Kids with disabilities

I know that most of you are from the States but in Australia we also have a long way to go to reach full inclusion of children with a disability. I'm so glad to see organisations like CVS working so show that "all kids can" as this is something in which I truly believe.

I became interested in children with a disability when my son was diagnosed with ADD, learning disabilities and that he had brain patterns that showed he may have epilepsy. As you do, I did everything I could as a mother to support him and get him through school. His story has a happy ending as he is now a graphic artist at a major metropolitan newspaper in Sydney (two years now) and is well liked, treated with respect and valued for his skills.

As any mother of a child with ADD or ADHD knows, this isn't always the case in school. I wrote about it for The Daily Telegraph and the you can find it here

Through my son, I became involved in the development of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 , which is based on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I was glad that I could do "something" as mostly as a parent you feel helpless. You feel you should be able to "make them better" but disability isn't something you can always "fix". What we can do is "fix" society and the systems and supports so that children with disabilities grow up to be people who are valued, liked and treated with respect - regardless of their disability.

My husband is Australia's Human Rights Commissioner and he works here and at the UN in New York to ensure that all children around the world have a better opportunity at life. Apart from being instrumental in things like the development of the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities, he does small things like donates his Braille books and games to schools in India, helps children in country New South Wales (our state) to gain access to computer technology - technology that has made so much difference to his life.

Talking to your kids with disabilities helps, talking to children and parents who don't have experience of disability helps more. It isn't the families who understand the challenges of disability that need "fixing" - it's everyone and everything else.