at age nineteen,had been moved into a learning disability institution in manchester because mums alcohol drinking was getting worse and dad wasnt able to cope with em on his own.
a lot of people complain about LD institutions a lot but this one had been incredible,it was its own little community within a community,lots of land and trees around it which acted as sound proofing- unfortunately the same quality coudnt be said for the staff,most of whom were severely abusive oldskool evil twats.
some years back,the UK government had decided to close all learning disability institutions down out of the belief that every one of us in the UK with learning disability [that is,the UK definition,not american/DSM,before anyone thinks am suggesting people with dyslexia,dyspraxia etc need to live in institutions] are able access community living,unfortunately in their quest to look progressive they didnt properly check that out first,many of us are unsuited to community living.
without any transitions was quickly transfered to a residential home without risk assessment and it was an absolute hell hole in terms of understanding,accomodating needs of mine and how they allowed a resident to bully all of us and get what she wants for an easy life,when em hit back at her it was em that was transfered to new residentials over and over and over to the same kind of environments; never risk assessing acording to what was told.
the institution was the first place had ever lived away from the family home,it was the first place had ever had the slightest bit of independance,it was the first place was able to say had made it,am not going to be stuck being cared for by mum and dad for the rest of life like doctors and teachers always said.
was also badly abused in there for years......there was a lot of unfinished business, never having had closure.
going there and getting the picture was some closure,it helps to look at it.
am amazed its still in the same condition,except they have fenced off what used to be the respite wing, and the ambulance bays in the car park at the front have faded away.
anyway,here it is,the view of [what was] the reception,the managers offices [at the top floor] and the respite wing-
1 comment:
My, this was inspiring. I wanted to comment and let you know that I'm currently writing a play about autism, (I'm a senior in high school), and I'm going around asking moms and dads for stories and words of advice for the play. Although these words are your own and I don't plan on using them in my play, you're still helping me to tell my story. I've noticed that medical definitions tell you something about autism, they're merely one-layered and lack the humanity that stories like yours have. So I wanted to thank you for helping me in my creation of my main character. If I could ask one thing, would you mind helping in one small aspect of my play? I'm including a scene at the end that uses the names of real mothers, fathers and children that I've met through blogs and online, (with their permission of course), and a single word that they'd use to describe either autism itself, (from their own or their child's perspective), or one word to describe their child or themself. It's an artsy approach that I wanted to include to illustrate the realness of these situations, regardless of the fact that the rest of the play was a made up story with made up characters, developed to tell a story. I thank you so much for your hope and for your bravery. I'll remember you as I write my play and need motivation to make someone proud.
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