VCOD Fortnightly Email News

Wednesday 25 June 2003

 

News from VCOD:

 

·        Staff changes for next three months

-   Temporary staff

-         Farewell to Melissa Scacco

·        Retrieving email addresses

·        Deaf Deaf World Workshops

·        Placido from DDLS

·        TXT Radio Update

 

Other news:

 

·        Deafblind Awareness Week

·        DeafTV AGM

·        Contact Details for Vicdeaf

·        Lunch for Deaf people working in CBD

·        Bone phone for the Hearing Impaired

·        Media Releases:

-         Teachers of the Deaf shortage

-         Medical Access Denied

·        Web Links

·        Upcoming events

 

 

Staff Changes at VCOD

 

There are a few staff changes happening in VCOD - Grant Roberts has taken a seven-week leave and will be attending the WFD conference in Montreal from 18-27 July. Grant's last day at work was on the 13th June. 

Melanie Wells is also taking leave from 24 June and will be returning on the first of September.
Melissa Scacco will be resigning from VCOD on 25th June to work and live overseas for a couple of years.  Eleni Annitsakis will take Melissa’s place from next week for the time being.  VCOD would like to take this opportunity to thank Melissa for her hard and speedy work with VCOD finance, which has made it easier to process than previously. 

 

Rachelle (Shel) Stevens (Mon, Tues and Wed) and Kathy Fitzmaurice (Thurs and Fri) will be replacing both Grant and Melanie until 4 August when Grant Roberts returns.  VCOD will proceed as usual and the office hours are 10am – 3pm Monday to Friday.

 

Email Addresses

 

VCOD is still slowly updating the email system that we lost when our computers were stolen.  If you know anyone who has not been receiving, or would like to receive the fortnightly email news, please contact us at VCOD.

 

Deaf Deaf World

 

Please contact us at VCOD if your organisation would like to arrange a Deaf Deaf World workshop.  The next Deaf Deaf World workshop for the public will be held sometime in September.

 

Discrimination Service at VCOD

 

Placido from DDLS will be visiting VCOD on Wednesday 9 July from 1-4pm. Please contact VCOD (admin@vcod.com.au) by 4th July to make an appointment to discuss any issues you feel you feel you are being discriminated about. This is a FREE Service and you do not have to pay for solicitor advice.  If you cannot wait for July 9th, you can ring Placido on 9602 4135 TTY

TXT Radio Update

 

From the team at TXT Radio:

Hope you have enjoyed the TXT Radio service so far and that we have kept you up to date with what’s happening with news and fun things too! 

There is plenty more fun to come so don’t miss out

– become a subscriber now!

It’s the perfect time to come on board as a paying subscriber as our friends at Mobitel Communications have very generously donated another mobile phone for our latest competition.

There are no tricky questions to answer – just subscribe before 30th of June and you will automatically go in the draw (along with our existing subscribers) to win this great new mobile with great features such as SMS chat and SMS Group Sending.

 

Deafblind Awareness Week

 

Deafblind Awareness Week began on Sunday 22 June, and continues until this Saturday, 28th. Activities that are planned for the remainder of the week are:

Wednesday 25th June:
Fun market stall day and Recreation Lunch
This will be a fun day for the deafblind community to touch and try a variety of things.

There will be some market stalls, such as thick woollen clothing and aromatherapy oils, as well as the chance to try some indoor exercise equipment, such as gym balls, an exercise bike and weights. There will also be many different finger foods for people to enjoy.

At the end of this event, those who would like to participate in the regular Recreation Lunch will make their way to a local restaurant in Camberwell.

 

 

Thursday 26 June:
The Link Open Day
An opportunity to introduce major donors, business groups and government organisations to The Link.

This is a wonderful opportunity for The Link to be experienced by specific groups in the hearing community. The aim of this event is to showcase the services provided by The Link, and to highlight the need for funds to the facility continues.

For more details, please contact the Deafblind Awareness Week 2003 Committee:

Carla Anderson: TTY 03 9882 6786
c.anderson@dba.asn.au

Heather Lawson: TTY 9898 7077
hjlawson@bigpond.com

Robyn Hodges: TTY 03 9882 6786
Ph 03 9882 7055
r.hodges@dba.asn.au

More information can be found on: http://www.dba.asn.au/fr/Dbawarewk.htm

 

DeafTV AGM

 

DeafTV – Melbourne Inc. is having their AGM on 9th July 2003 at 7pm at VSDC.  Auslan interpreters will be present, however you need to book if you require a relay interpreter.

 

Please RSVP via email: deaf_tv@yahoo.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Details for Vicdeaf

 

The new contact details for Vicdeaf are as follows:

  

Vicdeaf


Level 4, 


340 Albert Street; 


East Melbourne, 3002


 


Phone: 03 9473 1111


TTY: 03 9473 1199


Fax: 03 9473 1122


 


Interpreters Services


Phone: 03 9473 1117/8


TTY: 03 9473 1143


Fax: 03 9473 1144

 

Lunch for Deaf People who work in the CBD

 

Any Deaf person is welcome to join for lunch with other Deaf people who work in the city (CBD) on THIS Friday, 27th.  Meet at 1pm at ‘Australia on Collins’ on Collins Street.  If you would like more information, please contact Brent Phillips at Brent.Phillips@eoc.vic.gov.au

 

Bone phone for Hearing Impaired

 

We are a phone manufacturer in Hong Kong who has designed a bone phone system for the hearing impaired people. The bone phone will transmit sound wave by bone conduction utilizing the bone vibration technology. Hearing impaired people can still use the phone even if their sound transmission organ is damaged, they can move the bone phone handset so that the bone conduction transducer rests on the cheek bone and they can pick up the sound through bone vibration to the sound sense organ. The sound wave through bone vibration will bypass the outer ear and middle ear and go directly to the inner ear. For details please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you.

 

Best regards,

Richard Ng

Richard@samsontelecom.com

Tel: (852) 2728-2276

Fax: (852) 2729-0111

Teachers of the Deaf Shortage

 

 

State mute on teacher shortage

Author: IAN ROYALL
Publisher: News Ltd
Publication: Herald Sun , Page 026 (Tue 6 May 2003)
 

A FAMILY has taken their child out of school because of a shortage of teachers for hearing impaired students.

Henny and Pam Sudmeyer fear other parents will also remove their children after they withdrew their son Callum, 12. Callum is now being taught at his Warrnambool home.

He is one of 49 school-age children in southwest Victoria who no longer have a teaching specialist for the hearing impaired. Every other region in the state has staff to help the children learn in regular schools.

Mr and Mrs Sudmeyer said they had no option but to take Callum out of school. ``We don't blame the school. It's the system that let Callum down,'' Mr Sudmeyer said.

``We're not stirrers. We, like any parent, just want the best for our kids. It borders on discrimination because it's the law that says no child should be discriminated against.''

Callum, who left Woodford Primary almost two years ago, is now being taught at home through the Distance Education Centre.

A report last year into the provision of deaf education in the region, partially funded by the State Government last year, recommended teaching specialists be appointed.

The parents have since won a commitment to fund a teacher for the rest of the year.
Deaf advocacy group, Victorian Services for Deaf Children, said a long-term commitment needed to be made. VSDC chief executive Damian Lacey said: ``You are not going to attract someone if it is only a short-term contract.''

The report also recommended a scholarship scheme to overcome the shortage in teachers of the deaf.

Parents of hearing impaired children set up the South West Hearing Support Group to campaign for help.  But group president Greg Lee said that after almost two years of fruitless lobbying, frustrations were reaching boiling point.

 ``What is happening in this region is a significant human rights abuse,'' Mr Lee said.

“Many of these kids will never recover from the neglect this current system has imposed on them.  We have had a serious gutful of the political bulls—t delivered to us over the past two years”

Twelve years ago, the region had four specialists to help deaf or hearing impaired children.  Staffing levels were slowing reduced to just one person who was made redundant in 2001.

South-West Coast MP Denis Napthine called on the Government to implement the recommendations of its own report. ``The kids are going backwards while we wait for the Government.''

Tim Mitchell, spokesman for Labor Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan said the ***review of the southwest services has prompted a statewide study of services.

``We need to look at a statewide approach, not just one region,'' he said.

Mr Lacey said children needed help now.  “All these musings in Spring St are not helping”.

 

Demand for Equal Access to Medical Services

 

Media Release

8 April 2003

Demand for equal access to medical services

Australia’s health service is under fire for failing to provide equal access to medical services for deaf consumers.

A complaint against the Health Insurance Commission for its refusal to provide a deaf consumer with access to Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpreters at medical appointments has been lodged with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

The complainant, a deaf man, was forced to pay for an Auslan interpreter for several medical consultations for a potentially life-threatening situation. He subsequently wrote to Medicare asking for reimbursement.

His request was denied on the basis that the Health Insurance Act (Cth) 1973 did not define an interpreter to be a “clinically relevant service…necessary for the appropriate treatment of the patient”.

Robert Adam, Australian Association of the Deaf President, points out that access to health care is considered a basic human right.

“It is interesting to note that there is a free interpreting service for medical practitioners to help them communicate with patients from non-English speaking backgrounds via the Commonwealth’s Translating and Interpreting Services,” Adam said. 

“Yet Deaf people cannot access this service even though Auslan is recognised by the Commonwealth as a non-English community language,” he said.

“It is unfair to expect Deaf people to pay an additional cost for an interpreter to access services that other members of the community can access at no additional cost.”

The Deaf Society of NSW has also lodged a complaint with HREOC against the Commonwealth and the Health Insurance Commission regarding lack of access to Auslan interpreters for medical appointments.

Society President Peter Brownlee points out that one of Medicare’s objectives is to provide all Australians with access to health care services.

“Equality of access to medical services and health care is a fundamental right under international human rights law,” Brownlee said.

“The Deaf Society therefore requests that HREOC investigate this matter by conducting a public inquiry into this complaint,” he said.

 

ENDS

About AAD:

The Australian Association of the Deaf is a national consumer organisation founded in 1986. It provides an advocacy service for Deaf people who use Auslan with the aim of working towards equal access in all areas of life for the Deaf community.

Further information:

Australian Association of the Deaf: www.aad.org.au

Contact:

Robert Adam, President

Tel: 133 677 and quote 02 9286 3933 TTY

SMS: 0410 508 033 (text messages only)

Fax: 02 9286 3955

Email: robertadam@bigpond.com

Web links

Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services - Support Wages System:

http://www.facs.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/aboutfacs/programs/disability-supported_wages_system.htm

Upcoming Events

 

VSDC recreation has set up activities for the July school holidays.

 

In brief:

July 3 – Polly Woodside, a Maritime Museum in Southbank, meet at 10.15am, it costs $12 per person (includes sausage sizzle lunch).

July 10 – Howzat Tenpin Tournament for 8-18 year olds at different locations across Victoria (Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Morwell, Shepparton, Wodonga, Boronia, Dandenong, Northcote and Sunshine).  Tournament starts at 10.30am at a tenpin bowling centre near you.

September 5 – Auslan Interpreted performance of “Muckheap” at Cromwell Street Theatre in South Yarra at 10.30am.

 

Contact Pete Folan (petefolan@vsdc.org.au) or Megan Grant (megangrant@vsdc.org.au) for more information.

 

 

*******************************************************************************

 

We apologise that this fortnight’s email news is longer than usual with no links to the VCOD website.  We hope to have the VCOD website updated by the end of this week.

 

Please feel free to add any news you have by emailing VCOD at info@vcod.com.au or admin@vcod.com.au for the next fortnight email news.

 

Have a good fortnight!

 

From the team at VCOD