


Archive for January, 2011
 
ELECTION 2010 – ANNOUNCEMENT
Minister For FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR DISABILITIES
INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IN COMMUNITY LIFE
The Gillard Labor Government today announced three new initiatives to support people with disability and their carers participate in community life.
People with disability and their carers deserve the same opportunities as other Australians to play a part in their local community and access local facilities and public spaces.
The new initiatives are:
-
Accessible communities – infrastructure grants of up to $100,000 to local councils to make buildings and public spaces, such as playgrounds, swimming pools, public toilets, and town halls, more accessible for people with disability. These grants will be offered competitively and be based on a matched contribution from local governments, with the Gillard Labor Government providing total funding of $5 million.
-
An additional $1 million will be provided for digital playback devices and improved access to digital content in public libraries around the country to increase the accessibility of print material, such as books and newspapers, for people with vision and physical impairments and learning disabilities that have difficulty reading traditional printed materials.
- Leaders for Tomorrow – a new national program to help people with disability to become leaders in business, the community and government through mentoring and leadership development. The new $3 million program will provide 12-month intensive leadership support for up to 200 people with disability, including matching them to  a mentor in their field of interest.
- ‘Attitudes’ website – a new disability website will be created in partnership with the ABC to raise awareness of people with disability and disability issues. It will be developed and edited by people with a disability and provide them with a national voice. The Gillard Labor Government will provide $500,000 to establish the website.
These initiatives are part of an $11 million accessibility package to support the Gillard Labor Government’s National Disability Strategy which is currently being finalised with the states and territories.
The National Disability Strategy will commit all governments to a nationwide approach to improving the lives of people with disability and create a more equal society. The strategy will set out a 10-year national plan for reform, focusing on better inclusion for people with disabilities.
These new initiatives are in addition to two recently announced Gillard Labor Government plans to improve access for people with disability:
-
The Livable Housing Design initiative, developed with the residential building and construction industry, to promote new voluntary guidelines for housing built to meet the needs of older Australians and people with disability. The Gillard Labor Government is investing $1 million working with industry to promote liveable housing.
-
A new plan agreed with Australia’s four major cinema groups to fast-track new audio description and captioning technology to improve cinema access for people who are deaf, blind, visually or hearing impaired. This will be funded in partnership between the Gillard Labor Government, through a $500,000 commitment, and cinema operators.
The Gillard Labor Government’s accessibility package to support the National Disability Strategy is fully provided for in the Budget. Costs have been met from within the Departments of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.
MELBOURNE
24 JULY 2010
Â
COMMUNICATIONS UNIT: Phone: (02) 9384 2220 | Fax: (02) 9264 2213
Â
Read Bill Shorten’s speech at the announcement ![]()

 
July 27, 2010 – 4:22PM
A package of free online games for children with autism has received an accolade in the Victorian Government’s 2010 Premier’s Design Awards.
Whiz Kid Games was created by a group of final year multimedia design students from Swinburne’s Faculty of Design in collaboration with Swinburne’s National eTherapy Centre (NeTC) and Bulleen Heights Autism School.
It received the Premier’s Recognition Award as the stand-out design achievement for 2010.
Whiz Kid Games aims to help autistic children learn life skills. Focusing on areas such as coping with change, recognising emotions and non-verbal communication, the 16 therapeutic games are themed around everyday activities such as getting dressed, going to school and following a schedule.
NeTC co-director David Austin says the games provide a real benefit for children with moderate to severe autism. He says kids with autism learn intuitively and by detecting patterns through repetition. He worked with about 80 students at Swinburne to invent online games that used these learning techniques.
“Autistic children can be difficult to engage in traditional educational settings, but most of them are very happy to work with a computer,†associate professor Austin says. “The idea is to capitalise on that and have autism-specific computer-based activities that work for them in building their skills.â€
The Premier’s Design Awards recognise Victorian initiatives where design has been used effectively, sustainably and strategically to innovate, increase productivity and/or boost competitiveness and exports.Â
The games portal can be accessed at the Whiz Kid Games website.
 
Â
July 27, 2010 – 4:22PM
Â
A package of free online games for children with autism has received an accolade in the Victorian Government’s 2010 Premier’s Design Awards.
Â
Whiz Kid Games was created by a group of final year multimedia design students from Swinburne’s Faculty of Design in collaboration with Swinburne’s National eTherapy Centre (NeTC) and Bulleen Heights Autism School.
Â
It received the Premier’s Recognition Award as the stand-out design achievement for 2010.
Â
Whiz Kid Games aims to help autistic children learn life skills. Focusing on areas such as coping with change, recognising emotions and non-verbal communication, the 16 therapeutic games are themed around everyday activities such as getting dressed, going to school and following a schedule.
Â
NeTC co-director David Austin says the games provide a real benefit for children with moderate to severe autism. He says kids with autism learn intuitively and by detecting patterns through repetition. He worked with about 80 students at Swinburne to invent online games that used these learning techniques.
Â
“Autistic children can be difficult to engage in traditional educational settings, but most of them are very happy to work with a computer,†associate professor Austin says. “The idea is to capitalise on that and have autism-specific computer-based activities that work for them in building their skills.â€
Â
The Premier’s Design Awards recognise Victorian initiatives where design has been used effectively, sustainably and strategically to innovate, increase productivity and/or boost competitiveness and exports.Â
Â
The games portal can be accessed at the Whiz Kid Games website.
Â
Source:Â

The consistently amusing NCBI ROFL blog has found a fantastic case study, originally published in Sleep Medicine, of a woman who started sending emails during sleeping-walking episodes when her dose of sleeping pill zolpidem was increased.
As we’ve discussed previously, zolpidem has an association with unusual sleepwalking behaviours, but sending email invitations to dream parties is apparently a first.
Brilliantly, the case report contains copies of the emails (a bit strangely, both are printed out and scanned in). The party invite is just wonderful.
The case description is as follows:
We describe a case of a 44-year-old woman with idiopathic insomnia almost all her life. She tried various medications, psychotherapy and behavioral techniques for the treatment of her insomnia without any significant effects. She was started on Zolpidem 10 mg 4 years ago. She was able to sleep 4–5 h each night, but then the effects started wearing off. She increased the dose of Zolpidem by herself to 15 mg every night; she would take 10 mg tablet around 10 p.m. and 5 mg around 3 a.m.
Read in Full:Â http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/theres_a_party_in_m.html

The consistently amusing NCBI ROFL blog has found a fantastic case study, originally published in Sleep Medicine, of a woman who started sending emails during sleeping-walking episodes when her dose of sleeping pill zolpidem was increased.
As we’ve discussed previously, zolpidem has an association with unusual sleepwalking behaviours, but sending email invitations to dream parties is apparently a first.
Brilliantly, the case report contains copies of the emails (a bit strangely, both are printed out and scanned in). The party invite is just wonderful.
The case description is as follows:
We describe a case of a 44-year-old woman with idiopathic insomnia almost all her life. She tried various medications, psychotherapy and behavioral techniques for the treatment of her insomnia without any significant effects. She was started on Zolpidem 10 mg 4 years ago. She was able to sleep 4–5 h each night, but then the effects started wearing off. She increased the dose of Zolpidem by herself to 15 mg every night; she would take 10 mg tablet around 10 p.m. and 5 mg around 3 a.m.
Read in Full:Â http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2010/07/theres_a_party_in_m.html
 
Speaking Male, Speaking Female — Communicating Into Another’s Listening
Communicating “to” or “at” someone is a far different experience than communicating “with” someone. Master communicators speak into another’s listening, “with” them. What is another’s listening, particularly across the genders of male and female? Misattunements-missing each other by not accurately understanding each other on the levels of feelings, cognitions or intentions-happen all the time, to our collective dissatisfaction and unworkability.
To create a context, consider gift-giving. People, usually below the level of conscious awareness, quite regularly give another what they want and figure the person receiving the gift would like it too. Thinking and acting in accord with this agenda usually does not work. How many guys want pretty clothes and cologne, while how many gals want a sport equipment and video games? Not large numbers. The real trick is to give a gift the other person will treasure.
A classic example is giving your partner a little massage. Males tend to be stronger and firmer in their massages given this is their preference. Physiologically males’ skin is thicker and needs a stronger, firmer touch for him to really feel the touch in the massage. The female typically does not appreciate this and quickly lets the male know this with irritably saying, “Ouch! Can’t you be any gentler? Tender does it!” Physiologically females’ skin is thinner and thus needs a much lighter and tender touch. So long as he doesn’t get defensive or take anything personally, and further begins to understand what females need in massages is a lighter, gentler touch and offers this, all gets back in attunement. Similarly, the woman starts to gently massage the male and he lets her know in no uncertain terms that, “I don’t feel much of anything; can’t you press any harder and stronger?” Again, so long as she takes influence without resistance, defensiveness or personalizing, all comes back into pleasant attunement with mutual satisfaction.
Read in Full:Â http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=39002&cn=289
 
Broken hearts hurt men more than women
June 11, 2010
Women may shed more tears over a busted romantic relationship, but men suffer the greater emotional toll, researchers say.
In a study of more than 1,000 men and women, ages 18 to 23, researchers found that unhappy romances cause men more emotional grief, including threatening their identity and feelings of self-worth. Young men and women express their distress at a breakup differently. Women are more likely to feel depressed after a breakup, while men are more likely to have substance-abuse problems.
Men may be more affected by a breakup because their romantic partners are their primary source of intimacy. Women, however, are more likely to have other close relationships with friends or family members to turn to for support, said the study’s author, Robin Simon of Wake Forest University.
Nonmarital relationships are important to a young adult’s well-being, Simon said. “However, the advantages of partner support and disadvantages of partner strain are more closely associated with men’s than women’s mental health,” she wrote.
Â
The study is published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
— Shari Roan
Source:Â http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/06/romance-men-relationships-breakup.html
 
Relationship Insecurity Ups Health Risks
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 21, 2010
A new study shows that people who have self-doubts about relationships may be at higher risk for future health conditions than those who feel secure in relationships.
In the study, researchers found people who feel insecure about their attachments to others might be at higher risk for cardiovascular problems.
“This is the first study to examine adult attachment and a range of specific health conditions,†said lead author Lachlan A. McWilliams, PhD, of Acadia University. He and a colleague examined data on 5,645 adults age 18 to 60 from the National Cormorbidity Survey Replication and found that people who felt insecure in relationships or avoided getting close to others might be at a higher risk of developing several chronic diseases.
Ratings of attachment insecurity were positively associated with a wide range of health problems, they found.
“Much of the health research regarding attachment has focused on pain conditions, so we were initially surprised that some of our strongest findings involved conditions related to the cardiovascular system,†said McWilliams.
Participants rated themselves on three attachment styles – secure, avoidant, and anxious.
Secure attachment refers to feeling able to get close to others and being willing to have others depend on you. Avoidant attachment refers to difficulty getting close to others and trusting others. Anxious attachment refers to the tendency to worry about rejection, feel needy and find others are reluctant to get close to you.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/21/relationship-insecurity-ups-health-risks/15837.html


Speaking Male, Speaking Female — Communicating Into Another’s Listening
Communicating “to” or “at” someone is a far different experience than communicating “with” someone. Master communicators speak into another’s listening, “with” them. What is another’s listening, particularly across the genders of male and female? Misattunements-missing each other by not accurately understanding each other on the levels of feelings, cognitions or intentions-happen all the time, to our collective dissatisfaction and unworkability.
To create a context, consider gift-giving. People, usually below the level of conscious awareness, quite regularly give another what they want and figure the person receiving the gift would like it too. Thinking and acting in accord with this agenda usually does not work. How many guys want pretty clothes and cologne, while how many gals want a sport equipment and video games? Not large numbers. The real trick is to give a gift the other person will treasure.
A classic example is giving your partner a little massage. Males tend to be stronger and firmer in their massages given this is their preference. Physiologically males’ skin is thicker and needs a stronger, firmer touch for him to really feel the touch in the massage. The female typically does not appreciate this and quickly lets the male know this with irritably saying, “Ouch! Can’t you be any gentler? Tender does it!” Physiologically females’ skin is thinner and thus needs a much lighter and tender touch. So long as he doesn’t get defensive or take anything personally, and further begins to understand what females need in massages is a lighter, gentler touch and offers this, all gets back in attunement. Similarly, the woman starts to gently massage the male and he lets her know in no uncertain terms that, “I don’t feel much of anything; can’t you press any harder and stronger?” Again, so long as she takes influence without resistance, defensiveness or personalizing, all comes back into pleasant attunement with mutual satisfaction.
Read in Full: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=39002&cn=289

Broken hearts hurt men more than women
June 11, 2010
Women may shed more tears over a busted romantic relationship, but men suffer the greater emotional toll, researchers say.
In a study of more than 1,000 men and women, ages 18 to 23, researchers found that unhappy romances cause men more emotional grief, including threatening their identity and feelings of self-worth. Young men and women express their distress at a breakup differently. Women are more likely to feel depressed after a breakup, while men are more likely to have substance-abuse problems.
Men may be more affected by a breakup because their romantic partners are their primary source of intimacy. Women, however, are more likely to have other close relationships with friends or family members to turn to for support, said the study’s author, Robin Simon of Wake Forest University.
Nonmarital relationships are important to a young adult’s well-being, Simon said. “However, the advantages of partner support and disadvantages of partner strain are more closely associated with men’s than women’s mental health,” she wrote.
The study is published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
— Shari Roan
Source:Â http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/06/romance-men-relationships-breakup.html

Relationship Insecurity Ups Health Risks
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 21, 2010
A new study shows that people who have self-doubts about relationships may be at higher risk for future health conditions than those who feel secure in relationships.
In the study, researchers found people who feel insecure about their attachments to others might be at higher risk for cardiovascular problems.
“This is the first study to examine adult attachment and a range of specific health conditions,†said lead author Lachlan A. McWilliams, PhD, of Acadia University. He and a colleague examined data on 5,645 adults age 18 to 60 from the National Cormorbidity Survey Replication and found that people who felt insecure in relationships or avoided getting close to others might be at a higher risk of developing several chronic diseases.
Ratings of attachment insecurity were positively associated with a wide range of health problems, they found.
“Much of the health research regarding attachment has focused on pain conditions, so we were initially surprised that some of our strongest findings involved conditions related to the cardiovascular system,†said McWilliams.
Participants rated themselves on three attachment styles – secure, avoidant, and anxious.
Secure attachment refers to feeling able to get close to others and being willing to have others depend on you. Avoidant attachment refers to difficulty getting close to others and trusting others. Anxious attachment refers to the tendency to worry about rejection, feel needy and find others are reluctant to get close to you.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/07/21/relationship-insecurity-ups-health-risks/15837.html

 
The girls tearing their hair out (literally): The secret compulsion that’s as disturbing as any eating disorder
By Rachel Porter
Last updated at 10:33 AM on 15th July 2010
Laura Forbes has a ten-a-day habit that she is desperate to break. She tries to keep her hands and her mind occupied, but when she does succumb to temptation she feels guilty and frustrated to have derailed another attempt to give it up for good.
Laura is not addicted to cigarettes or to any other well-known vice. She is a trichotillomaniac – one of more than a million women in Britain who are tormented by the constant urge to tear out their own hair.
That Laura is plucking only ten hairs from her head a day is a great triumph of willpower for a girl whose obsession, at its peak, left her bald from the crown to the front of her head.
‘I can finally say that I’m controlling it, instead of it controlling me,’ says Laura, 28, who has had this little-known condition for half of her life.
‘The greatest step forward was the realisation that the urge to do it will never go, but it will become manageable. Alcoholics will always be alcoholics, but some will learn to control or ignore the urge to drink – this is similar.’
Shame and secrecy are part of the condition, which makes it difficult to know for certain how many people are afflicted.
But estimates range between two and four per cent of the population, including a small number of men. This puts trichotillomania on a par with conditions like anorexia or anxiety attacks.
But most of us have never heard of trichotillomania – also known as tricho and TTM – and, despite its prevalence, neither have many doctors.
So for women like Laura it can take years to find the help they need to overcome the maddening urge to pull out their hair – often causing permanent damage to their follicles.
‘I had been pulling my hair for about a year by the time my parents realised that I needed help,’ says Laura.
‘I will never forget going to see the GP and revealing the extent of the problem. He looked at me and said: “Well, stop doing it then.”
‘Now, 14 years later, I know it’s not that simple. It was an unconscious habit - my hand would wander up to my hair, my brain would zone out and, before I knew it, there would be huge bunches of hair around me.’
 
The girls tearing their hair out (literally): The secret compulsion that’s as disturbing as any eating disorder
By Rachel Porter
Last updated at 10:33 AM on 15th July 2010
Laura Forbes has a ten-a-day habit that she is desperate to break. She tries to keep her hands and her mind occupied, but when she does succumb to temptation she feels guilty and frustrated to have derailed another attempt to give it up for good.
Laura is not addicted to cigarettes or to any other well-known vice. She is a trichotillomaniac – one of more than a million women in Britain who are tormented by the constant urge to tear out their own hair.
That Laura is plucking only ten hairs from her head a day is a great triumph of willpower for a girl whose obsession, at its peak, left her bald from the crown to the front of her head.
‘I can finally say that I’m controlling it, instead of it controlling me,’ says Laura, 28, who has had this little-known condition for half of her life.
‘The greatest step forward was the realisation that the urge to do it will never go, but it will become manageable. Alcoholics will always be alcoholics, but some will learn to control or ignore the urge to drink – this is similar.’
Shame and secrecy are part of the condition, which makes it difficult to know for certain how many people are afflicted.
But estimates range between two and four per cent of the population, including a small number of men. This puts trichotillomania on a par with conditions like anorexia or anxiety attacks.
But most of us have never heard of trichotillomania – also known as tricho and TTM – and, despite its prevalence, neither have many doctors.
So for women like Laura it can take years to find the help they need to overcome the maddening urge to pull out their hair – often causing permanent damage to their follicles.
‘I had been pulling my hair for about a year by the time my parents realised that I needed help,’ says Laura.
‘I will never forget going to see the GP and revealing the extent of the problem. He looked at me and said: “Well, stop doing it then.”
‘Now, 14 years later, I know it’s not that simple. It was an unconscious habit - my hand would wander up to my hair, my brain would zone out and, before I knew it, there would be huge bunches of hair around me.’


