Dig Deep

Disability

Dig Deep

DIG DEEP

Taking a further look at living with a disability

At some stage in your life, you will come across at least one person with a disability. That disability may be fatal, life-long, almost invisible, temporary or even really obvious. In Australia today, at least 317,000 (8.3%) of children aged from 0-14 are living with a disability. This equates to 1 in 12 children! About half of these children have a disability that is so severe that it restricts their ability to do ‘day-to-day’ activities. Activities as simple as going to the toilet, showering or even walking by themselves.

“One in twelve children in Australia today has a disability of some form”

Research has indicated that boys are more likely than girls to have a disability. Boys have a 10% chance of having a disability whereas girls have a possible 6.5% chance.

Over the years, many charitable organisations have helped out many families with children that are living with a disability of some form. One of those organisations being Novita Children’s Services. Novita has been operating in South Australia since 1939. It is currently providing essential therapy, equipment and family support to at least 1,300 children in South Australia. Also providing physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, occupational therapy and family support, Novita is an organisation that provides for a range of disabled children. It caters for children living with cerebral palsy, Retts syndrome, Spina Bifida, acquired brain injury and muscular dystrophy – just to name a few.

An organisation that we West Australians are more familiar with is Telethon. Telethon is held once a year for 25 hours over an October weekend by over 2,500 generous volunteers. Telethon is hosted by Channel 7 and was first established in 1968. Starting with only 500 volunteers and 20 hours of live broadcast, Telethon is an ever-growing organisation. Telethon’s philosophy is to “financially support the medical and social welfare of children and young people to fund research into children’s diseases”. Over the weekend of Telethon broadcasting, West Australians are called to ‘Dig Deep’ and support the children in need.

Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) is the only children’s hospital in Western Australia. PMH heavily relies on funding from Telethon. Without the generosity of Telethon funds, PMH wouldn’t have the facilities that it currently has. Because of the funding, PMH has become more resourceful, being able to purchase scanners and establish more units within the hospital for children in need of help. Since 1968, PMH has received $17 million from Telethon funds.