Not-for-profit organisation Just Like Jack is offering a free cinema experience for children with disabilities next weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The organisation was inspired by Jack Duffy, a 15-year-old with cerebral palsy spastic quadriplegia who wants to break down barriers around disability and invites others to join him on his adventures.
Jack's father and Just Like Jack founder, Chris Duffy, said the organisation allowed children with disabilities to have adventures and include their families on experiences they never thought possible.
"It came about because 14 years ago Jack and I did our first adventure where we paddled around the East Coast of Tassie," Mr Duffy said.
"We realised our family had a bit of extra capacity and wanted to allow other kids to have the same experiences as Jack."
He said the movie day on June 3 was about getting families together in an environment that was comfortable for the kids.
"Some kids don't like darkness, some don't like a lot of noise and some like to make noise so it's hard for families to take their kids with disabilities to movies because their behaviour may not be deemed as suitable in that kind of environment," Mr Duffy said.
"What we've done in the past is give them an environment where the kids can run amok, we'll provide popcorn and drinks and all this kind of stuff to get them fired up and some of them might even watch a movie.
"Jack will probably watch the cricket on his iPad, but it's also about letting the parents sit back, have a cuppa and know that they're kids are looked after for two hours and relax. That doesn't always happen in their own houses."
At 15, Jack has already led some exciting adventures, from crossing the Overland track, countless marathon and running events and even a helicopter ride.
Mr Duffy said they used specially designed running chairs to get kids out in park runs and similar events.
"We do a whole bunch of different things that these families might have trouble doing themselves," Mr Duffy said.
He said ending stigmas around disabilities came down to education and communication.
"What we've done with Jack right from day one is get him involved in everything that we do and get him outside and a part of things," Mr Duffy said.
"We're achieving this by it being an expectation rather than an outstanding achievement. We'd rather things just be normal than people say what we're doing is amazing."
Jack and his mates will be watching Pil's Adventures at the Door of Hope Church on June 3.
Families interested in joining can contact Chris Duffy through the Just Like Jack Facebook page.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner