Equipped for life - a very private public issue - policy and equipment in the lives of children and families
Lynne Dowling
University of Newcastle
Contact Email:   SallyRpwd.org.au

This paper examines the stories of a small group of families whose social inclusion depends on accessing appropriate and enabling equipment. As well as being a vital link to accessing the world, equipment can support the body, prevent degeneration, and provide comfort, pain relief and safety for children. The developmental, maturation, and sudden and rapid growth patterns of children combine with changing, often critical, medical conditions to create a particular urgency about children’s need for equipment.

Yet some children and their families may spend long periods doing without prescribed equipment and find themselves caught up in a complex tangle of government and charitable support. These families' voices are rarely heard. Yet their stories reveal the immense personal impact of current equipment policy in their lives. Their stories make a compelling argument for why current equipment policy should be improved, and they offer valuable insights into how this can be done.

This paper is based on data gathered as part of a doctoral research project at the University of Newcastle

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