Page 11 - Community Living Magazine 34-2

opinion

Pandemic brings potential to light

Suzanne Gale sees a young man surprise everyone except himself, finds herself on the other
side of a care negotiation and discovers that service providers can be way behind those they
care for when it comes to technology

y favourite lockdown story is People with a
that of a young man in his 20s. learning disability
MHe was living in a shared home have been using
with 24-hour support, and his two their own phones
flatmates went to stay with their families and tablets for
for the duration. His family invited him to years to
communicate with
stay with them but he declined. family and friends
When asked if he’d get lonely, he
reported that he’d enjoy the peace. When
told he may not always be able to get
support with housework, he reported that
he wouldn’t make much mess on his own
anyway. When told he may not get support
to cook, he said: “Can you send me some
microwave meals and some bread rolls?”
They agreed on pre-cooked meal
deliveries and a weekly supermarket approach to working with families. I’ll now dance routines and embarrassing pictures
delivery for essentials. With regular sigh less when the emails from a so-called of her friends at parties.
wellbeing calls, it’s worked, bar a slightly “difficult family” pop into my inbox – and The expectations of people around her
grubby bathroom (which doesn’t bother I’ll always take the call. have been far higher than those around
him at all). people with comparable needs who live in
He hasn’t broken lockdown rules once Playing catch-up more institutionalised settings.
– in fact he seems to like them. He is due One small silver lining about the whole
to move into his own flat with a weekly lockdown business is that some of our less Funny face
three-hour support package for general tech-minded service providers are finally My musing regarding the potential
house admin, support to attend catching up with the rest of the world catch-up for people using IT in the
appointments when required and to when it comes to using IT. disability world led me to think about
complete an online shop. I had a rather painful conversation with the different status of nonverbal
It’s a shame that it took a pandemic for one home manager who was explaining communication in online calls.
us all to realise his potential but here’s how great tablets are: “It means families A friendly colleague sent me an offline
hoping he’ll be a trailblazer. can talk to each other face to face whenever message during a meeting the other day
they like without having to travel.” to “watch my face” as I was, apparently,
A taste of my own medicine I nodded and politely declined his raising my eyebrows frequently and, at
During lockdown, I’ve had the painful job request for the local authority to foot the times, pulling a confused or horrified face.
of persuading my own relatives to move bill to give each resident one of their own. I forget that if I can see you on the screen,
out of their home into a supported He seemed rather surprised when I you can see me too. I also assume no
environment. They’ve been slightly explained that many people with a one’s watching me if I’m not speaking.
reluctant but have, through small-steps learning disability have been owning and That’s the thing with video calls – you
discussion, admitted that it’s necessary using their phones and tablets for years to can’t pick up vibes.
for their own wellbeing. communicate with their family and friends That made me think about how using IT
It’s made me really think about how and that they, like anyone else, bought to communicate with many of the people
much anguish families of people with a them with their own money, through we support would put us on a more equal
learning disability can face relentlessly. saving up, or were given one for their footing. No need to worry about personal
This is the first time I’ve sat on this side of birthday or Christmas. space or eye contact, difficulties in reading
the table, arguing about money, weighing “Seems a bit harsh,” said my body language or facial expressions – a
up the risks and dealing with overworked institutionalised home manager. I didn’t simple backwards and forwards transaction.
social workers and housing officers, all of think that was the time to suggest I’m looking forward to the outcome of
whom have too many cases and not using Alexa. enforced Zoom/Teams reviews with
enough housing options for their clients. Shortly afterwards, I saw a family friend people and their families. Surely, if
Hideya Hamamo/Flickr of attorney during lockdown with social computer from her front room in a similar their mum, they could join in an online
someone can log into a call to speak to
Worst of all, I’ve been trying to get power was Facebook streaming live on her own
review. They won’t have to sit still or stay
shared service, showing off the meal she
distancing, and they are hard of hearing.
in one room and could engage as little or
It’s certainly been a wake-up call and
had just cooked. She regularly uploads
has led to some serious reflection on my
as much as they want. Watch this space. n
www.cl-initiatives.co.uk news on her successes, videos of her Community Living Vol 34 No 2 | Winter 2021 11