Making the City of Melbourne more inclusive for children and young people with a disability

Children and adolescents with disability have the right to participate in society on an equal basis to those without disability. This qualitative study sought the ideas of advocates, disability experts, children and adolescents with disability, and their parents and guardians on key enablers of inclusion for children and adolescents with a disability.

Making the City of Melbourne more inclusive for children and young people with a disability

Research Team:
Dr Jerome N Rachele Co-Lead Investigator, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne and NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health
Ms Kate Burke Research Assistant, University of Melbourne
Mrs Georgia Burn Research Assistant, University of Melbourne
A/Prof Eva Alisic Co-Investigator, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne

View the full report here: Word or PDF

Please contact us if you need this information in an accessible format such as large print or audio, please email md-i@unimelb.edu.au.

Executive Summary
This study sought the voices of children and young people with disability, and their families, to generate ideas on how the City of Melbourne could be made more inclusive for children and young people with a disability.

The City of Melbourne Disability Advisory Committee and City of Melbourne – Melbourne Disability Institute Steering Committee assisted the research team throughout the project. Findings from this study will inform the development of the City of Melbourne’s Disability Action Plan and other relevant strategies.

In early 2020, we held a workshop with children and young people with a disability and their parents and guardians. The children and young people sat at one table, and their parents and guardians sat at another. With the help of a facilitator, they spent about an hour and a half discussing ways in which the City of Melbourne could be made more inclusive for children and young people with a disability. Together, they brainstormed 84 ideas we could work towards to achieve this goal.

The research team undertook a thematic analysis of the brainstormed ideas and identified emergent patterns in the data. The children and young people data resulted in the identification of seven themes that related to: accessible public spaces; assistance; communication; pedestrian infrastructure; public good; public transport; and safety. The parents and guardians’ data resulted in six themes that included ideas related to: amenities; awareness; communication; pedestrian infrastructure; public spaces; and public transport.

Three prominent themes emerged. These were ideas featured across both the children and young people group, and the parents and guardians’ group, while elements of these ideas appeared across multiple other themes throughout. These themes were: communication, pedestrian infrastructure, and public transport.

The need for adequate, disability-appropriate communication was expressed throughout the study across a number of themes. Many of these ideas related to: providing clear and accurate information on public transport; the provision of 3D models that can be touched; the use of technology; awareness and training for relevant staff and the community.

The provision of pedestrian infrastructure that can facilitate movement throughout the city was prominent in discussions and in the development of ideas. Many of these ideas related to: safety at crossings; the use of technology; signage at eye-level for children that communicates information via multiple methods; and safety, such as on ramps and escalators.

Ideas around public transport were developed across both study groups. These ideas related to communication, including: detailed and clear announcements; those pertaining to within carriages such as the use of tactile cues; buttons that beep and vibrate; awareness of accessible seating; and also those pertaining to platforms; including clear display information. Some ideas, such as crowding and the provision of uniformed assistance staff, were relevant for both within carriages and on platforms.

This study was a collaboration between the University of Melbourne, and the City of Melbourne, with funding from the University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Engagement, and was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence in Disability and Health.