A down syndrome 21 old girl, who seems to be an easy target !!!

[Franco Cozzo]

Centrelink will vary greatly from office to office, if you get snubbed off at one, go to another office and deal with a different person, eventually you might be able to get someone who cares.

Just don't dig up lots of trouble, because all it takes is word to spread around and then all your applications are just going to get passed from office to office to deal with and around in circles it goes, oldest Centrelink trick in the book.

Also you won't have your disability pension taken away from you because its not a requirement for you to go looking for work on a disability pension, you are on a disability pension on the basis that you can't do any paid work at award wages of at least 15 hours per week and have a impairment rating of at least 20 points which in this case seems that this girl may have an impairment rating of 20 points.

I suggest you go to Centrelink before you tell somebody that they won't get their entitlement. Did she get anything in the mail telling her she will lose her entitlement?

Words from the horses mouth, Dad works at Centrelink.

What I think what may have happened is that they encounted the usual spaced out Centrelink desk jockey, who relies 100% on the computer to calculate everything for them, what happens is they put in a wrong number somewhere, then the computer cancells their payments based on the new (wrong) figure.

[Dr Jekkyl]

Common sense will surely prevail. I would certainly hope so.

As far as I am aware things like this seem to happen on a regular basis. I have seen such matters raised by people or their carers on the DSP with their GPs or other doctors. IIRC qualification for the DSP requires medical certification and I am sure they would have no problem getting a medico to assure the Centrelink drones that Melissa cannot work!

[Mz Revvv Head]

hey naughts, thansk for the post ...

I will let Collette know about the group ...
I'm sure she would like this to get out & about for a while also ...
I willl pm you ... thanks again ...

[Mz Revvv Head]

hey au3xr6, I do agree with on social skills ...
& on many other levels ... but I really believe this is not for Melissa ...
She did do a work placement when she was still at school, and it didn't go well ...

[Mz Revvv Head]

DHS = Department of Human services is also pushing this

I hasn't been in writing as yet it, all phone calls to Collette ...
And the losing pension was also said in the calls ...

Thanks so much guys for the posts, some great advice & people with there hearts in the right places ... I will visit the family tomorrow & see if we can go down to centrelink ... Fingers crossed ...

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Mz Revvv Head

DHS = Department of Human services is also pushing this

I hasn't been in writing as yet it, all phone calls to Collette ...
And the losing pension was also said in the calls ...

Thanks so much guys for the posts, some great advice & people with there hearts in the right places ... I will visit the family tomorrow & see if we can go down to centrelink ... Fingers crossed ...

DHS are linked with Centrelink these days I'm pretty sure, same as the ATO which cross references databases with centrelink.

[jackson105]

What is it with ********* centrelink. Mellisa sounds similar to my step son Dale. He is downs, but also has many other problems, and he cant even right his name. My partner is looking at getting him into group housing next year, when he turns 18, as she can't cope anymore, and much like Melissa's father, Dales is in the picture but couldnt care less. I know that centrelink at least twice a year call us to ask how Dale is coping??? And believe it or not they have actually asked on more then one occasion if he still has DOWNS.... I hope that with support from this forum and other outside areas, that things get sorted out for Melissa and her family.

[Mz Revvv Head]

thanks for the post jackson105 ...

There are so many different levels of many disability's ...

I take my hat of to your partner, she has done a wonderful job looking after Dale & all the hard work she's put in & she deserves a break ... ( and you also ) We are all only human & no 1 could ever say different ...
As for the dad omfg shame on him !!!

This type of disability's never go away, omg these idiots who ask ?'s like that are the 1's who make me angry as, so I hope if we can go to centrelink we get some one who has some common sence ... Geez is that really possible :|

To the people who taken the time to reply I thank you all very much x

[yakabot]

Originally Posted by StrokedXT

Now obviously I dont know the circumstances surrounding this, But getting people with disabilities into the work force is good for them.

I've been looking at your reply for about 10 minutes, trying to calm down before I replied.
And some background on my knowledge: Our Daughter is 24 and is deaf, mentally handicapped and has Cereberal Palsy.
Getting handicapped people in to some sort of job may sound great, but there's a hell of a lot more involved.
For starters, there's stuff all work around for them. She was able to do 6 weeks at a Scope place, but then that's all they can do, as there are so many waiting for some sort of work, that they rotate them around.
Transport to wherever it is can be a big problem. In Our daughters case, we need to take her wherever she needs to go. This means we're a one income family.

So if the Opening Posters Mum does manage/have to take the daughter to work, she will have to forsake work herself, so she can take her.
It's a friggin viscous world caring for someone with a disability.

[jackson105]

Well said yakabot, and thankyou Mz.

[uranium_death]

I will say that support for people with disabilities in Australia is pathetic.

My brother has a learning/intellectual disability, and is also blind to his own problems...it doesn't help that he's psychotically derranged with a very, very angry nature who is abusive towards his family (half the reason why I have downers).

We went to Scope...useless
We went to the Department of Human Services...absolute waste of time. What is their purpose?
Centrelink have misinformed my parents many, many times, especially regarding the disability pension and carer allowance.

Some people with disabilities are big babies/children who need people to do everything for them. Chronologically these people may be XY, but mentally they're juvenile.

What frustrates me and my family is that we're so willing to take in people from overseas with no skills, no employment history etc. and give them accommodation, free healthcare and education as well as no-questions-asked financial support, while people/families with legitimate enquiries regarding families with unfortunate conditions have to work so, so hard to get anything that resembles support. From experience, most of the time this support is a waste of time due to the gross amount of misinformation fed.

The biggest losers are my parents, who haven't been on a holiday in a decade, and really cannot enjoy their retirement. Finding accommodation for these people to develop a sense of independence (with frequent visits from DHS) would be great, rather than throw money at people that are only rorting an over-generous broken-down system.

[Mz Revvv Head]

I agree yakabot, about alot more is involved ...

Collette doesn't work & she doesn't drive either ...
It's all public transport for them as her family doesn't help out in any way,
altho they do drive, no 1 of them puts there hand up to ever help

When they do get a bus to go to plaza, market etc people just stare at Melissa
and I have seen this myself when I took her to the wave pool ...
Not only were kids staring but adults too, well I lost it !!!

Collette & Melissa can't even walk to there local shops with out being teased & having things thrown at them etc ...
Society is very cruel & quick to judge & or open there mouths ...
These kids deserve to be treated with respect ...
And down syndrome kids are the happiest kids I know ...by far ...

Melissa could never go get a bus on here own, so it's more work for Collette to have to take her & pick her up & I'm sure she would rather get a taxi so it makes it a little easier, but it's all just so damn unfair !!!

[jackson105]

It really says alot about our country when in this day of age people have to look, point, stare and even ******* throw things. What the hell is this country coming to???

[Mz Revvv Head]

Oh I ask myself this ? time & time again jackson :|

Melissa struggles to even walk that far & poor Collette comes home in tears ...
After being spat on & rubbish thrown at them etc, which they then need to shower ...
Omfg, what a real disgrace this is
I wish I had been there when it's happened !!!
I'm very out spoken & have a very fiery nature & I can't nor will I tolerate people being treated like this !!!
Shame shame & more shame on them !!!

[Mz Revvv Head]

Yes it is very pathetic 100 % agreed uranium ...
You have many valid points, good post ...

You people who have posted some story on your life's - family's with disability's
really touches my heart in a big way ...

Thanks very much for sharing x

[outside]

Originally Posted by Mz Revvv Head

This type of disability's never go away, omg these idiots who ask ?'s like that are the 1's who make me angry as, so I hope if we can go to centrelink we get some one who has some common sence ... Geez is that really possible :|

We have a son who has ASD, last year when we had his IEP meeting at his school, it was noted how well he was doing and how far he had come

The then school counsellor said that he maybe growing out it his autism

Like hello it’s not something you grow out of it’s a life long thing

Just goes to show that some ppl have no idea on what they are talking about or what we ppl who look after others with needs go though

[mcnamg]

I have read all the posts in this thread and whilst its reassuring to see that my family is not the only one struggling to raise a child with a disability it makes the blood boil to see the way that we are treated as second class citizens.

My daughter was born with a Genetic defect where she has a piece missing off her Y chromosome and an addition to her X chromosome which has led to her being severely developmentally delayed. She doesnt walk or talk and is wheelchair bound.

As she has been getting larger (she is 9 now) she is becoming increasingly harder to handle so we have been looking at tempoary respite services to give us and her and her grandparents who help us out with her as much of a break as possible. Both my Wife and I work as there is no way we could survive on the small pension that we would get from Centrelink and only receive a fortnightly Carers payment to assist with Nappies and Equipment etc (doesnt even come close to covering any of this). However if we want to use respite services for overnight stays on a weeknight we cannot exceed 60 nights of respite per year or our payment is cut off completely.

There was a show on 4 corners about 6 months ago about a woman in NSW who had a daughter who was turning 18 and was no longer able to attend a special school due to her age and the only permanent care facility operated by the NSW government was being shut down. If she used a private facility due to the level of care her daughter required it was going to cost her $75k a year to have her cared for. Obviously she couldnt afford this and the only option she had was to move to the UK (she is a dual citizen) where due to their vastly better system she was able to get full care for her daughter and the right amount of support.

After seeing this show I was angry for over a week and my wife and I have been doing some serious research about moving to the UK and in doing that research have gotten even angrier at how little support working families get over here.

[outside]

the whole shame of the matter is that we dont stand as one and fight for our kids, sure we may make waves by ourselfs but untill there is an uproar we are fighting an up hill battle

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by jackson105

It really says alot about our country when in this day of age people have to look, point, stare and even ******* throw things. What the hell is this country coming to???

Its people in general, I hate having to deal with and see this on a day to day basis, nothing makes me more angry.

[mcnamg]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Its people in general, I hate having to deal with and see this on a day to day basis, nothing makes me more angry.

Agree and our legal system lets us down as well as there is no real punishment for these lowlifes and they know they can get away with anything with no recourse. People are afraid to stand up to them as well as these kinds of scum are always in groups and pick on those least able to defend themselves for fear of being bashed or worse

[Mz Revvv Head]

1 of my sons was a prem baby, he was born 3 months early ...
My water broke at 26 weeks & I lasted an extra 2 weeks before I need to have an emergency c-section ... he was born at 28 weeks ...

Oh this was totally shattering after having my girls with both normal births, no drugs at all which was what I wanted ...

My son weighed 1091 grams, omg he was very tiny, he could fit in our hands :(
he was in intensive care for a while & then the the c-pap machine, then he'd stop breathing & need to go back to intensive care to have blood transfusions etc etc ...

He was in hospital just over 3 months, when he came home all he did was cry ...
A week later we went back for a review & I told them this, he didn't settle, nothing .... Oh I knew some thing was wrong but I didn't know what ...
So they put him in hospital to see if they could find any thing ...
When he went back in there & he seen those fluro lights that had seen for so long, 1st time ever did he smile :(
I did read this book called Smiling at Shadows, Oh geez I was in tears the whole time, as this lady's son was just like mine ...

We lived at a place that had a very small yard & to get him out there, omg hell no !
Then we moved to a bigger place as I was pregnant with my last son ...
The back yard was huge & could I get him out there, no bloody way ...
And he's behavior was off the planet, he didn't talk, it was so frustrating !
I rang the maternal nurse & asked her to send me letter to get into any where, omg I really needed some help ... Finally got into a hospital & we were there for 3 hrs or so ...
At the end of it I was told it's very important to understand your child is Autistic with severe ADHD :'( I didn't even know what that ment :|
but I knew I had to explain our day so there was no upset to routine ...

He is now 12 yrs old, he has a whole in his heart, got Chronic lung disease, Austistic & ADHD ... Omg what's next :|

I took him to early intervention for many yrs, speech therapy, so many things & then an extra yr at day care & at school he is very good at reading, maths no, english no, sport - not at all ...
To look at him he looks totally lost & he is getting very tall now, mentally he's like a 6 yr old & the gap gets bigger as they get older :( He's not medicated ...

He's very good at gardening tho & he can grow any vegetable plants etc ...
Puzzles he can do in seconds ...

I asked the ? even if he had been born full term would it be any different ?
I was told NO ... This would have been the same out come ...
They are born with this and it's a life time thing :(

Thought I would just share some of the hard work I have done ...
It's exhausting looking after any child, but these kids & people with disabilty's are very strong ... It's not all easy like some people may think ...
My youngest son has severe ADHD & he is medicated ...
Another very demanding & very challenging boy !!!

When it comes to any 1 with a disability I'm very defensive ...
I guess because it's some thing I've lived with ...

I take my hat of to you parents - carer's etc who look after this specail kids - adults
You deserve a medal ... Well done to you all x

[JC]

Originally Posted by Mz Revvv Head

Hey Coyote V8, I hear what your saying & her mum is her carer for her at the moment,
but she will lose her centrelink payment when Melissa is made to go work ...
They have told her that already ... They won't let her keep her disabilty pension because she isn't working ...
Collette is the mum & she doesn't work & she's not young 60 + she's cared for Melissa from day 1 when her so called dad walked out on them when they were told she has down syndrome ...

She mustn't be on Disability pension, if they're saying she has to go to work - she would have to be on NewStart, or Special payment of some sort. One of the conditions of DSP is actually that you can't work more than 15 hours per week, and it is not an obligation for those on DSP to look for work. I would be asking the local Centrelink to review the case, and if that's no good, go the FOI route to get as much info as you can, and then lodge an appeal - central to getting DSP is the Job Capacity Assessment (someone mentioned going to a GP - it's actually a specialist, independent assessor). If the JCA has expired, she should be referred for an update for DSP Review.

[JC]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Centrelink will vary greatly from office to office, if you get snubbed off at one, go to another office and deal with a different person, eventually you might be able to get someone who cares.

Just don't dig up lots of trouble, because all it takes is word to spread around and then all your applications are just going to get passed from office to office to deal with and around in circles it goes, oldest Centrelink trick in the book.

Also you won't have your disability pension taken away from you because its not a requirement for you to go looking for work on a disability pension, you are on a disability pension on the basis that you can't do any paid work at award wages of at least 15 hours per week and have a impairment rating of at least 20 points which in this case seems that this girl may have an impairment rating of 20 points.

I suggest you go to Centrelink before you tell somebody that they won't get their entitlement. Did she get anything in the mail telling her she will lose her entitlement?

Words from the horses mouth, Dad works at Centrelink.

What I think what may have happened is that they encounted the usual spaced out Centrelink desk jockey, who relies 100% on the computer to calculate everything for them, what happens is they put in a wrong number somewhere, then the computer cancells their payments based on the new (wrong) figure.

Wish I had seen this before I posted. This is spot on, if not a little cynical! But yes, 20% impairment, Work capacity of <15 hrs per week from a Job Capacity Assessment and DSP should be granted. Your first port of call to fix this is Centrelink - just go and ask for a review; you'd be surprised how many Centrelink CSOs do actually care about the people they serve.

[Mz Revvv Head]

thanks for the posts JC ...

Melissa is on a disablity pension ...

From what I'm told is will be full time work also ...

I will take Collette to centrelink when she can, didn't make it last week ...

centrelink are harsh, they ALWAYS hassle the wrong people ...

[BLUEYBA]

Our society should be judged not on how much we earn or what we own as a country or individuals but how we look after our elderly and disabled and those less fortunate. Unfortunately Australia is extremely poor at looking after these people, my wife works at an aged care facility and my heart breaks for these people as the standard of care is just not what it should be. Sometimes I feel the government only judges us on how much they can tax us and as those that are elderly and disabled don't work or earn money then its not worth spending the money too look after them.
I hope everything works out as it should and they get the support financially and emotionally that they need.

[bingoTE50]

Contact these people for advice . http://www.dsav.asn.au/
This is the Victorian Arm of the Down Syndrome Association.They should be able to direct them through the red tape.The soccer club ( Beenleigh) I am involved with actually raise money for the association.
There are also non for profit disability employment services who assess and place kids in some form of employment.They actually attend the workplace with the kids and give them job support . Try www.novaemployment.com.au as an example .
All the best and credit to you for caring.

[Fled74]

The DSAV people are very good. If anyone can help you, it's them.

[Mz Revvv Head]

Thanks guys for your posts ...
The contacts are very helpful, thanks so much

I have to write all these names down & I will do what ever I can on my part to help Melissa & Collette ...

It's so nice to see there are some really nice people on this forum & in this world ...

As for credit to me, nah I'm more than happy to help out, having time is a little hard,
as life is often busy, but I do my best ...

Thanks again

[sk8xr8]

im lost for words, this is terrible, this thread has just sent my blood to boil.

I really hope that this ends well, its beyond comprehension that this could be seen as reasonable in anyones books...

[naughts]

Here is a way to help raising funds and awareness for Children, Adults and Families.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11308911