What is Supported Independent Living (SIL)?
With all the different support options funded by the NDIS it can be confusing. Let’s look at one of those supports – Supported Independent Living.
The end of summer means the end of the season for cricket clubs around the country. Some teams will celebrate success while others plan how to improve. For Will, Scope SIL client who lives with autism, and Ange, his mum, every season is successful.
According to Ange, Will is ‘a legend in the cricket world’ and has played for many clubs over 20 years.
He has just finished his second season with Emu Plains’ fourth grade team in the Nepean District Cricket Association, where in rainy weather his side won the grand final by 45 runs – the second in two years.
As per tradition wherever he plays, Will bowled the last overs on each of the two days of the match – with pouring rain unable to stop him.
What is the last over?
Ange previously told A Current Affair in a segment that Will started taking an interest in cricket when he was seven years old. With the support of the cricket clubs he has played at – starting with Bowral Cricket Club about 10 years ago – Will bowls the last over (a set of six overarm ‘throws’) in each innings (in which the bowling team tries to lower the amount of ‘runs’ the batting team scores).
According to Pat, the captain of the side Will plays for, “Every week we finish the match with Will’s last over, and it’s become an important moment of the day for everyone involved.
“Both teams come back onto the field, everyone takes part in the over, and it’s done with real respect and care. The players understand that it matters to Will, and they also understand that it says something important about the kind of club and competition we want to be part of.
“What’s been special is seeing opposition teams embrace it just as much as we do. No matter who has won or lost, everyone shares that final over together, shakes hands, and walks off the field feeling good about the game and about each other. That’s what community cricket should be about.
“We’re really proud to have Will playing with us, and he brings something special to the team every time he walks onto the field.”
Ben, one of Will’s friends, told A Current Affair reporter Simon Bouda that it’s all about the power of inclusion.
“Just include, make a tiny effort.
“And I'd say at the end of it, you'll come out the winner as well because you'll get a sense of another person and you'll feel that compassion and you'll be a part of a community.”
Emu Plains Cricket Club would surely agree that winning on inclusion is turning into winning on the field.
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