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Meet a co-farmer

Co-farmer John, who lives in Supported Living, has been diagnosed with a learning disability. He also suffers from anxiety and, due to a hearing impairment, can often be disengaged and withdrawn if he hasn’t heard or understood conversations. John has an active calendar of activities, including attending a local social enterprise twice a week making sandwiches in their café, a Tech Club and a Saturday Club. He enjoys cooking, listening to music, computing, visiting family and walking to the local shop for his daily paper. He also enjoys visiting his local for a pint, sausage and mash!  Family wise, John has a great relationship with his parents, siblings and a grand parent, who he sees regularly. A recent 'big event' in the family gave John the opportunity to wear a suit and tie which he loved. For the past 6 years John has been coming to FarmAbility one day a week. Initially he was very nervous of being around animals and he struggled to make friendships and initiate conversations. We recognised that John found unexpected changes to his routine, loud noises, large groups and walking on uneven and muddy ground difficult. The staff at FarmAbility know that John needs to be warmly welcomed onto the farm on arrival to reduce his initial anxiety and he also needs some encouragement to settle into the day and greet the other co-farmers. After a little encouragement John is an unstoppable force and gets stuck in to all of the FarmAbility tasks. We discovered a few years back that John likes to role play, to lead a group and to teach.  He gets super motivated and excels at running the ‘Wake up Shake up’ session, getting everyone up and moving prior to the activity. With the support and reassurance provided by FarmAbility John is now much more confident in working with all sorts of farm animals. His self-confidence and self-esteem have grown and we have witnessed how much pleasure he gains from fully engaging in the activities on the farm. He often brings his cricket bat and ball with him and will organise a game with the many good friends he has developed at FarmAbility, whom he also enjoys laughing and joking with.

John

Co-farmer

John, who lives in Supported Living, has been diagnosed with a learning disability. He also suffers from anxiety and, due to a hearing impairment, can often be disengaged and withdrawn if he hasn’t heard or understood conversations.

John has an active calendar of activities, including attending a local social enterprise twice a week making sandwiches in their café, a Tech Club and a Saturday Club. He enjoys cooking, listening to music, computing, visiting family and walking to the local shop for his daily paper. He also enjoys visiting his local for a pint, sausage and mash!  Family wise, John has a great relationship with his parents, siblings and a grand parent, who he sees regularly. A recent ‘big event’ in the family gave John the opportunity to wear a suit and tie which he loved.

For the past 6 years John has been coming to FarmAbility one day a week. Initially he was very nervous of being around animals and he struggled to make friendships and initiate conversations. We recognised that John found unexpected changes to his routine, loud noises, large groups and walking on uneven and muddy ground difficult.

The staff at FarmAbility know that John needs to be warmly welcomed onto the farm on arrival to reduce his initial anxiety and he also needs some encouragement to settle into the day and greet the other co-farmers. After a little encouragement John is an unstoppable force and gets stuck in to all of the FarmAbility tasks. We discovered a few years back that John likes to role play, to lead a group and to teach.  He gets super motivated and excels at running the ‘Wake up Shake up’ session, getting everyone up and moving prior to the activity.

With the support and reassurance provided by FarmAbility John is now much more confident in working with all sorts of farm animals. His self-confidence and self-esteem have grown and we have witnessed how much pleasure he gains from fully engaging in the activities on the farm. He often brings his cricket bat and ball with him and will organise a game with the many good friends he has developed at FarmAbility, whom he also enjoys laughing and joking with.

Co-farmer Pete is diagnosed as having a learning disability. He lives with his Dad and his brother, who has 2 dogs. Despite this full house, Pete would undoubtedly be socially deprived and lack the communication and interaction he craves without his time at FarmAbility. He has made many good friends whom he really looks forward to seeing each week. He is a very sociable person and loves to have a joke and a laugh with the different co-farmers, volunteers and staff. Outside of FarmAbility, Pete does very little in his week. Pete absolutely loves coming to FarmAbility and has been doing so for many years; he enjoys many activities that we offer but especially enjoys woodwork and gardening. We operate an ‘outreach programme’ going to different farms and gardens and Pete gets very excited visiting a different location, getting to meet and greet new people. He communicates well although he has a very limited vocabulary and needs to be given one instruction at a time – allowing him time to process information. Our Programme Leaders are skilled in understanding the needs of each of our co-farmers and will ensure that Pete has time to digest information, check his understanding and allowing him agency in how he tackles activities. Physically, Pete is very capable of doing manual work as he has good strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. One area that we work on with Pete is with his ability to concentrate and keep his focus during a task, pacing himself and engaging his brain before initiating a task.  He can often be very motivated to get going but can launch into a something without thinking about it beforehand! Pete can now carry out many simple jobs in woodwork, for example, breaking up pallets, taking out nails and sawing in a straight line. Pete is equally able to carry out simple jobs in the garden independently, such as weeding, watering the strawberries, grapes and cucumbers in the poly tunnels and wood chipping the paths in the garden. Pete often needs assistance with remembering the names of plants and the sequence of steps in certain tasks but has come such a long way since we first worked with him. He will often ask questions about things he doesn’t fully comprehend and we will break things down for him, helping him understand complex information. Pete also very much enjoys cooking and joins in these activities at FarmAbility when we have the facilities to prepare a simple wholesome meal for co-farmers at lunchtime. At home he needs help with cooking and buying food, but from what he tells us, we believe this to be largely unhealthy snack foods to supplement the microwave meal his family feed him each evening. It feels like the only healthy food Pete gets is when he is at the farm. Some things that Pete doesn’t like are people shouting; his taxi being late; or people saying things to him about his personal hygiene. If someone is shouting on the farm, we guide him away from the situation and reassure him that it is ok. When Pete’s taxi is occasionally late, we explain that sometimes these things happen, but we are glad he is now with us at the farm and encourage him to settle into the day. We know how much Pete looks forward to his time spent at FarmAbility so we understand that any encroachments into this time is upsetting for Pete. Pete is a massive football fan and yet had never been there to watch a match, that is until FarmAbility arranged this for him a few years back, which he still talks about to date! Pete has made some great progress across many areas over the years that he has been with FarmAbility. He gains companionship, a sense of belonging and purpose, positive feedback and encouragement as well as a chance to develop his skills and be involved in meaningful occupations. It is lovely to see Pete’s confidence, independence and enjoyment increase as his capacity to carry out many activities grows, in a supportive environment where he thrives.

Pete

Co-farmer

Pete is diagnosed as having a learning disability. He lives with his Dad and his brother, who has 2 dogs. Despite this full house, Pete would undoubtedly be socially deprived and lack the communication and interaction he craves without his time at FarmAbility. He has made many good friends whom he really looks forward to seeing each week. He is a very sociable person and loves to have a joke and a laugh with the different co-farmers, volunteers and staff. Outside of FarmAbility, Pete does very little in his week.

Pete absolutely loves coming to FarmAbility and has been doing so for many years; he enjoys many activities that we offer but especially enjoys woodwork and gardening. We operate an ‘outreach programme’ going to different farms and gardens and Pete gets very excited visiting a different location, getting to meet and greet new people.

He communicates well although he has a very limited vocabulary and needs to be given one instruction at a time – allowing him time to process information. Our Programme Leaders are skilled in understanding the needs of each of our co-farmers and will ensure that Pete has time to digest information, check his understanding and allowing him agency in how he tackles activities. Physically, Pete is very capable of doing manual work as he has good strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. One area that we work on with Pete is with his ability to concentrate and keep his focus during a task, pacing himself and engaging his brain before initiating a task.  He can often be very motivated to get going but can launch into a something without thinking about it beforehand! Pete can now carry out many simple jobs in woodwork, for example, breaking up pallets, taking out nails and sawing in a straight line. Pete is equally able to carry out simple jobs in the garden independently, such as weeding, watering the strawberries, grapes and cucumbers in the poly tunnels and wood chipping the paths in the garden. Pete often needs assistance with remembering the names of plants and the sequence of steps in certain tasks but has come such a long way since we first worked with him. He will often ask questions about things he doesn’t fully comprehend and we will break things down for him, helping him understand complex information.

Pete also very much enjoys cooking and joins in these activities at FarmAbility when we have the facilities to prepare a simple wholesome meal for co-farmers at lunchtime. At home he needs help with cooking and buying food, but from what he tells us, we believe this to be largely unhealthy snack foods to supplement the microwave meal his family feed him each evening. It feels like the only healthy food Pete gets is when he is at the farm.

Some things that Pete doesn’t like are people shouting; his taxi being late; or people saying things to him about his personal hygiene. If someone is shouting on the farm, we guide him away from the situation and reassure him that it is ok. When Pete’s taxi is occasionally late, we explain that sometimes these things happen, but we are glad he is now with us at the farm and encourage him to settle into the day. We know how much Pete looks forward to his time spent at FarmAbility so we understand that any encroachments into this time is upsetting for Pete.

Pete is a massive football fan and yet had never been there to watch a match, that is until FarmAbility arranged this for him a few years back, which he still talks about to date!

Pete has made some great progress across many areas over the years that he has been with FarmAbility. He gains companionship, a sense of belonging and purpose, positive feedback and encouragement as well as a chance to develop his skills and be involved in meaningful occupations. It is lovely to see Pete’s confidence, independence and enjoyment increase as his capacity to carry out many activities grows, in a supportive environment where he thrives.

Co-farmer Jason is a vibrant young man who lives with his supportive family and their pet dog. Jason has been diagnosed with a learning disability and cerebral palsy which means that he has problems with movement, balance and posture and this also affects his speech, making it difficult for him to pronounce and articulate words. Jason has a full calendar of activities including going bowling, cooking for his family, playing disability football and cricket and watching matches on TV. His greatest passion however is his friends and socialising. Jason has been coming to FarmAbility since 2019 and is glad to have the opportunity to participate in meaningful activities every week. Although initially slow to communicate his wishes Jason is now confident at expressing his opinions, wants or needs. Having Cerebral Palsy affects a person's ability to finely coordinate the muscles around the mouth and tongue that are needed for speech, so it is difficult to understand Jason but this by no means puts him off! He will happily repeat himself many times or spell out a word to convey his meaning. He has also developed a greater interest in visiting new outreach locations and learn new skills. His favourite activity at FarmAbility is gardening and he always surprises the team doing a lot more than you would believe possible! His problem-solving ability and determination are inspiring and he is one of the most motivated co-farmers we have, striving hard to be as independent as possible. Jason is hard-working and willing to get stuck in whatever the weather may throw at him! Although Jason uses a walking frame to ambulate he prefers to get support for his balance difficulties from a member of staff when going on a walk. This allows him much more freedom to get across fields, woods and uneven terrain and is great for maintaining his coordination. It is so lovely to see Jason’s confidence grow as a valued member of the FarmAbility community and to witness the enjoyment he gets from chatting to his many friends attending the service and from getting involved in all the activities that are on offer. FarmAbility undoubtedly helps Jason’s health and well-being and the Occupational Therapy framework of Doing, Being and Becoming is extremely apt for this enthusiastic co-farmer. We are extremely proud of Jason. He has been a great ambassador for the charity by doing talks and presentation at events and has recently started cycling on a recumbent bike which FarmAbility helped fundraise for. The exercise adds another dimension to his independence, fitness and the pleasure of getting out in his local environment.

Jason

Co-farmer

Jason is a vibrant young man who lives with his supportive family and their pet dog. Jason has been diagnosed with a learning disability and cerebral palsy which means that he has problems with movement, balance and posture and this also affects his speech, making it difficult for him to pronounce and articulate words.

Jason has a full calendar of activities including going bowling, cooking for his family, playing disability football and cricket and watching matches on TV. His greatest passion however is his friends and socialising.

Jason has been coming to FarmAbility since 2019 and is glad to have the opportunity to participate in meaningful activities every week. Although initially slow to communicate his wishes Jason is now confident at expressing his opinions, wants or needs. Having Cerebral Palsy affects a person’s ability to finely coordinate the muscles around the mouth and tongue that are needed for speech, so it is difficult to understand Jason but this by no means puts him off! He will happily repeat himself many times or spell out a word to convey his meaning. He has also developed a greater interest in visiting new outreach locations and learn new skills.

His favourite activity at FarmAbility is gardening and he always surprises the team doing a lot more than you would believe possible! His problem-solving ability and determination are inspiring and he is one of the most motivated co-farmers we have, striving hard to be as independent as possible. Jason is hard-working and willing to get stuck in whatever the weather may throw at him!

Although Jason uses a walking frame to ambulate he prefers to get support for his balance difficulties from a member of staff when going on a walk. This allows him much more freedom to get across fields, woods and uneven terrain and is great for maintaining his coordination. It is so lovely to see Jason’s confidence grow as a valued member of the FarmAbility community and to witness the enjoyment he gets from chatting to his many friends attending the service and from getting involved in all the activities that are on offer. FarmAbility undoubtedly helps Jason’s health and well-being and the Occupational Therapy framework of Doing, Being and Becoming is extremely apt for this enthusiastic co-farmer.

We are extremely proud of Jason. He has been a great ambassador for the charity by doing talks and presentation at events and has recently started cycling on a recumbent bike which FarmAbility helped fundraise for. The exercise adds another dimension to his independence, fitness and the pleasure of getting out in his local environment.