Disability Care Australia (NDIS) the first step towards full social inclusion

Exploring possibilities

The introduction of Disability Care Australia is a revolutionary concept that is designed to encourage and enable greater community inclusion of people with a disability.  Through the promotion of individual choice and the first real opportunity for people with significant disability and their families to have self-direction for their life based on their own hopes and dreams for the future. It is hoped where feasible people with disabilities will engaged in all aspects of community life give the right early intervention and support systems in their lives.

This is a move away from traditional values and attitudes that have previously seen people with disabilities  become isolated in their community either through disability or the time commitments involved in caring for a family member who has a significant disability meaning even family members have been excluded and isolated.

As we walk towards the implementation of Disability Care Australia previously known as the NDIS the challenges before us are great.  However our biggest challenge before us is to change the way we limit and define what is possible for a child or adult with disabilities, we in the past our expectations have been low and very limiting.

Along with improving physical access to buildings, the workplace and public transport we to need to see a major shift in attitudes towards people with disabilities and the inclusion of their families. If our attitudes, especially those of us who work in the disability sector are not challenged and expanded than the hopes and dreams of thousands of NDIS campaigners will be lost at we stand a the precepts of a revolution to ensure the social inclusion of people with disabilities.

This includes one of the biggest challenges for us, employment. People with disabilities tell us they want to work, however at the same time they have the right to meaningful employment and fair wages, not just the type of employment opportunities offered by sheltered workshops in the past.  Working towards full inclusion will require us to expand our horizons of what is possible even in the workplace and even force us to look for alternative ways to achieve our goals and work results, as seen in this story. 

 ABC journalist breaking new ground - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

'via Blog this'

I personal believe we have much to learn about ourselves, our attitudes and the self determination of people with disability and their families before earn even begin to let go of out previously preconceptions of what is possible and deactivated this inbuilt tendency to overprotect those with disabilities.  

Let us be excited about the possibilities tomorrow can bring . 

Disability Care Australia comes to Queensland

Taken by Judy Dickson on behalf of ALARA Association. 

Yesterday I was privileged to witness the combination of many years of hard work and determination by people with disabilities, their families and those who care for them.  As Julia Gilard an Campbell  Newman signed the historic agreement between the State Government of Queensland and the Australia Federal Government. 

To people with disability and their families this is about much more than funding to meet their day to day needs.  While by 2019 some additional 50,000 families in Queensland will have their support needs meet for the first time.  The real victory for NDIS campaigners in the revolutionary thinking build this world class system. 

Like landrights for indigenous Australians and women gaining the right to vote, for the first time our leaders have acknowledge our right to the quality of life other Australians enjoy.  The legislation looks specifically at real inclusion for people with disability for the first time.

Its a long road head until the 50 000 Queenslanders who currently have no assistance receive the help they have hounded the Queensland government for decades. But certainly the signing yesterday was caused for celebration.  

While for some its a case of too late, the real work and challenge for service providers is ahead as we make the shift from service provision to a true market place where people are empowered to make choices about their lifestyles.

So to does the challenge of bring about community awareness.  What is disability?  How does it impact the lives of  those affected? What are the true abilities of these people to contribute in real and meaningful ways to our society.  The real challenge for us is  the challenge to long term attitudes towards people like myself who had enough of watching life from sidelines.  Its our time to join in and enjoy all that life has to offer to leave the house!  To go to work or study.  To be creative and use the same innovations we use to create and design the NDIS to create small business and design technologies. 

History in the making as documents are signed 

to allow the Introduction of Disabilities Care Australia. 

             

Plugging Holes in the NDIS

Growing up I remember the tale of a young Dutch boy who placed his finger in a hole of a Dutch dike to save his homeland from being drowned by the sea on the other side of the wall. I assume at the time it was only a small hole that could be plugged by the size of a small child’s finger.  The trouble is the small holes left unchecked and not repaired can grow into larger holes creating a potential disaster.

Boundaries as I was explaining on Tuesday last week are ‘the fences’ or in this case a wall; that protect us from potential harm or abuse.  For clients and workers in the disability sector these are known as polices and procedures. Each of these links back to the laws that are unpinned by the Queensland or Federal Government’s legislation that protect the human rights of people living with significant disabilities and their families and carers.

These are also known as the Disabilities Standards, As we look forward to the introduction of the NDIS or Disability Care Australia, these standards are underpinned by the Human Rights of people with a disability by the United Nations.  In other words polices makers from the federal government down to me as a board member who is responsible for overseeing my organisations polices and procedures are written and abided by are govern by the charter of the UN Human Rights.

None of us truly live independent lives just as I am dependent on the assistance of support workers to meet some of my needs to get out the door for work in the morning, so too are we dependent on others to protect us from harm, neglect or abuse. These are important principles for clients, families, carer’s, guardians and support workers to grasp as we move away from the traditional model’s of service provision to a more open market of service delivery, which will from July 1 this year start to drive the choice of how people with disabilities and families meet their own support needs as the work towards full community participation and economic equality.

The NDIS revolution as set out by the Productivity Commission is designed to do much more than provide the support and equipment needs of people with disabilities and yet in the discussions I’ve been involve in so far; how does the NDIS or Disability Care Australia meet my needs or the needs of my child or clients. As we begin this journey over the next 5 years, this for many the have repetitively been failed by state governments over 5 to 6 decades is right so the first question being asked ‘how can I be sure my needs or the needs of my child/client be meet.   

This is a question the current ‘needs’ based funding has trained us to ask. The governments have failed to meet my/our needs for decades. What makes the new system of Disability Care any different? I have no doubt after reading the legislation under NDIS some people with disabilities and their families are going to be disappointed with what the system provides for them.  The words ‘permanent’, ‘stable’ and ‘serve’ point to uncertainly around the question of eligibility.

However the NDIS is not ‘needs’ driven but ‘goals’ driven, the very premise of disability care is about to be turned on its head and yes, for many of us that is scary. It involves a journey into the unknown and still many holes in the framework in which we will be required to work with in remain unplugged, some of the natural safeguards that protect clients from abuse have been removed.  We can not give people with disabilities the real choices they’re asking for without introducing risks. As we have seen all choices have conquences which lie with the decision maker not law enforcements.

As clients and families take greater control over the futures and services relinquish there traditional guardians roles, the risks become greater. The traditional mechanisms such as workers entitlements, awards wages, worker health and safety regulates, risk management, equipment checks and repairs, and even home modifications may now be the responsibility of the service user rather than the providers.

Not only does the NDIS promise to give people with disabilities greater choices about meeting their needs and lifestyles choices around how to meet those, For example greater choice around accommodation, how to meet their individual accommodation needs but it also allows them a voice about the postcode.  Traditionally those with high needs support have been house to close together for funding reasons.  Now people with disabilities are saying I want to live on the Gold Coast not in Brisbane. Everyone else has the right to make that choice and I want the same opportunity to live where I chose. I don’t want to be govern by where I must access the services to meet the needs associated with my disability.

To enable people with disabilities and the people that support them to determine their own lifestyle choice the NDIS has shifted the goal post. Services will be required to delivery services where the client and families needs to access them rather than require clients to travel. This is what we mean by ‘service delivery must become market driven’.  There no use setting up shop in Alice Springs if no one wants to by your goods.

In its quest to offer people more flexibility in the lifestyle choices, the federal government has responded by introduction flexibility in the way people with disabilities and their families can access the provision and delivery of their needs.

Disability Care Australia will offer three different service models

·       ‘Traditional’ ─ where the family or client will go to a website or shop front that lists all the services that offer to meet their needs and they will choice what suits them and the current goals and lifestyle. For some of these people the delivery of their services will remain the same.  Only who is paying the bill will change.  Others may chose to only change a provider or some delivery services changes to better suit their needs and goals. This is their choice and for many it gives them what they want. However others tell us they want a great say in meeting their needs, so these people may choice . . .

·       ‘The middle ground’ ─ Some where between giving all their funding to a service to provider or providers to meed all the request needs and having no responsibility for the organisational and administration for their funds.  This model has a middle person between them and the service provider that can give assistance and guidance in the areas their not sure on like employment of staff, worker compensational, repairs and maintenances of mobility and communication aids and referrals to professionals such as a speech therapist. The person or organisation will be responsible for this like quarterly reports to the Disability Care Australian office to say you have spent your money how you agreed to spend and not on a family holiday to Fiji or a new play station.

·       ‘Autonomous self-direction’ ─ will be where an agreed amount of money is payed to an individual or family by Disability Care Australia.  That individual then becomes an employer, who directly employs support workers and therapist themselves. Choosing this method of service delivery means, the person or family is responsible for training, safety standards, wages, sick leave, workers compensation, public liberty and meeting industry standards. The people need to write their quarterly reports to the Disability Care Australian office to say you have spent the money how they agreed to spend and not on a tree house of a red luxury car.

Remember the person or persons now making the choices become responsible for the results of those choices.  If you employ a support worker who drives your child to and from school in a car that in not road worthy resulting in a car accident, an absence of a road worthy certificate, results in a default in the insurance payment. You are left with your child has major injuries and you need time off work. No insurance is a result of you as a employer not doing a road worthy on staff cars.  You choosing to cut corners you are left to deal with the results. No service provider to run too.          

We as governments and service providers only have ten fingers. Human rights and the laws that protect them can on plug ten wholes.  If your creating and eleventh or twelfth holes by not having public liability insurance or not enforcing safety procedures the holes allow crack and crack without repairs grow bigger and sooner or later the wall crumbles and there’s no safety net.

I know because in the past I have failed to put putty in the hole before cracks appeared and pay the emotional toll. As the NDIS rolls out and more people make the choice to take direction over their funding, both support workers and clients need to carefully navigate the pot holes in the road.  The third umpire to ensure correct policies and procedures are followed has been removed. However, that’s what equality in.  No one makes my sister get up and get the kids off to school and then drive to work if she sleeps in being self employed she loses sales.

In my next post I might tell you about some of the cracks in the fall that can occur when you don’t put putty in the holes.  

My two and a half cents worth on the NDIS

Here’s my two cents on the Reality of NDIS or Disability Care Australia.  The introduction of Disability Care Australia is about eight weeks away form introduction. Regardless of how you feel or view its introduction is about be rolled out. Both sides federal government are on agreement on the introduction of a ‘federal oversight for disability support services. 

Today’s announcement of an increase to the medicare levy has nothing to do with people with disabilities or us the NDIS campaigners, so sorry if I’m a little taken back by the small minority of taxpayers who are venting their dislike to the increase to the medicare levy.  Which for all intentionally purposes is a form of tax, which the labour government has decided will be used to fund Disability Care.

Regardless of how the government choses to balance the books of the upcoming federal government is incorrect to put it at the feet of those of us who have disabilities. We are not the cause of your medicare levy just people who by default may or may not benefit.

May I add that people with disabilities and their carers are also tax payers.  The media commentators are behaving like all people who may benefit for the introduction of Disability Care Australia are unemployable. Don’t worry commentators aren’t the only ones who are month off by misusing facts and figures.  The plenty of people with disability and family carers with mixed view on the introduction of the scheme.  A new government is once again asking us to trust them to get the funding arrangements for ‘our care’; ‘our equipment and medical needs’ and ‘our therapies needs’ right.

To our fellow taxpayers this many be about dollars and cents to you, but for those of us the live with disabilities, our families and carers, this is about who gets us out of bed and feeds us breakfast?  Disability Care is about my right to chose what time I get up in the morning and whether  I want a shower before or after work. These are choices our fellow Australians take from granted. The choice to be assisted to go to the toilet or wear a incontinent pad all day.  Let’s get the fact straight we’re not asking for a trip to sea world once a year, for some of us having the right to most basic choices is what we have campaign for.

A very small percentage of people who will be eligible for support from Disability Care Australia will have very high dependency support needs resulting in 24 hr care.  Yes these people form a portion of the recipients who are unable to work and contribute to the federal governments income.  However regardless of who we are and the hours of week we work we the consumers all pay tax its called GST.

The issues surround the introduction of Disability Care Australia are merkly and I get a lot of needs to be define answers to questions.  We are going into this new arrange based on a knowledge of what we know.  Many people reliant on support services are very sceptical and just expect more of the same with new packaging.  But what is promised to be delivered is a 21^st  century approach to the 21^st  needs and choices of people with disabilities.

The NDIS campaign has been based on the desire of people with disabilities, their families and carers to be included in every aspect of society.  For people the level of inclusion will vary will their individual compasitiy to participate. For a small group of about 6 000 young adults it is the opportunity to choice alternative accommodation to aged care facilities,  for each individual that will look different depending on a number of lifestyle choices. 

This a revolutionary system designed to be driven by the market demands of the individuals who are eligible to use it.  Services will cease to be able to dictate how and when they will meet the ‘perceived needs’ of their clients, hence many are on the back foot and defensive. If clients don’t -want to attend respite care but chose one-to-care to go off to tafe, uni or study from home, providing the individual has the $ to purchase the service must provide it or the client is free to go to the market and use the funding to access a service that allows him to buy one-to-one care.  Likewise if a client wants five days a week centre based  care to meet their high support and social interaction needs at the same time, provided they have they funding they can make that choice.

Funding will no longer be calculated on meeting needs, rather on enabling the person to achieve the goals, which will be driven be lifestyles choice. To image assistance to training and work require huge changes to my thinking. Until now if you could study or work in open employment support was not an option.  Now if some choses to work and support worker can go in at lunch to support them feed them lunch and attend to needs.

A parent  will be able to chose any school for their child.  Rather than be dependent on schools who provided the needed educational support, the government under the ndis most support the families choice as long as them meet the stated goals.  For a child with a hearing impairment that may mean an interrupter for the school day. A hearing impaired child will be able to attend a local school weather they living in Alice Springs or Port Lincoln.

While employment for people with disabilities remains the biggest challenge under the Disability Care Australia, its introduction and market driven client choice could mean creation of new jobs as people with disabilities seek out new opportunities and new possibilities in the way the achieve their lifestyle goals.  Teachers-aid for impaired maybe able to assist with another children in the same class parents could then chose  to pool the resources and purchase other therapies such as early intervention speech theraphy or physio stimulation.

Such a fundamental shift in the way funding is distributed means a huge shift in the way each of us thinks about the support needs.  Is there any wonder why myths, confusion and uncertainty exist. Now I get why we need 5 years, to completely dismantle systems across the states and territories and built an new system based on market place demand and supply mechanisms .  A service can offer any type of service they like, buy it will be the purchase power of the clients with there funding who shape what is viable in the area.

It no service meets their needs or they simply chose not to use a service they can directly employ their staff themselves and that has a lot of people worried.

Eligibility for the scheme is not means tested.  It is base on what is fair and reasonable. Right now much equipment, motor vechial and home modification are means tested or not offered.  If you need a wheelchair get around your house in is unreasonable to expect siblings to carry you or push you in a oversize stroller. Access to mobility aids should be dependent on exposable income or fundraising.  Parent should have to have cake stalls at school gates to buy a child a wheelchair.

 

At the risk of offend my fellow taxpayers independent mobility is a basic human right, a wheelchair is just as essential as clean drinking water.  Yes people can survive without it but they should have not.  All Australians who are eligible under Disability care should be entitle to a mobility device, a guide or assistance dog, car and house modifications regardless of their income.

I my view the NDIS or Disability Care should where possible be on an even playing field for me that’s providing a power wheelchair, some help around home and a worker to help me safely access the community while I am performing one of my many community roles.    Is not about providing care but enabling all Australians the fighting chance to reach that potential. 

Until we squash this nourish of ‘need’ or ‘charity’ in supporting people with disabilities. Until we get that this is not icing on the cake.  Until people understand the NDIS is about an equal right to choice for all Australians. People will continue to struggle to understand what the NDIS aims to achieve. I can’t give you a picture of what NDIS looks like, because for each of us it will look totally different. That’s the trouble there is nothing we can compare it too.

Well my fellow Australian’s that’s more than my two and a half cents worth. So its over to you let me know what you think.

  

   

That's The Way It Is . . .

I love honesty I just don’t always know what to do with it. I had a conversation last night that confirm some of my conclusions around the right to choice issues for people with disabilities and their families over the last two weeks.

I was discussing with my support work my choices around my home and its appearance. If I didn’t need her assistance to vacuum, clean the kitchen and mop the floors.  I’m not sure whether the debate we had last night would have occurred.

In an attempt to avoid confusion for this particular worker I write a ‘wish list’, Things I want her to do. The trouble is when she reaches the end of the list, she see that as an open invitation to do what ever she likes to my place.

On of the issues of having up to 8 different support workers in my hose each week is what I’ve come to term the ‘Sulkily Effect’,  Debbie clear of the coach yesterday and the support worker put all the tem back on the coach, last night.  So once again my art covers the coach and visits have to sit at the table.  Which is not the way I planned to use the coach at the time of purchase. However yes lately that is how the coach has been ‘in use’. Thus, at least in this workers view, that’s how is it. (A fact!)

Hang on! Isn’t this my house we’re talking about? Doesn’t that give me – the rent payer the right to chose to change the appearance of my home, without the need to provided reason and justification for that choice. Obviously I was last night required to give one.  

Fairly in return the worker offered her own justification and as I said I love honesty, I just do not always know what to do with it.  Logical the only reply, I could think of was it’s my choice because I am the person paying the rent.

The workers case is she is doing her job (I agree that statement is an undisrupted fact). The ‘fact’ under disrupt is the way she is doing the job isn’t the way I want it done. This worker argues that this is the way she is – this is how she thinks and she can’t not change.  Her definition of her job is to tidy my house to her standard and questioned other staff who under perform. I sense see views the situation as a stale mate because see is unable or unwilling to compromise her work practises.  My house is her workplace, my hunch is that every clients house works in has her stamp on.

My view is a ‘support worker is not a cleaner’, and her deciding the placement of things in home is stealing my freedom of choice away.  Those annoying like dust collectors know as doilies are about to be packed up to go to lifeline so they can not be dragged out of the cupboard ever again. The only way to put an end to the ‘Polly putting the kettle on game’ is to vanish the doilies from the house. Yes my cupboards are raided at will. Note to self: don’t keep unwanted gifts or support workers feel free to use them.

I am annoyed that workers have a sense of right to open things simply because their in my house and the item is meant be used.  I don’t known how to view these actions any other way that an invasion of privacy and rights. These workers while paid to assist with housework are not cleaners and those not expect to have the autonomy of a cleaner.  Even if they were cleaners they should respect my standards of clean.  

This is an example of the one size fits all approach. This is how I would and why should I change for you the client, when you’re not even paying my wage.  Can you see how disempowering this is for clients argue for their right to choice.

The simple choice of whether to pack away my art supplies or not art night and where and how to store them is taken away because a worker is inflexible to work outside her confront zone to allow my house to reflect my artistic lifestyle. I am forced to respect her work style how is that client choice? 

However, for many workers that’s just the way it is and the case is closed!

The journey through the maze of life

One activity I remember doing with my brother and sisters when we were growing up on a rainy day, was competing to see who could solve the maze in their puzzle book first. For this sole purpose my parent we made to purchase 5 copies of the same book. Reflecting back we really were a competitive bunch and sibling rivalry was alive and well in our family.

Today mazes are made much larger and you can get some serious exercise at the same time.  One tick I remember using to out smart my siblings was to work backwards. It often worked until they cotton on to my method and began working backwards too.

However life is not like that, yesterday always lies behind us and tomorrow ahead, we can’t use the knowledge we have today to return to last year to solve the maze.  One of the temptations as a child I remember was to cheat and cross a boundary line to cross the line first, but each winning puzzle was careful checked to ensure no boundaries were crossed in order to claim first prize.

The maze boundaries pictured above look much more secure than those on the merger lines in our puzzled books growing up. From what I have seen of these mazes on television the hedges are head height of the average adult so there no cheating by peering over the top, the person in the maze must keep moving forward to make their way out and a lot of your success is based on memory.

Our memory of the past or the sum of our successes and failures are one of the keys to travel through the mazes that life presents.  We are required to remember the mistakes of the past if we are not to repeat them and fall into the traps. 

As a Christian the word of God provides clues and warning signs as we travel through the maze of lives. The bibles has laws, guidelines and principles I use to have me navigate through life. Others view the bible as an irrelevant law book and toss it out the window and run the risk of living a life protected by the principles I have in my life. That is a choice that God gives to mankind, the gift of free will, we we’re program to think and feel a certain way like a robot.  However that is sadly how many view his word.

Yet many laws that govern our nation are built on the principles taught in the bible. Australia laws as we have seen in my previous post have conquences if we chose to break the law.  Laws are designed to protect us from harm.  Just the hedges although confusing at times keep us from staying off path. 

I imagine it would be tempting to enter a hedge like the one in the above picture with a hedge trimmer to cut my way through, just like the temptation we had as children to cross the boundaries lines of the puzzle book.  I am sure some type of fine would apply if I chose to act on this plan.

Likewise there are principles to protect me as a client of disability services Queensland. The policies and procedures that underpin the Policies of the State government are often part of ‘an act’. That determined Queensland laws.  The laws as those presented in the bible are design to protect clients with a disability; their families and their support workers from harm.

For example everyone who works in the disability sector much hold a yellow card, including me as a volunteer.  As a holder of a yellow card and a person who has responsibility for the care of people with a disability, by law I must have a police check every two years to protect the people entrusted into my care.  As someone who overseas the finances of an organisation the government wants to make sure I am not going to take the money given for staff wages and go off and by myself a yacht. 

I have never herd a support worker who has supported me to complain about a police check every two years, in the same way the tell me the policy that prevents us form becoming  friends is ridiculous and yet both are policies written by organisations that support people with disabilities that are underwritten by law for our own protection.

I may think that the Ipswich City Councils decision to put parking metres in the town centre is stupid. However my person opinion does mean I don’t drop the required coins in the slot and display the ticket on the windscreen of the car to avoid paying a fine. Not to comply to policies that are derived from our state laws has conquences.

My annoyance is when support workers decide they are not prepare to work within the policies and procedures written to protect both of us is the put me at risk as well as themselves. Life isn’t always about us and what we ‘feel’ is ok or we ‘think’ is stupid like the council’s parking metres of the hedges we can’t peer over, our choices right or wrong sometimes effect the lives of others. In the disability sector ultimately that is the frontline workers and their clients.

One example of a policy workers tell me is stupid is wearing gloves for food handing. I don’t wear them at home. . . and just maybe I might agree, but even so like the Ipswich Cities Council decision to put in parking metres I am required to comply.  Gloves for food handling isn’t a rule picked out of the sky to make a workers life miserable is a policy that we board members (my workers forget I am a policy writer making me public emery number 1), are required to have under work, health & safety laws.  If a client gets food poising and dies and the bacteria  is proven in a court of law to come from a support worker and the organisation had no policy around food handling its me in court not them. So sorry I have little sympathy for workers who hate the feel of gloves.

Similarly foot ware often becomes an issue in summer, and in winter it I don’t want wet feet. If I take my shoes off and fall its my problem. Not sure there aware their just broken the law. Nor have they even considered my safety. If the slippy and can’t get up. I then have to put myself at risk and turn the shower off without the safety net of a workers assistance to correct my balance.  Than the need to explain why we both got hurt and then they can’t claim work cover.

No life isn’t all about us, we don’t get to carry the hedge trimmer into the hedge maze in the event we can’t find our way out the hedged. We too must follow the policies and procedures we are required to work within. Just like my siblings and I checking we stayed with in the boundaries of the maze puzzles growing so too checks are made to ensure polices are ahead too, as we navigate the mazes in our lives.

We can’t back track in life’s maze. If we fall its too late to put our shoes hack on and we’ve may be off work without an income. But it’s your maze and I can only direct you like me have a right too choice. 

When The Penny Drops

When the penny drops!

A penny for your thoughts . . . There are times in our lives when we all want and need advice, when we’re not sure whether to keep walking straight head or to take the u-turn at the next intersection. Major life choices such as buying a house, publishing a book or a sea change are rarely made independently.

As a Christian I do not believe we were created to live fully independently. Rather we were created to live in relationship with others – interdependence. Others in our lives are placed there specifically to supports us through the narrow valleys, the deepest cannons or conquering the mount tops.  They too are in our lives to share the joys and the celebrations that life commands we celebrate.

 The old saying a penny for your thoughts, is full of wisdom. In the process of making the major choices for my life, I actually will pay a penny or two for expert advice. This is particularly true in providing my health and wellbeing.  Sure I like most people have a GP and she’s great at looking at my overall health care needs or writing a script when I have a chest infection, but the are times my health needs are outside her whelm or expertise and she sends me off to a specialist in that area.

I remember of time when I was consulting with a physiologist about my mobility needs and working on my general fitness, she warning me when I began sharing the goals I was setting with others I was about to be meet with a influcts of people offering advice, and suggestion.  She reminded me it was her I was paying my pennies too, not the neighbour over the back fence. Sure enough he was explaining to me the benefits of his morning power walk and invited me who was using a wheelie walker at the time to join him for his morning power walk.  You’ll be walking without that walker in no time!

A opinion he was entitle to have but I never choose to take him up on his offer.  I was forking out my money to work with the physiologist at the time, I was sticking to her plan.  I must admit to being pretty single minded once my goals are set.  I was do focused I dragged my pool coach in so I could get the two people I invited to assist with my fitness at the time on the same page.  Many workers disagreed with the choices I was making at the time despite me consulting with people who had a little more knowledge then them.

Just as I didn’t give my pennies to me physiologist for a manuscript appraisal or seek art lesions from her. I wasn’t about to take advice of a support work who was changing a specially designed pool  program for me and the areas I wanted work on simple because she had taught learn to swim, the fact that learn to swim wasn’t my goal at the time seemed to escape her. I don’t choose to go to the vet if I can’t get an appointment with my doctor.  If I am forking out my pennies I figure I should follow the advice being offered and that’s my choice.

However our human nature is to put our two cents in whether’s its asked for or not!  All of us think we have advice and guidance to others. The very fact that I write this blog is testimony that I too have my two cents too have to others. I need to confess there are times, many times I offer my two cents, when I am perhaps not qualified to do so. Just as there are times I don’t follow my doctors advice especial when she said to get some rest. Not all my pennies are wisely spent.

When I was choosing the topic for today’s blog post I was actually really excited, because I often don’t have a lot of interaction with my readers and wonder at times if my carefully chosen words other wise known as my personal two cents worth. After all what I am sharing here are not merely the facts but my opinions based on my experiences. Not everything I am sharing will directly be applicable to your life.  We are all individuals and what works for me not fit for you and your lifestyle.

As I was saying we all like to put our opinions forward but ever now and then we over step the mark and become over zealous with our words of wisdom. At times we are so blind sided that we become so full of hot air the we are not only given someone advice but without realising we takeover taking away another person’s right to choice because what we believe fact. 

Some people think I am wasting my time in writing thus series on choice, Debbie some people are just never going to get it and if you keep letting them into your home there just going to keep walking all over you.  Of course their right, as I shared on Wednesday we  all know people who seem to have all the answers.  They don’t get how intrusive the actions are even though in the main the intentions are well meaning.

However every now and then the penny does drop and a person realises then been try to buy us with far more than a two cents we generally allow people to invest in our lives. Yesterday someone significant in my life realised she was wanting two dollars worth of in put. She had based her opinions of what was needed on her own values and how she view things based on her own needs. One size does not fit all and my neighbour as a larger lady would be the first to admit that.

She being the caring soul that she said had set about to correcting my lack of privacy because my kitchen curtains were to short. People could see in and she perceived I was a risk and was about to jump in feet first to rescue me. I am after al a young single lady with a disability living on my own. Surely it was a fact that short kitchen windows put me in danger.

It wasn’t until I sheepishly confessed I was worried I might not like her choice in curtains, that she offered to take me shopping to pick them out that after some more fishing she exclaimed, Dear it’s your house and your choice I sense you are happy with what you have. (for me the issue was being able to see out.  As a result of this choice I don’t walk around my house with nothing on).

When the penny dropped my poor neighbour was horrified the she like some many people was prepared to waltz into my home and take over.  I know it not an excuse Debbie but I care so very much for you. I nodded as I knew her heart was a care heart and I reassured her, there be plenty of other ways she can help me in the meantime come down for coffee and check some of my latest artwork.

My neighbour was the last person I expected to let her pennies drop into the piggy bank.  She is not one to hold back with her opinions, advice and lectures. So I am beaming with excitement to know every now and then for someone the penny will drop.  Making this exercise worth it! 

A Question of Ownership

The term ownership denotes a sense of ‘rights’ to an object of value or artistic creation or intellectual property.  Ownership may imply that something can be brought, borrowed, rented or sold, such as a home.

If we purchase a home this gives us legal rights to the property under council laws. However went a person chooses to rent their home to another person for a transaction of more, the tenant although living in the house, does not have the same rights as the owner who remains the title owner of the property.

Usually, this means, unless otherwise agreed to the tenant can not make structural changes to the dwellings the do not have own.  They are not free to tear up the carpet and polish the floor boards and the certain aren’t entitled to knock out a wall to make a bigger room.

However, a rental agreement does give a tenant some room to make the spare reflect who they are as a person or couple or a family. During the term of the rental agreement it is usual that the house or apartment is decorated with the tenant’s furniture and personal belongings. When they sign the lease, they are free to come and go from the property.  They are able to be absence from the property for a period of time to take a holiday, as long as they pay the rent. In others words the daily life function pretty much like someone who owns their own home.

Except the tenant is legally not entitled to sell or sub rent the house.  Common law prevents the tenant form doing this and protects the ownership legal rights of the title holder of the home.

While I was growing up, my grandparents owner a caravan which for a time they called ‘home’. This is a different type of ‘ownership’ because like a snail then could take their home with them where ever the travelled. While they owned their own home, then didn’t own the land on which they parked the caravan on.  They we free to do whatever they wanted to the own home, they choose to sell it and buy a bigger home, with its own bathroom.  We kids liked that choice because we didn’t have to walk to the toilet block when our family visit and usually trod all over granddads garden.

They could renovate and paint the van any colour they wanted and I remember a few different annexes the owned during the years the rented the tiny little patch of land on which to park the caravan on. So while they owned and could do what they liked with their home, they were also tenants of the caravan park and under their rental agreement there were ‘conditions’ of that rental agreement. 

They couldn’t park their van wherever they liked in the park.  Even how and where the parked their van on the allotment was determined by the lease. Some of the conditions I remember well as they affected me!  Visitors were not allowed to park their cars inside the caravan park and my ‘nan’ and ‘pop’ seemed to live a very long way from the front gate.

The other condition that often seemed to affect us was ‘noise level’ and respecting that unlike my other set of grand parents, my dad’s parents didn’t have a big mulberry tree to climb and swing from like Tarzan nor did the have a backyard that held a full size cricket pitch. Although somehow we still managed to find enough room to play cricket. I remember mum and dad standing guard to catch any stray ‘sixers’ and then you knew you were definitely out and some times needed to sit in the naughty corner.,  Very often the crime was our voices were too loud and were often caught by the owner of the caravan park and asked to leave the swimming pool area. It was either that or for bomb driving. Both were conditions of using the caravan park pool area and well this guy knew who we were. My grandparents had lived their long enough by the time I reached adolesces.

So you see with different types of residences come different laws, bylaws and conditions. The law of common property and council bylaws prevent us from doing whatever we feel doing whenever we like.  Living in the suburbs prevent us from having street parties in the middle of the week until 3 am in the morning.

Of course we do have a choice over whether we wish to consent and obey, the council by-laws and or the terms and conditions of our rental agreements, however if we choose to not be considerate to our neighbours or punch holds in the walls of the house we are renting then we pay the conquences. We either have to pay for the damage we cause or pay the fine as a result of braking common laws, which protects property owners and the other residents around us.

At my last rental property we had a common agreement, like the residents car parking only agreement at the Palm Beach Caravan Park where my grandparents lived. The trouble is common agreements can not be enforce like leases, tenancy rules, by-laws and common law.  The can only be neorgated between the parties involved in the common agreement and the individual tenants become liable for the behaviour of their visitors. When I visitor decides not to comply with the TENANTS CAR PARKING sign as they drive in the front gate then the tenant they are visiting is responsible to as their visitors to move their cars.

Which under the common agreement I had with my fellow tenants at the time on many occasion I should have requested many of friend and family member to move their car. I felt helpless as my visitor chose to take ‘ownership’ over my unit.  Claiming despite my common agreement with my fellow tenants, I had a right to a car park and because I don’t own a car, they had the right to park in ‘my’ car park, which I didn’t even own.

The trouble is even when we don’t have ownership over a property, lease, objective or even intellectual property, we still have this built-in innate feeling of entitlement.  This is claiming the same rights to a property or object as it owner.  ‘Debbie has no car, so I will use her entitlement on her behalf and see there’s no harm done’. 

The trouble comes when feelings of entitlement are not based on fact and unlike titles themselves no ownership rights exist, but under a common agreement we have no power to force anyone to move their car.  It is perfectly legal for a visitor to park in a private residential common car park.  Their choice to do so has not broken any law and we legally can’t have their car towed away, tempting as it was at times.

Inappropriate claims of entitlement or ownership although the may be perfectly legal have conqunences often for the person they are claiming ownership for or even at times ownership of another person.  We have all herd of marriage where the husband assumes ownership of his wife and the wife’s freedom and often her body is abused.

The laws, leases, ownership and common agreements I have been at pains to explain are all examples of boundaries.  Boundaries are the things that keep us safe physical, emotional and financially. 

Just as property owners may chose to keep the houses safe with fences, security doors and alarm systems, rental agreements, by-laws and common laws and even common agreement  are designed to kept residents safe.

There is no use having an emergency evacuation plan for my unit complex if there is no common agreement if not all of the tenants to follow the plan.  If everyone meets at the  meeting point except for Harry, who decides to go to the road front, despite the common agreement, we many assume because Joe heard Harry’s TV going just before the fire started, the Harry is trapped in the burning building.  Just because common agreements are not legally binding doesn’t mean the results of keeping to the agreement aren’t devastating.

For every choice we make has consequences, so too do our personal choices not to respect the common agreements between two or more people.  However not all boundaries are that clearly defined, many personal boundaries remain invisible, unwritten, uncommunicated and only reveal when the boundaries have been cross. And has we have seen when ownership issues are confused and common agreements are challenged or ignored then the probability, that people can be emotionally, physically or financially hurt or abused runs high.

For me the greatest damage to ownership is either a direct challenge to that ownership or someone assuming entitlements that are not owned or belonging to them.  When challenges to ownership and rights of ownership are many, then our natural boundaries for defence are compromised.

Sooner or later one too many planks are stolen from the fence and it leaves our homes as defencless as a tent with out a padlock. Only so many railings and posts can keep our invisible defences together, before we are harmed.

I feel hurt many times when inappropriate ownership is taken many and family, friends and support workers wrongly use entitlements that are mine and mine only.

One of the things that blurs the boundaries of ownership or sense of entitlement is feelings of familiarity. A sense or an illusion that a friend, family member or support worker is in a environment where they feel ‘at home in’!

Let me give you an example of how I imagine this might happen.  During my 10 to 15 year battle with the Queensland Disability Services Department a number of friends helped and assisted with daily living activities, which I struggle with as my mobility and ability to do things decreased. Over the years my wonderful friends and family members have assisted me with transport, cooking means, shopping, moving house, washing, cleaning and much more. In a very real sense I owe my continued independence to these friends and family members if it wasn’t for their love and support, I would never been able to achieve so many of my dreams.

My friends have always been very liberal with their time and resources. As a person with a disability I know how truly bless to enjoy so many quality friendships. In the disable community the gift of friendship is a rare treasure and many support workers are surprised I have friends without disabilities as if I live in a ‘closed community’ to which only they are pilivage to enter.  Again this denotes some type of entitlement on their behalf.

I have one dear friend who has faithfully support me every Monday over the last 10 to 15 years. She has assisted me with anything from a cup of tea on days when I not feeling well, to transporting me to medical appointments, doing my weekly shopping, advocating on my behalf with service providers, basic cleaning and meal prep.

As you can imagine over that length of time, my friend has become very familiar with my increasing needs and home.  My friend knows better than anyone else where things belong or should I say where things should belong.  Many weeks I am thank you my friend putting my kitchen back together, only to have it rearranged by the time she arrives back the next week.  I often joke with her, don’t ask me where the greater is I just live her and obliviously someone has found a more suitable home for it.’

For my friend now in her eighties who grew up in an era where ‘everything had a place, and it should go back in its place immediate after use.’  If you were to visit my home you would get a fair indication of how much I rebel against that rule.

If the washing up is only done once a day and my bed only gets made when the sheets are wash, then these never even rate on my annoyance levels. My battle is the bathroom and making sure the bins are emptied.  You know all those little jobs that need to be done that no one likes to do like cleaning the toilet, sadly at times I resolve myself to doing these tasks.

So the fact that my table cloth in not sitting quite right on the table escape me.  Little does she know it’s only on for 2 days per week.  As you my readers know most of the week the table is covered in art supplies.

In the main it is particular friend is respectful and knows better than anyone else the frustrations I have with having up to eight different support workers invade my home each week, each with their own little twist on how they like to worker and exactly what their job description entails.

So its easily to understand how my friend can have a slip of the tongue and refer to my new set of mugs ‘as her pretty cups’.  I just cringe at the thought of the day I have to tell her, I dropped or knock one of the cups on to the floor and it didn’t bounce.  To my friend I think these cups of mine are prized treasured, almost like her great grandchildren.  I must admit to myself when I discovered them in a small country town gift shop they felt like prized treasures and I too enjoy the warmth as I drink my morning cup of coffee.

While I have a sense of appreciation of my eighty year old friend’s familiarity in my home, this is not so true of my support workers, particularly the ones that have worked with me for under 12 months. The other day I shared with you the example of my worker who enjoys a cup of coffee with me.  While than is not usual and most of my workers take time to chat and catch up on my week over a cup of coffee its her approach that gets underneath my skin.

This worker has become so familiar in my home after a relatively short time, the she walks into my kitchen puts her handbag down and pops the kettle on.  The thought to check it I want a cup of coffee is almost secondary as she commences to take 2 cups down. To me this is a sense of entitlement she has developed when she works in my home.  As if someone who works in an office building might commence their working day by making a cup of coffee.  It’s just a ritual in her day, that she probably hasn’t even given though to home she treats my home and how rude I feel this action is.  Because no I don’t always feel like a cup of coffee or tea when she arrives, one of the neighbours might of just popped down or for some reason I didn’t feel like waiting for her to arrive.

Some of my workers find it difficult that unlike many of their clients my day and the choices I make don’t revolved around their arrival. My life does suddenly start because their arrived to save the day.

I like to amuse myself with the thought if the workers are taking the liberty of claiming entitlements in my home if it would be share to ask them to pay a share of the rent for the rights the seem to have.

My hunch is that they be horrified by such a request, so I guess I’d better stick to paying the household bills   

Is the sky blue?

Of course well all have people is our lives who are opinionated and love an argument for argument sake. I believes there are times when I am being supported by a support and the lack of respect for client choice has to nothing do with me having a disability or even  me!  The support worker may choose to have the very same argument with their own mother.  Sometimes even the topic of discussion is irreverent and we may be arguing over the ‘sky being blue’.

Roses are red!

Violates are blue!

Sugar is sweet!

And so are you!

Fact or fiction- it is true that some roses are red! But these are in the minority.  If I have a red rose in my hand then you could argue that that ‘rose is red’, but if was stand holding a blue rose blue rose in my hand . . . then reciting these very famous lines, may sound like fiction.

The types of workers will stand asking for justification for a choice I make and even when I deliver a reasonable defence for my choice they will continue to argue the point, just to be right and almost like score points.

I wonder if these people see life as so black and white they would argue that the sky is blue.  Debbie, I simply stating a fact that the sky is blue and on that particular day the sky might reflect a picture card blue sky, like just as I am standing and holding at red rose.  At that time the person may simply be stating a fact.

But to play devil’s advocate I going to argue the statement that the sky is blue is an opinion. The blue colour we can both see at the moment in time is a reflection as a result of weather condition. The sky actually appears many different colours, depending on the weather and time of day.  It may appear grey or even green is there’s a storm on the horizon, and the a whole mirror of different colours at sunrise and sunset. 

Yet for some reason there are people who would want to argue over whether or not the sky is blue.  Being a phalmatic person at the end of the day argument  the worker will get one of two reactions whatever (like real at the end  of the day who cares!) or I will blow a raspberry. Depending if I am in a childish or adolesces like mood.

To me some battles like arguing the appearance of colour of the sky is a mere reflection of atmospheric conditions is  not worth picking a fight over.  Been there! Done that! . . . And decided it’s a waste of energy and support time.

Like the time I was in Crazy Clarks (one of those $2 shops) I found myself needing to justify to my support worker a $2 purchase as if it was a major purchase in my life and the defence I presented was deemed weak.  Needless to say we never had that type of argument or any argument again.  I made the purchase or one pink folder and one purple folder and left at the end the day if I was even being challenged by a worker over the right to buy 2 purple folders valued at $2 each. That support worker was never going to understand client choice and I asked for the worker to be removed from my roster. Some people will argue of every little thing.  Whatever . . . I haven’t got that time to waste when I have 4 hrs support per week.

The commanding officer doesn’t choose to fight diversion, unless of course the form part of his battle plans. Arguing over the colour of folder on that day was not as import of the taste and the aroma a purchase of a coffee was about to bring.  The colour of the folder was an unnecessary diversion in my day.

On that note I am yet to find a support worker who has argued with me over a request to stop and have a coffee, often rather choosing to indulge in a coffee with me. Which is a good thing, when you choose to be a coffee addict.

Just do me a favour next time you feel like arguing over the colour of the sky or a folder let me know so I can go hide out in a coffee shop instead!

Lifestyle Chocolates

Choosing your chocolate

Lifestyle choices and the big 3!

Diet, exercise (movement) and lifestyle balance

There are times in our lives when making choices requires a real balancing act.  This is certainly true is my major lifestyles choices relating to my health and wellbeing.  Areas around diet, exercise and lifestyle balances.  We all are forced to make choices in these areas I guess some of us are more deliberately in making those choices.

Like all choices what we eat, when we eat, and how we eat has conquences,  whether we choose to eat randomly what we feel like eating when we feel like eating or we chose to follow the latest fad diet.  “we are in the main what we eat and how much we eat of it.”

As a person living with major mobility challenges, what I choose to eat is central to my overall wellbeing.  In addition to my challenges with mobility and how those change as I age, I have a number of other chronic health issues to consider when deciding what my weekly food intake might look like.

Like many people approaching middle age my weight has become an issue and the battle of the bugle in earnest.  It just the size or appearance of the bugle that differs for each of us. So for me I have decided the appearance of my bugle, at my age, for me weight give my ongoing mobility issues and associated impact on my health is ‘of concern’.  Others in my position may not share this concern, but I have chosen it to be an issue.

Just as I shared a few days a go someone else around my age might chose to go to the gym everyday before or after work, in the main controlling my food intake is how I tackle my weight use.  For me this isn’t a magic number when I stand on the scales, but my waste line.  Exactly hard are my jeans becoming to do up in the morning.  Of course I could choose to keep buying a larger size.  However for every centimetre my wrist line grows the harder it is to tie-up my shoes,  (yes! Although it is a struggle it is still important to me). Walking, transferring and getting in and go out the car.

Even though I can still walk due to fatigue and pain levels in the main I choose to use my electric power wheelchair while carrying out my daily lifestyle activities. Although many disagree with my choice to use my chair at home, I believe the energy I save allows my to continue to live independently and work form home.

Just as some don’t agree with my mobility choice many can not understand my choice to work and interact in the community despite the many challenges my disability bring to my daily life.  My choices to choose to use a wheelchair even though with difficulty I can still walk, like any lifestyle choice comes with some risks and high emotional costs. 

A daily struggle is to find a balance in my activity level and many days, due to fatigue, pain levels and allergies I seem to get it wrong.  While I struggle to balance out my lifestyle and the activities Associated with those choice life never seems to pan out the way we planned or hope.

In achieving my lifestyle balance I choose to make deliberate choices to ‘move’  rather than a exercise routine such as going to the gym. My ‘movement’ philopchies may be the equalivant of someone without a disability choosing to take the stairs instead of the lift. So choosing tie my own shoe laces rather than asking my support worker is a deliberate choice in movement, umm! Now to convince them to let me dress myself.  That is not their job to dress me, but enable me to live an independent lifestyle.  Oh that would be dependant on them reading my individualised support plan wouldn’t it?

In the same way I can my TV channel the old fashion way.  Without the remote control that some people seem to have glued to there hands.  An able body person my chose a deliberate movement plan by making 10 000 steps a day.  I do not subscribe to any one size fits all approach to anything involving a healthily lifestyle balance. As we are all individuals we need to choose or not choose the right lifestyle choices for ourselves. Someone choosing only to eat Macers still involves choices, even though for most of us it seems to be a lazy choice.

In the same way to use my wheelchair at home will seem a lazy choice. In making my choice I am aware that that will result in muscle waste.  While you can see the impact on my arms and legs you can not see its impact on my heart, lung and bowel. The health of these organs more import to me than continuing to walk is pain.  To exercise these muscles I have a specialized program.  But because I not out power walking the streets at 5 am in the morning  some people will view me as lazy and that’s their choice too make.

To counteract my choice to mobilized in my wheelchair a diet high in fibre and low in fat is important to me.  So you won’t find to many packet of biscuit or cakes being baked in my house.  The chocolates I choose are full of Spanish, carrots, celery, bananas, and strawberry centres and probable made on carrtoine rather than coca. Just don’t deny me my cup of coffee!

So my guess is when you open the chocolate box your selections will look very differ to mine.  I just glad these lots of options in the box to chose from

   

On Second thought

Honestly I didn’t mean to sound rude,

There seems be many people telling me what to do,

Only one Indianan with so many chiefs,

The sudden invasion is wearing me beyond belief.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate you help,

For I know that there’s many things I can’t do myself,

It’s not really the fact you’re touching my things,

Rather the method and madness your help brings.

It’s lack of respect that you often show,

As you tidy my table and put away my dough,

The way you toss things about show you don’t care,

That hurts my feelings and causes despair.

They may look like simply only pencils to you,

And old Crayons with some chalk in there too,

But as you standing there tossing them in a box,

There usefulness and value are about to be lost.

You see these are the tools of my trade,

Each pencil has a place where in needs to be laid,

The don’t take kindly to being just toss about,

There life is soon shorten with each shattering  bounce.

Just as oils aren’t oils, my pastels are just pastels,

They now come in pencils, oils and chalks,

Though they many look at like they don’t get along,

My oil pastels cause my chalks pastels to decay.

The pictures you stack are ooee and gluey

And once they are set you’ve created a glue,

I hust look with them with a tear in my eye,

Hours of work I place in the bin to say good bye.

So I mean no disrespect for your help you see,

My requests come both with rhyme and reason,  

When  you act in such disrespectful ways,

Sometimes don’t touch is easier to say.

My life as a artist may seem different to yours,

I don’t quite understand the distress my mess seems to cause,

Nor your insistence my house should look like yours,

So I ask as you touch my artwork be aware the damage you could cause.

Debbie Chilton © Copyright 2013

House Rules By Choice!

A little bit of a change in pace today, as I continue to write about the many lifestyle choices, I try to make in my life if it wasn't for the daily space invades.

Last night one of my support workers attended this first performance poetry competition "Page to Stage!" of the Ipswich Poetry Feast.  My support worker has had little contact with this side of Ipswich's culture, despite many times being a captive audience of my poetry scribbles. As usual I come away inspired to put my poet's fingers to the keys on my computer keyboard only this time my support workers got in on the act! So here's what we have to say to other invades of my home.

House Rules

I know house rules suck,

But we’re talking about stuff!

My house, my way,

So I ask don’t touch,

In my house this means you!

Maybe I should hang a sign,

Creative genus at work,

Pencils the lie every which way,

But I ask you not to touch,

In my house this means you!

Sketches lie here and there,

Often with no floor to spare,

Yeah, some lying incomplete,

 But I ask you not to touch,

In my house this means you!

Oil pastels that roll onto the floor,

My eyes seem to miss,

Becoming taped under my wheels,

But I ask you not to touch,

In my house this means you!

My paint table often wobbles,

Paint pallets fly into the air,

Then goes splat on the floor,

But I ask you not to touch,

In my house this means you!

Then there’s my note pads,

With lines of unfinished poems,

And lose pages that fall out,

But I ask you not to touch,

In my house this means you!

Not all my sketches are on pictures,

Many are character traits of

Characters that live in my head.

These pages you must not touch.

In my house this means you!

Which brings me to my offices

And the stack of half written manuscripts,

That sit on my desk and spill onto the floor,

These pages you must not touch.

In my house this means you!

Didn’t know about these house rules?

That hang on my wall for you to read,

Do not enter my office,

Lots of things I don’t want you to touch,

In my house this means you!

Documents that are confidential,

Not to be read by your preying eyes,

Please keep out of office,

Lots of things I don’t want you to touch,

In my house this means you!

Let me see have we talked about my kitchen,

You seem often to want to rearrange,

There are many things I can’t fine,

Lots of things I don’t want you to touch,

In my house this means you!

You may not like my kitchen design

But it was created with only me in mind,

Why must my mugs be grouped?

Lots of things I don’t want you to touch,

In my house this means you!

Look I have this thing about my pantry,

I like to see a certain way so glass jars don’t break,

Please don’t place them at the front,

Things in the pantry don’t touch,

In my house this means you!

Yeah, I get to you my rules are a pain,

But these are my rules all the same,

Its my house, my way,

So I ask don’t touch,

In my house this means you!

Debbie Chilton and Shannon Jones, © Copyright, 2013.

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