I am well aware of the vital work you do - and even more aware of the benefits gained by people with disabilities in particular, and the broader community in general, as a result of that work. You'll be pleased to hear that I'm going to expand on that theme further during these remarks.

But let me start with a story, because it underlines the importance of the work which you as Teacher Consultants, I as a Human Rights practitioner, and many others in the disability sector do. This is an "only in Queensland" story, where speech - and other things - are alleged to go just a bit more slowly. I hasten to say - just in case there are any Queenslanders in the room, that the truth is otherwise.

Any how, I had completed a meeting with some senior bank officials in Brisbane. Walking with my guide dog, I got into the elevator on the 30th floor of their building at the same time as another person. The lift buttons were not marked with raised letters or Braille, so I didn't know which one to press. Turning to the other man in the lift I said-

"Could you press the button for ground please?" I got no response.

Thinking that he may have a hearing impairment, I looked directly at him so he could read my lips, and said a little more loudly "Could you press ground please?" Still no response.

Puzzled, I reached over and tapped him on the shoulder, and repeated my request.

"Oh," he said, "Are you talking to me. I thought you were asking the guide dog."

Jordie's good, but she hasn't learned to read lift buttons yet! Perhaps she needs some support from a Teacher Consultant?

Now, you might wonder what that story's got to do with anything. One answer is not a lot, but it's a good way to start off a presentation. Another answer, though, is that if Jordie could have pressed the right button she would be achieving against the odds. And seeing as that's what I decided to talk about today - achieving against the odds - it seemed an appropriate story to tell.

Those of you who don't know me may immediately assume from that title that I'm going to talk about myself- getting to where I have in life with a disability. But those who know me well would know that I'd never view myself, or another person with a disability, as achieving against the odds. Because giving people with disabilities that sort of hero status reinforces lots of the patronisation and discrimination that exists against people with disabilities in the community. Much of the discrimination against people with disabilities is done with the best of intentions, but the way to hell is paved with good intentions. My views on that topic are very clear- people with disabilities should not be viewed as either heroes or victims. Rather, we should be viewed as agents of our own destiny. Only when the majority of our community does that, will people with disabilities have an equal place in that community.

Some of you may have seen or heard in the media comments I made in a lecture in Newcastle last week regarding the exclusion of people who are blind or deaf from jury service. For those of you who didn't I'm not surprised, as they were made on the same day that Peter Costello did his excellent Santa Klaus imitation. But I was critical of the NSW Law Reform Commission, and the NSW Government, for their sluggishness in changing this restrictive law.

Now for many, avoiding jury service is a recognised national sport. But I, and many other people who are blind or deaf, feel that we can never be fully included or accepted as members of our community, unless we have the chance to carry out all of our responsibilities as citizens, as well as the chance to have all of our rights recognised. But we do not serve on juries because of assumptions about what we can't do- assumptions which are usually negative, and usually wrong. Pleasingly, the Law Reform Commission's report on this issue was released last weekend, and the recommendations were positive. So I now urge the State Government to move to change this outdated law.

But I want to talk about achieving against the odds - or punching above your weight to use a sporting parlance, in a different sense. Because that's what I think you do as Teacher Consultants. And I want to recognise that.

People with disabilities make up just under 20 % of the Australian community. The Australian community is diverse - culturally and linguistically, in gender and in sexual orientation, geographically, and in many other ways. People with disabilities - of course - share all of that diversity. There's a higher correlation of disability with age, but apart from that it's pretty much all there. But for people with disabilities the diversity extends further. The particular needs which people with disabilities have, or issues which people with disabilities face, are largely related to the particular disability which they have. And this is more the case when we are talking about the learning, training and development needs faced by people with disabilities.

As a blind student, my primary script for study was Braille rather than print. But Braille, and the knowledge of Braille, is of no relevance to a student who is deaf or hearing-impaired, or has an intellectual or psychiatric disability. A teacher consultant supporting a student who is blind or vision impaired needs to know Braille, and have a strong grasp of the various software and pieces of technology which minimise the impact of that disability. A Teacher Consultant working with students with intellectual disability needs to understand Autism, and its impact. They need to appreciate the importance of breaking down tasks, a complex skill when working with other Teachers to develop study plans which will be successful. A Teacher Consultant working with students with psychiatric disability is best placed if they have a depth of experience and expertise in this area. And it would be very difficult for a Teacher Consultant working with students who were deaf if they could not communicate in Auslan, particularly if this were the first language of the student.

The NSW Teacher Consultant service has recognised this need for diversity for many years by employing Teacher Consultants with these specialist skills, and having them work with students who experience the particular disabilities relevant to those skills. I understand that its the only such service in Australia which recognises the critical importance of that sort of specialisation. And that probably has a lot to do with why it is one of, if not the most, effective. No generalist, working across all disability groups, could bring all of those skills and that experience to bear. This service - involving people who are specialists in your particular area of disability - is a model for other States and internationally.

And it needs to be a very effective service. Because by any measure, people with disabilities are disadvantaged in today's society. Let me conclude by briefly looking at thre of those measures.

Firstly, there is a high correlation between disability and poverty. A 2004 Senate inquiry entitled "A hand up, not a hand-out: renewing the fight against poverty" said:

People with disabilities and their carers are vulnerable to poverty and disadvantage, and it has been observed that poverty is disability's close companion.

Poverty is particularly prevalent amongst people who have a disability due to a combination of factors, including low incomes, fewer employment opportunities, and additional costs due to their disability.

In addition to being excluded from earning an adequate income, people with disabilities often have higher costs of living associated with their disability.

The combination of higher costs of living, along with low income, leads to a strong connection between disability and poverty.

One study estimated that 26,7 % of households headed by sick or invalid persons were in poverty...

Secondly, whilst Australia experiences unemployment at levels which are the lowest for 30 years, this is not the case for people with disabilities. According to ABS figures (sadly very out of date) unemployment for people with disabilities is more than 9% - more than twice the national average overall. In my view, this figure is very conservative, both because of its age, and because the figure is much higher for specific disability groups. My guesstimate is that the figure is at least 15%, and perhaps even more. It is higher for specific disability groups, and would be much higher if those who had stopped trying, and left the labour market, were included.

The third indicator of disadvantage is the level of people with disabilities in the criminal justice system. There are high rates of people with mental illness and intellectual disability in prisons across Australia.

For people with mental illness, the high rate of imprisonment is largely a result of an inability to access mental health services, lack of accommodation and housing options, high rates of homelessness and high rates of drug and alcohol abuse. The combination of these factors results in many people with mental illness coming into contact with the criminal justice system.

A 2001 study by the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW suggests that 60 % of adults admitted to prisons have an active mental illness. The NSW Corrections Health Service survey revealed that 54 % of women and 41 % of men reported that they had received some form of psychiatric treatment or assessment for an emotional or mental health problem at some point in their lives.

In 2003 a NSW Department of Juvenile Justice survey found that 88 % of young people reported symptoms consistent with a mild, moderate or severe psychiatric disorder.

A recent report commissioned by the Criminology Research Council said

Given the prevalence of people with mental illnesses and mental disorders in the criminal justice system, there is an urgent need to ensure that mechanisms exist ' to accurately identify those people with mental illnesses.

It urged diversion from the criminal justice system to the mental health system, but noted that this could only occur when identification took place.

In 1996, the NSW Law Reform Commission estimated that in NSW prisons people with intellectual disability - who make up between 1 % and 3 % of the general population - represent between 9 % and 13 % of the total NSW prison population. People with intellectual disability are detained at a rate 4 times greater than that of the general population.

For young people in custody, 10-13 % have an intellectual disability.

And the most effective way to address all of these three barriers is through learning, and the sorts of services which Teacher Consultants provide. And that knowledge, plus the commitment to your tasks, is what gets you to your desks every morning- well that and strong coffee. If you continue to change the lives of people with disabilities, by providing them with the basis to participate more in the community, then I think you're achieving against the odds.

If people with disabilities in NSW are going to achieve their rightful place as fully participating members of the community, we as practitioners have to be the facilitators. So use this conference to hone your skills, and replenish your energy. Rights realisation needs all of the skills and energy we can muster.

Thanks for the chance to talk with you today.