For the first time since the start of the program the Inclusive Communication Team has travelled to regional Australia to talk to university students about how to work more effectively with people with intellectual disability.

Health Ambassador Olivia Sidhu and Health Program Manager Natalie Graham visited the University of New England in Armidale in August and presented to 183 medical and pharmacy students about how to improve healthcare outcomes for people with Down syndrome by including them in the conversation.

Olivia was thrilled to go on her first ever business trip for work and said she “had the best time ever talking to the university students.” 

As part of the on-going work to improve employment outcomes for people with disability, the Government held the NDIS Jobs and Skills Forum in Canberra to provide NDIS participants, their families and support people the opportunity to discuss how we increase economic participation of NDIS participants, and explore solutions for more people with disability to join the workforce.  

DSA Employment Ambassadors Keziah Glenane, Charlotte Bailey and Kenichi Gray attended the Forum with DSA CEO Ellen Skladzien to give their own insights into what needs to be done to improve the system.  

Charlotte says, “I don’t think it’s fair for that people with disability are paid less than minimum wage. I work hard to get where I am and so does everyone else. Everyone has the right to get paid the right money for the job they do.”  

This past month DSA has been working with the NDIA to make improvements to the NDIS for people with disability and their families.  

We have held a series of in-person and online listening forums where people with Down syndrome and their families shared their experiences on what the NDIS planning process is like and how they would like to be involved in their plans in the future.

These forums will ensure that future reforms to the NDIS are designed with the needs of people of disability at the centre.

Over the past year DSA has been developing a first of its kind health record app for parents of children with Down syndrome.   

The app has been developed with the input of parents in our community and is a one-stop-shop for collating and recording health information about your child with Down syndrome from GP appointments to hospital visits, PDF and document uploading, developmental milestone tracking and immunisation alerts. 

DSA is releasing this app in October for Down Syndrome Awareness month on the Apple App Store and is free to download. 

Our Victorian Employment Ambassador Keziah Glenane recently featured on the first episode of ChatAbility to share her thoughts on why disability inclusion is so important in employment.

Watch Kez in the first episode here:     

DSA recently updated our fact sheet on non-invasive prenatal testing. 

It covers some common questions around NIPT and prenatal screening, and provides links to related resources.

Read the fact sheet here: