Hi everyone. The first optional prompt for #31Days2022 is “way”. I thought of several titles for this blog post, but ultimately decided on this one. The rest just randomly flowed out of my fingers.
Only four days before I move to the new care home. I told my mother about it on Tuesday. Somewhat surprisingly, she didn’t react weird to the fact that I’m going to live on institution grounds. Not surprisingly, she did start talking to me about how I might be able to walk around grounds independently then.
I did, indeed, mention to the support coordinator and behavior specialist for the new home, when they came to assess my suitability for the home, that I may want to learn to take a little walk myself on institution grounds someday. Afterwards, my current assigned staff cautioned them against too high expectations. After all, I want to be “normal” pretty badly, but I still remain multiply-disabled in some significant ways.
I know that people who are “just” blind can learn to find their way around institution grounds quite easily. But I’m not “just” blind. For one thing, I am not even sure I could use my white cane in a manner that would allow me to detect obstacles safely, given my mild mobility impairment due to cerebral palsy. For another, due to autism-related executive dysfunction and other factors, my energy level varies greatly from one day to the next. So does my capacity to handle sensory stimuli. Consequently, I may be able to find my way for a short walk around grounds pretty easily one day and get hopelessly lost and frustrated the next.
I remember back when I was in the psych hospital, I voiced a similar wish to learn to take a quick walk around the building. An orientation and mobility instructor from the blindness agency came by, taught me a few times with very limited success. Before she was even finished teaching me, the staff decided it was my responsibility, so no matter my mental state, if I left the ward (even in a meltdown), no staff would come after me. I was then supposed to take my little walk, despite the fact that, in a meltdown, I wouldn’t remember where to go at all.
I know at least here in the Netherlands staff can’t legally restrain you once you’ve left an open ward, but that wasn’t the point, since I didn’t need restraining. Their point was that I was now somehow capable enough to find my way by myself and, if I wasn’t, it wasn’t their problem. This at one point led to my husband needing to drive over from the next town to take me back to the ward.
In a sense, I should know the new care home isn’t like the psych hospital, but I keep getting flashbacks. All I can hope for is that my current staff will do a proper handover.
A Multitude of Musings 
I relate to so much of this Astrid, thank you for sharing this with us
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Thanks for commenting. I’m glad not to be alone but so sorry you can relate.
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I’m looking forward to getting to know you this October, it sounds like you have a lot of challenges xx
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Well uhm yes, I do, but then again we all face challenges in life. Thank you for stopping by.
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I am glad your mother reacted positively about your move.
I would take each day as it comes, you know you limits so know what you are capable of. I hope the handover goes well. x
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Thanks for your supportive comment. To be honest though, I don’t always know my limitations.
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I wish you well in the new place, Astrid.
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Thanks so very much! 🙂
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I hope you are feeling better now and I also hope the handover goes well.
I can understand your concern of finding your way. Change is always difficult, however, it may be that the staff at your new home are better than you are used to and many things could become easier as a result. Sending positive vibes and big hugs! 😊
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Thanks so much for your supportive comment. Yes, it may definitely be true that the staff are better equipped to handle my challenges than I expect them to and I could grow as a result.
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Hi Astrid, I can understand your concerns. I really hope your new home is suitable and the staff are good. I hope they do a thorough handover. Wishing you all the best in your new care home. xxx
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Thank you so much. I really do hope the transition goes smoothly.
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Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. I hope the transition is smooth for you.
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Thanks so much. 🙂 I hope so too.
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I’m looking forward to reading your words and getting to know you. I’m deaf (been deaf since birth). I’m hoping you will have an easy time with this new home.
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Thanks for commenting. I am glad you’re interested in learning more about my experience. You know, the thing with having multiple disabilities is that it isn’t possible to take them apart and judge my abilities by each of them alone. That is what they first tried to do when denying me long-term care funding, which is in my case primarily based on blindness even though blindness is the least impactful of my disabilities.
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I’m also hoping it all goes smoothly for you and you’re able to settle into your accommodation xx
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Thanks so much. So far, the move is going pretty well.
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