What we want for Jackson
We, Jackson's family, want Jackson to have as fulfilling and meaningful life as he can.
We want him to be always treated with respect and dignity.
We want him to enjoy good health.
We want him to have enough money so he can buy the things and the support he needs.
We want him to continue to have a valued role in society through employment.
We want him to continue to contribute to his community and the economic life of the ACT.
We want him to have some relationships which do not rely on an exchange of money; to have some people in his life who are not paid to be there.
We want him to live in a house of his own and to choose who he lives with and where he lives. We want him to hold the key to that house.
Sally is fighting hard to build this life for Jackson. She has been working on housing since June 2002 and has so far attended 61 meetings. She has run his business since 2007. She is constantly looking for ways for Jackson to be involved in his community and to make connections with people.
How else might Jackson's life be?
People like Jackson rarely have the sort of life that closely approximates their non-disabled peers. All too often people with a disability live a life parallel to but not interacting with the lives of non-disabled people. Jackson’s early years were like this – he attended segregated, congregated schools and all activities and recreation were in disability specific groups.
His family mistakenly thought that this was the best they could do.
His life could continue to be like this – he could attend a disability specific day care centre, go to disability specific music, horse-riding and swimming groups and have no-one in his life except for paid support staff and his immediate family.
His family has since learned that they can do better and that Jackson’s life can be very different from the one he initially lived and the one they imagined he would live forever.
It is this picture that motivates us to maintain the life he has and to build an even better life for him.
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