Social Work Disability Research Hub

The Social Work Disability Research Hub is focused on creating, with people with disability, their families and carers, futures and communities that are inclusive and equitable.

The Hub has many exciting projects underway, including:

Towards Inclusion Project
Project Leads: Dr Lyndal Hickey, Dr Jennifer Davidson, Professor Lou Harms
The Towards Inclusion Project aims to understand how inclusive communities can be achieved by focusing on the experiences and expertise of people with disability and their families and the solutions they can offer.

This project is a collaboration between the Melbourne Social Work Disability Research Hub, the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne and Baptcare, a key provider of LACs in Tasmania and South Australia.

The expertise of people with disability and their families will drive this project by examining the role they play in creating their own inclusive communities, providing important insights into the ‘when, where how and who’ is needed to enhance community inclusion. It will provide a roadmap and guide for how inclusion can be achieved, alongside a practice framework for LACs, that is founded upon this lived experience expertise.

Hobsons’s Bay Sport for Youth of All Abilities program
Project Lead: Dr Jenny Conrick
The Hobsons’s Bay Sport for Youth of All Abilities program brings together social work researchers, Hobsons Bay Community Fund, Compton Green Real Estate, Hobsons Bay Council and the Hobson’s Bay community in an innovative partnership to develop, implement and evaluate a 6-week sport specific, inclusion program for children living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with three local sports clubs.

Transition to Independent Living project
Project Leads: Dr Lyndal Hickey and Professor Lou Harms
The Transition to Independent Living project  is exploring the perspectives of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cerebral palsy and their family members regarding the transition to independent living. It focuses on the barriers and enablers within families, communities and services systems that impact on AYA transition.

The project is a collaboration between the Social Work Disability Research Hub, CP-Achieve at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne.

The Hub is also working with the Funds in Court team from the Supreme Court of Victoria on two disability justice projects, evaluating the introduction of communication facilitators at VCAT for people with complex communication disabilities, and a wraparound program with Colac Otway Regional Advocacy Service for young people with disabilities.

Questions? Contact us at md-i@unimelb.edu.au