Charity launched wheelchair-user mum with three special-needs children

A Geelong mum who uses a wheelchair and has three special needs children has launched a charity run by, and for, Geelong’s disabled community.

Ross Trevean with Alison Connoley, with Oscar, Ruby and Max. Picture: Alan Barber

Inspired by her three special needs children, a mum who uses a wheelchair has launched a charity run by, and for, Geelong’s disabled community.

Registered nurse Alison Connoley is no stranger to navigating life both with disabilities and as a carer.

In 2017, Ms Connoley, who already lived with cerebral palsy, sustained a spinal injury that left her using a wheelchair.

While navigating this life-altering change, she and her husband Daniel Connoley were raising their oldest two children who live with autism, Ruby, now 11, and Matt, now eight.

Three years ago, her youngest son, Oscar, was born prematurely and sustained a brain injury that left him sometimes needing a walking frame.

“After we had Oscar, seeing our children living with those additional needs really inspired us to try to make this process easier for others,” she said.

“I still work and navigate my support needs and their support needs.”

She said her husband had in the past also sought help from mental health services due to the pressure of being a carer, and together they hoped to provide more support for carers in Geelong.

Ms Connoley said a major part of her family’s journey has been the support they’re received including help navigating both NDIS services and the loneliness that came with caring and living with disabilities.

“When people shared their knowledge with us, how to fill out paper work or to listen and validate our feelings, that made a huge difference to how we felt,” she said.

“We wanted to pay that forward.”

Alison and Daniel Connoley with Ruby, Max and Oscar. Picture: Alan Barber

Earlier this year, Mr Connoley launched The Trevean Foundation to provide support and advocacy for those who are navigating living with disabilities or carers.

“It is 100 per cent run by people run with people who have a disability or people who care for someone who does,” she said.

“We provide support to people with a disability and their families to understand their rights, so they can build their skills and capacity in navigating their service options in Geelong.”

Ms Connoley said in 2020 her parents, Ross and Simone Trevean, founded disability support company My Choice Group, providing NDIS support to 100 people in the Geelong region.

Ms Connoley said The Trevean Foundation was operating out of the My Choice Group offices in Grovedale, to give people a place to drop in.

“For anyone with a disability who wants to chat or needs guidance, or families and careers who might need that peer support,” she said

“We’ll support them to unpack how they feel and give them practical support to make it easier to manage their week.”

“By having that community around you, you can share the load.”

The content summaries were created with the assistance of AI technology, then edited and approved for publication by an editor.

Originally published as Charity launched wheelchair-user mum with three special-needs children