I decided to start a reflections blog to document and share my experiences and my travels in my quest to be a better educator and citizen around supporting equal access to a quality life for people living with disability. My journey really started in 1988 when I was working for the YMCA in Hackham trying to include disadvantaged young people in life through recreation and a manager from another centre suggested I seek additional work at Strathmont Centre.
Here the journey began in earnest from the moment I set foot on that ground I was instantly transformed by how much I liked the people living there despite how much I disliked the environment and everything about that system.
Sadly I have not documented my journey from that first day when I went to visit and saw a staff member serving mashed food from a box on a trolley onto plastic plates and passing it to people sitting at unset tables eagerly waiting to eat what smelt very unpleasant.....it ended 9 months later when I was successful at getting a position as a permanent full time Developmental Care Worker at Western Region IDSC.... I will add to this later.... but I am going to jump forward 25 years to now when I am the Head of the Disability and Community Inclusion Unit at Flinders University in South Australia but sitting at a final plenary session of the 2013 aaidd conference in Pittsburgh PA.
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