2006 Media Releases
Monday, 27 November 2006
Making a difference - Research into intellectual and physical disabilities
Improving the sexual health of Australians with intellectual disabilities – and the lives of post-disaster amputees in places like India …
Worlds apart, these two recent studies indicate the breadth of expertise and depth of commitment of researchers in La Trobe University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
In December, the Faculty holds its sixth annual research conference, this year on the twin themes of intellectual and physical disabilities, sharing the results of its work with health and human service practitioners and the wider community.
Faculty Dean, Professor Hal Swerissen who hosts the conference, says it will demonstrate how disability impacts on families – and the support some people need for fuller participation and inclusion in society.
The key note speaker will be Arthur Rogers, Executive Director of Disability Services in the Department of Human Services. DHS is one of the Faculty’s key research partners.
Professor Swerissen says other La Trobe research helps with physical activity programs and communication support for people with disabilities, learning disorders, issues facing parents of adults living with Down Syndrome and vocational rehabilitation following traumatic spinal cord injury.
The conference, on Thursday, 7 December, 2006, is open to the public as well as health professionals.
Program and venue details can be found on the following website: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/health/research/resconf.htm
For further information or requests for interviews with researchers contact Barbara Doherty, tel: (03) 9479 1794 or email: b.doherty@latrobe.edu.au
Sex, secrets and desire: People with intellectual disabilities talk about their lives
‘We know nothing about the sexual desires of people with intellectual disabilities because we don’t ask them,’ says Dr Lynne Hillier and Dr Kelley Johnson from La Trobe University’s Australian Research Centre in Sex Health & Society.
In a paper to the conference detailing a joint study carried out with Dr Lyn Harrison from Deakin University, Dr Hillier will present the reflections of people with an intellectual disability about autonomy, sex, secrets and desire in their lives.
‘People with an intellectual disability have historically been the most regulated of groups, but they are rarely asked to comment on this or to talk about their lives.
‘Until recently we have not known how people with intellectual disabilities feel about the ways their lives are managed – or whether they realise they are managed at all.’
The research is based on stories about sex love and relationships told by 25 people labelled with an intellectual disability.
‘We look at what happens when a sex life is denied to certain groups by their families, their teachers, their carers and society in general.
‘We see that decisions that are made for individuals in the name of care and protection can often generate serious public health issues for those people.’
The presentation will conclude with discussion about a new way forward.
Contact: Dr Hillier tel: (03) 9285 5360, email: l.hillier@latrobe.edu.au
• Selected works from a photographic exhibition, ‘Intimate Encounters’, will be displayed at the conference. The exhibition has been lauded for its intimate portrayal of people with disabilities and their emotional journey to discover their sexuality.
Case study Gujarat: Research boosts prospects for post-disaster amputees
A La Trobe University study has found that ongoing services for amputees and people with musculoskeletal injuries after a major disaster are more useful than mobile outreach clinics which are often set up after such events.
And the clinical skills of staff sent into these areas are more important than technical considerations like the quality and finish of the prosthetic devices they provide to victims.
Wesley Pryor, lecturer at La Trobe University’s National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics, recently led a major study of post-earthquake amputees in Gujarat,West India.
He says the findings of the study – carried out in collaboration with Handicap International and local partners in India – reinforced the need for a more coordinated approach to prosthetics care in rapid-response situations.
On Australia Day, 2001, one of history’s most powerful earthquakes struck Gujarat in West India. The epicentre was Bhuj, a town about the size of Bendigo. About 30,000 people were killed and 100,000 injured.
Mr Pryor says reconstruction after such natural disasters – or after major military conflicts – involves international aid by prosthetists and orthotists who work with local communities providing artificial limbs and other mobility aids.
‘Responses to such events are often, understandably chaotic. Multiple agencies arrive. In Gujarat, there were eight different providers of prosthetic services.
‘Enthusiasm for helping is often not matched by a coordinated approach or systematic understanding of which interventions are most effective.
‘Our study was conducted to better understand how amputees in disaster areas respond to prosthetic services: for example, which are best at improving function in amputees, and which are actually used.
‘Very often, inappropriate prosthetic devices end up in a cupboard or under a bed. We needed to know how to decrease that by providing appropriate technology.
‘Our results showed that skilled staff and ongoing services were strong predictors of better outcomes for the amputees in Bhuj.’
Contact: Mr Pryor tel: (03) 9479 5729, email: w.pryor@latrobe.edu.au