<
https://theconversation.com/i-want-to-get-bogged-at-a-beach-in-my-wheelchair-and-know-people-will-help-micheline-lee-on-the-way-forward-for-the-ndis-213348>
"
Review: Lifeboat: Disability, Humanity and the NDIS; Quarterly Essay 91 –
Micheline Lee (Black Inc)
If you have read anything about the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
in the last few years, you will have encountered many metaphors. The NDIS is
the “lifeboat in the ocean”, “an oasis in the desert”, “a plane being built
mid-flight” or a “limitless magic pudding”.
I research disability policies and services and confess I’ve used more than a
few of these in my work. Who doesn’t love a metaphor? They are a way of
explaining complex concepts we might not be familiar with and helping others to
make sense of the world.
But I worry whether these metaphors give those without experience of disability
or the NDIS a sense of what the real issues are. If I were stranded in an ocean
a lifeboat would be welcome. Even if it lacked a few essential items, it would
meet my immediate need. But why was I in the ocean in the first place? Are
others in a similar situation? How we will decide who gets to come aboard the
lifeboat? And why does the ocean exist in the first place? All this is
important because the ocean in this metaphor is a creation of social systems
and attitudes, not a geographical reality.
The latest Quarterly Essay
Lifeboat: Disability, Humanity and the NDIS
written by author Micheline Lee weaves together personal testimony and detailed
analysis of history and policy. It illuminates the reality behind these
metaphors for the lives of disabled Australians and considers what needs to
happen to realise the original intent of the NDIS."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
