DIME provides a high level of service at lower rates than the NDIS price guide. Welcome to DIME, a page where you can see the activities that my participants are involved with. My name is Carmel and I have been involved with Disability Support for over 8 years in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA in Sydney, through working in various small and large organisations. My journey started when I was
working as a teacher in primary schools in NSW. I was lucky enough to gain a temporary placement of six weeks in a “special education” classroom. These children touched my heart in ways I never thought possible, and I decided then and there that this was my calling. One little boy who rarely spoke or interacted with others absolutely loved my lesson about sharks. During the lesson I read an interactive shark story where the children could touch and feel different textures within the book. This little boy went home so excited about sharks and told his mum “Mrs Whiting Sharks, Sharks, Sharks”. His mum came to me the next day and thanked me for inspiring her son. She told me she had never seen him so happy before and that he looked at sharks on the internet before going to bed that night. I then bounced around a few other jobs like Before and After School Care and Vacation Care supporting children with disabilities. I then thought I had landed on my feet at one of the larger disability organisations. This is where my focus changed from assisting children with disabilities to assisting adults with disabilities. I was able to use my vast teaching skills to develop, implement and maintain new Reading and Writing, Numeracy, Drama, Music, Karaoke, and Creative Knitting programs. I volunteered to run a social group to allow people with disabilities the opportunity to go out together to socialise on weekends. I organised different types of events like: NRL games, Club Concerts, Dinners, Bowling and Laser Tag, Gridiron Games, Karaoke nights and Museum Day Trips. I expanded my volunteering role to include organizing functions for the day options centre like Halloween dress up parties, Christmas parties, Easter Show visits, and Biggest Morning Teas. I won 1st Place in the Rewards and Recognition Program for taking two old, tired and repetitive Drama and Music programs which were showing signs of participant boredom and disengagement and replacing them with engaging and interesting interactive activities like drum playing and Drama games and warm-ups which were lots of fun. My Drama group went on to perform twice (2017 & 2018) at the Centre’s Biggest Morning Teas – The Three Little Pigs and Rupunzel, Once at the Centre’s Open Day – Little Bunny Foo Foo, and at the Blacktown Showground on the big stage for the International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD) – The Little Christmas Elf. My music group learnt to read/write their own graphic scores for percussion instruments. They also learnt to keep the beat with body and instrumental percussion. They went on to showcase their talents in a performance at the Centre’s Biggest Morning Tea event. I was awarded the Centre’s Employee of the Month Award and an award for the Most Valued Team Member in Region 3. I was also awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for going above and beyond my role and for my tireless dedication to making the Centre’s Biggest Morning Tea such a wonderful success. I eventually came to the realization that I had outgrown this organisation and decided to branch out for another smaller organisation in a management role. Unfortunately, this opportunity did not end up fitting my values and beliefs and I decided to venture into the world of self-employment. In May 2020 I registered an ABN (Australian Business Number) and became an independent disability support worker. Things started off slowly with me talking to people I knew, giving out business cards and flyers about the benefits people would gain by using my services. I slowly built a base of participants. Then I registered my business name in May 2021. Now I am known as DIME – Disability Independence Made Easy. To this day, my experience teaching and supporting people with disabilities has been a journey of empowerment. Providing individuals with the freedom, choice and independence to achieve their goals through high quality support. I started this page to give my participants a platform to showcase their talents to their families and friends. I want to give my participants and their families the incredible feeling of accomplishment that reaching their goals can bring. I am aiming to provide my participants with the life skills required to live an independent and fulfilled life. Ultimately, the goal is to help you live the best life you can regardless of your disability. Here at DIME, you will learn through individually tailored activities to fit your goals and needs, and by doing so, have a much more enjoyable and worthwhile experience learning these new skills.
