Excellence in Education and Training Award
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2017 Winners
11th National Disability Awards
PATRON ’ S MESSAGE
International Day of People with Disability
Excellence in Education and Training Award
University of Sydney – Centre Of Disability Studies , NSW
“ Gaining recognition on the International Day of People with Disability for those students with intellectual disability who are attending undergraduate classes at the University of Sydney through the uni 2 beyond initiative is a milestone for inclusion within university settings .” Professor Patricia O ’ Brien , Director , Centre of Disability Studies uni 2 beyond is a two-year initiative that supports people with intellectual disability to experience university life at the University of Sydney . Students attend lectures and tutorials of their choice as audit students , and participate in university social life through engagement with mentors and other peers . In recent years , the uni 2 beyond initiative has expanded to offer service-learning projects and employment internships to students . It is one of only two inclusive education initiatives that operate within Australian universities and is the only one to offer internship opportunities .
I am proud to have a disability .
I
’ m not going to sugar coat it : living with a disability is at times really tough . Growing up , I remember feeling anxious at the thought of not fitting in ; having to sit on the sidelines watching my friends do whatever they wanted , run wherever they wanted , whilst I had to sit there wishing I could keep up but knowing I couldn ' t . I experienced that feeling when people used to call me names , like ‘ cripple ’ or ‘ spastic ’, and starting to believe them it would make me embarrassed that I was different .
But as I grew older , I slowly started to love the fact I had a disability . I started being PROUD of the fact I had a disability . And why wouldn ' t I be proud ? Everyone in life wants to be different . They wear different clothes , different hairstyles , drive different cars and have different jobs . People make decisions all the time that separate them from the crowd so what better way to be different than to have a disability , as long as I could harness the positives to be the best version of me !
But as I progressed through life , I learnt that for the vast majority of people with disability this wasn ’ t the case for them . I would get really surprised when people didn ’ t admit they had a disability , even though they clearly did . I often , to this day , still see people sharing their stories and saying that “ my whole life , my family and friends taught me that I didn ’ t have a disability , and that I should tell people I ’ m not disabled ”. Why ? Because being disabled means you ’ re broken ,
30 International Day of People with Disability linkonline . com . au