Home, education and work support disabilities and mental illness

 A session for the Occupaient Theppiest students, Wednesday 3rd August 2022. 

" How would you support people with disabilities and mental illness?"

My name is Sara Jane Gorman I am a visiting lecturer in learning disability and mental health awareness for the Success group at the University Wolverhampton. My disabilities and mental health problems are Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Autism, Epilepsy, Anxiety, and Depression.https://sararevealed.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-difference-between-having.html

Firstly pretty must most disabilities are linked to mental illness. I cannot speak for all disabilities and mental illnesses I can only speak for the disabilities and mental illnesses I face. It is important to except anything from anyone as each person you come across is likely to have different strengths and weaknesses. I know me, that with having Autism my Anxiety levels can be high, which can be easily misunderstood by others around me, not just by people at work and in education but people socially and at home as well. 

As an Occupation Therapist, you will come across a lot of people who people with disabilities and mental illnesses are in contact with such as teachers, tutors, managers, staff of people they work with, families, parents, carers, and support workers, health professionals, etc, which who you will come into contact with as well. 

People with disabilities, mental illnesses, and other problems do not enjoy asking for help from others, even though everyone needs help sometimes because having disabilities, mental illnesses, or other problems affects their lives more so than different people in different ways. We can feel as if we are hard work to the world, cost too, much money, are a burden to others, guilty, etc even to a point we feel life is not worth living. Even though we know that is not our fault and beyond our control, we can't help that we have no choice, which is depression but at the same time, a lot of us have had good and bad experiences in our lives when it comes to supporting. However, the positive thing is having the right tools and aids to help us live as independently as possible, but naturally, it is not possible to have the tools, etc with everything we need help with, which is mostly due to funding and disability benefits only pay for so much.