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Disability Website Links

The websites links listed on this page are placed in the following categories:

Complex Communication Needs

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  • The Australian Group on Severe Communication Impairment (AGOSCI)   - AGOSCI is a group representing people with complex communication needs, as well as those who live, know or work with people with complex communication needs.
  • Communication Aid User's Society Inc. (CAUS) - An advocacy group with a focus upon communication that offers information, resources and training.
  • The Communication Resource Centre - The Communication Resource Centre provides information and advice for all issues involving people who have little or no speech or who may be difficult to understand
  • ComTEC - ComTEC is a service of Yooralla and offers services throughout Victoria to people of all ages with a disability who have communication and technology needs. ComTEC also presented the FIELD communication workshops in 2001
  • DEAL Communication Centre Inc   - A great and informative site, offering lots of useful information and links.
  • Keyword Sign Australia - Key Word Sign Australia is located in the Special Education Centre at the University of Newcastle, NSW.  Key Word Sign Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that is run under the auspices of the University of Newcastle.  Key Word Sign Australia acts as a central organising and co-ordinating body for  Key Word Sign activities throughout Australia. 
  • Speech Pathology Australia: - This website offers informative factsheets on Speech Pathology and communication disorders.

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

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Disability

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    Australian websites

  • The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health -The Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health is a peer reviewed electronic journal which aims to nurture and encourage understanding of mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention within a multidisciplinary forum.
  • The Centre for Developmental Disability Studies (CDDS) - CDDS creates and disseminates knowledge that can improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities
  • Community Living Project - provide quality service which enables people who have intellectual and/or multiple disabilities to achieve a purposeful and valued community life.
  • The Community Resource Unit - CRU exists to support the development of leadership and authentic change which enhances the possibilities for people with disabilities to belong to and participate in community life
  • The Disability Awareness Kit   - A Training Resource for Public Library Customer Service Staff.  Useful information on the range of different types of disability.
  • Divine - A community for and by people with a disability.
  • DisAbility Services Division (Department of Human Services)- Direct link to the Disability Services Division of the Victorian Department of Human Services. This site hosts a range of information for disability service providers.
  • Homes west -
  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity commission - At this site you can find a range of resources and links on disability rights and discrimination issues.
  • NCID - National Council on Intellectual Disability, the recognised national peak body with a single focus on intellectual disability.
  • One by One - is an intentionally small arrangement which supports people with a disability. In 2001 a group of families formed to help provide their sons and daughters with the best chance of enjoying lives of purpose, meaning and value in the community.
  • Open All Options - This site provides information and resources about learning disabilities (LD) for students and educators.
  • Respitenorth  - Respite North is a community focused Internet site providing respite information. The site is coordinated by the Northern Metropolitan Region Respite Network.
  • Respitesouthwest   - Respite South West is an intranet site designed to improve communication and access to information for all people with an interest in respite issues living in South West Victoria.
  • Vicnet - A rich resource for those interested in this area.
  • Villamanta Legal Service - Villamanta Legal Service is a Statewide community Legal Centre that specialises in disability related legal issues in Victoria, Australia.
  • DisAbilityconnections (Victoria)   -- formerly the Western Region Disability Network (WRDN) is a network of over a 1000 people with disabilities, their carers/families, service providers, government and community. Membership is free to anyone who shares our passion for disability issues.    

    International websites

  • British Institute of Learning Disabilities   - A comprehensive site that supports learning by professionals, care staff, service users and their families.
  • Jay Nolan Community Services - The mission of Jay Nolan Community Services, Inc. (JNCS) is to enable individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other Developmental Disabilities to live fulfilling lives as members of the community by providing support services customized to their individual needs.
  • Onondaga Community Living - Onondaga Community Living's mission is to empower and individually support people with developmental disabilities in the efforts to live full lives as integral respected members of their community.
  • Person-centered Active Support - This website has been set up to support and inform those working directly with people with intellectual disabilities, those training staff to support people with intellectual disabilities and those conducting research or teaching on the provision of high quality services for people with intellectual disabilities.
  • The Research and Training Centre on Community Living - The Research and Training Center on Community Living provides research, evaluation, training, technical assistance and dissemination to support the aspirations of persons with developmental disabilities to live full, productive and integrated lives in their communities.
  • The Tizard Centre - The Tizard Centre provides degree courses in intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism studies. We conduct high quality research and offer consultancy and training relevant to learning disability, autism, and challenging behaviour, in the UK and internationally.
  • Tardive Dyskinesia Centre is a resource centre for Tardive Dyskinesia. Tardive Dyskinesia is an overview of is a result of damage to the bodily systems that process dopamine, and is typically caused by exposure to certain prescriptions medications. The symptoms of TD mimic those of Parkinson’s disease and are irreversible and incurable. Tardive Dyskinesia victims suffer from involuntary, repetitive movements which often continue after the drug is no longer used.

Education

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  • Australian Flexible Learning Framework - E-learning can transform your training delivery. Explore this site to discover the Australian Flexible Learning Framework, its products and services, and how it can assist you to
    embed e-learning and be part of the wider e-learning community.
  • National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) - The principal national organisation for research and evaluation of the Vocational Education and Training Sector. Information on the site includes research, statistics, news and events, there is also a library and reading room.
  • Skills Victoria - The Skills Victoria website provides information on education and training options to the community including apprentices, trainees, students, teachers, trainers, businesses and employers. If you are looking for corporate-specific information such as our directions and priorities, support to providers, TAFE and university appointments and our programs and initiatives.
  • TAFE Virtual Campus -The TAFE VC website contains over 1000 learning modules offered, for enrolment, by 98 registered training providers in Victoria.
  • Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) - The VRQA is responsible for the regulation of all education and training providers in Victoria from home schooling to higher education including overseas secondary student exchange organisations – in total over 3700 providers.

Industry

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  • Curriculum Corporation - is an independent, not-for-profit organisation owned by all Australian Ministers for Education. Curriculum Corporation provide curriculum services directly to governments, systems, schools and teachers.
  • CS&HITB - Community Services and Health Industry Training Board for Victoria
  • Community Service and Health Training Australia - The website for Community Service and Health Training Australia, which is the National Industry Training Advisory Body (ITAB) for the community services and health industries.
  • Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations - New National Training System
  • NAC InfoService  - Provides training package information to the New Apprenticeship Centres
  • Training.gov.au -Welcome to Training.gov.au (TGA), the database on Vocational Education and Training in Australia. TGA is the official National Register of information on Training Packages, Qualifications, Courses, Units of Competency and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and has been developed for experienced training sector users.

Mailing Lists

  • Access Audits Australia:
    Access Audits Australia regularly publishes the popular free Access News newsletter. This contains a mix of articles on recent happenings in the disability access industry, changes in legislation and regulations, information on projects and products, as well as a little bit of fun. This is distributed either as a PDF file, a print copy or a text only copy.
    (www.accessauditsaustralia.com.au/access_news.html)
    (added 13/11/03)
  • Flex e-News is a monthly newsletter of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. It provides information on what is happening in the Framework and to read about new developments in flexible learning.
  • Infoxchange Disability News - A free interactive website with the latest news, events, funding opportunities and services for people with a disability, carers and disability service workers across Victoria.
  • Training Packages @ Work - A monthly on-line newsletter for teachers, trainers and assessors in the vocational education and training sector, providing the latest information on training packages and their implementation, as well as providing you best examples and case studies of best practice in delivery from training packages.
  • The VICSERV Factsline is the free emailed newsletter to the PDSS Sector. The Factsline contains information relating to the Mental Health sector including announcements. It is sent out via email fortnightly to interested people and organisations.

New Apprenticeships/Traineeships

Privacy Information for Disability Services

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  • Allens Arthur Robinson - A leading Australian Law firm providing a very informative website on all matters dealing with privacy.
  • Privacy Victoria - Privacy Victoria regulates how Victorian government agencies and local councils handle personal information.
    We cannot deal with issues relating to the private sector and medical or health records, but we can help direct you.
  • Office of the Health Services Commissioner

Resources

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Service Seekers

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Web Accessibility

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  • Accessability: Online Access for People With Disabilities - At this website you will find detailed information on a wide range of issues, products and services associated with access to online services for people with disabilities.
  • Bobby - a website providing a free service to help web page developers check their site for access for people with a disability.
  • Disability Information Network Australia (DINA) - A website outlining the aims an objectives of DINA. DINA is a national group of disability information providers with interest in resource and information sharing and networking.
  • Microsoft Accessibility providing information about the built-in accessibility features in Microsoft products that you can adjust to meet your needs.
  • Web Access Initiative - providing information on accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development.

Useful Software for The Internet

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  • Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is free software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
  • Macromedia Flash Player is a free software that lets you view content created with Macromedia Flash.
  • Macromedia Shockwave Player - Macromedia Shockwave Player, allows you to view and use interactive Web Content such as multimedia games, learning applications, and product demonstrations. A Flash Player is automatically included with any download of the Shockwave Player. This is a free download.
  • Microsoft Download - download software such at the latest Microsoft Explorer Internet browser.
  • Mojo Mail - Mojo Mail is Free E-mail List Management System to use on your website.
  • Netscape Download - download the latest version of Netscape Internet browser.
  • Winzip - WinZip brings the convenience of Windows to the use of Zip files and other compression formats.
  • WS_FTP - Transfer files between local & remote systems while enjoying the utmost in security, ease of use, reliability, and efficiency.
  • YABB Forum - YaBB is a FREE, downloadable Perl Discussion software application
    that allows you to provide a real-time chat and support system for your visitors.