Category: Creativity
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A Musical Memory
Music has had a marked impact on the life of many of my clients with learning disabilities. I particularly remember one lady, who was referred to me because, although she was forty- four, she had never spoken. However, staff in her residential home believed that Jean understood most of what was said to her. One…
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Restoring Peace to the Home
My experience as a foster mother of young children and also as a speech and language therapist in community and hospital clinics, has shown me that behaviour problems inhibit other aspects of development. I eventually left my profession in search of another, simpler way of working with adults and children with complex needs. Having studied…
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Angela Finds Her Voice
Angela was a tall, frail looking woman in her forties with dark hair and hunched shoulders. She spoke in a whisper and rarely made eye contact. Whenever Angela left the residential home in which she lived, she clung to her support worker, linking arms wherever they walked. She had been diagnosed with a genetic condition…
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A Shocking Silence
Billy was thirty five years old when we met, he lived in a residential care home with two other men who had severe learning disabilities. I was told, ‘Billy doesn’t talk, he hasn’t said anything for years’. When I questioned further, they believed that he understood what was said to him. Tragically, when Billy was…
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My name’s Norman
Norman, a forty eight year old man with learning disabilities, was also blind. He was small in stature and looked permanently worried. I was told that his vision had been severely impaired after he had sustained a detached retina in both eyes at the age of 43. Unfortunately, he had refused to stay in bed…
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Creating Child’s Play
All children need to play and use their play to make sense of their experiences and to make sense of what is happening around them. Through play, they are able to channel overwhelming feelings and ‘play out’ situations that they feel powerless to resolve. By offering the child a space and providing a few simple…