On International Day for People with Disability this year, The Kids Research Institute Australia celebrates the children and families we work with in our research, as we strive for better outcomes for kids with disability.
Approximately 10 per cent of Australian children live with disability, with the Institute’s work focused on a range of conditions including cerebral palsy, rare disorders like Rett syndrome, developmental coordination disorder, Tourette’s syndrome and intellectual disability.
According to Head of the Child Disability research team at the Institute, Associate Professor Jenny Downs, intellectual disability alone affects an estimated 450,000 Australians, including 90,000 children.
“These children are awesome kids – they love learning and enjoying different activities, and are great at connecting with other people,” Associate Professor Downs said.
“This is despite the challenges and disparities they live with, including poorer physical and mental health, a higher rate of hospitalisations than other kids, and difficulty accessing healthcare and being included equitably in society.
“That’s why we’re so pleased to be part of a new national centre which aims to ensure people with intellectual disability can get better access to quality healthcare which fits their needs.”
Based at UNSW Sydney and launched by the Hon. Ged Kearney in October, the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health is a key priority of the Australian Government’s National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability.
The centre is made up of nine consortium members – UNSW, the Council for Intellectual Disability, Down Syndrome Australia, Queenslanders with Disability Network, First Peoples Disability Network Australia, University of Melbourne, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (University of Queensland) and the Centre for Disability Studies (University of Sydney) – and will be run in partnership with people with intellectual disability, health and disability professionals, state health departments, services and regulatory authorities, academics and advocates.
Associate Professor Downs said The Kids Research Institute Australia would lead the centre’s paediatric focus, where the aim would be to identify and test gaps, needs, and ways to improve health access and outcomes for people with intellectual disability.
“One of the keys to the centre’s success will be the way it prioritises the lived experiences and skills of people with intellectual disability,” she said.
“That includes people with intersectional needs, such as First Nations people with intellectual disability, people living in rural and remote locations, people experiencing homelessness, and people facing mental health and drug and alcohol problems.
The work we do with this centre will build on the considerable body of research we’re already doing at The Kids Research Institute Australia, in close partnership with families and children with disability. I’m so excited about what we can achieve to ensure these kids – and their families – can lead their best lives.
To find out more about the Institute’s child disability research, head here.