Wednesday 28 October 2009

Going Out?

Love and friendship is hard to find and keep whether you have disabilities or not.
Majority of people with disabilities find it hard to meet with all kinds of people including people like ourselves. These are the same thoughts when majority of us with disabilities want a little love in our lives. So, next time you are out think about the hard time majority of people with disabilities are having. Majority of us get bullied, ignored, misunderstood or and picked on. Society needs to accept us the same as other people. Society seems to turn a majority of us away because we seem and look different to other people. We would like to be accepted in society the same as other people. People with disabilities are human being just like you are.


Most people with disabilities find it hard to access transport.

Society, families and carers control the lives of majority people with disabilities in a loving way. There needs to be a balance between support needs and people with disabilities living our own lives by our choices.

Please post your views to sarajgorman@googlemail.com or Facebook sarajgorman@gmail.com Thank you.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Meeting someone

It's not very often we can find love at the end of the night as single people. Love is not every thing in life. All chances in life can be everything to people with disabilities, mainly if they have not been given to the chance to try them. Society has even taken a lot of chances away from people with disabilities. We only live once. Why are we here if we don't get chances to live our lives how we want? We understand that we can't live our lives how we want to all the time but everything seems to be put down to races, like for eg; learning disability. As people with disabilities we understand that it's not only us that society controls.

For quite a while on this site I have been writing about chances and barriers. Many people with disabilities are controlled by society. Some People with disabilities are more lucky than others, I am one of the lucky ones. Saying that, my disability is very mild so when it come down to the things I really need help with I can't always get the support. I still look out for people who are not as lucky as I am. I guess this can depend on what kind of disabilities people have got, it's seems a shame that people have looked down on in that way. There are all different kinds of disabilities but we are all still human beings. My job is to support people with all disabilities to see that they get the rights of their lives. It is also my job some families and carers to but balance it with what the people with disabilities want and need. We want people with disabilities to have more choice and control over their lives.

When it comes to trying things out, I have only just learned that if you look for love it does not happen but if you don't look for love it does happen. I have moved on from many failed relationships having learned it's going to be a very small chance that I will meet a love that will last forever. If you can walk into a relationship knowing more than likely it won't work, then you know you have to accept anything. Hold fire, don't be frightened it could last a long time if not forever if you are one of the very few lucky ones. My last relationship lasted 13 and a half years on and off even though I was still going to his house two years after we finished, we were friends. I have known him 15 years altogether on and off.

Love can be blind and wonderful at first. Sometimes slowly and other times quickly love can go sour. How long you can stand pain for is all according how much and how long you love that person for. Love is a feeling that is hard to control. I have only just stopped loving and feeling in love with someone after 15 years. It was hard to let go, even though I should have walked out a long time before I did. I have learned you have to get know someone before you get too close even though I am very fond of someone else now and I think he is of me.

Since I have been helping out at Mencap, they have been helping me. I have been getting counseling to get myself back on my feet again. I never thought I'd say this after 15 yrs that I don't love my ex boyfriend anymore. I have moved on to learn to stop feeling in love with him and to stop letting him hurt me. I am still coming to terms with it now but I am better Than I was. If you are in that situation whether you have a disability or not may be you should try doing the same but in your own time.

Only because I am out of there getting on with my life,I still don't feel 100% me. I am still finding my feet, I am not going to rush into the next relationship. Although I have a very close male friend who has been through near enough the same as I have in past relationships. Even though we like one another a lot, let's not been too hopeful about the future but never say never. What will be will be. As I have told you in the last report that I am having counseling because I still feel damaged. It can take a lot out of you for a long time.

Sunday 18 October 2009

Rasing social awareness for people without disabilities about people with.

Getting out and about can be hard for anyone not just for people with disabilities. Due to people with didsabilities needing more support than people without, it can be hard for people with disabilities to have our rights and choices. Having said that some of us are more luckey than others. Most people can't go out unless they are in groups for eg; Circle of Friends and Mates to Dates supported by Mencap.Transport also seems to be a big deal. Most famlies, carers and etc seem to be more over project than they should be which isn't any help to peoples' independence. A lot of people like to make friends and reationships so do people with disabilities. Everyone goes through risks in life so do people with disabilities. Everyone needs to be strong to life so do people with disabilities. Everyone needs money to go out so do people with disabilities. There diffence can be that most people with disabilities need support to get out and about. When your out spare a thought for those who can't get out and about without help.

For the last year or so there's been a big credit cruch, now it's getting worse. A lot of things have cut back not just things for people with disabilities. The more things that do cut back, there will be nothing left of the country. Mates to Dates have cut back and Circle of Friends are either cutting back or already have.

As I may be have told you early on in this site. My relationship broke up 13 and a half years ago, which was on and off. I still carried going to his house every night for two years after the slit just as friends. It's turned out things got that bad I found myself needing counseling to get myself on my feet again plus my work is keeping me going as well. The last time I had counseling, I was given a very interesting book to read called THE ASPERGER LOVE GUIDE.'We all know that people with disabilities find it very hard to find friendships and love to keep hold of. We all know that a lot of relationships are not meant to last anyway even in led people without but it can can get bit too much when each one ends for the reason of having disabilities. This book I am reading is a guide to help people with disabilities cope with relationship and to help without disabilities cope too when having partners who are Asperger.

I would like to write a book called DISABILITIES, FRIENDSHIPS AND LOVE' I would like to say why in my book why I think people disabilities find it hard to make friends and reationships. People with disabilities also understand that it can be hard for people without disabilities to make friendships and reationships too.


Everyone needs to make friends.
Most people like to have lovers.
People with disabilities want to make friends too.
Most people with disabilities want to have someone to love just like most of you do.

Commuication and understanding helps for us to get along together in life.
People with disabilities would like to teach people without how to communicate with us and how to understand us.

sarajgorman@googlemail.com or and Facebook sarajgorman@gmail.com, you are welcome to read Mencap's website on staying up late WWW. mencap.org.uk/stayuplate. A lot of people with disabilities have complained about their evenings been too short for them because of their support workers finishing work. Some people with disabilities don't get out at all due to been controlled by carers, families and not enough support working staff.

Saturday 3 October 2009

Introducing our training package of ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW!

The idea of setting this training package is to train people without learning disabilities who work in disability services and students working around the Learning Disability field around Learning Disability Awareness. Myself and Jessica Bromley my business partner did a training session at The Jenny Lee centre Wolverhampton with support from Mencap, Employment Pathways and Wolverhampton city on Monday 5th October 2009. This is what some people without disabilities had to face from me and Jessica at 9.30am.

We did our last Pilot on Monday 7th December 2009. It is now May to June 2010, Access All Areas Now! our office building is on Albert road Wolverhampton. Me and Jessica are now in business but we can only use the office when staff on are on site, plus we are having to share the office with other learning disability services. There's still a lot to do yet as there still of jobs to be done in the rest of the building, which people are doing. We still haven't had our phone lines done just yet but I will let you know as you as we do. If you need to call us, 07771836853 but until we get our phone lines in the office Dave Pike our work supporter will be taking our calls.

The first training session we had done was training the manner and staff of the Special needs library at Centre library Wolverhampton. That mostly worked around accessible information. We have up dated the package to what it was when we used to do our pilot, there are a few changes but not many. The training session was held 2.00pm - 5.00pm at the main Central library, on Wednesday 28th April 2010. We will up date this package as soon as we get time to after this session has taken place. sarajgorman@googlemail.com

We will introduce ourselves to our trainees by Jessica telling the trainees about herself and a bit about ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW!

Jessica, it's over to you.

I will explain about me and a bit about ACCESS FOR ALL AREAS NOW!

Jessica will tell everyone that they are going to do ICEBREAKER.

Jessica will people sitting next to one another to talk about what they want to learn from Monday.

Jessica will ask them to write it on post its and stick them on the board.
She will thank them.

Sara, it's over to you


I will the Aim and Objectives on the board.

I will explain that there are the Aims and Objectives of today.

To define what a learning disability is.
To inform learners about the needs (and wants) of people with learning disabilities regrading your service(s).
To inform learners the wants and needs of people with a disability.

To explore and challenge values, behaviors and attitudes.

To provide an introduction to producing accessible information.


Learning Disability.

Now we would like to know what the word ' Learning Disability' means to you.

Please get into groups of three or four and talk about it.

Please feed back in 15 minutes thank you.

During in 15 minutes we will be check the post its from the ICEBREAKER.


Learning Disability.

Our own experience is.

Service providers don't understand learning disability for example people with disabilities getting confused with different people giving us different kinds of information over one question we may ask.

I would like to share my story of a bad health experience with you, which called my experience of the NHS if click around on this website. This story is apart of the Our Drama Health play based on our own Health experiences. Our Shout is a Self - Advocacy group of people with learning disabilities speak up for other people with disabilities and our selves.


We have experience of the lack of communication between us and the people around round us, this includes people working in services.


There are times that we don't feel listened to as well as not understood.

Our choices of life need to be supported not taken away.

Myself and Jessica have given two examples each about our own lives.

"Jessica, it's over to you."

Jessica will now introduce a short DVD ' Our Shout Health Drama play'

After the DVD Jessica will tell everyone that it's time for a 15 minute break.

Jessica will ask the trainers to tell us what they thought of the DVD after the break.

After the DVD the trainees will rate customer service provision regrading.

Face to face customers dealing ( group1).

Communication (group2).

Values (group3).

Better manners, better tone of voice and to give a bit us and yourselves more time to learn how to understand and commuicate with one another (group4).


Individualised service ( group5)

Sara, it's over to you.


I will read and talk about accessible information.

Accessible Information.

We are now talking about how make information easy and clear to follow. This is called Accessible information.

There needs to be better tones in people's voices and no rudeness.
Our disabilities need to be understood.

Most people with disabilities find languages hard, people who don't speak English need to go on English courses to learn to communicate with the people around them.

Accessible Information Group put together some helpful guidelines.
This group is made up of people with a learning, including myself and other people in local organisations.

Please split into groups of 4 or more and have a good look at your leaflets.

Welcome to Learning Disability and Health Awareness for you and the service you work in.

Pass on what you learn today onto the service providers and managers you work with and for, thank you.


What ideas do you have to make them clearer for people with Learning Disabilities to read and understand?

Feedback to us in 15 minutes.

Take these guidelines with you. We hope they will be useful for you in the future.

"Jessica, it's over to you.".

Please tell us one thing which you have learned today.

Have we covered what's on the post its?

Sara, it's over to you.

ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW!

We are ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW! We want to help everyone understand more about how much people with learning disabilities can do given the same chances as everyone else. In your study package we have information on our business ACCESS FOR ALL AREAS NOW! We would like to offer Learning Disability Awareness Training to Learning Disability services and for those who would need and like it.

The pilot scheme plan Monday 5th December 2009. In this package students will see a booklet of what they will be learning on their Learning Disability Awareness. The next booklet will be Mencap's report of fact about learning disability. This explains the negatives people with disabilities face, Wolverhampton Accessible Information Guidelines, which teaches people how make information easy to read and understand, jobs for people to apply for plus application form and our business profile.

Mencap and Employment Pathways have put us on a three mouth pilot scheme for our business. We are doing a training session on Monday 5th October 2009, Monday 9th November 2009 and Monday 7th December 2009. I will try to up date this report before the 9th November 2009.

Monday 9th November 2009.

Sorry to take so long to up - date this package as I have been very busy with raising awareness of people with disabilities socializing. We have not added a great deal on to this package other them saying a bit more about ourselves and about what life is like for other people with disabilities. I have that hopefully my report ' Going Out!'will be printed in the Express & Star. We have also added on Anna Robinson's email address, she is the person who runs the Accessible Information group, we are hoping that our students who were were on our course yesterday will come along to learn from our Accessible Information group. We have also invited the students to our partnership, we have also added our supporter from Mencap's email address for them to contract her if anyone wants to go to the partnership board. On package 2 not a lot has changed other than we have added a booklet called, which is a report from Mencap called About profound and Multiple learning disability, which explains about those kind of disabilities.

Monday 7th December 2009. There is not a lot of change to the Learning Disability Awareness package other than I will be going on another writing course on Saturday 12th December 2009. We have added a new report called Valued In Public, which is a kind of an easy read report to help people with disabilities.

Now this is the end of our pilot scheme, we will be giving Learning Disability Awareness training, our business flayers are printed out but we are still waiting for our business cards by Access For Business, which is one of the companies who are supporting us.