Go play in the sand, John

For the past two weeks I have been reading the book; “Go play in the sand, John: A life disabled by dyslexia, reclaimed through love.” By John Tipping (with Frances Kavanagh). I chose to read this book after spotting it in the library and thinking to myself –“how much do I actually know about the effects of dyslexia?”. I studied dyslexia whilst at university and so I would say that I have a pretty good base of knowledge but we only focussed on the effects on children and their development. It never occurred to me to wonder how it would continue to effect individuals as they grew up.

I always find that either talking to individuals who have conditions/disabilities/difficulties etc. or reading first hand their story helps me to understand the realities a lot easier.  I also think that this is an important part of OT as well, actually listening to individuals and discovering their story and how dyslexia or whatever is effecting them actually impacts on their everyday lives – its all part of holistic and client centred care.

The book (which I recommend everybody reads) depicts the journey which John has taken; from a child struggling at school, to a young man swamped with difficulties and low self-esteem to now, when John is a happy, inspirational, entrepreneur. The book really awakened me to the realities of dyslexia.

So often when people think of dyslexia they just think of people struggling to read and write. But it is so much more than this.

According to Dyslexia Internationals dyslexia defined as:

“..a neurological condition, which is often hereditary. Dyslexia means a difficulty with language - words and letters - so that the most obvious and persistent difficulties you will see will be with reading and writing, and very intractable difficulties with spelling, also with memory, especially sequences such as days of the week and months of the year: memory will be poor; personal organisation will be poor in almost every circumstance."

John describes how it affects him as follows:

“My brain does not work in the normal way. I have to select information coming in at me more consciously than the average person, and I’ve had to train my brain everyday over the years just to cope with everyday life. (...) It’s like someone being picked up from this country (the UK) and put down in the middle of China; they have never spoken Chinese in their life, but they’re expected to talk Chinese straight away, go out and work, make a living, have a family and so on.”

I had never really considered how dyslexia would affect adults beyond reading and writing and this book has really opened my eyes to the difficulties and also the prejudice which people with dyslexia have to face.

The most important aspect of this book is that it is about a champion, a fighter. John is described as being “the most dyslexic man imaginable” yet with love, self confidence and constant support he has learnt to grow and develop as a person and is now a successful business man. 

Being dyslexic does not make you stupid. You are still as wonderful and as worth it as everyone else in the world. If you are dyslexic I would 110% recommend you read this book and become inspired by Johns’ story.

As well as this book I have been learning a bit more about two other individuals, this time both in the public eye, and how dyslexia effects them and how they are overcoming their own difficulties whilst inspiring others to overcome their battles with dyslexia also.

First off - Henry Winkler. Most people will know him as the Fonz in Happy Days. The actor who has dyslexia has just been awarded an honorary OBE for this work on dyslexia in the UK. Winkler has toured schools in the UK over the last two years to talk about the learning difficulty.

He has also written books for children about Hank Zipzer, a boy with dyslexia, whose experiences are based on the actor's own childhood.

Secondly – Kara Tointon. Most people will either know her from playing Dawn in Eastenders and/or from participating on Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC recently aired a show about Kara, her struggle with dyslexia and how she has worked hard and become the successful actress (and I guess dancer) who she is now.

Linking this to OT:

I can only see a perfect match between dyslexia and OT. Firstly OT is all for empowerment and this, I feel, is a massive benefit for those with dyslexia. Having the belief and the knowledge and support that they can achieve is going to be nothing but beneficial. Also practical skills and occupations can be addressed and developed through OT with a particular focus on meaningful and fulfilling occupations to the individuals.

OTs also focus on each individual and in a holistic manner – this, I feel, is particularly important when considering individuals with dyslexia as everyone is different and has varying levels of the condition. Interventions should not be viewed as being “one size fits all” and should be graded and adapted to suit each individuals varying needs.  

If anything can be learnt from these individuals’ stories and indeed from this blog then I hope it is that having dyslexia is hard BUT it is not the end of your dreams or your hopes. With hard work and the rights support you can achieve great things.

For more information on dyslexia and one both Henry Winkler and Kara Tointon please see the links below:

Information links:

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia.html

http://www.beingdyslexic.co.uk/

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Dyslexia/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Media stories:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/sep/15/henry-winkler-honorary-obe-dyslexia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DQFbQWyOdw

Happy OTuesday everybody,

Kate

Citation du jour.

Tonight I have just finished reading a book about the challenges one man faces with Dyslexia: 'Go play in the sand John' by John Tipping (with Frances Kavanagh). Its such a good book and has been a really interesting and inspiring read. A more detailed blog will be appearing shortly.
BUT..for now here is a snippet of the book which I particularly liked:

You have to take everything you can out of life because the better you feel about yourself, the more you give back. It becomes infectious in the end, which I think would be quite nice for the world. The majority of people just exist; a small minority live. Shouldn't that be the other way round?

HAPPY MONDAY NIGHT EVERYONE.

Bake the blues away..

If any of you know me personally then you will know that I am a BIG lover of cooking, in particular Baking. My mind is full of memories of spending time in the kitchen helping my mum bake all kinds of lovely treats and over the years my love for it has grown. Baking for me now is my own kind of therapy. I bake not only when I want to take something to a friend’s gathering or as a special present but also as a way to de-stress and detach myself from the world and its problems.

Since finishing uni, job hunting and having to face the reality that due to the current economic climate finding an OT job isn’t going to be as easy as originally thought when I started my training has led to a lot of anxiety and uncertainty. I decided to channel this into something positive – and so the baking marathon began.

Flour was sifted, pastry was rolled, cream was whipped and cupcakes were frosted...some of the results were as follows:

 All this baking got me thinking, the process of baking for me is really therapeutic, the way that it has this ability to transport me to a place far away from my worries and problems, the feelings of pride and joy that I get when giving people something I have made and them enjoying it and complimenting. This got me thinking, if baking can affect me in these ways then surely it must affect other people as well.

This led me to think about the benefits of utilising baking within OT.

Food preparation and baking is used within OT for a number of reasons, mainly in my experience as a way of increasing skill development and promoting independent living skills. But it can also be used for building social interaction skills when performed in a group environment, as a means of increasing self confidence, self belief and also to provide a productive leisure activity.

I found a really interesting article in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy which relates to this post:

“‘Baking Gives You Confidence’: Users’ Views of Engaging in the Occupation of Baking.” By Lesley Haley and Elizabeth Anne McKay – BJOT March 2004 67(3).

This study shows the responses gained after 12 Mental Health service users engaged in Baking.

The report showed that the benefits received by the service users included:

·         Provided a meaningful occupation, a purposeful use of their time.

·         Engaging in baking also improved concentration, increased coordination and built confidence, leading to an increased feeling of self-esteem.

·         Baking offers a therapeutic encounter that can provide experiences of success and promote improved functioning.

·         The experience of achievement had personal meaning for the participants. They talked about what they had made, expressed pride in their workmanship and described feelings of personal satisfaction. The discovery of previously unknown skills through engagement in baking was also a source of great satisfaction for some.

On my Learning Disabilities placement I worked with a lot of service users who had problems with sensory integration. One service user in particular who had both complex learning disabilities and sensory integration dysfunction. It was decided at the time by myself and my supervising OT that we would try some simple sensory baking utilising The Social Integration model (Fisher et al. 1991) to try and gradually increase positive responses to sensory interaction. The task which we graded and adapted was making Angel Delight (not necessarily baking but was a start and an activity which was suitable and achievable for the service user at the time.) Over a number of weeks the benefits of engaging this service user in ‘baking’ were evident. Not only did we see an increase in their skills and tolerance to different sensory inputs but there was also a definite improvement in their attitude and behaviour. The intervention was working and they were growing closer to achieving their goals.

It is obvious that there are many benefits to baking and when used with the right client, one who would find this occupation both meaningful and purposeful, I feel it could be a really positive and effective addition to their therapy.

I was surprised to find that when I was looking into writing this post there was little evidence or articles which I could find concerning the utilisation of Baking within Occupational Therapy – perhaps this is an area of growth which Occupational Therapist should begin developing. 

Woke up to find..

...that my blog post "Babies behind Bars" from yesterday has since been added to two separate paper.li publications.

The #Forensic Daily - http://paper.li/tag/Forensic 
and The Therapy Fun Zone Daily - http://paper.li/therapyfunzone#!education

Until today I had not heard of these two publications of even paper.li but what a good idea for collecting and spreading the word on important matters and latest developments. Surely the growth of works like these and others can only help increase knowledge and expertise in a wealth of different areas.

A little Tuesday Morning Inspiration...

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good." 

Brian Tracy

Babies behind Bars.

The other week I watched the two ITV documentaries from within an American Prison currently running a nursery scheme. These are my reflections of the scheme.

Babies Behind Bars. ITV documentary first aired on the 27th June 2011. May still be available to watch in the UK on the ITVplayer.


According to the documentary there is a soaring number of women entering US prisons (the number is up by 400%) and there are now more women offenders in the US than in any other country.

Within US prisons women offenders who give birth whilst behind bars are required to have their baby/babies removed from the establishment after 24hours of birth. HOWEVER the Indiana Womens Prison has introduced a new scheme which lets 10 babies and their mothers stay in a special nursery wing -but with around 60 women giving birth each year in the establishment this makes competition strong.

The Nursery is named the "Wee Ones Nursery" and was opened in 2007 and is separated and protected from other offenders and is a more relaxed area. Its aims are to allow mothers to bond with their newborns, teach effective mothering skills, build skills in being effective members of society and to reduce the rates of re-offending and re-incarceration. The nursery also offers the opportunity for 4 inmates not resident on the wing to gain training in and work as 'nannies' to the resident babies.

Some quotes which I took from the documentary show the positive effects which the scheme is having on the women involved:

"I'm glad I'm here because I don't want to miss any time with my child. They're too precious and I understand this now."

"It's taught me how to live up to my responsibilities."

"I want to be a good mom and a good example. Its time I'm able to teach her good habits, right from wrong you know. I don't want her to think the things I did were right."

Evidence from the scheme shows that the women on the nursery wing have a 20% lower re-offending rate compared to other women offenders. Also the scheme has helped the women involved improve their motivation for creating positive futures.

Whilst on my prison placement it became apparent to me that the men who had maintained strong links and relationships with their children showed more motivation to become more effective member of society and to begin building a more positive lifestyle. In an article published in the Prison Service Journal (May 2008) it talks about how fatherhood is regarded as a key motivation for change and fathers who maintain contact with their families are up to six times less likely to re-offend. I feel that this would be the same for, if not more so, with mothers.

As OTs we look at the importance of individuals having roles, responsibilities and meaningful and purposeful occupations - I feel that this is an important issue to consider and look into, in particular if either currently working in forensic environments or wanting to follow this clinical area of practice as It is such a crucial part of a parents life and an area which would affect both the future of the parent and also their child/children in forming effective and positive futures.

On the brink of a new chapter....

Just under three years ago I started the biggest learning curve of my life so far. University.

The chosen uni – Canterbury Christ Church, and the chosen course – Occupational Therapy.

Over the past three years I have learned an incredible amount – about OT, about myself and about other people. I have changed, developed and matured.

Last week I received my degree classification. I GOT A 2:1!! Very pleased that all the effort that went into my degree paid off and that I overcame all the challenges which I faced.

There have been far too many experiences and treasures which uni provided for me to write down in one post. BUT here are the top four (in no particular order) things to treasure:

·         I met and made friends with some truly amazing people. Whether on my course or at the CU/Churches in Canterbury.

xXx Moi, Katie F and Emma W. xXx

·         I completed all of my placements in fascinating clinical settings and each with fabulous and supportive teams.

·         I went to Kerala, India for two weeks work experience – the trip proved to be the most amazing and humbling experience I have ever had.

·         I grew as a person, as a Christian and can finally say I am ready to be an OT.

·        

So what will the next chapter of my life be??

·         Conventional OT job  in the UK?(when this silly recession ends!!)

·         Moving abroad to practice?

·         Or something more unconventional?

Who knows! What I do know however is that it is all in Gods hands.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

...and from now on I’m dreaming God sized dreams.

BE the change you wish to see in the world.