50 Voices
JULIA 50 Voices captures the authentic voice of the people that use our services and our staff as Turning Point celebrates its 50th anniversary
50 Voices
Julia Parker
50 Voices
Julia Parker
Turning Point’s service REFOCUS in Salisbury has been supporting Julia Parker’s daughter, Rhiannon, since 2006.
My daughter Rhiannon goes to REFOCUS 5 days a week as part of her day service. After Rhiannon outgrew the holiday clubs in children’s services, I found out that there was some funding available for those older children who qualified to go to REFOCUS, or Focus Point as it was known then. Rhiannon used to go there for about 2 days a week during the school holidays and has been going there full time since leaving school. By the time she left school, Rhiannon knew the staff at the service as well as they knew her so she felt very comfortable there.
There were other day services for people with learning disabilities in our local area but I found them a little bit old fashioned and not quite as forward thinking as Turning Point.
I wanted her to be in an environment where people could look at her and see her rather than just someone with learning disabilities.
50 Voices
Julia Parker
I think we’ve stayed at REFOCUS for so long because of their ethos. Rhiannon is severely learning disabled and is non-verbal but I wanted her to be in an environment where people could look at her and see her rather than just someone with learning disabilities. I wanted her to be fully included and she is at REFOCUS! Rhiannon is quite petite and so people can often wrongly assume that she’s this delicate little flower which she isn’t; she really wants to be involved. What’s further great about REFOCUS is if Rhiannon needs help with something in particular, I can speak to the staff at REFOCUS and ask them “Can you work on this or on that?” Family members’ opinions are really valued and taken into consideration.
Before Rhiannon came to REFOCUS 5 days a week life was very different.
I was worried that she would start losing skills because she wasn’t being stimulated enough.
Everything was fine during term time when she was at school but during the long periods in the school holidays, Rhiannon was getting bored. I was worried that she would start losing skills because she wasn’t being stimulated enough. I also had two other children to look after and with a husband that worked away, it was challenging. Although I love my children dearly I knew that I needed support in caring for Rhiannon.
50 Voices
Julia Parker
I felt relieved to turn to Turning Point for support for both me and Rhiannon.
When we pull up in the car park she is genuinely happy to go in
Just having time to be able to see adult faces was a massive help. It’s fantastic that Rhiannon is in an environment where people get who she is. When we pull up in the car park she is genuinely happy to go in, the staff are happy to see her and she is still happy when she leaves because she’s really enjoyed her day.
She never used to walk or feed herself and now she does both!
I had a rough idea of how Turning Point could support Rhiannon because I used to work at Rhiannon’s school so I knew some of the guys who were at Avondale, which is one of Turning Point’s residential services and is next to REFOCUS. However, I don’t think I grasped the scale of the positive impact that REFOCUS would have on Rhiannon’s life. People with the same learning disability as Rhiannon often stop developing in their teenage years but Rhiannon just continued to develop her skills and I am convinced that this wouldn’t have happened without the care and support from REFOCUS. She never used to walk or feed herself and now she does both! Her key worker Richard was definitely very instrumental in supporting her development especially with her physiotherapy treatment. I’d have to say he’s a real innovator. Despite taking 18 months to get up and running, the positive impact that has come out of these sessions is truly priceless. He would try anything if there was a chance that it would help develop someone’s skills. He was such an all rounder and nothing was too much trouble for him.
50 Voices
Julia Parker
By undergoing physiotherapy and with Richard’s encouragement Rhiannon managed to walk using a handling belt. Rhiannon continues to develop skills that we would think are simple and may take for granted such as putting her hands out in front of her if she falls forward in her chair. It sounds trivial but she never did that before and it makes me happy to see that she’s still developing. This all shows that she can do it; Richard opened the gate and Rhiannon flew!
I think what’s unique about REFOCUS is that they cater to the person and not to the disability.
REFOCUS has not only given me a life it has given Rhiannon one too. There have of course been a few small bumps along the way but if I do have a problem or a concern I can go and talk to the staff and sort it out there and then. It’s so easy to communicate with the staff at REFOCUS. I also really have to commend Zanna Finnerty (Team Leader at REFOCUS) because she continuously strives to make the service better and better every day and she’s doing a fantastic job!
50 Voices
Julia Parker
Life at REFOCUS is so varied including both individual and group activities. There’s no point in purely having one-to-one sessions all the time because life’s not like that. In life you have to interact with different people and REFOCUS understands that. They do cookery, painting, gardening, drama, social enterprise and Jabadao which focuses on music and movement. Individually Rhiannon goes swimming and horse riding. She used to go horse riding at school but she stopped when she was about nine but it’s great for her back and posture but more importantly she absolutely loves it!
Rhiannon’s time at Turning Point has definitely made her more sociable.
To explain the change in Rhiannon before REFOCUS and after REFOCUS is that now if she’s tired it’s because she’s been doing stuff. She’s been active. She’s been stimulated. She’s more awake now than she was before; she recognises more things and absorbs more of what’s going on around her. Rhiannon’s time at Turning Point has definitely made her more sociable. I’d say her interaction between staff and the other service users there is fairly balanced. There are some people that she’s less keen on but that’s real life; people’s personalities are different and so you’re never going to like everyone at the end of the day and not everyone is going to like you! One of the service users, *Daisy, has been friends with Rhiannon since they met at a special needs playgroup together when they were just 18 months old and they’re still friends. It’s really nice to see them still interacting with each other.
The biggest misconception about people with learning disabilities is that they can’t do anything.
50 Voices
Julia Parker
Quite honestly the biggest misconception about people with learning disabilities is that they can’t do anything, they can’t go out into the community and they can’t interact. I think there’s an attitude of saying “Just send them to the day centre and let them do basket weaving”. If Rhiannon wants to make a card for her grandmother’s birthday even by sticking on a star or doing a thumbprint, she has still made a contribution and has still been involved and that’s important.
Turning Point is so important to me. They have given me a life outside disability and simultaneously given Rhiannon a life within disability without seeing the disability.
She has such a varied life and a positive outlook on life and REFOCUS has played a huge role in that.
She has such a varied life and a positive outlook on life and REFOCUS has played a huge role in that. If I could I would tell my past self to pull Rhiannon out of the school she was at when she was 16, instead of 18, and got her into REFOCUS earlier. Not because the school was appalling but it became too difficult for them to devote an equal amount of time to all of the children and, like any parent, I wanted the best for my child!
Without Turning Point I don’t think there would be an outlook for either of us. Over the 12 years that Rhiannon has been coming to REFOCUS we have built up some truly amazing relationships with the staff as they have done with us.
50 Voices
Julia Parker
I’m sure I would unfortunately be on anti-depressants due to not having any support in caring for Rhiannon and Rhiannon would probably be just sleeping the day away, which is no way to live! But over the 12 years that Rhiannon has been coming to REFOCUS we have built up some truly amazing relationships with the staff as they have done with us. I don’t like to look too far ahead in the future because it can scare me but all I hope is that Rhiannon stays where she is, continues to excel and stays a happy person because that makes me a happy person. I only want her to be happy.
*Name has been changed
50 Voices
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