Poetry, writings and art blog

Learning disability and Mental health awareness

Sunday, 17 August 2008

MY FAMILY

My Family.

This is my family, Aunty Vicci standing next to me, my Nan Letty, Mum Jane and my sister Holly.

Tuesday, 12 August 2008

TRAVEL BUDDY SCHEME FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITES.

ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW! are now supported by Employment Pathways, even though Mencap started off supporting is. We are now Sole Traders instead of a Social Enter Prize. We are employed by Wolverhampton City Council. We hope to create the Travel Buddy service along with other services. we hope to train people who work in services around learning disability awareness before we have services of our own. ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW! Sunday 11th April 2010 up date We are sorry that the business is a year late, it's slowly than we thought it was going to be. We should be having a new business plan, as soon as we do I will up date report as soon as I find out the new change of the business plan.

Andy Howard was with us for a while until he had a few home problems, he even found himself leaving our for about 3 to 6 mouth so he missed out on half of the training myself and Jess went through.He now need to catch up, he's now Self - Employed yet but he will slowly will be.
David Oakley was going to join us as Business partners but he had too many commitments at home.

There must be some people who haven't experienced traveling alone on the West Midlands Travel buses at all, they may have had no choice but to be picked from their own homes and back again. Parents, families and carers may worry about them traveling alone, we will be happy to support them to see that they will be learning independent travel training as well as hopefully putting mini buses on for safety. We will worry more about them traveling at night on the West Midlands Travel but if their choice is to do that, we will have to go a long with it. If we tell them to contact us and their families , carers and etc to see that they are safe. We will support people who are less independent. We Understand that Anti - social behavior is bad enough on it's own but if you don't know where you are going and you can't remember directions, it's even worse. We will do anything and everything we can to support their safety. We understand Anti - social behavior gives anyone grief but if someone can't take no for answer, some people with disabilities may be not be able to cope with it the same as main stream people. Having said that people with disabilities should have the same rights to life as non - disabled people, otherwise we feel useless. We are doing a training at the library this mouth, which will be on one of the reports on this website, we are hoping to do Health training session for Mencap's learning disability week in June and hopefully to doing a training session for people who work in Travel services due to not having a bus station for roughly two years.

We should also be encouraged them to make friendships, relationships through college, work, social events and etc. Give us rights to have what we want with right support! With your support we would like to support others like us to have most rights we have and you have. There are things that we haven't got in life because of the lack of past support. The things we have achieved have been just luck, which hasn't been easy because there was even less support when we were at school and when we left then there is now. We have either learned those things in our time or the very limited support what there there was just about out there. Like everyone we still have a lot to learn, some things it's too late for because the support wasn't out there when we were young enough to learn these things. It isn't all black and white because there are things it's never too late for. With the things we have learned, we would like to teach people with disabilities with better support than what we had. It would be lovely to see these people to be where we are today but going through less hard work than what we went though. Let us do the hard work, we're with you all the way guys!

In case anything happens to a person or people with learning disabilities you are caring for or may be a person with a disability yourself. West Midlands Police WPC Jan Johnson Vulnerable person's officer Wolverhampton , Crime Stoppers and Jan's EXT: IS 7871 6818. If you don't live in Wolverhampton you may be you will able to look for the same support else where. If you email me or and get in touch with Mencap we possibly may be able to help you find a contact in case anything happens to people with a disabilities. If you look at the Mencap website, may be you can find a report called DISABILITY HATE CRIME or type DISABILITY HATE CRIME in the search engine. Nine times out of ten if a crime is going happen, it happens when no one is around. When that happens to a lot of people can get disbelieved but even more so when things happen to people with disabilities . Please if you see anyone with a disability who is very upset over a crime, please support them if they ask you to, thank you or even help anyone who feels they need it. It's too much of a dangerous world but we all have to live our lives.

There wasn't a Travel Buddy Business schemes serves, when we were learning to travel independently. We had to learn the hard way with hardy any support at all but we got there in the end somehow. When I was learning to travel on buses, I was on my last school Penn fields Wolverhampton. I was living with my Nan. The school just sent me to travel out on the bus on a scheme helping out in an Old people's home. I never got there because I spent all day trying to find the place on my own, this happen every time the Deputy Headmaster sent me out there. My Gran was worried sick because there were most nights I didn't in until 7pm. From 9am I spent all day looking for where I was going but never got there. The staff from the Old people's home rang him up to say I didn't turn up. I told him I tried, he didn't believe me and he was very angry with me, so I was completely misunderstood. Lucky enough in those day Anti - Behaviour and Crime was very rare but today it's risky wondering around waisting time, even back then anything could have happened to me. I needed a Travel buddy but me, Jess and Andy will now see other people like I used to be will get their Travel buddies.

If you are really worried, we are hoping to provide either social workers, Key workers or even support workers to support their safety but also give them lead way to do their own thing. Some support may not be there to start off right way but hopefully it will one day. Not surprisingly so a lot of things come down to funding. We could have to do a lot of Fund racing, the government isn't always kind to us. We will keep trying until we get there, like we have had to with our own lives, to give them the best support people as possible, which no one knew about when we were learning. Everyone is learning everyday.

I used to get Ring and Ride when I was seeing my ex boyfriend almost every night of the week, even it got me home safe. it was a pain booking two days before hand. It took forever for them to find out whether they could get you a journey or not, it costs people a lot of money on their phones while they are waiting for their lifts to be booked.People with disabilities need a more accessible way of traveling. Ring and Ring doesn't work very well for a appointments or any events that start and finish certain times.


UP - DATING OF THE TRAVEL BUDDY REPORT. Sunday 11th April 2010. Last Sunday the bus station was closed for a new bus station to be done one, which will take about 18 mouths to 2 yrs. The only replacement of the bus station is Queen Street in Wolverhampton big it's not big enough to access all buses. May buses people have to catch on and off in the street. This is a bog change all people not just people with disabilities. Many people with with disabilities travel rather well on the buses but some don't. We all have different disabilities, we all learn at different speed. If you have always be guided by people it takes a lot to get ready for the big wide world alone. It's not just getting a bus but finding your way around.

There are plenty of school children and school leavers with disabilities that need to learn about the big wide world just like I did just over 20+ yrs ago. It's going be a long 2yrs until the bus station is done. In the mean time, as mostly people are getting out and off in the city and the streets, it needs to be more accessible for people who find more hard to get around. The next change will be in 2yrs time when the bus station is ready, I hope will be able to talk to someone from the Travel services about the changes to the bus station so it's as accessible as possible for people with disabilities to get about.

Now me and Jess have that we have set up Access All Area Now! we can get in touch with some Travel people to have some meetings with them to plan a training session. The Travel buddy service is one of the services we hope to have in the future but we are still finding our feet at the moment, it's still all very new to us. The aim is to support as many areas in the lives of people with learning disabilities as possible. This is why we are called ' ACCESS ALL AREAS NOW! We want to train other services about disabilities first. We are not building our hopes but we will never say never. We can only see how successful we can be. We are hoping to meet up with people from Travel services in the West Midlands to find out how accessible the new bus station is going to be.

If you have any views or and stories to share on the subject of transport, travel training and learning disability. I'd be very happy to read your email whether you are a person with a disability, family member, friend or and carer.sarajgorman@gmail or Facebook sarajgorman@gmail.com

HEALTH, SAFETY, EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SUPPORT.

Health & Safety should be educated in the work placements, colleges, schools and etc. I will be talking to Our Shout about people with disabilities having educaion and training support with Health & Safety education, I think it should be the same for non - disabled people too. Our Shout would like people with disabilities to be healthy, safe and happy but also having the rights they want and need. It would be great to have that balance with your support thank. If have any point a views or can give any support on anything. Sarajgorman@google.com or on Facebook sarajgorman@gmail.com

HOME SUPPORT

I hope to be asking Our Shout if they would like a social worker at pond lane Health where we have a lot of our health meetings, if so I will give Our Shout's answer in the pond Lane meeting.

I would be interested to know how many people with disabilities get support in their homes, such as cooking, shopping and etc. I don't think it should depend on what disabilities people have, it should depend on levels of support people with disabilities want and need by their choice because people with disabilities should have the rights to live their lives how they want.
I was very disappointed to read in the report Tell It As It Is. I think this was the Mencap report, I was reading. People with learning disabilities, families and carers have complained about the charges they have to pay for home support because their benefits don't enough. I myself have just copied with family support since people with learning disabilities and their families have had to pay. I don't think it's right because people with disabilities shouldn't have the blame for having disabilities, we don't ask to be the way we are. No one asks to be born but no one asks to have a disability either.

If you have any views on this subject, I'd be very happy to receive your email thank you. If you are a carer, family member, parents, friends, people with a disability or and etc, you are welcome to send me an email about anything you want whether it's worries or not. I can't promise I can help with everything but I can promise for sure that I will listen and respond back to you in the best way I can. I would be interested in any story you may want to tell if you want to for eg: may be if you have been charged too much money for Home Support. I am hoping we will be able to vote the government may be next year to put a stop to these charges, which as I have said had been in the Mencap report.
If you would like to email me about home support sarajgorman@google.com or sarajgorman@gmail.com. You can even email Mencap if you want, who may possibly know more than me on any subject. The email addresses could be the same but difference people deal with difference subjects.

COMMUNICATION TRAINING


I hope to talk to Our Shout about Communication training because I feel it's very important for non - disabled people who supports people with learning disabilities to be able to learn how to understand us in each and every way. Communication training needs to be given.

For example Mapa which is a form of communication learning to understand why most people with disabilities have behavior problems and how to calm these people down. Not even I haven't had any training in Mapa because it's very new. As I said in one of my stories, I used have very bad behavior problems myself as a child. My reasons were that I found my disability very hard to accept so I used get very angry when I couldn't do things and that I didn't feel equal to non - disabled people. Like I said again the very strong tablets I used to be on made me very bad tempered, moody and I felt left out of society. When I came off those tablets, I slowly started to calm. Those tablets also made me very hyperactive with no sleep at night so I was over tired. This is why we need to question, why do most people with disabilities have behavior problems? What goes through people's minds is any one's guess. Most people's behaviors problems may not be for the same reason as mine. What a boring world if we were all the same. Mind you some people have behavior problems without any tablets at all, others some or all tablets could be dangerous for them or some could be just on the wrong tablets. This is one of the reasons why people with disabilities need check ups at least once year. There's nothing worse than finding you don't get on with people through no fault of your own.
A lot of people call these problems challenging behavior, I don't like that word Challenging behavior because behavior problems isn't a challenging. Challenging means trying to do something new and good, which is a new experience. Leaning and doing something new can be very hard at first, that's why it can be challenging. As soon as you have learned whatever it is, you have a achieved it, which is a good thing. Having behavior problems is a bad thing. We mustn't confuse good and bad.

Mental capacity is also a new form of communication for people who find it hard to say what they want in life, whether they get their wishes or not. With those kind of people, we tend to think they haven't got a mind. How do we know that? When we come across those kind of people, how do we know what they do and don't know? How do we know and what they don't want? We must have a communication aid that helps us understand, whether there is one I don't know, do you? Even if that support is there I bet it cost loads of money. It's us who don't understand these people because they can't speak. I think we need to watch what we say because it's possible that they understand us better than we understand them. What we should know is that a lot of these people can communicate in other ways even if they put their hands up to say ( Stop)! Sign language for the deaf, Brail for the blind has been going on goodness knows how many years.

I feel with dyslexia we still have a long way to go to get full dyslexia support. I'm dyslexic myself. People have dyslexia tutors, which is better than it was but through my experience the government isn't allowing enough support. For eg: I couldn't get extra timing with my exams until I went to Dudley, Wolverhampton doesn't do that as far as I know. Old Hall street college doesn't anyway.
There are also a lot of support aids, is good but they costs a lot of money for eg speaking machines for people with speaking problems, coloured paper for people who are dyslexic, not a lot of us have enough money to pay for them. We could do with raising money for these things, otherwise how can we understand these people.

In fact funding seems to be the big problem for a lot of things that are stopping people with disabilities having rights to be equal others, most of the time government funding isn't enough.What makes me angry about the government they tend to spend it on the least important things. I am sure they have more money tucked away than they make out, they just don't want to spend it.
If you are interested in fund raising please have a look on the Mencap website. We are sure to have the right email address for you. If not please get in touch with our office at the Science Park in Wolverhampton Anne Humpherey - Jones 01902 - 824301, Lucy Dunstan 01902 -2824362 or email me to get in touch with them whatever is easier for you, thank you. I will get back to you if you want to tell you what they say.
If you can support us to support you in anyway please send me an email thank you. May be you will be interested in supporting people with disabilities as a career and job. Sarajgorman@googlemail.com or Facebook sarajgorman@gmail.com.

Sunday, 6 July 2008

GET USED TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES!

Once you have a disability, it's there for life. Is it there for a reason, who knows? We don't chose to have a disability. We don't have a say in the mater, it just happens! If we could chose to have a disability, why would we? If you could chose your life from the beginning, would you chose to have a disability? No you wouldn't' why would you? It's not a nice feeling, when you feel as if others are pushing you out of society. You feel like the odd one out and alone in the world. Sometimes we are treated as if we have chosen to have a disability, it's as if we made to feel guilty about having a disability. The choices for people with disabilities can be very few and far in between. Living without not many or any choices doesn't make you feel as if you are an adult. It's as if some people don't want to know us. It has got better for me than it was but I haven't forgotten what it felt like to feel completely useless. If you encourage people with disabilities to think positive about themselves they will do. If you think completely negative about them, they will think bad of themselves, scared to try things, to do things and scared of people full stop. We do not except to be made to be perfect, who is? no one. Balance it, we don't want to be big headed but we don't want to think bad of ourselves either. Mencap want to to encourage people with disabilities think as positive as possible about themselves. All my friends in Our Shout have said including myself, it's took a lot of hard work to think positives about ourselves.

Even animals should have the rights to be treated equally to human beings. It's as if people with disabilities are hard work to society, may be we are but we don't mean to be, like I said we don't chose to be either. It's not nice to be discrimination against what you are and who you are. what choose to be, what don't chose to be, we are all human beings just like you. For : eg some people are alright, others are not but it shouldn't be because one person is black and the other person is white. Over the years I have learned that a lot people don't only turn their heads away from people with disabilities but other races, nationalities, religions and etc are the people who suffer discrimination as well.

During in 70s, when I used be those horrible tablets that didn't make me a nice person, at least in the eyes of society. I was classed as rude, stupid, thick and bad tempered because of my bad behavior problems and disabilities. I wanted to control how I was but I didn't know how to. When I couldn't accept my disability, I used to get angry because I couldn't do things, which was part of my behavior problems. I can't say how many years it has been since I have accepted my disability. I don't have a choice but to accept my disability, just like other people with disabilities. I should think I should accept it my age. I was disliked by people because of how the tablets were affected me. I thought I was going to be that person for the rest of my life. The old Sara has gone and I hope the old Sara doesn't come back, here is the new Sara. As soon as I came off these tablets, I had slowly started to have better control over my own actions. I started to be more aware of my own actions and surroundings. I feel a lot better in myself than I was. I still I wonder if the new Sara is improved 100% or is there a little old Sara still there. Only my family can answer that.

I still worry whether I do and say things that I'm unaware of but other days I feel strong enough not to care what people think. That's the way I have had to get used to my disability. There are people with disabilities who can't accept that they have disabilities, will be Our Shout's job to help people their disabilities. There's quite a good many people who can't accept people with disabilities, it's about time they did. Our Shout are also here to help people without disabilities accept people with disabilities. It should be easy for those who haven't got a disabilities because they don't have disabilities themselves. The hardest things for people without disabilities is understanding people with disabilities. How well can you understand yourselves and people in general? This should give you some ideas on how you understand people with disabilities.

The way you can learn about people with disabilities is by listening to us on how are our lives have been and we are today. Listen when we tell you, what we have to face in our lives! Would you like to live with what we have had to live with in the past? We will go through things that we have have improve and what we think still need improve for the lives of people with disabilities. If not in our life time but people with disabilities who come into the world after us. If only we can say that there are not going to be anymore people with disabilities, then we'd be more happy but then we wouldn't have a job. We have to accept that like we have accept our disability. I have had to get used to been misunderstood, it's part of my life whether I like it or not. For eg I may get misunderstood for the tone of my voice and what I may do, it may well sound rude when I don't intend to hurt any one's feeling.

I understand it's very hard for most non - disabled people to understand people with disabilities, that's why I want to team up with other people with disabilities to educate and train non - disabled people so they understand why we are what are and even who we are. They should look at us as people rather than our disabilities but also be aware of the support we need. It's only fare to treat people with disabilities so we are equal to non - disabled people. We need an equal balance between support and doing things on our own. We need you to support with things we can't do alone. Us as people with disabilities could help one another, what one can't do the other can. Try and think how you would like in your life be like if you were in our shoes! You would need support in the things you would find hard to do, you wouldn't want to be over crowded with people coming in between with what you can cope with. We don't always feel equal to others, we feel as if we are being discriminated by people but not as bad as we used to. Like I said, We are human beings who should have as many rights as possible with the right support to live our lives like everybody else.

For eg I am not saying that I have had to learn my own, that's not true but it has been hard to get the right support from the disability services I have had to go to. From the experience I have had myself, I would like to educate services to provide the best services for people with disabilities as many of their needs as possible. Having said that Our Shout can educate people to support people with the same disabilities ourselves, we understand people like ourselves. Who knows, we could come across difference people with all kinds of disabilities who could educate non - disabled people to support the same kind of disabilities as them, if you understand what I'm saying.

I'd like families and carers to be as happy as they can be with the services for people with disabilities. It's Our Shout's job to educate non - disabled people who work in these services. Mencap think it's very important for non - disabled people learn how to understand people with disabilities, Spend as much time as possible with us, get to know our needs, support us to lead our lives how we want to, which is equal to non - disabled people like you do, treat us like human beings, which we are. We're just a bit slower than you that's all. Give us the freedom when we want freedom. It's great to be cared for but we don't need or want to be wrapped up in cotton wool or another saying is far too over protected. An old fashion saying is let go of the pinafore strings!


Does it ever enter your heads that it could have been you? You could be thinking to yourselves. Why me, what have I done wrong to have a disability? You would have thought about these things, just like we do, Why did this have to happen to me?
How many people would know the answers to these questions, if you don't?
My family had told me about what happened at my birth but there was very little training, education and support for families and carers, let alone for people with disabilities themselves, if any which affected the lives of disabilities. I never knew how to cope with my disability as a child because in those days there wasn't the help for anyone. You just had to live the way it was so did everyone who were responsible for us. I don't think anyone knew what to except of people with disabilities. This is why people with disabilities and non - disabled people misunderstood understood one another. Even now, it's got better but we still have a long way to go to be equal to others. You will never know if you end up going into contact with people with disabilities as job, it could be a hard thing to cope with, if it's a new experience for you. Learn from the people who have and who feel disabilities ourselves, how we have to face life, the support we want and need to be equal to you.

I think I know all there is to know what happened at my birth and how it's affected my life. At least I should think I should, as I have lived with a learning disability for nearly thirty-nine years, which is all my life. There must be plenty of other people like me who may want to give the same message as me to non - disabled people.

HAVING COPED WITH DISCRIMANATION.

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 10 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, more clever, 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, your very welcome to email me if you want, I'd love hear from you.

I guess it's only been the last 15 -10 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 themselves.

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 stuffer 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 is another day. 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 a 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 than others. Each and everyone of us learn 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 yourselves really, what one of us can't do the other can.