HAVING COPED WITH DISCRIMINATION.

When I used to hear the word normal, it used to go right through me. As years had gone by, I have thought well, what's normal at the end of the day? It was almost as if everything should be right and perfect first time. I have only heard the word main stream, I guess for the last 5 to 15 yrs. Although the word main stream is two words than normal, it doesn't make everyone out to be perfect like the word normal does. I hate confusing things but it's hard to know what words to use, whether to use non - disabled people or people without disabilities without being discriminating. Yet I can understand why people find it hard what words us for disabilities without being discriminating.

We all make mistakes in our lives whether we have learning disabilities or not. Some people are just quicker than others, some don't learn at all. In the days that I felt stressed because I was under pressure to do things right the first time, everyone seemed bigger, cleverer, better and quicker than me. I had always felt unsuccessful because I started life in a time people found it hard to think positive about themselves when I think back, let alone people with disabilities. I like many people suffer from Anxiety. It's got a bit better than it used to, I accept the things that I can't do and can't cope with in my life, it's just when someone make promises and breaks them, for eg: two difference people say difference things over the same thing I get confused easily. Anxiety's is more common that it used to be, I'm glad I'm not the only one. I never used to understand I was how I was, that's relieved me now. If you or anybody you know suffers for Anxiety with their say, you’re very welcome to email me if you want, I'd love hear from you.

I guess it's only been the last 15 -20 yrs, I have worked hard to think positive about myself, which hasn't been easy. Since I have started Mencap I have got a lot better in my self-steam quite quickly really for me but just the same for everyone in life, I still have long way to go, which never stops. I'm glad to say now that I have learned more skills over the years there's light at the end of the tunnel after all. I hope that I can help others like me to think more positive about them.



Over the years I have learned that I am just a bit of a slow learner, I'm not thick after all. It's as if society thought I was useless and too much hard work for them to teach me about life. We need to learn at our own speed otherwise we get stressed out and we feel left out to others. I understand every human being suffers with Anxiety but 9 times out of ten people with disabilities stuffier with health problems. Having said too much Anxiety can make anyone ill or and bring health problems on whether you have a disability or not. It would be very helpful if people would have more patience with people with disabilities, we understand, well at least I do that you haven't got all day but tomorrow another day or whenever another day is. If that's not possible, then I am sorry to say that word again, we need to get the right support and the amount of support that's right for each of us as possible.

I can truly say that I have learned more since I have left school than when I was there. I was glad to leave school, I hated it. That's not any difference for a lot of non - disabled people at the end of the day. With the skills I have learned I have proved myself and others wrong. When I was a child, I thought I'd stay a child forever needing twenty - four hour care for the rest of my life. I could never see adulthood, now I am starting to feel like an adult . Now I am living alone in a flat with a bit of family support. Difference people need difference levels of support.

This is why I have said to a lot of people, everyone with disabilities needs their needs to be assessed; otherwise it's hard to know what support they need. For eg I have found that I have had my needs assessed at college, support I need in my home but not whenever I have been on work placement. We should be assessed in practical and theory, not just ticking things off on pieces of paper. All people with disabilities should be able to show people what we can and can't do. Talk about what does and doesn't working on and write it down. Support people with disabilities in the area they need support in. We also need to find out what people with disabilities enjoy, which is like everyone the things that they are good at. This will help us and help you learn about people with disabilities. It would help us as service users who form Mencap who have disabilities ourselves. I'm a serve User with a disability from Mencap too. People with disabilities need more confidence building in difference skills, which really isn't any difference to non - disabled people too .

We must think and see positive in people with disabilities, then I believe they will think and see positive of themselves and in you as well. If you think and see negative, they will think negative of themselves and you. They won't be doing anything, if people look down on them, they will think it's a crime to make mistakes, which put them off. I believe everyone is worth more than looking and feeling like a spare part. All we need is support, we aren't useless. We just may not be as quick to learn as others. Each and every one of us learns in all difference, levels, ways and speeds. If we were all the same, wouldn't it be a boring world? Some people need more support than others. Never look over people with disabilities but be there for them in case they need your support. Don't turn away from them in case they need you. Give some way they can contact you in case they need you, mainly if they don't have anyone else to turn to. I can go on a while until I see my family but they are always at the end of phone.
That's how I would like to support others like me. Like you really, what one of us can't do the other can.

THE FUTURE OF OUR SHOUT.

After we had done our NHS play on our experiences of NHS care, we are now planning two plays. 'OUR EXPERIENCES ON BEING VICTIMS OF CRIME AND BULLYING; 'OUR EXPERIENCES IN DISCRIMINATION WITH TRYING TO GET EMPLOYMENT'. Like the NHS play, we will be telling you our negatives stories in the play but hopeful bring them into positives. When the play is finished, us as a group Our Shout will be letting you all know the positives we want to make things better for us to be equal with you in this society, not only to improve the lives of people with disabilities but how non - disabled people are towards people with disabilities. Our Shout hoped to perform our NHS play again in front of the student nurses at Walsall University, GPs and children at mainstream and special schools.

Hi everyone, I hope you will be glad to know that the Employment play was very successful. If any of you turned up, I hope you enjoyed it. I understand if all, some or even none of you couldn't make it. Those of you who may have not read about me telling you about the play, it was at the Lighthouse in Wolverhampton on Friday 20th June 2008, I wrote it myself. The time of the show was on at 10.00am - 3.00pm.

 We didn't do drama all day, other people who work with disabilities as well as Our Shout did some speeches and other things too to try and raise more awareness to help and encourage people to accept people with disabilities to be in employment. We were very disappointed that not many employers turned up and many people who work in disability employments services. We will have work harder to see that people with disabilities get equal rights to non - disabled workers and employers. If you or if you know someone who can be any support to us on the subject of employing people with disabilities, please contact Mencap or me. sarajgorman@gmail.com you could even email me.

The purpose of this play was to tell you the positives and negatives experiences that people with disabilities have to face with employment and the support we want to have positive futures for ourselves and others like us. I asked Our Shout if it will be alright for me to put on their stories on my website besides my own, as soon as I can get the entire group together. Nine times out of ten we were always doing difference jobs at times. I may have put it on Our Shout's stories on this website or not. I hope to get someone to support me to put the DVD of the Employment play and my interview about the play.

The good news was that the people who saw the play were very impressed with us. We would like to find out how many work placements and employers accept people with disabilities and how many don't in Wolverhampton. What is the future going to do bring? How many non - disabled people do we need to educate to accept us to be equal to all human beings? Please email me or and get in touch with Mencap if you know the answers to those questions! Thank you.

Our Shout hoped to do our own website as soon as when we get time to do so, we will try our best because we have so many other things to do. Please do accept the things that either took ages to do or some things we don't get around to doing at all. We did an Employment play over B'ham on Tuesday 8th July 2008, I can't remember where they said but I will keep you posted on the response we get.

We are hoping to write a comedy play for us to do on the radio, if that's going to happen I will let you know what station. Like I said please be re with us, as we do so much work or many cases so much work we want to do. I will let you know about as soon as we find out myself,, we have only just started taking about it. We have so much research things to do first, if all works with fitting it in with the other things we. Well I say our shout but there's also another group joins in with the drama called the Discovers or the Discovering group, I can't remember play which. I think two people in that group took part in the Employment play.


We had told our director Ricky that we want to do a Horror play, which isn't based around disabilities issues for a change. We have done plenty of research on ghosts, haunted places and etc. It will be at the Wolverhampton Art Centre. We were very sorry we didn't let people know in plenty of time, tickets are sold out but If I can get someone to put the DVD of the play on this website after we have performed, I will do.

Tuesday 8th July 2008, Our Shout did our employment play in B'ham a place called Black Country District in Solihull. Our play kicked very successfully anyway. People enjoyed it and told us that we gave good reasons behind the play. They agreed that society needs to do more about employment for people with disabilities. I think there were some employers who employ people with disabilities; there was a guy who runs a scheme called Links for Work.

The first thing I have done helped Our Shout is, I have taken part in a play with the other members of the Our Shout group, called 'Bad Experiences That People with Disabilities Have Faced with the NHS.' We enjoyed raising awareness of what people with disabilities go through, which is mostly neglect. I have read out Our Shout's stories and someone from Our Shout has read mine. It's hard to explain our stories but these things shouldn't have happen so we want to work hard to create a future so people disabilities will be taken care of. What made Our Shout do this play is, I was reading the news on Mencap website, there was a report called Death Indifference. Six people with disabilities had been neglected by the NHS. For eg this young woman named Emma, she was only twenty - six, she had cancer. When they tried to save her, she wasn't responding to the treatment so the doctor didn't carry on trying. Her families' views were that they let her die unnecessary. At the time I had only just started with Mencap Our Shout, I rang up Lucy our group leader of Our Shout to tell her that I had a looked at the Mencap website and told her about the very upsetting report I had seen. Lucy said

“Thanks, I like the way you inform me, Sara,"

If you want to find out more about the Death Indifference report. WWW.mencap.co.uk/media files/death-by-indifference.mp3. You will get two women who work for Mencap telling the stories about the people with disabilities. Emma's story is the first story. We will understand people don't want to read these sad stories but it just shows those things need to get better. We need to treat people with disabilities like human beings instead of just like nobody because they all somebody just we are all are. If the website address is wrong or slightly, just type Death by Indifference in the search engine.


From then on it gave us the idea to do the play, tell people about our experiences we've had from the NHS and raise awareness. We have Performed our play at Pond lane Clinic Park fields, The Partnership Board Meeting at the Civic Center and New Cross hospital in Wolverhampton.
Several Health care staff watched our play, they found us very successful. We told the Health staff, how we and want to be treated by Health staff in the future. Debra Edwards who holds the hospital meetings had told us, we had been through a lot but not as much as the six people who died under the NHS care. She also told us that they will work very hard to improve things but it will be a very slow improvement. I told her, we agreed but our reason for performing this play is to raise awareness in hopes that people with disabilities don't die unnecessary in the future, she agreed.

We are now going to perform the NHS play at The University of Walsall to educate the Student nurses.

On Thursday the 18th September 2008, we had been to the University of Walsall to educate the student nurses with our play. They were very successful; we have been asking to perform in front of GPs and people who sell medicine behind counter in the Chemical. We will also be performing our play Wolverhampton University in December this year.

I might ask Mencap if I can do a talk about the effects of my old medicine so other people don't have to go through with what I did. It affected me getting out and about without support, my educate, I was unaware if car, person or animal was about to bump into me and many other things too.

On Friday 17th October 2008, we had a meeting at The Bingly Center, the Health and Well-being group about people with disabilities having dental care. One thing I spoke about at the meeting was most tablets people take can make people's gums soft, I think is very hard thing to look into.

I know funding from the government can be a big problem but they tend to spend the money on the least important things, health is important. For eg I guess Health staff are getting paid less wages, they are short of staff and people's health are neglected.