Humanity Platform

 For years now I have entered into an annual conversation about the benefits and pitfalls of assistive technology and how it helps me overcome my disability.  I have used many different types of accessible assistive technology over the years but when the first Iron Man movie came out, I saw my assistive technology dream and not just because I wanted to be a "genius billionaire, play boy, philanthropist" like Tony Stark.  When I looked at Tony Stark's fictional system JARVIS I saw a path to independence.  My cerebral palsy means I am very physically limited as to what I can and can't do. So when I saw Tony Stark's house being operated with voice commands I got very excited.  This level of environmental control is still sadly out of reach for me mostly because of funding barriers and sometimes because the technology does not yet exist.  To me the best approach towards assistive technology is is a combination of low tech and high tech equipment. For example, I...

 People that know me, know I am a poet, public speaker, political activist, professional actor, and most importantly, a husband.  What most people don’t know is that none of that would be possible for me without the active support of my family, and my disability support workers.  Many people including some health professionals put too much focus on my Cerebral Palsy.  My first rule is to treat each person as an individual, just because I have Cerebral Palsy doesn’t mean I am the same as everyone else with Cerebral Palsy.  My second rule is take a holistic view of my life, yes, CP is a part of me but I have a family life, a social life, a working life, a spiritual life, and a sexual life.  Of course it is important for support staff to be aware of the physical and social attitude barriers my disability creates.  Lack of access to my community is the number one physical barrier I have faced in my forty years, because of this I have to plan my life like a...

 In 2022 my first blog post was called Day One. This year it’s time to go to the next level!  Over the Christmas break I did some of my most deep thinking and realised that I have only had little drops of success. It’s time for me to commit to a five year surge.  A five year surge where I’m only focussing on becoming the best artistic version of myself I can be because I have come to the conclusion that everything else I want to achieve can be achieved as a flow on effect of becoming the best poet and actor possible.  Going to the next level is about using everything I have in a concentrated form. It’s about never giving up and never being finished.  In a stroke of perfect timing I was given the opportunity to get David Goggins’ book Never Finish. In my opinion Never Finish is even better than his first book You Can’t Hurt Me. It has the ability to put anyone who reads it into the savage mindset.  I will never be a Navy SEAL or an ultra athlete but I can, ...

 Another International Day of People with a Disability is here; a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of all people with disabilities.  This year there are many great things to highlight that people with disabilities have achieved. Without being patronising or exaggerating some of my biggest heroes and inspirations have continued to master the world.  We have to start with the always legendary Dylan Alcott's tenure as Australian of the Year. This year Dylan, while being a decade younger than me, has shown me the leader that I want to be. With his ongoing advocacy for people with disability at high level summits such as Labor's Jobs and Skills Summit and his continual push to make NDIS fairer combined with his amazing media presence I believe Dylan Alcott has been the best Australian of the Year in my lifetime.  The ongoing controversy about the cost of the NDIS has led to many people with disabilities feeling stressed and like we are a burden. I use ...

 COP27 is the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Egypt this year started on 6 November. This year's conference focuses on the theme 'Together for Implementation'. Recent UN reports show that current national climate commitments will limit warming to 2.5 to 2.8C missing the 1.5C target world leaders have agreed to.  Speaker after speaker are urging the world to move from nice ideas to real action hence the theme Together for Implementation .  There was a very inspiring speech by youth climate activist Leah Namugerwa where she called on the world to "live by the rule of nature, live for others. Trees do not eat their own fruits and rivers do not drink their own water." UN Secretary General António Guterres said “cooperate or perish”.  I can’t believe how often Al Gore, my climate superhero, has to warn the world and yet we still do nothing. In his speech he said our current level of emissions is like heating the world with 600 000 Hiroshima s...

The Art of the Mind Festival is a brilliant creative arts festival that runs concurrently with Mental Health Week from the 9-14 October 2022.  The festival looks at the power of creativity to overcome and manage mental health difficulties.  Local community organisation GenU is running a series of mental health themed webinars for Mental Health Week. I will be joining a panel of creative people in a webinar titled ' Creative Arts, Managing the Mind and the Mental Health Benefits '. The panel will be hosted by Jules Haddock where I will be joining distinguished panellists Carly Botheras, Fiona Lucas, Michael Dunstan, Michelle Buggy, Luke Elliot, and Justine Martin where we will be discussing how our artistic practices have helped us during our mental health journeys.  Most people see my disability as the most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my life but the truth is I can deal with physical pain and limitation a lot easier than I can my depression and anxiety diso...

 My relationship to sexuality can be broken into two distinct phases; almost forty plus years of personal sexuality, and eighteen years as a sexual advocate and educator.  When you put both these phases together I have learned one very important lesson.  Sexuality must be a priority! Personally, sex and sexuality is what drives me the most. It has been my ultimate source of pleasure and frustration. The frustration comes when the people who are supposed to support me to live my best life ignore my desire for sex and sexuality.  Allied health professionals, such as occupational therapists, can be the bridge  between uncomfortable disability services and clients wanting to express themselves in a healthy and safe way.  The occupational therapy podcast OT After Dark has many episodes that perfectly capture how therapists can engage in the occupation of sexuality with their clients.  There are also a number of great publications covering the topic. I reco...