Your Way | Kia Roha supports disabled people to live the lives they choose in their communities.
Your Way l Kia Roha, formerly known as Life Unlimited Charitable Trust, creates meaningful impact in the lives of disabled people. Our vision is to see disabled people thriving, living the lives they choose in their communities. Our bicultural name recognises the history of our organisation which is grounded in Te Ao Pakeha (the Pakeha world) and our aspiration to establish and maintain connections between Te Ao Maori (the Maori world) and Te Ao Pakeha in the context of tangata Whaikaha (disabled people) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Each person who connects with Your Way l Kia Roha can express their choice and control over decisions impacting their life. We provide guidance, resources, and connections for disabled people, and family / whanau supporting disabled people, to weave together in a way that meets their aspirations and forms a community response. Connect with us to find out how we can support you to live the life you choose.
01/04/2026
⏰ Daylight Savings Reminder – Sunday 7th April 2024 ⏰
At 3:00 am, don’t forget to set your clocks back 1 hour!
🔥 Fire & Emergency NZ recommends testing your smoke alarms every daylight savings. Check out more tips here: www.escapemyhouse.co.nz/sorted
Daylight savings is also a great time to see if you can hear your smoke alarms, with or without hearing aids. You may qualify for government funding of specialised smoke alarm systems.
Hearing Therapists with Your Way | Kia Roha can assess your needs and help you access this equipment. Our service is free, independent, and here to support you with your individual hearing needs.
Healthy listening can be a challenge in the loud and bustling environments we find ourselves in today, so here's a simple tip to help keep your ears in tip-top shape. It's called the 60 / 60 rule.
The 60 / 60 rule states that a person should turn their volume up no higher than 60 percent. It also suggests people use earphones for no longer than 60 minutes at a time - that's one hour.
Thus, the 60 / 60 rule is an easy-to-remember method of keeping your ears healthy.
25/03/2026
Free upcoming autism workshop in Petone from our friends at Altogether Autism. See details below 👇
Don’t miss out!
🧠 Free Workshop in Lower Hutt: An Introduction to Autistic Capacity
“But you could do it yesterday…”
Why can an Autistic person manage something one day but struggle with it the next?
Join this free workshop to learn about everyday factors that can impact an Autistic person’s ability to engage and cope. You’ll also explore practical strategies for providing more effective support.
✍️ Registration is required
📅 2 April 2026
⏰ 11 am - 2 pm
📍 Lower Hutt
💙 Free to attend
This session is ideal for parents, educators, professionals, and anyone interested in better understanding and supporting Autistic people.
Your Way l Kia Roha is proud to announce the appointment of zea fael as the new manager of Altogether Autism.
Zea says “this is a massive privilege and responsibility. It’s meaningful to me as an Autistic (audhd) person, and it feels like the culmination of all I have done and been through to get here.”
This appointment reflects the organisation’s commitment to being led by autistic lived experience at every level of our work. Zea brings lived, professional, and research experience to the role: with a background in product management, analysis, and service design, and having led a workplace neuroinclusion programme recognised for its impact, Altogether Autism is ready to shift gears in our important 20th anniversary year celebration.
Zea holds a master’s degree centred in their neuroinclusion work – regenerative and intersectional systems approach to inclusion practice; and presented some of that work at the 2025 Neurodivergence Wellbeing Conference in Brisbane. They’re excited to contribute to autism research in Aotearoa and the lives of Autistic people and their whānau.
“I want to recognise all the work that has been done within this organisation and by Autistic people across our community to influence culture and body of knowledge about what autism is, who we are, the lives we are capable and deserving of. My aspiration is to build on that legacy.”
In tandem with introducing zea, we’re launching this year’s Autism Appreciation Month with a theme that reflects their research, our mandate, and honours that which our community already embodies:
Creating space: telling our stories, defining our ways of knowing and being, and reflecting on this place in time.
18/03/2026
That ringing in your ears? It has a name. This Hearing Awareness Month, learn what tinnitus is, what causes it, and what you can do about it. 👂
What is tinnitus? Tinnitus is the medical term for a ringing or other discernible noise in the ears. The sound can be different for each person: There is in fact no external sound source, making the condition very frustrating, often impacting an individual’s ability to hear external sounds. What i...
17/03/2026
Don’t miss out! Join these FREE upcoming online workshops from our friends at Altogether Autism.
Just one week to go! ⏳ Don’t miss out on our upcoming FREE online workshops!
What a fantastic initiative this is. Ngā mihi nui to all those involved in making Waihī Beach more accessible.
12/03/2026
Are you a Total Mobility Scheme user in Waikato? Your voice matters! 🙌
CCS Disability Action is hosting a community meeting to give users the chance to share feedback on proposed changes to fare subsidies — and we'd love to see you there.
From 1 July 2026, all Total Mobility users will be paying an increase to 35% of their fare. This is your opportunity to have your say and provide feedback directly to the Ministry of Transport — whether as part of a group submission or on your own. Support will be on hand to help you put together an individual submission if you need it.
📅 Monday 16 March 2026, 11.00am – 1.00pm
📍 The Link Community Centre, 4 Te Aroha Street, Hamilton East
This meeting is open to users, assessors, team leads, and managers across Total Mobility agencies. It's free to attend, no RSVP required, and a light lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.
The Government has announced that from 1 April, people using flexible funding will have more choice over how they use it — with existing purchasing rules removed and allocations staying the same.
This is a change we've been hoping to see, and we welcome it. We'll be in touch with the people we work with over the coming weeks. In the meantime, read the full article on our website below.
From 1 April 2026, people using flexible funding through the disability support system will have more say over how that funding is used. The purchasing rules that have been in place since 2024 will be removed, and funding allocations will remain at their current levels. For many people we work with,...
06/03/2026
It's Hearing Awareness Month, and we want to introduce you to Eliza. 🎧
Eliza grew up as the only hard of hearing person in her family. She got her first hearing aids in primary school and spent years navigating a world that largely didn't understand what she was experiencing.
When she found our hearing therapy service as a young adult, it opened doors she didn't even know existed – new hearing aids, assistive technology, and for the very first time, someone who truly got it.
Today, Eliza is part of our team as a hearing therapist trainee – using her own lived experience to support others. And she loves nothing more than busting the myth that hearing aids are something to hide.
"Did you know I've got hearing aids?" she'll say to clients who are nervous. Then she shows them hers. 😊
It's a beautiful story – read the full thing here 👇
Eliza Gordon grew up as the only hard of hearing person in her family, navigating a world that largely didn’t notice – until hearing therapy changed everything. Now she’s the one doing the helping. Eliza Gordon was a baby when the ear infections started. Repeated infections left her with a hol...
05/03/2026
“But you could do it yesterday…”
Why can an Autistic person manage something one day but struggle with it the next?
Check out this free workshop from our friends at Altogether Autism to learn about everyday factors that can impact an Autistic person’s ability to engage and cope. You’ll also explore practical strategies for providing more effective support.
🧠 Free Workshop: An Introduction to Autistic Capacity
“But you could do it yesterday…”
Why can an Autistic person manage something one day but struggle with it the next?
Join this free workshop to learn about everyday factors that can impact an Autistic person’s ability to engage and cope. You’ll also explore practical strategies for providing more effective support.
📅 31 March 2026
⏰ 9:30 am – 11:30 am
💻 Online via Zoom
💙 Free to attend
This session is ideal for parents, educators, professionals, and anyone interested in better understanding and supporting Autistic people.
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Keep up-to-date with what's happening at Life Unlimited - one of New Zealand's key providers of disability services and information.
Life Unlimited is a charitable trust – a not for profit organisation governed by a board of trustees. We have a head office in Hamilton but offer services throughout New Zealand, as well as retail stores selling assistive living equipment and advice in Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Gisborne, Lower Hutt, Hastings and online at www.mobilitycentre.co.nz
Our key services include autism information, hearing therapy, Needs Assessment Service Coordination (NASC) and Waikato community programmes encouraging participation in local communities.
The organisation began in 1979 as the Disabled Living Centre (Waikato) Trust Inc, and changed its operating name in 1997 to Life Unlimited to reflect the wider scope of services being provided – “Life” meaning “Living Independence for Everyone”.
We strive to meet the cultural needs of people with disabilities, applying the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. Everyone is considered as an individual. We are responsible to the communities in which we live and work. The name, Te Ao Marama – “the glow of the moon” was chosen by Life Unlimited’s kaumatua to reflect our commitment to collaborating with disabled people, whanau, hapu and iwi to create enlightenment within our communities.
We openly welcome your comments on this page. We ask that you are polite and respectful with your comments and views. Offensive language or material will be removed.
You can also visit our website at www.lifeunlimited.net.nz or check out our online retail store at www.mobilitycentre.co.nz which sells a great range of assistive living products and mobility scooters.
