Tracey - Porirua

Asking Tracey if I could have her participate in the inclusion training was a challenge more so for me than Tracey. The fact Tracey is capable of including herself in a lot of things, made it challenging. All she required mostly of me was a second mouth to translate for her if people were having difficulty understanding what she was saying.

Tracey has a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and is restricted to a wheelchair. She also has limited speech, however if you have patience and take the time to sit down and thoroughly listen to what she is trying to express, you will pick up and understand what she is saying - you will become a best friend to her.
She is a private person, is keen to meet people and will build her own relationships with staff support on rare occasions. She enjoys a challenge no matter how challenging it is!  She will make her own decisions but will ask for staff input which she highly values.

She already has a huge presence in the Porirua Shopping Area.  She initiates her own goals - like getting paid employment, with the support of myself and her other support workers.  She enjoys collecting trolleys and taking them back to the supermarkets, which she has been doing for quite a long time.  Last month it appears her hard work has been recognized and she was presented with a certificate, which she was very happy to receive.   She is now in paid employment again earning $20 a week doing what she enjoyed doing, collecting the trolleys and returning them back.

She has this motto “If you want something or a job- don’t be lazy and get off your backside!” – a politer word than what she would say!  She says “If you want friends try the neighbors, say hello, how are you? Don’t be shy”.  I asked her if disabled people wanted to become more active in the community she replied “she has enough problems of her own let alone trying to solve other people’s issues”.  She did say she hopes that people who are disabled have good staff who have, and take the time to listen to their concerns and be patient. She also hopes they are given the opportunity to make their own choices and for others not to make assumptions. I asked her “how can we change the way people perceive the disabled”?  She replied “just be very careful - you never know one day this could be you”.

Thelma  (Support Worker)