Pat’s Story
My previous accommodation was nothing like my new Ability SDA Apartment; I never really felt comfortable having people over before now.
As a parent, I’ve always tried my best to give my child every opportunity to live a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life. That’s not always an easy thing to do when you’re ashamed to have people over to where you live.
I have a gorgeous toddler who means the world to me. I also have a lovely cat who lives with me and is super affectionate… – even while I’m trying to run my AT/computer business from home. Anyone who knows me knows I love online gaming and anything ‘techy.’ Where I used to live, I didn’t have a dedicated home automation system and general accessibility was really challenging—not to mention annoying—for someone like me who knows exactly what an impact technology can have on your life.
Like just about everyone else in the world, I hate moving. This time, however, even though I still had to pack, move, and unpack, moving into my Ability Apartment felt different because I was properly supported through the process. The Ability SDA team supported us in the lead up to the move by sending the information we needed to get organised. I knew that if I had any real issues or concerns, I would have help from my family readily available to me and the process of moving was quite simple this time around as I had such a great team on hand.
My Ability Apartment feels like my home. I’ve never experienced that before. Living here has given me the independence to live my own life with proper support. Having Assistive Technology integrated into the apartment allows me to do more things for myself; I love that it’s set up to be totally accessible. This kind of technology is a great way to empower people with disabilities. Once you have everything correctly set up and all the systems are working reliably for you, they completely change the way you live and make your daily activities so much easier, simpler, and actually enjoyable!
I finally feel like I live in a nice environment. My family and friends all love my apartment and constantly joke about wanting to steal it from me! Often they’ll tell me how glad they are that I finally live in a nice place like I deserve. The way I see it, all people deserve this… but especially people living with disabilities because their living options are rarely as nice as this apartment and that’s just not right. I’m so proud of where I live now; I regularly have get-togethers with friends and family and I love entertaining in the outdoor areas. My mental health and general enjoyment of life have significantly improved since moving here.
I would definitely recommend that others in a similar position to mine apply for SDA approval. I’ve always felt supported by Ability SDA; even though I moved in the middle of the pandemic, everything was smooth sailing and I’ve felt really safe and well-cared-for here. I also feel I have way more control over my choices and decisions now.
