by Kaylee Stone, Service Manager
This is a story all about Alice*, making friends, and becoming healthier.
Alice is a bubbly, cheeky young woman who adores her iPad. She is supported by us here at Oxford Lifelong Learning.
Lockdown weight gain
Alice had gained weight since lockdown in 2020, and during her annual health review, we planned a visit from the learning disability nurse to help Alice and support her to be more mobile. We noticed that Alice had become a bit isolated so we wanted to find ways for her to connect and be more sociable. We hoped in turn that help with weight loss too.
An idea for a nail bar
One day the other ladies who attend Lifelong Learning asked about getting a nail bar as they all loved having pamper afternoons. We’d recently raised some money from a pop-up shop (that’s another story!) so we bought a foldable nail bar. We dedicated a corner of the games room to it. Everyone decorated hands with different colours and displayed them in the nail bar corner.
Alice gets more social
Setting up the nail bar in the games room encouraged Alice to explore the room more. Now Alice will walk around to find a space she wants to use rather than sitting in the same place every day. Together, we decided to move her favourite chair to the main space.
Today Alice sits at the table with everyone, eating her lunch and will watch others chatting away and join in with activities.
Ideas for getting mobile
Alice doesn’t particularly enjoy many activities, but does love her iPad. But this doesn’t help Alice become more mobile and get to know us better or connect with other people.
We put our heads together and purchased a portable Wi-Fi device. This means Alice can get out for walks, especially in the sunshine. She enjoys watching children playing in the park, and is sharing what she’s watching on her beloved iPad with us.
A healthy journey
Alice’s eating habits are much healthier, her weight has gone down, and is even more happy and bubbly.
Alice’s journey has made us realise that not everyone’s community connections need to be the same, or made at the same pace. And it’s really important to respect people’s boundaries. For now, Alice is happy to enjoy her hobbies and getting out and about more. We’re looking forward to what she will choose to do next.
*Name changed for confidentiality
