Over the past few month’s we have all struggled in various ways. Struggled in a way we never have before. We have all had to accept a new way of life, not seeing our loved ones, not going to the shop for the bar of chocolate we all crave so deeply (well I know I do), not attending that beautician appoint your absolutely desperate for, children who aren’t attending schools and for the people I spend my days supporting not attending day service.
These little things we took for granted and/or begrudged. We made everything a necessity, a chore, something that needs doing in our lives that when it came to a point of something being as absolutely necessary as keeping ourselves and the people in our lives safe most of us struggled. There are however people who have absolutely thrived through this and have shown that they are stronger than we ever thought imaginable.
I have learnt so much during this time, whether this is learning who matters, what matters, things about myself, the strengths of the support staff and the people we serve, but most importantly I have learnt that we need to STOP presuming.
We need to take steps back and learn that we cannot predict human behaviors, we cannot presume that we know what is going to happen, how people are going to react and even more so how things are going to change.
I will admit and hold my hands up high that I honestly thought the people we serve would be distraught with the changes at hand, that they would not be able to cope with the severity of the situation. Oh, how I was wrong, we as a staff team have developed and adapted in a way we never have before, we have implemented activities that we wouldn’t have necessarily done so before. We have learnt that the way things were pre-pandemic isn’t the way we need to come out of this.
The people I support are thriving from the removal of certain activities, thriving from not having the day mapped into its regular pattern.
The lesson itself is predict – adjust – learn – develop.
Don’t you agree?
Leighanne Davison
