Cérge

I’m a local Disability Support Worker. I heard about Cérge and 
wanted to see how it would work for some participants within our 
organisation. I was really keen to see if having a business know 
what the person may need before we arrive would streamline the 
process and remove any awkwardness and waiting.
I was excited to see the different venues available from cafes to 
tourist type of venues to local supermarkets. I was keen to pick an 
“everyday” type of business as I know this would help a lot of 
people if they could be independant to shop alone or with 
support but driving the experience themselves. That would be 
very impactful for them.
When I arrived Donna showed me where the toilet was located. A 
nice added extra to customer service because we all know as a 
parent someone is going to need the toilet as soon as we arrive 
somewhere.
Kate greeted me out front and showed me through the store. A 
fabulous store and so many yummy items!
I listed that I needed bread and milk. I was shown to these 
locations whilst also being shown other areas and staff who 
service those areas. It was a wonderful tour and I didn’t expect 
such amazing service. Obviously I wouldn’t need this all the time 
but for my first time and planning for possibly taking participants I 
was very happy.
I noticed how clean and spacious the store was which would be 
fabulous for my clients who have walking aids. Not to mention if 
they are immunosuppressedI was told by Kate that if I had a participant who had sensory 
issues, to put it into the app and the music and lights can be 
turned down.
What!!!
That is incredible and truly felt so inclusive! Nothing was too much 
trouble. It felt like everyone was welcome, which doesn’t always 
happen.
If I had participant in a wheelchair, i can mention in the Cérge app 
they said they can make sure aisles would not be obstructed. I’m 
so blown away :) this two way communication is world first and so 
unbelievable.
The staff at Forest Glen IGA were very helpful and informative. 
This is just fabulous for when I am pre planning a visit to anywhere 
that uses Cerge with a participant to be able to make sure their 
needs are met.

My daughter is ASD and can be so over stimulated in 
environments like this.
Oh wow, they could help us.
I would be able to share the Visual Story to prepare her and then 
use the app to let staff know how we were travelling.

Funny how as parents we just trudge along doing everything and 
sometimes don’t ever consider how life could be a bit easier.
If I could shop with my daughter with some back up angels that 
changes my life!
Wow.
YES!

I wear two hats as I am the dad of a son (28 years old) who is quadriplegic, with Cerebral Palsy and I’ve been his carer for most of his life until NDIS came along. My son Christoper is an incredible human and is volunteering as the Qld Air Museum Video Production Manager. He uses a head switch and eye-tracking to control his devices and edit videos, operate cameras and fly drones. He is also my very own personal tech support! Haha
Being his dad and carer has taught me a lot over the years. My second hat is that of being the President of the Queensland Air Museum. I am one of over 140 active volunteers. 

You see our volunteers want to be able to provide a welcome and good service to anyone and everyone who visits us. We want to be as accessible and inclusive as possible and we want everyone to enjoy our amazing venue and we hope that shines through when you visit. 
We want people to feel as though we are interested in treating them as a person and not as a disability. Everyone comes to enjoy history and planes and that’s a passion we can all share together.

The Cérge website is brilliant and it’s started us on such a good path. We now have a button front and centre on our website - a wheelchair icon as it’s the universal symbol for disability, even though we know not all disability means a wheelchair. We have a lot of information now to share with every customer before they even arrive so they can check us out before they travel to visit us: Access guides, Visual Story, Virtual Tour, Keyword Sign Board, Audio Guide 

It is so brilliant that people can see it so easily and from the safety of their home where they can plan their outings. They can even use the measuring tool in the virtual tour to measure heights. It’s very cool!

Cérge has been the talk of the town here and has started us with a bunch of new projects and plans. We now have one of our volunteers who has taken on the role of developing an Access and Inclusion plan. 
Obviously infrastructure is always one to improve on. I’m working on a way to assist people with mobility challenges to access cockpit of an aircraft.

Alongside this we are also currently launching a major infrastructure development that is very exciting, it will take time but we have lots of things on the go to deliver the best access and inclusion possible. 
We are very excited to have Cérge showcasing our air museum which we just love. Opening up and seeing all of the photos and the virtual tour just speaks volumes to our visitors and visitors to be! Not to mention the whole community who sees our business caring about each person as best we can. 

My role as president is to influence the culture of our organisation as well as the infrastructure and we are always trying to improve!
See you soon for a tour of all the amazing planes and many displays!

Sequels are rarely as good as the originals, but that was not true today...

I hadn’t been in a pool in over 40 years and now I’ve been twice in two weeks. This is nothing short of a miracle. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enjoy swimming. Ever.

I have an extreme fear of water, epilepsy, a heart condition and a lung condition. Being near water terrifies me not only from a fear perspective but from a “what if I had a seizure in the water or my lungs played up”…… that could be really bad.

It’s been easier to avoid water for 4 decades than even attempt to try anything in water, except shower.

Trying Cérge the first time was amazing and gave me so much confidence in having support that I went to the pool again today.

We ventured down to Bribie Aquatic which was a completely new location. Usually I would be nervous but having used Cérge the other week I trusted the staff at the pool would look after me. It felt good, kinda like the smart heart tick, that makes you know something is a better choice at the shops. I knew because they have Cérge, that they care. It’s a good feeling.

I was excited today, I spoke to my Support Worker about wanting to learn to swim. These are big words…. I’ll remind you… 40years! I was a grasshopper last time I was in a pool.

When we arrived Lisa was fantastic she showed us the pools and the areas and was so friendly, she made me feel right at home straight away. I was ready to get in and get going and it felt good to be excited and not nervous for once. What a difference that makes.

I swam quite a few lengths of the pool with a pool noodle, this is huge for me because being in the middle of the pool is the scariest bit. But I did it and gee I’m proud of myself!

Lisa checked on us whilst I was swimming and made sure I was having fun, and I really was!

I noticed they have a whirlpool, I want to try that next!

It’s like my youth is ignited, I can feel my fear displacing and my adrenaline junkie side coming out. Hehe.

I got to talking to someone at the pool today too, I was so excited that it helped my confidence and I started chatting.

Its amazing how I can now imagine going to the pool regularly, learning to swim, meeting friends.

I never knew this could be MY life!

A whole new part of my life has opened up and I’m truly so happy!

Thank you so much Cérge for doing what you do, you are giving me the extra in the ordinary!

Thank you Bribie Aquatic, see you next week in the whirlpool! Yeeharrr!!! <<Read what happens next moving from Isolation to Independence>><<Read the original Story of Inclusion from two weeks earlier here>> 

You know those times when you think you have it all under control as a mum and then your kids yell “plot twist!"
That’s exactly what happened for me on Sunday when visiting Nambour Aquatic Centre.
I was prepared, I have two ASD kids so we have used the Cérge app before and it’s fantastic. I have one child who has big emotions and doesn’t like too much stimulation and one who runs
off….. a lot.
Going out gives me anxiety. Huge anxiety. Because not only do I have to manage the “mum load” of making sure they are fed and watered and happy. I also have to account for any change, any situation and pre empt as much as I humanly can.
It’s hard. Very hard.
I showed both children the Visual Story, Photos and Sensory Guide, so we were all prepared with how everything looks and feels. I notified through the Cérge app and let the staff know when we would be arriving and that I have a child that runs and a child that may need space.
We were rocking.
Swimmers, towels, snacks and Cérge and we are set! I actually felt ahead of the game for once.  We arrive at the pool and check in seamlessly, the staff are amazing, helpful, inclusive and friendly. We are excited!  We head for our swim. Well, whatever could go wrong for me did.
One child ran, the other was over stimulated and the emotions were at an all time high. I want eyes on my son near a pool at all moments and I couldn’t find him. Panic mode.
Now, I’m not going to lie and say this never happens. It does. A large part of my life is trying to be the best mum I can possibly be and meet my children’s needs. But sometimes that can’t be met by one person.
We have left places feeling humiliated, shamed, unwelcome and upset and none of these feelings are any I want my children to feel. Today was different though, the staff knew who I was and our needs through Cérge they were able to assist calmly, navigate what we needed quickly and quietly and lead with pure
professionalism. What I noticed was because the staff were exceptional and inclusive the patrons followed suit.
Never, ever, have I experienced this before. They offered a quiet room for my daughter and the facility has a latched gate at the entrance which has supervision also so I knew my son was safer. They loved the slides and my son probably went down a thousand times! Lucky they don’t charge per ride! Wow.
In the past we would leave with hysterical kids and I would cry in the car wondering if I will ever leave the house again. Not today though, today I had a team, today I was part of a village. I was a person trying to get through something hard with extra help and support. Today I didn’t feel like a loser being judged as a failure. That’s a first.  Nambour Aquatic Centre, you are amazing. Thank you.
……..And of course thank you Cérge.
Life changing! Literally

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.   
   
 

You need to start taking care of your mental health”We hear it all the time and of course everyone would love days of eating healthy food, long showers, yoga and a full night sleep, right? That would be a good start to helping my “mental health” and “anxiety”.What I’ve learned as a mum, with a toddler, and my partner and I both working full time in stressful jobs is that “mental health care” starts with small steps first.It also starts with accessing supports. Which in itself can be daunting and tike consuming If you had of told me previously that I would go swimming for fun I would have laughed at you.ColdWet SwimmersMirrorsPeopleThat’s a recipe for an anxiety casserole twice baked.Learning about the Cérge app and starting to use it in local Cafes, then taking our son to some tourism venues and now the pool has made this such an easy transition. I trust the app so therefore I now trust any business on the Cérge app because it shows they actually care. They want to help people feel better and more included which makes them my first choice.It’s like seeing a rainbow sticker in a business window shows you that business is LGBTIQA+ friendly and having Cérge shows you they are inclusive and care about being as accessible as they can be. It also means they have a website with an Access Guide, Visual Story and Sensory Guide which means I can get any answer I need beforehand usually.I saw Deception Bay Aquatic Centre had just adopted Cérge , it’s not the closest pool to me but I was happy to drive a bit further as it’s a super great venue and I really enjoyed it. I asked the staff to show me quieter areas for me to be able to bring my toddler. The staff were so friendly and nothing was a bother at all.The family area is great, it was very welcoming and I have to say cheap entrance fees! I went before work because this is part of how I can add extra self care to my day. The good thing with Cérge is it’s takes a lot of the anxiety and wanting to bail out of the equation.I’m so glad to have Deception Bay Aquatic leading the way in my local area! Thank you!