(Interview with Hanneley, Melissa’s mum)
“Melissa is 16, she’s quite an independent young lady who has down syndrome.
I had a couple of concerns about Melissa’s physical health, weight and eating habits. Like any other teenager she needed encouragement and guidance to make the right food choices. We had assistance from Senses Australia to address these and it has had such a positive effect on Mellissa. Making her more aware of the importance of movement, exercise, and a good diet.
I’m happy to say that with a bit of practice and some logical modifications in the kitchen, Melissa is now cooking two meals a week for the family. Chicken parmigiana, chicken stir fry, mac and cheese, lots of things. I’ve typed some recipes for her, where I’ve used colour coding for the ingredients. She’s at a point now where you can give her any recipe and she can cook it. She’s learned so many skills.
She feels so proud of herself. Yesterday morning, she said, I feel like pancakes, so off she went. She makes them from scratch, I’m not even in the kitchen now.
The team from Senses are just lovely. They are really supportive. What’s great about the services is that we always have them there to tap into when we reach the different stages in Melissa’s development.
I know that Senses’ support won’t stop when she leaves school, they will always be there. When we get to the group home stage or whatever happens down the line, they will be there to guide and support us along the way. And that’s what makes you, as a parent, feel a bit more comfortable because you know it’s not just you on your own to walk that journey.
At this stage Melissa can’t imagine a future out of home but that doesn’t mean that we should not prepare her for that. I’d like people to know that the sky is the limit. At the end of the day why are we doing all these supports and therapies? It’s for our children to live as independently as they possibly can.
Next on her bucket list is more social interactions and outings. We’re currently preparing for our meeting with NDIS and I’ll make sure to include funding for this next stage of social outings. As with any person with an intellectual disability, it may take a bit longer to learn but once they achieve their goals it is amazing. It’s like WOOHOO we have conquered it, what can we do next.”
(Interview with Hanneley, Melissa’s mum)
At Senses Australia we believe that all people with disability should have access to the practical support they need to enable them to fulfil their own unique potential. If you would like to know more about the range of services we have to offer or would like to review your current services please get in touch 1300 111 881.
