Cérge

Going into Aquarena, I was a little nervous how it would be perceived me going in to look at the facilities as a support worker trying to see if it was suitable for clients to potentially use. I notified of my intent to come roughly 30 minutes out and received acknowledgement from Aquarena, notified them of my arrival and while waiting while the person who was being served was done, the manager came out to ensure the staff knew to prioritise what was needed by the person who’d sent through from the app. ? The manager walked me around the venue himself showing all of what they have to offer, including some of the best disabled change rooms I’ve seen. On noting their pool chairs wouldn’t be suitable for the client I had in mind, the manager was open to potentially purchasing a suitable pool chair in their future budget that he’s working on, and happy to put practices in place at their cafe and anywhere else necessary to account for if the client was to come in by them-self in their wheelchair or want to complete a transaction them-self where the counters are too high.  Overall, a fantastic experience and a venue I will highly recommend to those looking for a hydrotherapy venue.  This app would be great for a range of people with all sorts of disabilities, especially invisible disabilities and parents. By Frankie – Support Worker

We are teaming up with a new initiative, Cèrge. Cèrge is a communication platform created to help people with disability connect with local businesses in their community. It allows organisations to provide personalised services to customers with disability with the aim of reducing the fear, anxiety and discrimination individuals with disability go through as customers. Through the Cèrge app, the customer can notify participating businesses that they will be arriving, giving staff awareness of what the customer may need while in the store.Today our customer visited the Swan Hill Leisure Centre to have a shot of basketball with his support worker. He was able to communicate through the app notifying the leisure centre of when he would be arriving and what he was planning on doing while there. Upon arrival he was met by staff who greeted him by name creating a welcoming experience for our customer. This helped our customer feel very comfortable and he went on to enjoy a shot of basketball while there! Swan Hill Leisure Centre Cérge Cérge Community

Heidi greeted me with a huge wave as I arrived and I felt a sigh of relief leave my body. It was like I was running into an old friend.  She smiled and grabbed the medications I required.She faced me whilst talking which was my request so that I could lip read. She asked me to teach her some signs and I did, even though I’m a bit rusty myself hehe! Not everyone signs and not everyone lip reads either. I was so scared, I felt a bit raw and vulnerable walking in. I didn’t want a fuss or to feel like a bother like I have so many times before. It was a lot of trust to put into the Cérge app and I wasn’t sure it would truly help. I have to say though I am very surprised. I left Amcal Wilsonton feeling like my friend had just served me and honestly, truly cared. What a difference. It’s one of those things, I didn’t know how much I missed feeling “normal”, how much I craved just feeling like a regular customer who is heard and seen. Thank you Cérge, thank you Amcal Wilsonton, I’m telling all my friends! Incredible.

We avoid the shops like the plague as Henry (autistic) normally is overwhelmed within minutes of arriving. To be honest sometimes even before we’ve made it through the car park to get to the shop.This happened a few weeks ago when we had to leave mid shopping experience, I thought we would be ok but it was a disaster. There were boxes everywhere, the store was loud as the music was playing through the loudspeaker and Henry had had enough before we even managed to get half way through our list. We left. Again.I don’t know how many times we have had to abandon cart mid shop, mid car park or just plain avoid shopping altogether. When people say “I’ll just pop into the shop on the way home” because it’s just something they can do. I think to myself I can’t imagine that ease as that is not anything like our life.We notified them via the Cérge app an hour before arriving with our must haves - low noise and light levels if possible and plenty of space for Henry to walk, hold (swing around ) a basket and for the pram if required.Henry is autistic and has a walk which requires more space and I have a pram for him as he can tire easily. We entered the store and within minutes had a lovely woman come up to us and explain that they had received the Cérge notification and could see the must haves and if there’s anything further she could do for us to let her know. I was impressed immediately.The music was off and it was quiet with the staff members moving anything out of the way as we approached and giving us a smile, making sure we could find everything and not showing any bother about it. Do you know how good it felt to not feel judged or like we were annoying people!They also did not stare at his AFOs and spoke to him rather than ignoring him like we experience in other places. This was such an incredible and beautiful extra. Instead of “just avoid, don’t look” which I think sometimes is because people don’t know what to do and I get that. But gee it was nice to feel like a part of the community having chats whilst shopping and Henry happy.My anxiety was the lowest it’s ever been whilst shopping! Henry was getting a little overwhelmed by the end of our shop and Jodi (Manager) opened up another register for us so that we could move through faster, including the kids in the process and again asking if there was anything else we needed help finding.So good! This kind of inclusive and also intuitive experience was so amazing! It was a wonderful experience and definitely a place we will shop again! I didn’t feel the usual stress I do when Henry started showing signs of being overwhelmed (which was right at the end this time, not the start!) as I knew we had the support of the staff members and this was such an incredible feeling of comfort.Henry has already asked when we are going again!!Wow!!Wow!!Wow!!

Life with a toddler is hard, life with a toddler with a disability with limited communication and mobility requires lots of planning and organisation.   

Today I introduced my little mate Jackson to Cérge at Aquapulse (Werribee, Melbourne). Jackson has a genetic disorder called IQSEC2, this means Jackson has intellectual and gross motor delays and associated Epilepsy.    

He is currently in a wheelchair, non-verbal and has frequent seizures, including where he will drop all of a sudden and sometimes he will stop breathing for a short period of time. This can be something we are use to and also something that can be terrifying depending on the situation.    

The anxiety associated is really hard, we need things to move fast and seamlessly to make things as best as possible for us as a family. We wanted to take Jackson to the Aquatic Centre but as you can imagine going swimming and the risk of a seizure is pretty scary.    

We used Cérge to let the staff at Aquapulse know we would like to get through as quickly as possible as his seizures can mean our trips are cut short. When the staff saw us in the entry they waved us through as quickly as possible, streamlining the front access, payment and wristbands.    

Having never been to Aquapulse before we were unaware of the need to organise lockers at the front desk, when we approached a staff member near the lockers for help she immediately retrieved the wristband we needed with no need to pay (despite them usually incurring a $2 fee!) to ensure quick access for us to get Jackson in the pool.    

This made a HUGE difference. Sometimes by the time we get in and organised it can be 20mins already gone. Making this process fast for us meant he was able to enjoy some time in the toddler pool, warm pool and had an absolute ball!    

All you ever needed any as a parent or caregiver is to see that smile, you know the one where their eyes glisten as their mouth moves as wide as it can. Where you know they are in utter excitement and ecstasy in that very moment.    

Seeing him made me soooo very happy. Everything in the world stops when your know your kid is happy.   

Jackson, being a tall 3 year old, is too big for standard baby change tables located in the All Gender Disabled and baby change stalls. The All Gender showers had a long bench down one side that had more than enough room for Jackson to lay down to get changed and plenty of room left in the stall for Jackson and even enough room to turn his wheelchair around.    

This trip was an absolute success for us, and we will be back! I can’t believe things can be soooo much easier just by having a staff member a step ahead.   
   
 

Both my father and my husband have disabilities so I wanted to check out Mackay Aquatic Recreation Complex with the Cérge app to see if it could help us and make things easier. Before I visited the pool, I felt very curious about how the visit would go, as a person without a disability personally there is lots that we do not consider. With both my father and my husband having disabilities, and to put myself in their shoes was eye opening.? We used the Cérge app to let the staff know we were coming and required a tour of the facilities to see what would be suitable. After looking around the grounds, we felt comfortable and well accounted for. Staff were helpful and trained in the equipment that is offered for people with a range of disabilities.? Before I went to the location, I was optimistic. As one of the newer facilities within our community, I feel that they will be the most helpful and new facilities to cover a range of disabilities. The staff were so kind and ready to roll. They answered all questions confidently and with great understanding.? We had a wonderful experience and will definitely use Cérge in many more businesses to let them know our needs. I’m off to let dad know about Cérge and to give it a go! He will require more needs than me and I feel confident they will have him sorted!?