Video transcript - Staff introduction

Every family and every person probably defines their experience of disability differently. As a society, we do like to put things in boxes, but generally humans can't be put in a single box. So it's really important to listen and understand rather than trying to impose your own beliefs and thoughts.

Respect who we are. See past the disability. Take time to understand me.

I think everybody who works in the healthcare space they get out of bed because they want to help people, and this is a group of the population who we are not as good at helping. We don't learn a lot about holistic care and what it's like for a person with a disability outside in their real life. The biggest thing that we can do for someone is not so much the medicine or the technical aspects of what we do. People may not remember what we do for them, but they will always remember how we make them feel.

Truly hearing and seeing and respecting from that person's world view is the only way to truly understand their perspective. The more people can engage with this training, we can actually meet people at their needs and deliver patient-centred care, which is what everybody wants to do. The power of positive interactions with health professionals is way, way more than you would ever expect.

I'm more than just my disability. We are all diverse. Know me, know my disability. See, hear and respect me for who I am.