Maria's story
No place like home: Maria’s story
Maria’s family is one of the most important parts of her life.
She comes from an Italian home, is inseparable from her three sisters, and sees motherhood as one of her greatest achievements.
She says, “You can go through life and think you know what love is and there are different types, but the love you experience when you have your own child, it’s not something I can even put into words.”
In her early 30s, Maria was diagnosed with scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes the skin to tighten and harden and leads to limited range of motion and altered appearance.
Her diagnosis led to a complete change in her lifestyle and outlook on life. She’s learnt to have a lot more confidence by being less critical and fearful of other people.
“My body started to change, my physical appearance changed,” she explains. “My physical capacity, functionality, eating, sleeping, moving – everything.”
Now, in her 50s, Maria has moved into an apartment complex specifically designed to meet the accessibility needs of people with disability.
“My support worker comes in daily and helps me with my needs,” she says. “When you’re living in a place that’s accessible to you, you can actually do the things you want to do.”
Maria made the decision to move in order to give her kids freedom to live their lives without worrying about her, while also finding a sense of community among other people living with disability.
She stresses the importance of having the right support system, and has found the Disability Gateway opens so many paths to finding the right resources.
“It’s life changing! When you have the support you need, you can reach your goals and actually do the things you want to do.”
Audio Visual
| Audio | Visual |
[Background music playing] So, my name is Maria. | We see a close up of Maria smiling. |
| My home is an apartment, it's made specially for people with disabilities. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria is walking around her apartment and using an exercise machine in her living room. |
| It’s got the wide doorways, electronic doors, having accessibility to go out and do things in the community, | Maria presses a button to open her apartment door. Maria exits in her electric wheelchair. She moves down a hallway and enters an elevator. |
| Living as others do, is life changing. | Maria is sitting at a cafe with her sister. |
| My kids had to grow up living with a parent that needed help throughout the day. | We see a photograph of Maria and her two children. |
You go through life and you learn about love, you think you know what love is. The love, when you become a mother, something that you don’t ever really describe. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria is sitting on her apartment balcony staring thoughtfully into the distance. |
| Family is a huge part of my life. | We see a black and white photograph of Maria and her sister. Maria and her sister are having coffee in Maria’s apartment. |
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease, tightens and hardens your skin. It changes your fear about life. I just see us all really equal. So I've learned to have a lot more confidence. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria rearranges items on her dresser. On the dresser is a black and white photo of Maria before her diagnosis. |
Disability Gateway, they’re a great service and they’re there to help connect people with what they need. | Maria and her sister sit in the courtyard of Maria’s apartment building. They are scrolling through the Disability Gateway website on a laptop. |
| Having those services there relieves you of all the isolation, and if something’s not right, I can speak up. | Maria and her sister are walking away from the cafe. Maria is in her electric wheelchair. Maria and her sister are having coffee and talking in Maria’s apartment. |
| That's just been life changing, finally having a voice. | Maria is sitting in her electric wheelchair smiling towards the camera. She is sitting in the courtyard of her apartment building. |
| A closing slide appears with the Disability Gateway logo and the Australian Government logo. |
Audio Visual
| Audio | Visual |
[Background music playing] So, my name is Maria. | We see a close up of Maria smiling. |
| My home is an apartment, it's made specially for people with disabilities. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria is walking around her apartment and using an exercise machine in her living room. |
| It’s got the wide doorways, electronic doors, having accessibility to go out and do things in the community, | Maria presses a button to open her apartment door. Maria exits in her electric wheelchair. She moves down a hallway and enters an elevator. |
| Living as others do, is life changing. | Maria is sitting at a cafe with her sister. |
| My kids had to grow up living with a parent that needed help throughout the day. | We see a photograph of Maria and her two children. |
You go through life and you learn about love, you think you know what love is. The love, when you become a mother, something that you don’t ever really describe. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria is sitting on her apartment balcony staring thoughtfully into the distance. |
| Family is a huge part of my life. | We see a black and white photograph of Maria and her sister. Maria and her sister are having coffee in Maria’s apartment. |
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease, tightens and hardens your skin. It changes your fear about life. I just see us all really equal. So I've learned to have a lot more confidence. | Maria is sitting in her apartment speaking to the camera. Maria rearranges items on her dresser. On the dresser is a black and white photo of Maria before her diagnosis. |
Disability Gateway, they’re a great service and they’re there to help connect people with what they need. | Maria and her sister sit in the courtyard of Maria’s apartment building. They are scrolling through the Disability Gateway website on a laptop. |
| Having those services there relieves you of all the isolation, and if something’s not right, I can speak up. | Maria and her sister are walking away from the cafe. Maria is in her electric wheelchair. Maria and her sister are having coffee and talking in Maria’s apartment. |
| That's just been life changing, finally having a voice. | Maria is sitting in her electric wheelchair smiling towards the camera. She is sitting in the courtyard of her apartment building. |
| A closing slide appears with the Disability Gateway logo and the Australian Government logo. |
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Maria's story
An Easy Read case study
 | This story is about a person with a disability called Maria. |
 | Maria has scleroderma. |
 | Scleroderma affects Maria’s skin, how she looks and how she moves. |
 | Maria says scleroderma has taught her a lot about life. |
 | Some of the things scleroderma has taught Maria are:
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 | Maria lives in an apartment made for people living with disability. |
 | Some of the features her apartment has are:
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 | Family is very important to Maria. She has two children. |
 | Maria says being a mother makes her very proud. |
 | The Disability Gateway helps Maria to find the right support. |
 | She says having the support you need can help you reach your goals. |