Alex Casey talks to Grace Stratton, founder of All is For All, about creating a pioneering online store that makes accessibility a priority. It all began last July with an uninvited tie. Grace Stratton – fashion enthusiast, uni student and wheelchair user – had bought a pair of pants online from a New Zealand designer, and … Read more
In the debate about the safety of Lime e-scooters, one voice has been largely unheard – that of the disabled community, which has had serious concerns from the start, writes Chris Ford. As a disability-rights and pedestrian-rights activist, I applaud both my own Dunedin City Council and the Auckland City Council for their decisions to … Read more
Music festivals are slowly making progress towards being accessible to disabled people – but is it happening fast enough? Alice Mander shares her experience at this year’s Laneway and offers some suggestions for improving accessibility. Sometimes I want to scream, “Disabled people like to party too!”. Or, maybe more accurately, “Disabled people want to join the … Read more
Kids will spend hours playing video games anyway so you may as well hook them into an online adventure that teaches them something, an Attitude Awards nominee says. Tim Young says technology makes him “superhuman”. The founder of social enterprise Education These Days walks the talk when it comes to using tech to improve people’s … Read more
From better access to New Zealand Sign Language on the marae, to being visible in Parliament – disabled Māori need to be better represented in our democracy, argues disability rights advocate Kera Sherwood-O’Regan. There’s something about making your mark on that clean sheet of paper. It’s the chunky felt tipped markers that hark back to primary … Read more
As we celebrate Suffrage 125, let us not forget that just as disabled people were excluded in 1893, many continue to feel excluded from society today, writes Hannah Gibson. This week, we celebrated 125 years of women finally getting the vote in Aotearoa. It’s indeed something to celebrate. It took a petition of 32,000 individuals … Read more
Our wheelchairs are not gimmicks to help you realise ‘how good you’ve got it’, writes Red Nicholson. Yesterday, Labour ministers Carmel Sepuloni and Iain Lees-Galloway were invited by the Spinal Trust to spend the day in wheelchairs, in order to highlight the challenges a wheelchair user might face getting around parliament. A well-intentioned PR stunt … Read more
There are major barriers for disabled people who want to pursue sex and relationships. They are real and deeply felt. Yet the stigmatising tone of public conversation makes me wary, writes Henrietta Bollinger “Um … advice? From me? Yes, we can,” was my cautious, then tongue-in-cheek answer. “As Obama would say!” The others laughed. It … Read more
Anyone debating the controversy around Shortland Street need to remember those with Downs are not some abstraction but real and important people, writes Sarah Paterson-Hamlin, whose day job involves running a charity for kids with Down Syndrome called the UpsideDowns Education Trust Shortland Street’s latest plotline has it all; pregnancy, medical drama, scandalised tones, hastily googled medical symptoms, unplanned sex, … Read more
On Monday night’s episode, Chris Warner raised the possibility of a woman aborting her child because of potential medical issues. Controversy ensued, which says a lot about Shortland Street‘s place in our culture, writes Sam Brooks. Shortland Street has been a key part of New Zealand culture for 26 years. Whether you watch it or not, … Read more
Sex is a struggle for most people, but it can be doubly difficult for those living with a disability, writes Caroline Moratti for the Otago University student magazine Critic. Is sex a basic human right? Not for your parents hopefully, don’t picture that. To access sex remains a struggle that plagues most of our lives. … Read more
A disability advocate is urging the government to make accessibility a central part of the Kiwibuild programme. Alex Braae reports. The government’s flagship Kiwibuild policy has always intended to lead the way on housing, in the creation of good quality, affordable homes that first home buyers can spend years or even decades in. But advocates … Read more
This World Refugee Day, and always, I hope the portraits and voices of our resettled community in Aotearoa can guide us in our efforts to ensure they feel valued, writes Áine Kelly-Costello. What is cultural pride? It is not pretending that any culture is perfect, or making comparisons between cultures to argue that one is above … Read more
Able-bodied commuters who think they’re up against it would do well to take a moment to consider the challenges faced by disabled people on the same journey. Robyn Hunt writes. My daily commute these days is a few steps to my home office in my PJs and barefoot if I want. But I’ve done the … Read more
Last week Red Nicholson tweeted a word of advice to Stuff, and found the system works. But to help us avoid bungling it in the first place, he offers some extra advice for journalists and editors on disability-related news and language Most days on Twitter are spent shouting enlightened reckons into the social media void, … Read more
When a supermarket in Marton announced it would offer special shopping sessions for adults and children with autism or sensory processing issues, families around New Zealand rejoiced. Alexandra Saunders shares why it means so much. News came today that Marton Countdown is offering an hour of quiet, every week from 3-4pm on Wednesdays. Designed to … Read more
When it comes to minority groups, getting the words right is important. Tessa Prebble explores the popular term ‘special needs’ when it comes to being a parent of a child with disabilities, and asks whether in using that term we are doing our children a disservice. Disability is not a dirty word. So why do … Read more
New Zealand’s Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero asks for attitudes toward disability to change and encourages the celebration of the lives and achievements of people with Down syndrome. My time in the role as Disability Rights Commissioner has confirmed what I already knew: that attitudes towards disability in New Zealand need to change. And what better … Read more
An outcry over the treatment of disabled patrons at Hamilton’s Seddon Park during a recent Blackcaps match could have been avoided with just a bit of prior communication, says sports writer and disabled person Michael Pulman. During last Saturday’s Twenty20 International at Seddon Park, disabled patrons were turned away from their designated seating in order … Read more
Less than half of New Zealanders with disabilities are in paid employment. New research from the Maxim Institute suggests employers are missing out by assuming there will be a cost to accommodating an employee with a disability. Imagine a person who’s a father, a teacher and a musician. He’s also blind. How do you think he’s … Read more
Grace Stratton talks to singer-songwriter Emma Cooper-Williams, a finalist at last night’s Attitude Awards which celebrate the achievements of people who live with disabilities. Emma Cooper-Williams is no stranger to obstacles, but, through music, she is turning them into opportunities. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, the 19-year-old University of Auckland student … Read more
They’re helping Mexican farmers grow sustainable coffee, but The Lucy Foundation’s next step is to give disabled Kiwis employment chances. Maria Slade caught up with founder Robbie Francis to find out how she is building a business model with inclusiveness at its core. Heaven knows how New Zealand would keep functioning if its citizens didn’t … Read more
Paranormal and fantasy author Steff Green asks: why the hell is it that characters with disabilities either have to be super heroes, or super villains? Can’t they just be characters with disabilities? Blinded by a mysterious illness at the age of 25, James Holman set out on foot to circumnavigate the globe. Armed with only … Read more
Today is International Stuttering Awareness Day. Spinoff staff writer Sam Brooks has a stutter; this is what it’s like. Sometimes I can’t be bothered cooking. It’s been a long day of spinoffing at the Spinoff office, I’ve written a lot of hot takes and considered the left-wing agenda. On those days, I might go outside … Read more
What would you do if your baby couldn’t eat? Jenn Gilbert shares her family’s story of naso-gastric tube feeding baby Ada. When I was pregnant with my first child, I had the usual first-timer anxieties. Would I ever sleep again? Would my baby cry a lot? Would my body ever be the same? But there … Read more
Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero on what the recent flap over a National candidate parking in a disabled space reveals about our attitudes towards disability. It’d be easy to dismiss the recent news story about disabled National candidate Katrina Bungard, who’s been called out for parking in a disabled carpark she’s entitled to use. Someone … Read more
For Auckland teenager Grace Stratton, using a wheelchair means also having to sit in one particular place on the school bus. But does that have to define her? I live in on a farm in Warkworth, but I go to school on the North Shore. You could say that I have one foot in the … Read more
At first look, it all seems so sensible: people who find no value in their lives should be allowed the choice to end them. Right? Wrong, says Dr John Fox – and here’s why. One of my first memories is pain. It was my first hospital operation, a corrective surgery to make it easier to … Read more
When this mother gave birth, her daughter was unable to breathe on her own – for 11 long, agonising minutes. These days she has a different attitude to the developmental milestones that many parents take for granted. The author of this piece asked to be anonymous for her daughter’s privacy. I’ve always found the concept … Read more