Ronaldo Cortes

We will ask questions to ourselves first, what will my child do to be able to find work out there when he has a dis-ability? Will he just depend on welfare in his whole life even though he is seriously interested to have a job and wanted to live independently? What will happen to them after when parents die and then no one will take care for them. If we don’t give them a purpose to live decently, they could end up to suicides, homelessness, drug addiction, jails and maybe dead where no one knew when and how.

I have read the NDES proposal and as being a father of a young adult with Aspergers, I truly believe these strategies will help out my son to become a productive citizen in this country. One main problem now why young people with a dis-ability couldn’t find a job is because they couldn’t even have a chance to pass employers’ criteria. The employers’ current hiring system is not designed for applicants with dis-ability. Initial hiring process like timed neuro-testing and video interviews are designed for normal people where our disabled young adults won’t even have a slightest chance in the competition. Govt should pass a law requiring employers to develop a hiring process suitable for persons with disability. Or maybe make it as a particular inclusion in the anti-discrimination act.

Another issue is how to train and mentor them while under training? Employers together with NDIS should sit together and develop strategies on preparing our sons with disabilities to acquire the suitable skills first to be ready on their actual tasks when starting work. In this way, during the training, it will ensure that the person is fit and will like the tasks he will be assigned to. The tasks could be selective depending on his capability which would also commensurate on his pay in fairness to the employer. These persons are not into pay but they just like to become useful in the society. Large mining companies and giant corporations like Google, Amazon and other big techs in Australia should be asked by govt to help employ these persons or they can set up a foundation to support those small employers who like to hire people with dis-abilities. Everyone should help, government cannot do it alone.

Lastly my son has an existing /un-used funding from NDIS for employment goals but it cannot be used to support for other skills that can help him find work like driving lessons by suitable NDIS accredited instructors . Funding must be all accessible, depending on what he needs to become employable like workplace psychologist support, dis-ability professionals, workplace carers and other supports. Thank You and Good Luck NDIS.