The free app providing vital and culturally appropriate information for Aboriginal people with disability
Vast distances and expensive transport can often make it difficult for Aboriginal people living in remote communities to access NDIS services. There can also be challenges in terms of awareness about the supports that NDIS funding provides, and for people whose first language is something other than English, it can be difficult to navigate and interpret information about the NDIS.
The Disability in the Bush app has been developed to provide plain language and culturally relevant information about the NDIS. The app aims to empower people in remote communities to connect with the services that NDIS provides.
Any internet-enabled device can access the app via a web browser at https://disabilityinthebush.com
Rex is an adult with CP living in Yirrkala, a remote town of just 800 people on the coast of Northern Territory, where he usually relies on an electric scooter to get around. His story is featured in a video on the Disability in the Bush app:
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Rex’s story is one of many featured in the stories from the community section of the app, featuring people with disability from all around the Northern Territory.
Aboriginal Australians are potentially twice as likely to have a disability, relative to non-Aboriginal Australians. Interplay and Ninti One worked in partnership to develop this app by engaging directly with community members, working to make stronger connections with culturally relevant information resources.
The platform includes voice recordings which have translated key information into Aboriginal languages such as Anindilyakwa and Pitjantjatjara. While the app has primarily been made with the needs of Aboriginal users in-mind, it can also be a useful tool for support workers, clinicians, and other professionals to help explain or elaborate upon concepts and processes relating to NDIS services.
For further information in languages other than English, this resource from the World Cerebral Palsy Day campaign provides a basic overview of CP in a wide variety of other languages. This resource is ideal for people beginning their journey of understanding how cerebral palsy affects the body: CP in Easy English and multiple languages.