Between birth and death, people experience common biological growth and ageing processes. Cognitive capacity changes, psycho-social understandings and culturally significant behavioural milestones can also be observed over the lifespan. When most people experience processes in much the same way as others, or change most of the time "on time" it can be called "typically developing" or "normative". People with disability may have growth, ageing, cognitive, psychosocial or behavioural patterns that are different to "the norm" or are considered "atypical". This unit explores dimensions of "atypical" development, recognizing the value in being able to describe and understand disability difference from an informed perspective, at the same time critiquing the social risk and individual damage that can be caused by characterizing difference as "not normal". Variation in lifespan development is part of the human condition, it can be described and explained, but is not a reason to stigmatize or classify others as "not one of us". The case for person-centred, not impairment-focused approach when working with people who have disability across the lifespan is introduced.

People describe and explain disability using various ideological, theoretical and empirical approaches. These conceptual models can open up or shut down opportunities for people with disability to live with dignity and purpose and participate as full citizens in their communities. This unit explores psycho-socio-cultural assumptions that have influenced understandings of disability over time. Scientific and evidence based approaches to the description and classification of individual health and public health as related to disability will be examined. The continued influence of ideological approaches to disability that are at odds with empirical or evidence based approaches are explored. This unit will explore in depth the World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, and will consider the positive and negative impacts of a codified approach to the human experience of disability. We will explore how this global approach to health is influencing: individual and community perceptions of disability; state and enterprise service initiatives; regulation and policy frameworks; individual opportunities for meaningful participation of people with disability as citizens.

In the past colonizing practices have been used to limit and erode opportunities for people with disability to participate as full citizens in everyday life. Discrimination, othering, tokenism, and able-bodied privilege have acted to marginalize and exclude the place of people with disability. Parallels can be drawn with other colonisation experience. In this unit, lessons learned from the colonization experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia will be shared. Positive outcomes of progressive decolonization by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of historical, political and social constructs of Australia¿s institutions and practices in the disability sector and the experience of disability will be explored. Implications for transforming disability practice will be considered. Leadership and advocacy promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health philosophies and cultural practice for healing and inclusion have transformed dialogue and directions. We will identify the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander body of knowledge related to healing and the expression and experience of disability in communities. We consider how this knowledge can be used, not only in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but with a diverse range of people with disability.

The impact of assistive products on participation and inclusion for people with a disability is expanding rapidly. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates more than 1 billion people currently benefit from assistive products, predicting sizable growth in this figure going forward. This unit focusses on generally available assistive products that may be encountered in a wide range of settings.
Assistive products are designed to promote dignity, health and wellbeing by removing or reducing barriers to participation, inclusion and independence. Access to assistive products is an important aspect of an individuals environment, facilitating participation in everyday life situations such as education, work or leisure.
This unit will explore generally available assistive products, and how they can support people with disability to lead productive and meaningful lives, enhancing economic and social contribution.
This unit will adopt an interdisciplinary (e.g. allied health, engineering, design, education) approach using examples from people with disability in a wide range of economic and geographic contexts. Students will critically appraise generally available products to profile issues relating to: public product access and affordability, product quality and safety, inclusive design, fitness for purpose, user training, and maintenance issues.

The United Nations promotes human rights as foundational in consideration of the human condition. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability (UNCRPD) was developed as an instrument to set out a code for implementation of strategies to support the rights of people with disability. Practically, the local nature and extent of human rights varies, however there is universal expectation that people with disability are afforded equal rights.
This unit will explore internationally agreed frameworks that support the rights of people with disability. Australian experiences will illustrate the way national, state and local level regulation applies such principles in government and private enterprise policy frameworks. The gap between policy and the reality of implementation in practice will be explored through literature, documents and the lived experience of people with disability.
Students will critically appraise notions of participation, inclusion, access and opportunity from the perspective of citizenship to reveal able-bodied privilege and models of patronage and beneficence inherent in current approaches that aim to put into action the principles of human rights for people with disability. The strengths and weaknesses, benefits and costs, wins and losses of current approaches and the where to from here will be considered.

This interdisciplinary unit provides students with the opportunity to address complex problems identified by industry, community, and government organisations, and gain valuable experience in working across disciplinary boundaries. In collaboration with a major industry partner and an academic lead, students integrate their academic skills and knowledge by working in teams with students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This experience allows students to research, analyse and present solutions to a real world problem, and to build on their interpersonal and transferable skills by engaging with and learning from industry experts and presenting their ideas and solutions to the industry partner.