Have The Nerve: A Podcast About Disability

It's getting into the warmer seasons now and when the weather gets warmer people like to go out more.

What does that have to do with this episode?

Senior Community Services Coordinator Laura Burling and Representative Advocate Jade Williams talk with Susan about what a Companion Card is, why they are important and they talk about why more people should understand the meticulous planning behind going to even ...

In this episode of Have the Nerve Susan speaks to Geraldine Watts. disability advocate. After a series of accidents that affected her spine, in 2016 her intervertebral disc disintegrated and she lost mobility, function and sensation. It was only in 2020 where she was formerly diagnosed with a spinal cord injury that set her off to find and absorb as much information about her disability as possible.

We talk about her jour...

Sydney WorldPride 2023 didn’t just happen in two weeks between February to March, it’s the gift that keeps on giving and Susan will keep giving those gifts.

Let's cast our minds back, hit rewind, do some reminiscing and hear performances and interviews of the artists that made up Ground Zero at Brand X in Darlinghurst, New South Wales.

Ground Zero was a performing arts creative development and performance pro...

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Asia-Pacific region is the most disaster prone region in the world. 

Australia has a long history with heatwaves, bushfires, drought, flood and tropical cyclones and we’re going from La Nina to El Nino, meaning, potentially a repeat of the 2019 – 2020 bushfires that saw the whole country on fire.

In this episode, Susan talks to Michelle Villeneuve, Associate Pro...

In Episode 23 - Be Curious, Not Judgemental, Paediatric Nurse Consultant Jodie Thompson from Kids Collaborative and Paediatric Clinical Psychologist Amanda Lane-Brown talked with Susan about primary schooling and children with disabilities.

What about high school?

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses suicidal ideation and addiction. Listener discretion is advised. If you are struggling with similar feelings we...

It is Sydney WorldPride and Have The Nerve will be bringing you interviews from all over the place, highlighting the voices of people with disabilities in this community.

TW: This episode does contain content about abuse that can be triggering to some people.
 
In this episode, you'll here from Aspen Luke, a 17 year old Susan met on the train, who is about to participate in his first Mardi Gras on Aspect/Aust...

It's the beginning of a new school year for students in Australia. For the first episode of 2023 (coincidentally starting with Episode 23!), Paediatric Nurse Consultant Jodie Thompson from Kids Collaborative and Paediatric Clinical Psychologist Amanda Lane-Brown talk with Susan about how being curious to ask questions without judgement is THE key element for children with a disability entering primary school.

We also ...

On the final episode of 2022, Emily Bray comes on to talk about confidence, meaning and purpose on the days when you really feel disabled. 

What does that mean? These are the times where something has happened and you have the very confrontational thought: "Holy crap. I'm actually disabled".

Where do you find the resilience to keep going when you have a body that requires you to think about added ch...

When you don't know what something is, how do you know what to ask for?

The most major reform for people with disabilities in Australia, but so fraught with tedious obstacles. This is the third episode where we have covered the NDIS because it is such a complicated beast.

How much do you actually know about NDIS Support Coordination?

Have you ever looked at your NDIS plan and felt lost? Confused?

Have...

TW: This episode talks about domestic violence, sexual assault, coercive control and suicide. Listener discretion is advised.

If you need support you can call the National Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT or visit https://www.1800respect.org.au/

In Australia, on average, one woman a week is murdered at the hands of a current, or former partner, and approximately 10 women a d...

It is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week in Australia and this year we’re saying #IAmMoreThanMyDisability. 

Emily Bray is a wife, mother, social worker, researcher and PhD candidate. 

We talk about the language of disability and subconscious bias. What happens if you don’t want to be an athlete? Well… nothing, you just live a regular life. But why does it seem to hard for the broader community to grasp?

We cover so ...

For this episode of Have the Nerve, Susan talks to Dr Camila Quel de Oliveira, Lecturer in Physiotherapy at UTS, and NeuroMoves Physiotherapist Hannah Maslen about the most amazing part of the human body – the brain.

From in the womb to end of life, we talk about neuroplasticity and the information super highway that is the spinal cord. How does this relate for people with spinal cord injuries? Camila and Hannah will tell...

In this episode Susan speaks to Western Australia Greens Senator, Jordon Steele-John.

We talk about his first day working at Parliament House as a person with a disability, the importance of disability representation in politics and diversity and how including people with disabilities in legislation goes well beyond topics such as the NDIS and Disability Support Pension.

Information in this episode

Jord...

Listeners are advised that the following podcast does discuss situations around grief and trauma that can be triggering to people.

On this episode I talk about the complexities of grief and trauma with clinical psychologist, Skye Dong.

Skye helped develop SCIA’s Engage Program as part of our broader Resilience Programs. We're going to talk about the different ways people manifest pain and trauma, and why the...

Finding work and having a disability is hard.

No like, it's really hard.

In this episode, Susan talks to Phat Ngo, Employment Service Manager for SCIA's EmployAbility Service and Dominika Jachym, EmployAbility's Employment Coach about the obvious misconceptions of disability and employment, how that feeds into the hesitation a lot of employers have when hiring someone with a disability, how employe...

Maybe some of you may not have thought this was possible. Maybe some of you didn't know that this could and should be something to consider.

We're not talking about miraculously standing up and walking around, Physiotherapist Colbey Van Leeuwen and Exercise Physiologist Alicia Payne talk about the importance of standing in therapy, particularly for people who have had traumatic spinal cord injuries, the technolo...

That irresistible urge, the attraction, the anticipation and excitement for the slightest touch. Rachel calls it skin hunger.

Rachel Wotton is a Sex Worker living in Inner Sydney, Churchill Fellow and PhD candidate at Western Sydney University. Her PhD is about exploring the experiences of people with disabilities accessing sex workers in Australia.

Susan and Rachel talk about the misconceptions of two marginali...

Eligibility within the NDIS is a little bit of grey area.

Although under the NDIS Act 2013 there are no specific diagnosis or disabilities listed, actually accessing the NDIS can be fraught with problems.

For the first full episode of Have the Nerve in 2022, Susan talks to SCIA's Senior Support Coordinator Louise Hilton and SCIA's Policy and Advocacy Officer Megan Bingham about about how the selective ...

Now that Summer is upon us in the Southern Hemisphere, Mike Cerrone, Project Officer for Waverley Council's Access Bondi! talks to Susan about why it's important for tourist destinations to be accessible for all people of all abilities.

Bondi Beach is a popular tourist destination on the east coast of Australia that brings in millions of visitors every year. We talk about how decent and suitable access can chang...