The Disability Information and Resource Centre

The Raising Children Network is looking for Australian parents of children with special needs aged 3-9 years to take part in the evaluation of a new online program. This online tool, called the Behaviour Skills Builder, will help parents manage their child’s difficult behaviour.

Parents can complete the program in their own time. The program guides parents through a step-by-step process that helps them understand why the difficult behaviour occurs. It also helps them tailor plans and strategies to suit their child.

There are sets of questionnaires to fill in before and after the program – each set will take about 20 minutes to complete.

For further information contact info@parentingrc.org.au or freecall 1800 334 155.

Web2Care is a new tool developed to assist people in managing self-directed care and personal budgets. The web based tool integrates planning, budgeting, employment of support workers, financial management and reporting functions in a format applicable to adults and children in disability who are directly managing a support package.

Expressions of interest are now invited from consumers with a chronic illness or mental illness, and consumers/families in aged care, in trialling the tool in self-managing a support budget in chronic illness, mental illness and aged care.

A presentation on the tool can be found here.

For more information contact Vern Hughes on 0425 722 890 or vern@partnerships.org.au.

The Specials is an internet broadcast ‘docusoap’ about five friends with learning difficulties who share a house together. All the currently released episodes are viewable on their website.

The Specials were recent winners at the 14th annual Webby Awards.

Australians with disabilities will soon find it easier to access government information online.

Minister for Finance and Deregulation Lindsay Tanner and Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities Bill Shorten said the Rudd Government had endorsed new website accessibility standards, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.

“This is an important step in making democracy more open, accessible and accountable for all Australians,” Lindsay Tanner said.

“It will encourage and enable people living with disabilities to more fully interact with, and get services from government online.”

The new standard replaces WCAG 1.0, a mandated requirement for agencies since 2000.

More information can be found here.