In this issue of your newsletter
Changing Perceptions 52nd Edition
There was a buzz of excitement at Reunion School on the 25th March 2015 when a small, intimate ceremony was held to open the four senior classrooms that have just been completed. Mr Julian Beare from The Beare Foundation cut the ribbon and officially declared the classrooms open. The Albert Wessels Trust was represented by Mr Lindsay Clive-Smith and the HCI Foundation by Mr Andy Sookhraj and Samantha Naidoo.
Why blame the Mom? Outreach work
Diary of a Cerebral Palsied Twenty something
How being the victim of a crime, changed my life for the better.
April 2015
The children were so excited to go inside the new classrooms for the very first time. As they filed in, they sang out their cheerful thanks – with huge grins across their faces. Inside, each child found his or her brand new desk marked with their name. The teachers seemed just as excited as the children, with the new classrooms and especially with the large store rooms at the back, which will ensure the classrooms stay neat, tidy and organised. Adjoining the classrooms are sparkling new bathroom facilities, which will provide easy access for children who battle with mobility.
Thank you to: The Albert Wessels Trust The Beare Foundation The HCI Foundation, Gold Reef Speciality Chemicals (Pty) Ltd
P O Box 10213 Ashwood 3605 Telephone: +27 (0)31 700 3956 Facsimile: +27 (0)866 153 913 Email: info@kzncerebralpalsy.co.za Website: www.kzncerebralpalsy.org.za Our Association is a registered Non-Profit (002-154 NPO) and Public Benefit Organisation (PBO 930000042) with Section 18A Tax Exemption status.
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I’ve heard so many mothers say “It’s hard … they look at my child thinking that I’ve done something wrong”. When something goes wrong, we often seek someone to blame. Having someone to blame is comforting, it allows our society to believe that by avoiding that person’s "mistakes", everyone else will be spared their fate. Historically it has been mothers who have taken the blame for anything going wrong with a pregnancy - miscarriage, preterm birth, still birth, baby with disabilities, baby with genetic disorders, a low birth weight baby and on and on and on. In earlier times it was believed that it was the mother’s sins which caused the disability. Women were blamed for not following doctor’s orders or folk wisdom - carrying anything heavier than a frying pan would cause a miscarriage. Today’s belief is that women can prevent birth defects by what she does or doesn’t do during pregnancy. Strong public health messages suggest that by taking good care of yourself during your pregnancy, you will prevent most defects - an unfortunate
message to give to the healthy women who just gave birth to a child with a disability. Louise Kinross (editor of Bloom Magazine) says it perfectly, “… in 70% of birth defects the cause is unknown. Let's speak the truth about how much we don't know about the causes of childhood disability and, more importantly, how to prevent it. Let's tell the truth about how a healthy mom can just as easily produce an unhealthy baby, or a healthy baby with a disability. Disability is not necessarily synonymous with poor health.” We really do have less control over this than we think. Disabilities are often random, due to genetics, and cannot be prevented no matter how healthy you were during your pregnancy. Let’s protect women whose children have been born with disabilities from being blamed, and from blaming themselves. Every mother wants the best for her child, and in most cases it’s not something that they did. Nina Zylstra Editor of Special Kids
On request from Fourth year Occupational Therapist students from UKZN, a Cerebral Palsy Workshop was held at a creche in Clermont. The creche grabbed the opportunity to receive training as they have three children in their care with Cerebral Palsy and had little to no knowledge of what programs to put into place for the children. Care-workers from our day-care centres, CREST & CWAC trained the staff at the creche, who were super excited and eager to put their new training into action.
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Diary of a Cerebral Palsied Twenty-something Diary no. 49 by Penny de Vries
Exciting times are ahead for Julia and her household. They are moving from her flat into a house. This all began with a random comment that Julia made on Facebook. Sometimes I think I’m a terrible mother because I had not even known it was one of her dreams. Julia and I then chatted about it. I said to her I would be willing to support her move to the house but I did not want to be involved in the hunt at all. scupper the deal. This did not worry me too much as then the project would continue. She also contacted the Association of Guide Dogs Wrong again; for the Blind and established the requirements. It flat sold within a is this association that organises service dogs for week! There are people with disabilities. It is quite a rigmarole and some there is a two year waiting list. I imagined it would adaptations that take Julia quite a while to find the right house as have to be her budget was tight. I thought to myself that it made; then chances of buying anyway in the older would be an empowering project for her and that part of Durban and not having accessibility issues as we do not have to rush, we could bide our time are very slim. We are building a ramp and adapting until a bargain cropped up. the bathroom which is another reason I am pleased it was a bargain! Of course, I forgot that this is Julia we are talking about! Put Julia on a mission and things Of course , there are downsides to a house such as happen. She found a wonderful estate agent who security being more of a concern and maintenance being for our own account but my view is, if it does fully understood her needs and they went at it not work out, we will change again. Nothing hammer and tongs until they found a place that ventured, nothing gained. Also, apart from the she loved. I was in Mozambique at the time practical benefits a service dog will offer Julia, I without much internet connection or cellphone signal. Somehow we managed to discuss it and we think it will be wonderful for her to have a constant companion. She spends a lot of time alone. agreed that she could make an offer with certain conditions, one of them being the sale of the flat. And second best thing about having a house for Julia? She will be able to have braais. Again, I thought this might take a while and I gave her a budget within which to work and told her she had to do it all. Contact the estate agents, view all the properties and leave me out of it until she had a property that she believed to be right.
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by Lachlan Nicholson
I’m going to start this piece by saying I am South African and proud to be one, but crime is a daily reality in this country. I work as the communications manager for a national emergency response coordinator comparable to 911 in the US, and because of this I thought I’d know how to handle myself if I were ever the victim of a crime.
In November my cousin and I were ambushed by a robber as we prepared to leave the house for a business meeting. I was then trapped alone in the car for 45 minutes while the man pushed my cousin from room to room, deciding what he would steal. Thankfully, when I didn’t arrive for the meeting, my colleague came to the house. This led to our attacker’s arrest, leaving us traumatized but physically unharmed. Aside from psychological counseling, what has helped me overcome the experience is becoming a student of a taekwondo blackbelt named Sean Cremer. I met Sean several years ago while working as a journalist. Shortly after the robbery, I
asked if he could train me because I was resolved never to be helpless again. When I asked, I truly expected Sean to turn me down, because after all, I am a quadriplegic. To my deep gratitude and surprise, Sean took me on with no hesitation. This got me thinking about the unconscious limitations society places on the disabled, without us even realizing it. In fact, when I told an old friend (who also happens to be a paraplegic) about my training, his immediate reaction was, “But we’re in wheelchairs, we can’t do that stuff.” Several months on, I am now confident that in a life or death situation, I could put an attacker down. But training has become about much more than combat. The rigorous
exercise has enabled me to get in and out of cars unaided, as well as on and off the toilet. These were things I used to consider impossible. What’s more is I have found a level
of
camaraderie with Sean and his other students that those unfamiliar with martial arts probably wouldn’t understand. The tenets of taekwondo are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. This group exemplifies these values.
Taken from: http://http://themighty.com/2015/03/how-being-thevictim-of-a-crime-changed-my-life-for-the-better/