In this talk for TED, Aimee Mullins challenges our perceptions of 'disability'.

From TED: The thesaurus might equate "disabled" with synonyms like "useless" and "mutilated," but ground-breaking runner Aimee Mullins is out to redefine the word. Defying these associations, she hows how adversity -- in her case, being born without shinbones -- actually opens the door for human potential.

YANQ's "The Case for a Youth Disability Advocacy Service in Queensland" is now available to downlaod and read. The report provides an overview of the current youth disbaility sector and a rationale for a funded youth disability advocacy service. Please share the report with your networks and encourage those people, who haven't already, to become Youth Disability Advocacy Queensland (YDAQ) Supporters by emailing Caroline ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) with expressions of interest. Feedback on the final report and recommendations for the wider YDAQ campaign are always welcome! Please contact Caroline with any suggestions you may have via email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or at the YANQ office.

A 'new-and-improved' Youth Disability Advocacy Queensland (YDAQ) Service Proposal, entitled The Case for a Youth Disability Advocacy Service in Queensland has been recently drafted. A Summary of the report has also been produced. Both documents are 'working drafts' so we would welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Please email Caroline ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) if you have any suggestions for either document or queries on the campaign for a youth disability advocacy service in Queensland.

Many of the large institutions that housed generations of people with disabilities—out of sight and out of mind—are now closed. Australians with disabilities are now largely free to live in the community. Once shut in, many people with disabilities now find themselves shut out. People with disabilities may be present in our community, but too few are actually part of it.

At present:

• there are many Queenslanders with disability who don’t get the support they need to live decent lives in the communities of their choice; and 
• there is a high level of reliance on a funding and service delivery system that is predominately crisis driven.

Early in June this year, a collection of people involved in Queensland's disability sector - people with disability, family members, advocates, public servants, service providers, peak bodies, academics and other committed individuals - met for three days to undertake the Blue Skies Scenario Building Activity.

Caroline is currently compiling a summary of the evidence supporting the case for a youth disability advocacy service in Queensland. If there are any reports or papers relating to any aspect of youth disability services, consumer driven community organisations or citizen advocacy that you have come across and think may be worthwhile to include in Caroline's summary, then your input would be greatly appreciated. Please send any suggestions or reference to Caroline - ydaq2 @ yanq dot org dot au.

Over the last few weeks we've received lots of support from members of the public for the idea of a youth disability advocacy service in Queensland. Nevertheless, it has become clearer that we have a lot of work to do before we can make this service a reality.

Here's an update on what we've been up to:

Supporters of youth disability advocacy in Queensland might recall that a few weeks ago, we sent an open letter to the major parties contesting the State Election. In the letter we asked for statements of each party's position on how government can support the rights of Queensland's young people with disabilities. Below are the responses we've received so far.

•  Labor's response to letter state candidates 420.90 Kb
•  Liberal National Party's response to letter to state candidates 38.41 Kb

Broaden Your Horizons (http://www.imvc.com.au/broadenhorizons) is a centralised website that houses resources relating to young people with disabilities. This tool provides information about career and transition resources and support services available to young people with disabilities. The aim of the site is to create an easy, time-efficient way to source targeted transition information for young people.

Source: Youth Field Express, Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies

Moving out of home is a big deal. Most young people get a fair amount of control over the process and can decide when they move, where they move to and who they move in with. Some young people, especially those with intellectual disabilities, don't have the freedom to make choices like that. This is often because our communities have not provided enough opportunities for young people with intellectual disabilities to develop important life skills, and so the only option for them is supported accommodation.

An advocacy service for young people with disabilities would help to ensure that social services (such as schools, disability support agencies, housing providers etc) did provide plenty of opportunities for young people to learn new skills and demonstrate their potentials. The following story from the United States is a good example of how an advocacy service could help.

The following letter was sent to the major parties contesting the 2009 Queensland State Election. If we receive any responses, they will be posted to this website.

Dear Candidate,

RE Youth Disability Advocacy Queensland (YDAQ)

Youth Disability Advocacy Queensland (YDAQ) is dedicated to providing advocacy for young persons with disabilities throughout the state. We are affiliated with Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ), the state's peak youth body, and have widespread support from the disability sector.

Many of us take it for granted that our workplace should give us work that challenges us or is meaningul - rather than menial. This isn't the case however for some young people with disabilities. An advocacy service for young people with disabilities would help to redress this injustice, such as in the example below from a US based children's advocacy service.

The purpose of a Youth Disability Advocacy Service is to make sure that all young people, regardless of their different capabilities get opportunities in life to thrive and develop their own potentials. You can help make this idea a reality in Queensland by sharing your story!

• How would an advocacy service help you - at school, at work, in the community?
• If you're from overseas or Victoria (that is lucky to have a Youth Disability Advocacy Service)- how has an advocacy service helped you?
• What do you think are the main challenges that a young person with a disability faces - how could an advocacy service help?

The purpose of a Youth Disability Advocacy Service is to make sure that all young people, regardless of their different capabilities get opportunities in life to thrive and develop their own potentials. In Queensland many young people with disabilities are denied opportunities most of us take for granted - for example access to playground equipment. Here is one example of how an advocacy service in Queensland might help to rectify this situation.

Click here to register
as a supporter

Photo by eye2eye.
Some rights reserved.

Too often, young people with a disability don't get the same opportunities that other young people get. Sometimes they don't get the same access to education or they don't get offered jobs that they are perfectly well qualified for. As a community, it is our responsibility to make sure young people with a disability DO get the same opportunities and support that the rest of us take for granted.

A publicly funded youth disability advocacy service in Queensland is one way we can live up to our responsibility.

Show your support! Register as a supporter by filling out this form (make sure you choose 'Youth Disability Advocacy as an area of interest'), and we'll send you information on how you can help establish a youth disability advocacy service in Queensland (or keep reading for more information).

YANQ calling for a Youth Disability Advocacy service in Queensland

The Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) has been talking to our colleagues in the disability services area about establishing an advocacy service for young people with disabilities. Below is our initial proposal for the service, which for now we are calling 'Youth Disability Advocacy Queensland'. YANQ is in the process of seeking support for this proposed service and would welcome your advice and support.