Well Said!

EQUITY BEGINS IN THE BATHROOM by Helen Said, Autism and disability rights advocate If we’re serious about equity, we have to provide truly accessible toilet facilities in all public places. Most public places fail to provide for both men and women who depend on incontinence pads or pants, trans men who menstruate, gender non-conforming people who don’t fit the binary labelling of public toilets, people who use self-catheterisation or colostomy products, diabetics, wheelchair users and disabled adults and their carers who need to access change facilities. Men who undergo prostate surgery The above poster, produced by the Continence Foundation of Australia, calls for “Bins 4 Blokes” and asks people to scan a QR code to pledge their support “for shopping centres to put in a bin for blokes”. It spells out the facts: “1.34 million Australian boys and men experience incontinence. If they use incontinence products there are very few places for them to throw them away which may prevent the

Significant Cost Threshold -  discriminating against Autistic migrants By Helen Said Some of the organisations supporting fairer treatment of disabled immigrants Neurodivergent Labor, an organisation which I co-founded in 2017, proudly supports the Welcoming Disability campaign. Welcoming Disability is a joint initiative of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and Down Syndrome Australia. Welcoming Disability campaigns to reform the Migration Health Requirement and the Significant Cost Threshold, legislation which discriminates against migrants with disability. If non-permanent residents give birth, in Australia, to a child with a disability, the whole family can be deported under this draconian, outdated legislation, even if they pledge to pay for all of their children’s disability care and have the means to do so. They can even be refused entry to Australia because of the presumed cost of the disability to Australian taxpayers, even when they have no entitlements to use Medicare

  Should Autistics be counted in Australia’s National Census? A year ago, during the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census Review, I applied to have a question about Autism and neurodivergence added to the upcoming 2026 National Census. I was disappointed that my submission was unsuccessful, as very little is known about the lives of older Autistics and women, migrants and poorer people on the Autism Spectrum, and this has been highlighted in the Draft National Autism Strategy. I am a member of CALD Autism research advisory groups and so I know firsthand how useful census information could be. Support from Autistic Elders I forgot about last year’s census review until I accepted an online speaking engagement with Reframing Autism’s Panel of Autistic Elders, which took place at RA’s Community Summit last Friday. When asked how I, as an older Autistic, advocate for others, I suddenly remembered my submission! As soon as I mentioned counting Autistics in the census, the zoom chat