Strong Voices

Medal-winning powerlifter Lynett Williams will now get her chance to compete in the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin this year.

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The Ministry of Education has launched new rules and guidelines to help schools understand more about student distress and minimise the use of physical restraint. The guidelines also aim to eliminate the use of unjustified restraint.

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When Manaakiao was diagnosed with Williams syndrome at the age of four, his parents Jamie-Leigh and Puke Timoti asked what the Māori term for Williams syndrome was.

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The families who make up the New Zealand Williams Syndrome Association met for their summer camp in Whanganui in January – and there was a lot to catch up on.

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A new national secure facility in Porirua is trying to achieve an uneasy balance between providing privacy and therapy and managing high-risk behaviour.

Sarah Dann-Hoare is out to convince employers that young disabled people make great employees.

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Tom Russell has just finished a day’s work at the Te Tuhi Training Café in Pakuranga working at the till, taking orders and baking a batch of almond friands.

This was his magic moment. The korowai came down off the wall and was draped around Shelby Porowini’s shoulders. It meant he was now one of the big kids and was going to school.

Finding a love match when you have an intellectual disability is not an easy business. But six people with Down syndrome have tried to do just that with a film crew watching their every move.

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Ninety-nine percent of educational professionals surveyed by IHC want a complete overhaul of the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS), which funds support in the classroom for high-needs students.