Having a disability can be a major or a minor
inconvenience. Of course, the severity
of a disability will dictate how much and what kind of assistance is
needed. But the quality of help people
have – the kind of help that is there just when you need it, then disappears so
you can get on with your life – that kind of really assistance is harder to
come by. A personal support network is
designed to coordinate the good intentions of both friends and professionals so
that their helpful actions are coordinated, not intrusive, and driven by your wishes and needs.
To illustrate what a network is and what it can do, here are
two scenarios.
Life Without a Network:
Paul is a 37 year old, married father of two. He and his partner Amanda have been
struggling to care for their children after Paul’s motorcycle accident left him
with chronic pain. Paul walks with a
cane and uses a wheelchair for longer distances. Paul and Amanda met at a local bowling league
and Paul hopes to someday return to his hobby.
Paul receives disability benefits and since his accident, he remains
friends with some of his former co-workers.
They have offered to help, but as time goes by, they call less
frequently. Before Paul’s accident,
Amanda worked part-time and was active socially in her neighborhood community
through schools, her church and her gym.
Now, Amanda has taken a full-time job to help the family and Paul often
finds himself at home alone.
Paul identifies his wish list as being able to manage his
pain in order to help more around the house, to make a contribution in his
community and to reconnect with friends.
Paul would like to explore how he could bowl again, but he isn’t sure
how that could happen, given his pain.
Life With a Network:
Paul set up a Tyze Personal Network. He
learned that Tyze is completely private and that members of his network will
need passwords to enter the site. He
sent email invitations to join Tyze to his partner Amanda as well as to two
neighbors, two former co-workers and one friend who continues to play in the
bowling league. Paul knows that he can
add more friends later.
Paul’s children need a ride to their weekend gymnastics
class and Paul would like to help. Paul
doesn’t drive, so he posts a request on Tyze asking if anyone could bring his
children to their class. A neighbor sees
the request in her email, logs in to Tyze and clicks ‘I’ll help’.
When Paul posts on the Tyze Carewall that he would like to
get back to bowling somehow, his league friend speaks with team members and
with staff at the facility to brainstorm ways of including Paul. The bowling league friend posts a date and
time on the Tyze calendar to visit Paul at home where they will discuss
possibilities.
Paul posts on the Carewall that he would like to see
friends, but is never sure if he will feel well enough on a given day. Amanda suggests that network members post on
the calendar when they are free for a visit and Paul can phone last minute to
let them know if he feels like company.
Paul and Amanda are beginning to understand that friends and
extended family want to help, but are intimidated by Paul’s injury and the
family’s needs. Tyze helps to break down big needs into small tasks and
schedule them into a shared agenda.
Everyone in the network is beginning to feel the benefits of
contribution and friendship.
No comments:
Post a Comment