Newsletter 6 May 2024 - Mother's Day crafts Weds 8th May 6pm- Dad & sons welcome, Yoga, Starjam & so much more.


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Disability Connect Newsletter

6th May 2024

flowering Pohutukawa tree in foreground on left and grass, sandy shoreline and calm beach in background. sunny day with a few white cloudsit

Disability Connect Support Groups

Zoom Parents Support Group - Every Monday 7-8pm
Open to anyone seeking advice or support for parenting, upcoming Needs Assessments, starting or leaving school and anything in-between. Robyn would love to meet and chat about anything that is important to you.
Parent Support Group - Wednesday 8th May 2024 - 6pm-8pm. Mothers Day Social Event - Make your own hand balm. All parents welcome! Location: Disability Connect, 3B Olive Road, Penrose. Click here for flyer.
Chinese Support Group - Tuesday 21st May, 10am to 12noon. Guest Tutor - Ella Zhang, SC Yoga
Topic: Mothers Day Yoga Event - Meditation & Relaxation
Location: Senior Citizens Room, Fickling Convention Centre (546 Mt Albert Road, Three Kings) Click here for english flyer and here for Chinese language flyer.

Parent Support Group - All Welcome

Wednesday 8th May - 7pm-8:30pm

Topic: Mother’s Day Social Event: Create your own hand balm. Mum's, Dads and siblings too!

Zsuzsa Szabadi, the new Disability Cultural Advisor is looking forward to meeting you!

Join us for a social evening! Come and create a personalised hand balm to take home.
You’ll have the choice of many essential oils, including some more masculine ones, to create your own scent. We’ll decorate the container together.

Venue: 3b Olive Rd Penrose

Registration: Email admin@disabilityconnect.org.nz

Kainga Korero - Zoom Housing Forum

Thursday 9th May - 7pm-8:30pm

Interested in Choices in Community Living (CiCL)? Join our Kainga Korero on Zoom Thursday May 9^th at 7pm for a forum exploring this housing option. We have invited Taikura Trust to do a short presentation. This will be followed by time for Q & A. We have also invited Auckland Choices in Community Living providers to attend to respond to your queries. Do send your questions about CiCL in advance so we can get the best possible responses.

To register for this ZOOM event, please click here.

Disability Supports in the Community

Friday 10th May - 9:30am-12:30pm

A Work and Income and Taikura Trust presentation. Learn more about disability supports available to you and your family.

Location: Massey Community Trust, 8 Vadam Road, Massey, West Auckland.

This is a free event for families. Professionals - $50. For more information click here. To register, click here.

Disability Connect Seminars and Workshops

Planning For Adulthood - Thursday 20 June, 11am - 9:30pm via Zoom. Click here for information. To register email: admin@disabilityconnect.org.nz
Education Legal Issues - Thursday 25th July, 6:30pm to 9pm via Zoom. Click here for information. To register email: admin@disabilityconnect.org.nz

Please note some seminars do have a fee. Please let us know if this is a barrier to being able to attend. Clicking on the link will take you to the information.

For more Disability Support Groups click here.

Ātea Disability 101 Online Workshops

Ātea is an exciting training programme led by disabled people that aims to increase participants' awareness of attitudes towards disabled people, and how to reduce barriers so that everyone can participate fully in society.

There are two 6-hour workshop series being held over two three hour modules. Tuesday 7th & Wednesday 8th May from 9:30am to 12:30pm and Tuesday 21st May & Thursday 23 May from 9:30am to 12.30pm. For more information click here.

Picture of a Papakura villa that is for rent

Large 7-bedroom accessible house with wheelchair lift for rent

Looking for a fixed long-term tenant suitable for a multi-generational family in Papakura. Contact Samuel Clarke on 021343228. Click here for details.

Picture of woman doing yoga smiling and wearing a black top with the words Yoga with Nic

Weekly online zoom Yoga with Nic

Yoga with Nic is tailored for people with intellectual and/or physical disability. Yoga is about strengthening our body and our mind. Join Nic on IHC Media for a weekly yoga Zoom session on Thursday afternoons at 1:30. Yoga can be done sitting or standing and Nic makes sure it’s always fun. Go to ihcmedia.org.nz to register for these and other great live Zoom sessions you can join from home.

Clients participating in a STARS programme

Spaces available in STARS programme

STARS empowers children and teens living with intellectual and/or physical disabilities. Sessions take place weekly during a school term.

STARS is a dance movement therapy programme that empowers children and teenagers with a variety of intellectual and/or physical disabilities. STARS is available in Auckland at Mt Albert, Pakuranga, Onehunga, and North Shore. An assessment is required to join this clinical programme - and each group is limited to six clients. Please email info@dancetherapy.co.nz for information Click here for more details

A child in a wheelchair playing netball, advertising inclusive netball sessions at Auckland Netball.

No Limits Netball Programme at Auckland Netball Centre

Sign up now for No Limits Netball at Auckland Netball Centre – free monthly netball sessions for people with disabilities, age 5+. First session 12^th May. Register: https://bit.ly/3YlSpyB

Click here for more details

Trying Differently Rather Than Harder - Webinar

Tuesday May 7th 7.30pm

This webinar will introduce you to a best practices approach for increasing understanding of neurobehavioural conditions, reducing frustration, and expanding options. You'll gain a new understanding of why traditional behavioural treatment techniques are frequently ineffective for individuals with brain-based differences. It is intended for professionals, parents, whānau members, and caregivers working with and living with individuals whose brain works differently, including FASD.

Night time photo of The Red Barn Retreat Centre back lit, Lake Okareka, Rotorua, a Red barn rectangular building with an Apex roof line, central proch and front door with a window either side.

June 2024 – Parent’s Retreat in Rotorua

Retreat for Parents – Rest, Respite and Supportive Connection. 14 – 17 June 2024, Lake Okareka, Rotorua. Click here for more details.

Older gentleman sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair is on the front tray of a wheelchair bike. A woman dressed in shorts and tee-shirt is peddling the bike.

New Zealand’s first wheelchair e-bikes

The range includes an innovative bike design that enables a wheelchair user to ride comfortably as a passenger in their own wheelchair without needing to transfer between the wheelchair and the bike.

The VeloPlus e-bike features a tiltable ramp that allows users to roll onto a platform before safely securing the wheelchair to the bike with its integrated locking system.

A second e-bike, OPair, a custom-designed wheelchair that can be detached for independent use once the passenger reaches their destination. The sleek frame of OPair's detachable wheelchair is not as wide as a standard wheelchair, making it suitable for transport in narrower spaces.

Suitable for children and adults the bikes offer wheelchair users and their families the joy of cycling together.

Your voice matters!

Review of Adult Decision-Making Capacity Law. The Law Commission has published a Second Issues Paper. The Issues Paper and Key Topic documents are available on the Law Commissions website. Submissions can be made online or by one of the alternative submission options noted on the website. Submissions are due by 5pm Friday 21 June 2024.

Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People - To keep up to date with the latest changes on the 18 March announcements, refer to Whaikaha's website. The latest on purchasing rules are available here.

Make your voices heard by signing both of the petitions below:

Carers NZ Petition - Recognise and protect New Zealand’s family, whānau and āiga carers

Petition: Re-evaluate the Recent Changes to Whaikaha Purchasing Guidelines for Individualised Funding

To have your say, you can also write to your local MP or email us at admin@disabilityconnect.org.nz

Welcome to the team

We welcome Jingjing Xue and Zsuzsa Szabadi to our team as Cultural Disability Advisors. Jingjing is covering Yoky's maternity leave as Chinese Disability Advisor and Zsuzsa replaces Juthika Veerasamy as a Cultural Disability Advisor.

Cultural Disability Advisor

Jingjing Xue

Jingjing is a Mum of an 11 year old with complex disability and knows first hand the challenges of raising a child in New Zealand as a Chinese migrant. Jingjing will host our popular Chinese Family Disability Support Group events and moderate our WeChat group.

Cultural Disability Advisor

Zsuzsa Szabadi

Zsuzsa’s focus is to support families with disabled children by running monthly Parent Support/ Social Group sessions on a range of topics. Zsuzsa has life experience as a sibling of a disabled person and is training as a Dance/Movement Therapist at University of Auckland.

Independently You - 15% Discount offer

Male youth, smiling and lying on a bed with black continence sheet and blue pillowcase

Disability Connect’s valued families can get 15% off Independently You products using the coupon code DISCON15 (cannot be used on SALE items). Check out the range of what they offer on their website www.independentlyyou.co.nz

Great information on our website!

We are available Monday-Friday 9am-4.30pm

admin@disabilityconnect.org.nz

Phone 09 636 0351

We are here to help you with the best information, advice and support for living the best life possible.

Disability Connect can now receive online donations via credit card. We appreciate any donation from you!

Disability Connect

3b Olive Road, Penrose, Auckland
New Zealand

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