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Attitudes Podcast
[About Disability]
1 Season 6 Episodes
The Attitudes podcast is the brainchild of Attitude Foundation, in collaboration with Northcott to bring life and depth to conversations and topics about disability. Former Attitude Foundation CEO and disability advocate, Angel Dixon OAM is joined by guests to unpack personal and societal attitudes towards disability, their impact on people with disability and how to move closer to inclusion.
Using statistics uncovered in the 2021 national survey into community attitudes towards disability, the series complements the numbers with first-hand stories.
Angel’s guests include:
- Screenwriter, actor and producer Emily Dash
- Self-labelled ‘political nerd’ Todd Winther
- Filmmaker Johanna Garvin; and
- Singer/songwriter and Chief Innovation Officer Emma Bennison.
From addressing the survey finding that 78% of respondents agreed people are unsure how to act around people with disability, to exploring why 61% of respondents agreed people often make fun of disability, Angel and her guests present a balanced, honest, sometimes funny and shocking discussion on feelings and behaviours not often talked about.
“I think most people [with disability] are open to people who can see that you are trying to muddle through things, because we're all just muddling through life, right? No one gets it right all the time.” – Emily Dash
Whether you are a person with or without disability these candid conversations will broaden your understanding of disability.
Episode 1: 78% of survey respondents agreed that people are unsure how to act around people with disability.
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“Life is like eating an ice cream, it's often difficult, sometimes messy but always enjoyable if you know where to find the sweetness in it.” - Emily Dash
This quote from Emily Dash, writer, actor and producer, sums up exactly the feeling you'll get from listening to Episode 1 of the Attitudes podcast! There are some difficult conversations mixed in with beautiful stories. Speaking with presenter, Angel Dixon, Emily openly shares what it's like to be on the receiving end of interactions where people are unsure how to treat her or lack understanding about how to be respectful towards people with disability. From personal experiences of less-than-ideal interactions to having to prove her professional talents, Emily is not short on stories where others haven't known how to act around her or other people with disability.
Episode 2: 61% of people agreed that people make fun of people with disability - Part 1
“I've been blind since birth and I've always experienced this. This was not a surprise to me at all, that this was rated highly…The reality is that kids are cruel, and I did definitely get my share of teasing and bullying and those sorts of behaviours. I did learn very early on to reframe those behaviours and recognise that actually they weren't really about me. They are a fear-based response. People are fearful of difference.” - Emma Bennison
In this episode, Angel talks with Emma Bennison, disability advocate and Board Member of Attitude Foundation, who is no stranger to being on the receiving end of teasing or mockery. On the day she was invited to participate in the Attitudes podcast, Emma's 16-year-old daughter came home from school with a story about how she was teased for having parents who were blind. Emma didn't need to think twice about choosing this topic. In their chat, Angel and Emma delve into why they think people make fun of those with disability and how people with disability can respond in those situations.
Episode 3: 61% of people agreed that people make fun of people with disability - Part 2
“If there was one takeaway that I'd like people to get from this conversation, it's that as non-disabled people, the best thing you can do is learn to be a good ally and to not always assume that a person with disability is going to be in a position to do that self-advocacy.” - Emma Bennison
In this second part of Angel's conversation with Emma Bennison, the pair delve into the importance of truth telling within the disability community, the role of the Royal Commission and how it's not just non-disabled people who make fun of disability. Angel and Emma also talk about the importance of advocacy by supporters, self-advocacy and disability leadership, covering their ideas about what needs to be done to change the notion that it's okay to make fun of disability and people with disability.
Episode 4: 63% agreed that people with disability are easy to take advantage of or exploit.
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“Disability isn't about the fact that I can't walk. Disability is about the lack of choice I have in my life… and that's my passion in all reasonable efforts, why I became a political animal because I acknowledged that as a person with a disability, I didn't have access to rights.” - Todd Winther
In this episode, Angel is joined by Todd Winther, a political scientist and self-confessed ‘political nerd' interested in political leadership, party politics and disability policy. Todd chose to discuss the statistic: 63% of respondents agree that people with disability are easy to take advantage of or exploit.
The pair chatted just a few weeks after the Final Report on the Disability Royal Commission was released and discuss in detail some of the reasons why people with disability are exploited including the importance of knowing one's rights and holding power. From discussing the Disability Royal Commission and rights for people with disability through to quoting Hamilton the musical and covering how to advocate for yourself as a person with disability, this is a rollercoaster episode of stories and tips to empower people with and without disability alike.
Episode 5: 22% agreed that people with disability have less to look forward to than others - Part 1
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“Living with a disability isn't a tragedy, it's just another way of being and, you know, we are people too with emotions and big lives.” - Johanna Garvin
In episode 5, Attitude Foundation Board Member and filmmaker, Johanna Garvin joins Angel to talk about why 22% of survey respondents agreed that people with disability have less to look forward to than others and how wrong that notion is.
As somebody who has travelled to all seven continents studied abroad, and worked on films including Penguin Bloom, Johanna has had opportunities and achieved things many people only dream about. While she's grateful, Johanna talks with Angel about why it is difficult to reconcile her hard work and the opportunities she knows she's been granted because of disability. In their conversation, Johanna shares what she has achieved in her life and points out that people with disability can live lives of their choosing.
Episode 6: 22% agreed that people with disability have less to look forward to than others - Part 2
“I'm fortunate that I know so many people with disability who are incredibly successful with kids, and who are living great lives and making huge amounts of money. [They are] just doing what they want to do and continually building on their lives.” - Johanna Garvin
In the second part of Angel's chat with Johanna Garvin about the common attitude that people with disability have less to look forward to than others, the pair talk about the expectations of a person's life trajectory and what it takes to achieve goals as a person with disability.
The pair delve into the perception that people with disability can't achieve what society perceives as key milestones in life and why that is untrue.
They also toss around ideas for tackling the issue of quotas for the number of people with disability in film crews and cast and offer ways individuals with disability and allies can drive change and greater inclusion.