When we were organising #107days Meraud got in touch with us, she’d read about #JusticeforLB and LB’s love of buses and she was involved supporting Adam, a dude who loves buses as much as LB. Adam and Meraud adopted today to go on a mammoth tour of Brighton on a bendy bus, however, an opportunity to goto London (also loved by LB) with a local youth group (BHip) arose and today they are off to the big smoke. We share their story today, as a story of hope and possibility and we’re grateful to them both for sharing.
We start with an intro to Adam:
Adam is a dude. He is 15 (almost 16) and a typical teenager – he wants to do what he wants to do and when he wants to do it! Adam has some pretty cool people working with him too. Due to Adam’s additional needs (Fragile X, Autism, and learning difficulties) and challenging behaviour, he has 1:1 for 3 hours every day after school, all day Saturday, and full time during the school holidays. When Adam is out and about he has 2:1 to manage any potential risks. Adam has very special relationships with everyone he works with.
A little from Meraud about why she wanted to get involved:
One of the things that really struck me about the many failings in the assessment unit was the lack of interaction between staff and the young people. I have worked with Adam, and many other individuals with learning difficulties, and I find it incredible that the culture of the staff was to be so ‘non-involved’. I love my job because I get to work with such unique and interesting people – sometimes I have to find a different way of approaching communication and I most definitely have to be prepared to make fool of my self on occasions (how often do you see a grown women pretending to be an elephant on public transport?!) but these are the things that make my day exciting and fun. LB was entrusted in to the care of others and he should have been treated like a precious cargo with staff striving to find a way of making him laugh and smile, as his family knew he could.
Meraud has produced a brilliant document that introduces Adam and his relationship with his team. You can read it all here, featuring Adam, Sian, Ashley, Sherie and of course Meraud. Describing their own relationship Meraud says:
I have worked with Adam for 13 years now – in that time I have seen him grow from an anxious little boy into the confident young man that he is now… Spending time with Adam is a pleasure and, even when things are a little bit tricky and his behaviour is more difficult to manage, it is always a privilege to be a part of his life… He is a superstar!
Meraud is also at pains to acknowledge the love and support of Adam’s family. It’s worth a read and paints such a positive picture of what could be, with the right support and humility.
Everyone working together gives Adam the best chance at succeeding in everything that he does.
#107days 