Charlie's story
Finding connection and community
Charlie is an accessibility and inclusion specialist. Everyday, he helps make workplaces and communities more welcoming for people with disabilities.
But his own journey to finding community wasn’t always easy.
Charlie was born hard of hearing, and was recently diagnosed with ADHD.
He grew up in a Lebanese family, where disability was not often discussed at home.
“It was quite isolating,” he says. “We’re from a culture that doesn’t really talk about disability.”
That all changed when Charlie went to university. He found having note takers in class made a huge difference. In time, he realised that support wasn’t something to hide. It was simply another part of his life.
Today, Charlie uses live transcription tools to help him at work.
“Because I’m hard of hearing, I have to work twice as hard to stay focused on what people are saying,” he says.
Charlie has also found a sense of belonging in the Deaf community. He recently started learning Auslan.
“Studying has been so fun and helped expand my circle. I’ve recently just finished Certificate II in Auslan and I’m about to start Certificate III,” he says.
“I genuinely thought I was the only queer, disabled, Lebanese person in my entire community. Accessing these services really opened my eyes.”
For Charlie, finding community is not about one place or group. It’s something he’s found in different spaces over time.
“One of the biggest strengths of the Disability Gateway is that it offers multiple resources and multiple services,” he says.
Looking back, Charlie wishes he had known about the Disability Gateway earlier. He says it can help people spend less time searching and more time living.
“It can be complicated to navigate all the different services out there,” he explains. “Having the Disability Gateway with everything in one place is going to make a massive difference.”
| Audio |
|---|
Where are our seats? This might sound strange, but I genuinely did think I was probably the only queer person with disability who was also Lebanese in my entire community. But our culture is really, really tough when it comes to disability. A lot of it is very much like we brush it under the rug. We don't really talk about it. And so my siblings and I have responded by doing the exact opposite. So we do talk about it, maybe a little bit too much actually. If I had access to the Disability Gateway as a resource when I was younger, I definitely would have been able to actually access my community a lot earlier. I'm really fortunate that I have a community that's really taught me to sort of expand my thinking on what it is to look like a person with disability. I do very much like going to films with my friends. Most of the time my friends are considerate enough that they will only go to an open caption film. So they know what kind of cinema would work best for us. One of the biggest strong points for the Disability Gateway is that it offers multiple resources, multiple services. Having a resource like the Disability Gateway that has everything right there, I think is going to make a massive difference. |
| Call 1800 643 787 For a free TIS interpreter call 131450 or visit disabilitygateway.gov.au/arabic |
| Audio |
|---|
Where are our seats? This might sound strange, but I genuinely did think I was probably the only queer person with disability who was also Lebanese in my entire community. But our culture is really, really tough when it comes to disability. A lot of it is very much like we brush it under the rug. We don't really talk about it. And so my siblings and I have responded by doing the exact opposite. So we do talk about it, maybe a little bit too much actually. If I had access to the Disability Gateway as a resource when I was younger, I definitely would have been able to actually access my community a lot earlier. I'm really fortunate that I have a community that's really taught me to sort of expand my thinking on what it is to look like a person with disability. I do very much like going to films with my friends. Most of the time my friends are considerate enough that they will only go to an open caption film. So they know what kind of cinema would work best for us. One of the biggest strong points for the Disability Gateway is that it offers multiple resources, multiple services. Having a resource like the Disability Gateway that has everything right there, I think is going to make a massive difference. |
| Call 1800 643 787 For a free TIS interpreter call 131450 or visit disabilitygateway.gov.au/arabic |