Oliver's story

Speaking through art: Oliver’s story

Oliver is a poet, painter and artist who uses his creative outlets as a way to communicate.

“Art and poetry help me to express myself,” he says. “A lot of the time, people think I cannot hear them or understand them. Art is a way for me to be heard and make myself seen.”

His poetry has been widely published and his artworks are displayed in exhibitions across Australia.

Oliver lives with epilepsy and cerebral palsy, which limits his movement and ability to speak but doesn’t stop him from pursuing his passions.

“Sometimes my seizures make me very tired,” he says. “I find it hard to concentrate and do things.”

He is surrounded by the support of his art mentors and family who all encourage and inspire him, and help him stay positive and hopeful.

On a day-to-day basis, Oliver uses augmentative and alternative communication to get his thoughts and messages across.

The custom digital ‘voice’ of his assistive speech device is generated from almost 5,000 phrases recorded by his older brother Nick. The device then lets Oliver scan text and say it.

For his paintings, he uses custom-built hand supports that help guide the brushes or charcoal pencils.

Painting and poetry help Oliver to express himself. He also keeps track of his feelings by journaling regularly with his support worker. Whenever he feels an emotion or observes an experience, he knows that it’s something he can translate into a piece of art.

As someone who is visually impaired, Oliver loves how the Disability Gateway is easy to understand and navigate.

"The ‘listen’ function is very important to me, to be able to have the information without having someone to read it to me,” he says.

Much of what we feel goes unsaid. Oliver uses his art and poetry to make his voice heard.

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Audio Visual

Audio

Visual

[Background music playing]

I have an idea.

Three things to be grateful for.

The text of a poem appears on screen. In the foreground, we see a Bonsai tree.

A man is sitting in an electric wheelchair outside. He reads out a poem and the text appears on the screen

My head feels clear. I can concentrate. I fought off statues.

We see a black and white photograph of a man wearing a hat. The text of a poem appears on screen.

I fought off statues.

A man is smiling, his eyes are closed. The text of a poem appears on screen.

I am Oliver Mills, a poet and artist.

Oliver is sitting in his electric wheelchair. He has a tablet device in front of him and is using assistive technology to speak.

I live with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and vision impairment.

Oliver is walking in his house. His mother and his support worker are helping him to walk.

I love painting, the feel of the paint on my fingers and the scratchy sounds I can make.

We see several of Oliver's paintings. The paintings hang in different rooms throughout Oliver’s home.

Using charcoal with my special holder makes me feel chilled.

Oliver is using a paintbrush holder and doing a charcoal painting.

I journal most days, and Sharon helps me to put them into poetry form.

Oliver is sitting in his electric wheelchair outside his house on the patio. His mother is helping him journal using a communication book with pictures and words.

Ollie’s voice is his brother's voice. He recorded about 5000 phrases.

We see photographs of Oliver and his brother.

Oliver is sitting in his electric wheelchair. His mother is sitting next to him, she is speaking to the camera.

Mum and I looked at the Disability Gateway website.

Oliver and his mother are looking at the Disability Gateway website on Oliver’s tablet device.

I enjoyed that there was a button to listen to the information

Oliver is sitting outside his house on the patio next to his support worker. They are using a communication book with pictures and words to journal.

I really like listening to

other people's stories.

Oliver is sitting in his electric wheelchair in his kitchen. There are photographs of his family on the fridge in the background.

Oliver’s mother is typing text into Oliver’s tablet device and he smiles.

Oliver’s mother moves him through the kitchen using his electric wheelchair.

A closing slide appears with the Disability Gateway logo and the Australian Government logo.