Spinal Cord Injury

Awareness

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week is recognised every year in early September.

To highlight this week in 2022 we bring you stories and information about people living with SCI, and resources that might be helpful.

Katherine Reed (pictured left with her husband Tim), who farms and is Mum to two boys (just to name a couple of things) updates us on where here life is at now, 14 years after her Spinal Cord Injury. Read the story here.

Alysse Gavlik is passionate about helping people with disability find secure paid employment.

“It’s about financial security and self-worth. Everyone wants to be valued equally.” Read the full article here – it includes suggestions on how to talk to potential employers about a disability.

And because it also happens to be Women’s Health Week, we chat to Georgie Gott about the benefits she experiences from regular exercise – including via our Wheelchair Sports program. Learn more here.

If you’re interested in what’s happening internationally around Spinal Cord Injury Day (5 September) head to the International Spinal Cord Injury Society’s website SCI Day (iscos.org.uk)

And for more on Women’s Health Week, head to this link. Women’s Health Week – Jean Hailes for Women’s Health | Women’s Health Week (womenshealthweek.com.au)

Road safety for wheelchair users

In 2022, 51 people were killed and 263 were seriously injured on Tasmanian roads. In 2023 the number of fatal and serious crashes is up 30 per cent. One in five road casualties are pedestrians*.

People who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices are particularly vulnerable to incidents with traffic in public spaces, such as roads and footpaths.

ParaQuad Tasmania shares the Road Safety Advisory Council’s vision of zero deaths and serious injuries – and their message that ‘we need the community to play its part through responsible behaviour and consideration for all road users.’

ParaQuad has produced two safety videos: find Wheelchair Safety messages for manual wheelchair users here, a nd safety messages and tips for electric wheelchair users here. The production of these videos was made possible by the Tasmanian Government’s Community Road Safety Grants.

*Statistics from Tasmania’s Road Safety Advisory Council.

Spinal Cord Injury Prevention

“International Days” are celebrated to mark important aspects of human life and history. On the suggestion of its Prevention Committee, International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) has decided to observe ‘Spinal Cord Injury Day’ on 5th September every year with the intention of increasing awareness amongst the general public. It is presumed that the awareness would facilitate an inclusive life for persons with disability and ensure greater chances of success of prevention programs.