ANDPA - Alliance for Neurodiversity and Disability in GLAMR Professions Australia Inc

We are celebrating one year of ANDPA, what an exciting first year it has been. As we reflect on the achievements we have seen so far, we extend our thanks to all those who have supported ANDPA in its first year.

Hidden or Invisible Disabilities Week 20-26 October is a timely reminder that not all disabilities are visible. A hidden or invisible disability may include neurological, cognitive and neurodevelopment, physical, visual, auditory, sensory and processing difficulties. The Hidden Disability Sunflower is a tool that can be worn as a lanyard, pin or wristband to discreetly share that you may need a helping hand, understanding or more time in shops, at work, on transport, or in public spaces. You can get yourself one at https://buff.ly/3MAbhoH ID: Graphic shows a group of people of various diverse backgrounds and genders. Text reads Invisible Disabilities Week Oct 20th-26th

Celebrate & Reflect - ANDPA Community Catch Up. As we mark one year of ANDPA, our final community catch-up for the year has the theme Celebrate & Reflect. Full members of ANDPA are invited to celebrate and reflect on 2024, and share what we look forward to in 2025. Prompt: What’s one thing you want to celebrate this year? Reflect on? To register, please check your email for the registration link or email admin@andpa.org

How do you talk about disability? If you're born and raised in the western world, chances are you've never really been taught to talk about disability openly and respectfully. This means that when you need to start having these conversations at work, school or everyday life - either as someone with a disability or someone without a disability - these conversations can be pretty hard! Speaking Me, Hearing You is a basic learning toolkit to help you talk about disability more confidently and comfortably. Over six sections you'll learn how to talk about YOUR definition of disability, to question 'disability statistics', to communicate more effectively with others, and to advocate for yourself when talking about modifications and supports. Each module is designed to wet your appetite and give you practical skills. If you're short on time for learning, you can listen to an audio summary of a relevant section or read the transcript; or quickly check who to contact for more help. The toolkit is designed "tablet first", but also works on desktops and mobiles. I'm still recoding parts of the toolkit, but I want to start raising awareness of the toolkit because there are so many changes happening in Diversity and Inclusion in Australia and internationally. These changes are exciting and scary - and now, more than ever, we need to make sure disabled people have a seat at table when we talk about inclusion ❤️

Disability disclosure is often a 'doomed if you do, doomed in you don't" business. If we need adjustments, not disclosing puts us at risk of worsening health. But disclosing a non-apparent condition can mean accusations of lying, exaggerating, attention-seeking, or generally being an inconvenience. Not to mention the risk of being "managed out" or bullied out. Ableism places a burden on the already burdened. We have to figure out how to advocate for ourselves - ideally, in ways that would not trigger accusations of exaggerating… While doing more work than others to override stereotypes… 😢 We accommodate others’ desire for comfort by hiding and downplaying our discomfort – only to be accused or exaggerating anyway. 😢 Now try doing all that extra work with an energy-draining condition like Long Covid or author chronic illness. Or depression. Or PTSD. While navigating both medical and organizational bureaucracy and inaccessible accessibility systems. Read the article linked in the comments for advice from Ludmila Praslova, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, Âû Praslova, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP,  Âû on navigating the disclosure. #Disability #inclusion #MentalHealth #ChronicIllness #LongCovid #depression #DisabilityInclusion #neurodiversity #accomodations #emotion

Are you inspired by the extraordinary work of individuals and organisations making a positive impact on the lives of disabled people? Nominations are open for The National Awards for Disability Leadership 2024. These Awards reflect what is important to disabled people and the ways that we are effecting change and pursuing equality for our community. Image: Celebrate the achievements of individuals effecting change and pursuing equality for our community. Nominate here: https://lnkd.in/gDwDWyKD #DisabilityAwards2024 #DisabilityLeaders #DisabilityAwards #Diversity #ChangeMaker #Innovation #SocialImpact #Arts #LifeTimeAchievement #Inclusion #RightsActivism #Disability

We are excited to introduce the members of the ANDPA Committee and welcome our new committee members. Please join us in welcoming Emilia (emi-lee-ah) Bell, President & Co-Founder; Nikki Andersen, Vice-President, Secretary, & Co-Founder; Kate Tickle (formerly Davis), Treasurer; Lex Kouris, Committee Member and Camille Peters AALIA, ARIM, Committee Member. To read the bios of all our committee members please see our website. https://lnkd.in/gn-8s_9K

Exciting news! The recording of our recent webinar, “Chronically Honest: The Experiences of a Disabled Librarian,” presented by Nikki Andersen and co-hosted by ANDPA and UniSQ, is now available for viewing. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/g6-8KqGT #ANDPA #UniSQ #Webinar #LivedExperienceWebinar #DisabilityInTheWorkplace

Nikki Andersen's ANDPA webinar 'Chronically Honest' was a fantastic session, and interestingly, the Q&A started to resemble one of our community catch-ups. It was a wonderfully organic conversation about the benefit of finding connections for students and new grads, navigating self-advocacy, and experiences of language used by non-disabled and neurotypical people. If you've ever wondered why I love facilitating our catch-ups, the Q&A from this webinar hints at what our community conversations looks like. Thank you to those who contributed and were happy to be in the recording. https://lnkd.in/gRQWw8Fm ANDPA - Alliance for Neurodiversity and Disability in GLAMR Professions Australia Inc

❌ Data from our #InclusionAtWork Index shows that employees with disability reported feeling less connected and able to contribute. Compared to those without disability, employees with disability are significantly more likely to feel less able to: • Be themselves at work • Have opportunities to contribute at work. Disability status data is a powerful tool for organisations to understand the inclusion and exclusion experiences of employees with disability. This helps organisations make informed decisions about their policies and strategies, monitor progress and drive positive change. Our new Disability Data at Work guidelines, developed in partnership with the Australian Disability Network, offers organisations key insights and tangible advice on how to collect disability data safely and respectfully – critical to fostering more inclusive workplaces. Read our Disability Data at Work guidelines now. 👉https://ow.ly/lF9S50ToMBx #DisabilityAtWork #DisabilityDataAtWork #DisabilityData #DisabilityInclusion #DisabilityEmployment #DisabilityLeadership #Leadership #InclusiveLeadership #DiversityEquityInclusion #HumanResources #BusinessAustralia #InclusionIndex