As we close in on the end of 2024, December is right around the corner. Often the month most associated with reflection and celebration, December, is also the host of one of the most important days of the year. Taking place on December 3rd every year, International Day of People with Disability is a day where we can reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate the positive change and advancements made in the areas of accessibility and inclusion.
Just like last year, 2024 has been a year packed full of progress in the accessibility and inclusion sector. And this International Day of People with Disability, we’ll be shedding a light on these various notable moments in disability and inclusion to give them the attention they deserve.
ParaMatildas become the world’s greatest
Since last year’s promising run of the Matildas in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Australia has been desperate for a win in the football sector. As it turns out, we didn’t have to wait long!
Meet the ParaMatildas, Australia’s first national team for women and girls with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and symptoms of stroke. This team of talented athletes have been bringing their talents to the world ever since 2022, participating in the first International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) World Cup and finishing very high on the table.
This year the ParaMatildas made history becoming the first-ever Australian football team to win a World Cup and secure their ranking as the Number 1 Women’s Cerebral Palsy Football team in the world.
Thanks to their tenacity, strategy, and skill the ParaMatildas went through the entire World Cup with only wins under their belt on their way to the final. A win for Australia and a win for disability and inclusion in 2024. Great job ParaMatildas!
GlassOuse – all accessible computer mouse alternative
How do people with disability without limbs or limited mobility operate their smartphones, tablet, and computers?
This is a question that has become more prominent the more widespread that technology has become in the modern world. The GlassOuse is a technological innovation serving as a hands-free mouse alternative that allows users to navigate smartphones, computers, and tablets using head movements and facial gestures.
The GlassOuse completely eliminates the need for manual hand control, hereby making modern technology far more accessible. And as of 2024 the GlassOuse can also be used to operate environmental control devices, speech generation tools and other communication aids.
This cutting-edge accessibility technology is particularly valuable for people with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and other neuromuscular disorders that affect the hand and arms. Users can click, scroll, and drag by executing specific head movements or use a bite-click button attached to the device. Thanks to GlassOuse, the online world has never been more accessible!
Paris 2024 brings everyone to the Olympics
This year 280,000 tickets for people with disabilities and wheelchair users went on sale for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 2024 games took their philosophy of “games wide open” and ran with it, announcing that everyone would be able to enjoy the Olympic and Paralympic experience to the full!
Paris 2024 offered full audio descriptions in both English and French for people with visual impairments. These descriptions covered a set number of events in the Olympic Games (athletics, football, judo, swimming, tennis, and equestrian events) and Paralympic Games (boccia, cecifoot, goalball, Para athletics, Para badminton, Para judo, Para swimming, Para table tennis, and wheelchair tennis.) This service was also available on the official Games application!
Paris 2024 provided further support for the visually impaired by using a touch-sensitive tablet that not only shows the position of the ball live (thanks to a moving magnet) but also lets them feel the intensity of the game through a vibration system. The Olympics involved 3 sports and 32 sessions: football, rugby 7s and basketball. On the Paralympic side, the tablets were available for 4 disciplines and 37 sessions: cecifoot, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball and goalball. There was also the utilisation of low vision headsets for the athletics competition and during two closing ceremonies.
But the crowning achievement in accessibility for Paris 2024 was surely Robby the Robot. The robot was a telepresence project that allowed young people with disability who were passionate about sport and who couldn’t physically take part in the Games to do so from hospital.
Two robots took part in the Games, giving eight hospitals the chance to give many disabled children a behind-the-scenes look at the Games.
Jimmy Jan looks back on turning his injury into edutainment
Jimmy Jan is a popular Aussie TikTok and Instagram influencer that blew up in popularity in 2022 due to content surrounding his severe spinal cord injury he sustained while skiing. He wasted no time in recording a bunch of educational and informative skits about his experience with his injury right from his hospital bed that got millions of views and likes across both platforms.
Jimmy’s content felt like a breath of fresh air for a lot of people with similar experiences, explaining in the comments of Jimmy’s videos that they appreciated his light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek, yet realistic depiction of his disability.
Jimmy kept his content going after he left the hospital, documenting his process of settling back into everyday life (what changed, what stayed the same, etc.)
In 2024 Jimmy has started to slow down on his content creation and is turning his focus back to med school which he was attending prior to his injury. His TikTok and Instagram accounts now stand as monuments in the disability space to normalise living with a spinal cord injury, and now that he’s starting to bookend that journey, there’s never been a better time to check out his content.
Marissa Bode makes ‘Wicked’ history in recent film adaptation
Very recently the popular Broadway production ‘Wicked’ got the first of its two-part film adaptation released to a roaring success. The story boasts a number of complex and colourful characters that got great representation in the film, one in particular being the younger sister of main character Elphaba – Nessarose. Nessarose is a wheelchair user, and the actor who plays her, Marissa Bode, has made history in her being the first actor who authentically uses a wheelchair to play the role of Nessarose.
‘Wicked’ is Bode’s film debut, and she’s explained in interviews that she’s overjoyed that she’s been able to be a part of giving authentic disability representation to a character special to her.
“Representation for authentically disabled people is already quite minimal, so to have the opportunity and make a point of it, especially in a huge project that’s beloved by so many people, that’s incredibly important, especially in terms of sending a message to other projects that it’s possible to include disabled people in your casts,” Bode passionately explained.
‘Wicked’ has been on Broadway for over 21 years, and to be able to be the first actor to authentically portray a character that meant the world to her from a young age – Bode couldn’t be happier.
Ability Fest makes its way to Brisbane
Ability Fest (Presented by Triple J, Dylan Alcott Foundation, and Untitled Group) has proudly dubbed itself Australia’s first inclusive and accessible music festival. After 5 years of it taking place in Melbourne, 2024 marked the year of its expansion into Brisbane. The idea was originally from Dylan Alcott AO and his love for music festivals. He was determined to tap into the potential of having people with disability feel accepted at festivals while also being able to let their hair down and have an incredible time.
The event boasts a range of accessible features and enables individuals of all abilities to come together in a true celebration of music.
Ability Fest made the following accessibility options possible in 2024:
- Auslan interpreters
- Accessible parking and bathrooms
- Elevated viewing platforms
- Assisting volunteers
- Assistant dog area
- Designated chill spaces and sensory zones
- Tactile sensory silent disco
Inclusivity is at the heart of the Ability Fest ethos, and thanks to the strides they make each year to accommodate for all groups to safely enjoy live music to its fullest – you can bet the event will only soar to higher heights in 2025.
Apple brings ‘clinical grade’ hearing aid feature to its second-gen AirPods
In September, Apple made an announcement regarding their AirPod Pros 2. The cutting-edge earbuds will soon gain a hearing aid function for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. This is a move that will provide an all-in-one cheaper alternative to traditional hearing aids that could change the way people get help for hearing loss.
This change, funnily enough, is going to make accessibility tools more accessible!
Instead of needing to go in to see a doctor to then get set up for and purchase traditional hearing aids, people will be able to take Apple’s five-minute hearing test in the comfort of their own home. Apple will also provide the AirPod users with access to the results of their hearing test in the health app on their phone. Within the app, they’ll be able to retake the test at any time to monitor their hearing and adjust the settings of their AirPods accordingly.
What’s on the horizon?
2024 was another great year of progression, positive change, shattering records, and making history in the disability and inclusion space. And it’s up to us to make sure that this progress doesn’t slow down any time soon!
We all have a role to play in ensuring that the world we live in is one that rewards inclusivity, acceptance, accommodation, and innovation – especially when it comes to people with disability.
This International Day of People with Disability, don’t forget to send the world the right message by celebrating the wins, whether they be the ones listed here or something you have observed in your own community, an inclusive and accessible society is beneficial to all.
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