For the last day of this #DisabilityRoyalCommission hearing, @MegClementC will be tweeting in the morning and @gdevera later in the day.

We'll also chime in from here periodically - hashtag to follow or mute is #DisabilityRC

@DRC_AU stream will be at disability.royalcommission.gov.au/Pages/default.…
Great point from @RosemaryKayess about segregation increasing the risk of abuse across all areas - housing, education, work. Other witnesses have also emphasised research showing that being part of the wider community, with strong relationships, protects people. #DisabilityRC
People with #disability are not "vulnerable" or "at risk" by default because of our disability! We are MADE vulnerable and PUT at risk by systems that isolate us from other people (with disability and without!)

#DisabilityRC
The next #DisabilityRoyalCommission witness will be @LIDSLaTrobe who does research on social inclusion.

scholars.latrobe.edu.au/display/cbigby

#DisabilityRC
@LIDSLaTrobe She is talking about spending a lot of time physically observing what happens in group homes to see things that the people who live there can't explain and the people who work there won't explain.

#DisabilityRC
Christine Bigby is talking about how the quality of support is important whether someone is in a group home or not.

Chair asks her if people's rights under the #CRPD are inconsistent with group homes, and she says no because some people might want to live in one.

#DisabilityRC
She says about 30% of people in group homes could move out tomorrow if there was affordable housing + disability support available, but a lot more work needs to be done to create alternatives for the rest.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby: Some people have never known anything else, so it's hard for them to make those choices. "The only way you can know that is by giving people those experiences."

#DisabilityRC
She "doesn't want to demonise group homes", but we'd say they're doing a pretty good job of demonising themselves.

#DisabilityRC
The fact is that all of these practical concerns are valid but do not change what people's rights are.

Let's start from the position that people have a right to not live in a group home, and commit to whatever it takes to create other options.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby says people with intellectual disability need good support workers backed up by good supervision and organisational support, but they also need relationships outside of support relationships.

#DisabilityRC
She's now talking about her research into the characteristics of better and worse group homes.

#DisabilityRC
There are some pretty upsetting descriptions of how staff dehumanise people with #disability in the worst group homes. "Residents were seen as non-people."

#DisabilityRC
When the researchers asked around about better group homes, they found only three of the homes suggested were actually up to their standards - which definitely says something.

#DisabilityRC
At those three, support was a lot more individualised, with support workers considering people's different support needs and seeing them as people. (Wow.) Staff had warm relationships with people and felt their purpose was supporting ppl's will and preferences.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby also says those group homes had very open culture, welcoming outside visitors.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby: "Good culture is vulnerable to change" when management/leadership are not actively creating that culture.

And what can the people who live there do about it when that happens?

#DisabilityRC
Bigby's research team looked at a very large number of factors in group homes, and found the only thing that reliably determines how well people are treated is how good the management is.

So who holds management accountable?

#DisabilityRC
Bigby: We developed training and were repeatedly told that #NDIS funding wasn't enough for staff to actually do the training, so they just watched the videos.

Commission: Is that enough?

Bigby: No!

#DisabilityRC
The training is free, so that funding shortfall is literally just about paying for staff time.

#DisabilityRC
81% of the information in an audit is drawn from paperwork, which Bigby's research found is more or less irrelevant to the quality of the service.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby: Some people living alone with drop-in support "are no more connected to the community than people in group homes" - moving people out of group homes is not enough.

#DisabilityRC
Bigby says people with more severe impairments may have different preferences to the people with intellectual disability who are able to speak to the Commission.

#DisabilityRC
She warns against being too politically correct, @almcewin asks what that means. #DisabilityRC
@almcewin Bigby: "I've been criticised by NDIS and advocates for not having people with ID involved with designing the research... When we've talked to hundreds of people with ID in our research, bringing out one person is tokenistic."

#DisabilityRC
@almcewin Bigby: "It's about having multiple insights."

#DisabilityRC
@almcewin Next witnesses are Dr Lisa Hamilton, Belinda Epstein-Frisch, and Leanne Pearman, appearing as a panel.

#DisabilityRC
@almcewin Counsel Assisting asking questions is Mr Fraser. He's introducing all the panellists now.

#DisabilityRC

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More from @PWDAustralia

Sep 24, 2020
Getting ready to live tweet the last day of the #DisabilityRC hearing into the use of psychotropic medication and chemical restraints.

It's been a tough week, so if you need to mute this thread of the hashtag, we do understand.
If you feel impacted by anything you read here today, remember you can always call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

You can also call the National Counselling and Referral Service (specifically set up to support people impacted by anything related to the #DisabilityRC) on 1800 421 468.
We have been very disappointed so far with the lack of people with disability giving evidence at this hearing, and we'd like to start this thread today by sharing three blogs written for us by people with lived experience of the mental health system. #DisabilityRC
Read 83 tweets
Sep 23, 2020
Getting ready to live tweet the #DisabilityRC again this morning. Thanks to everyone following along this week. Some of the testimony is confronting to hear, and we appreciate everyone engaging with us this week.
As always, if you need support, you can reach Lifeline on 13 11 14.

You can also call the National Counselling and Referral Service, set up to support anyone impacted by anything related to the #DisabilityRC, on 1800 421 468.
@FrancesPWDA is live tweeting this morning's #DisabilityRC sessions. You can follow the thread here:

Read 72 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
Good morning everyone!

It's day 2 of the Disability Royal Commission into "the use of psychotropic medication, behaviour support and behaviours of concern". We'll be live tweeting from here again today using the hashtag #DisabilityRC
We heard some harrowing testimony yesterday and we encourage everyone to look after yourselves as we go through this together.

We invite you to follow along on the journey with us, but also remember you can temporarily mute the hashtag or a thread if you need to. #DisabilityRC
@FrancesPWDA will be live tweeting for us from her account this morning. Check out the thread here:

#DisabilityRC
Read 36 tweets
Sep 21, 2020
The 6th Disability Royal Commission hearing on "the use of psychotropic medication, behaviour support and behaviours of concern" starts today at 10am, and we will be live tweeting the proceedings from here.

We'll be using the hashtag #DisabilityRC if you'd like to join us.
If you want to watch along, the livestream will be paying from here: disability.royalcommission.gov.au
If you feel impacted by anything you hear today, remember you can always call Lifeline on 13 11 14

You can also call the National Counselling and Referral Service on 1800 421 468 (set up specifically for people impacted by the #DisabilityRC).
Read 5 tweets
Aug 20, 2020
Day 4 of the #DisabilityRC hearings has now begun.

We'll be live tweeting throughout the day using the hashtags
#Covid19 #DisabilityRC.

You can also watch here:
disability.royalcommission.gov.au
The first witness is Simon Cotterell, the First Assistant Secretary for the Primary Care Division of the Department of Health.

#Covid19 #DisabilityRC
Eastman asks how many people with disability have contracted COVID-19 since January.

Cotterell responds says there is no clear data so we do not know. There is some data from the NDIS Q&S Commission.

#Covid19 #DisabilityRC
Read 126 tweets
Aug 19, 2020
Good morning!

The #DisabilityRC will be kicking off in 5 minutes.

We'll be tweeting along all day using the hashtags:
#Covid19 #DisabilityRC

If you would like to avoid the content, we suggest muting these hashtags.

You can also watch along here: disability.royalcommission.gov.au
If you missed yesterdays hearing, here's some articles covering the discussion around education, isolation, and emergency planning:

theguardian.com/australia-news…

aap.com.au/disability-inq…

canberratimes.com.au/story/6885813/…

sbs.com.au/news/disabilit…
We've started with the first witness, Professor Anne Kavanagh.

She is the Chair of Disability and Health at the University of Melbourne.

#Covid19 #DisabilityRC
Read 83 tweets

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