Across the Spectrum - Issue 75 - Autumn 2012 - Spectrum Care

across the
spectrum
for the people, families and communities of Spectrum Care
What’s inside:
■ Thomas wows ’em at his first
exhibition!
■ Help sought to sell Pippa’s cards
for Christchurch
■ Hollywood make-over for Heather
and Donna
■ Norman hits the gym with his
personal trainer
■ New community garden set up
at Helga!
■ Sensory group a stimulating
success!
■ Hannah’s family reunion
■ Daniel celebrates his grandfather’s
memory on ANZAC Day
People with Disabilities Living Great Lives
Issue: 75 – Autumn 2012
Jia Bei’s Asian Cultural Club
proves a great success
Jia Bei Zhu of Young Cottage aspired to connect and network with people of his own culture, as well as forming
new friendships.
Given that these are all parts of Jia Bei’s Outcomes goals, the Asian Cultural Club was formed in November 2011.
With the help of the staff at Young Cottage, Jia Bei and the Club members meet once a month for planned activities.
So far, these activities have been a lunch at a yum cha restaurant; the opening of the East Tamaki Food Mart, where
they all received a monetary gift; celebrating the Lantern Festival at Spectrum Care’s Hub where a Lion Dance group
came and performed; a ‘movie night’ at the Hub, where they watched Kung Fu Panda 2; and going to a karaoke
bar called ‘123 Karaoke’ in Meadowlands!
The club is a great steppingstone for Jia Bei to meet with friends who are culturally linked to him.
During these get-togethers, everyone enjoys learning new and exciting things about their culture, as well as experiencing
Chinese culture firsthand and all it has to offer each member of the group.
Well done to Jia Bei and the Asian Cultural Club, and thank you to all the support staff who attend these activities
with our people.
We’re all looking forward to a wonderful year with the Asian Cultural Club!
Naveen Kishor – CSW

Thomas wows ’em at his first exhibition!
Thomas Tolley’s first photographic art exhibition took place on Saturday-Sunday 21-22 April at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson.
It was hugely successful and the launch was attended by a large group of enthusiastic visitors.
Thomas describes his passion for photography:
Hi, I’m Thomas and I live in Glendene. I love photography and have been
working at my craft for more nearly four years.
I have autism, but I love life and love getting out in nature and capturing
my own view of the world.
I love colour and try to take photographs that reflect the vibrancy and
contrast of my environment.
I love precision, too, and work hard to create sharp imagines, which I handframe
in black with materials donated from my local picture framers.
A number of very positive comments have been received over the past
week, which are profiled below:
First of all, I want to thank Jamie Shirlaw again for all the support he gave
us, including his great MCing. Many houses came on Sunday and Thomas’
parents came four times with their family and friends. Actually, today a
mother of his former carer came to Adriatic (because she missed the
exhibition) and bought two photos. So, all in all, 30 photos were sold and
there are also some orders Thomas needs to do.
It was really a successful exhibition and we’re all proud of Thomas, and
thankful to those who supported and believed in his capabilities.
We hope he can buy his new camera soon, with the help of the proceeds
from the exhibition.
On behalf of Thomas Tolley, we’d like to thank you all for supporting Thomas
with his photography exhibition last weekend.
This event has really made a big difference in Thomas’ life. Thank you also
to those who bought and ordered his art.
Achieving this goal is really a huge step towards achieving his dream and
you are all part of his success. Once again, thanks so much.
Mary Pineda – House Leader
Thanks again Mary
The event was a credit to yourself, Nirmal, Nora, Jamie and the rest of the
Adriatic team and, especially, Thomas and his family.
Thank you for all the efforts that you collectively made to support Thomas
towards this very impressive achievement.
It’s been a great journey for me to witness the transition from Thomas’
interest in metal to a budding interest in photography, supported and
mentored by Nora to the significant engagement with the community through
the input of Jim Ellis, Homestead Picture Framers and the Corban Community
Arts Centre.
The culmination of all the support to partner Thomas in this wonderful
photography exhibition is testimony to the shared focus on real Outcomes
for the people we support.
Chris Harris – Chief Executive
‘Thumbs Up’
To Cranmere, Salisbury, Sturges, Garden Court and Fran Moore, who have
given their efforts to bake cakes and pastries for the opening day of Thomas’
photography exhibition.
‘Thumbs Up’ to Hemanthi, too, who
unselfishly gave her extra time to
support arranging and decorating
the venue, plus being present at
the Corban Estate for two days.
We appreciate all your efforts to
support the Adriatic team and,
most especially, Thomas Tolley.
More power to you all!
The Adriatic team

Help sought to sell Pippa’s
cards for Christchurch
Pippa Bjerga is a young lady with cerebral palsy from Kumeu
Aspirations centre.
Ever since the Christchurch earthquake in February last year, Pippa
has been working hard to raise money for the people of Christchurch
in her own unique way.
“Yesterday, it was a year ago that the earthquake hit,” says Pippa.
“Since it happened, I’ve been making cards to sell to help raise money
for the people of Christchurch.
“Once I had enough, I went to the bank and put it in the Christchurch
relief fund account.
“I’ll continue making cards to raise more money for Christchurch for
as long as I need to.”
Pippa is dedicated to helping the people of Christchurch in their time
of need and is always looking for more places to sell her cards.
If you know of anywhere that would be happy to display some of her cards
for sale, please contact Kumeu Aspirations centre on (09) 412 9884.
Pippa Bjerga and Ben Ward – Kumeu Aspirations centre
Hollywood make-over for
Heather and Donna
On Tuesday 20 March, Heather Bell and Donna Garwood of Buscomb
House enjoyed a pampering at a local nail salon in the Westfield Mall.
They enjoyed a ‘Hollywood makeover’ as a promotional special from
the salon – including manicure, pedicure, hand and arm massage, and
Heather had a brow wax too!
They’re now on the mailing list and will receive regular reminders and
specials in the mail.
They’re hoping to make this a regular monthly girls’ day out and
pampering session.
Jan Simmons – CSW
Norman hits the gym with
his personal trainer
One of Norman’s Outcomes goals was to join a gym and we’ve been
working hard to put together an opportunity which would allow this
to happen.
We tried the local community gym, but Norman found it all too distracting
and couldn’t focus on his exercises.
We then hired a treadmill from Body 4 U so Norman could continue
his exercise regime at home. He did very with the treadmill initially,
working his way up to 20 minutes at a time, but then he started to
become bored with doing the same thing all the time.
The House Leader, Norman and the Service Coordinator discussed
having some personal training with someone who had experience
working with people with disabilities, and someone with whom Norman
would be confident.
Our former Transitions Coordinator, Troy Cleave, is now a personal
trainer at Velca, so we took the opportunity to put Troy and Norman
together in a small studio with no distractions. Velca was also offering
a discounted membership rate, which was an added bonus!
The initial session was free and Norman got to talk about what he
wanted to get out of the personal training. His blood pressure and
weight were taken, along with his medical history.
Following this, Norman was given his first workout – which also was free.
Free bottled water was given to drink throughout session and Norman
was given some exercise tasks to do at home before the next training
session.
Norman thoroughly enjoyed it, as you can see from the photo above.
He picked up the exercises easily, and his self esteem and confidence
grew throughout the session.
The personal trainer phoned Norman the next day to ask him how he
enjoyed it and Norman said he loved it. He also spoke to staff who
said the same.
We see the personal training as a step towards Norman achieving his
goal of becoming a member at a community gym, as he’ll have an
understanding of how exercises should be done, how to keep focus
and his confidence will have grown.
Christine Cleave – Service Coordinator

New community garden set up at Helga!
Conceived as part of Nigel Sage’s Outcomes goals, the community garden at Helga is progressing well with phase one now complete, meaning we now
have a fully functional community garden onsite!
The work so far has involved the building and planting out of raised beds
almost one-metre high to allow for maximum access and remove the need
for bending down to ground level.
The garden still has a long way to go, with the next few phases involving the
construction of a greenhouse and worm farm, the planting of fruit trees and
the installation of a water tank.
Fortunately, Nigel’s neighbours also have green fingers and we hope they’ll
come over to help out in the garden and share in its bounty!
Thanks to Jules, Shannon, Nick, and Jackie from A Supported Life for helping
to load the boxes full of topsoil – one of the raised beds has been set aside
for their own use.
Thanks to Homer Xu, Gardens4Health Facilitator at Diabetes Project Trust,
for providing guidance and a site plan, as well as putting us in touch with
our garden mentor, Judy, who’s helping guide us through the process.
Thanks also to Andrea and her team for getting behind this project and seeing
what benefit this has for all concerned.
Funding for the project came from the Outcomes and Inclusion Reserve Fund
– thanks to Spectrum Care and the Board for such a fantastic initiative!
Anyone who’s interested in viewing the garden, asking questions or even
having a raised bed to call their own can contact either myself on 0274 527
459 or Andrea Parata 09 834 3667.
Jamie Shirlaw – Outcomes Broker

Sensory group a stimulating success!
Following the completion of the introductory sensory group last year, a new
structured programme was put together.
The purpose of these sessions was so that people of similar interests could
come together to enjoy each other’s company.
While interacting with peers, the opportunity to participate in set activities
with the support of their caring staff person was provided. The prime goal
of the programme was to have a bit of fun.
This term consisted of nine sessions which involved exploring different
substances, mixing different colours, textures and identifying smells.
During the final session, participants enjoyed a shared lunch and came
away with a papier-mâché Easter egg they’d made and painted, filled with
Easter goodies – a fitting celebration on which to end the term.
The sensory group is intended to recommence at the end of April.
Next term, Anthony and his peers will explore even more fun-filled activities
and continue their developing friendships.
A big thanks to everyone for their participation and support!
Richard Sartorelli – CSW
Hannah’s family reunion
Hannah is 25 years old and lives at Ferndale. She had a wonderful trip to
Whitianga to attend her only sister’s wedding and met all her family from
overseas who attended the wedding.
Hannah had a good family reunion and was very excited and happy with
the atmosphere – vocalising in a loud voice.
Her relatives were so impressed to see the way Hannah was dressed and,
with her manicure and pedicure too, she was looking gorgeous. It was an
exciting experience for Hannah to be at the wedding and see her sister in
her wedding gown.
She enjoyed the variety of food and the cake and spent valuable time with
her relatives – staying the night at the hotel with both family and staff.
On behalf of Hannah, I’d like to thank those who made her trip to Whitianga
so wonderfully successful.
I’d also like to acknowledge my Ferndale team, my Service Coordinators
and a special thanks to the IT person, with his lovely transport to make the
drive a success.
Pushpa – CSW and Hannah
vision:
people with disabilities living great lives
values:
person centred
Responsive to the person; individualised services and support
innovation
Pioneering and looking for better ways
commitment and passion
Creating and maintaining a high-performance culture, where we are
passionate about what we do
partnership
Working successfully together with others, valuing each other’s
contribution
excellence
Leading the way

Daniel celebrates his grandfather’s
memory on ANZAC Day
Daniel is the first of the Muir family to wear his grandfather Russell Leonard Muir’s medals.
Daniel was excited the morning of ANZAC day that he didn’t realise
that, while dressing in his suit, the medals were attached with pins
(Daniel doesn’t like sharp objects). Because of the nature of the event
he never let this bother him.
At the parade, Daniel marched with adults and children all wearing medals
of loved ones who served in the wars.
He saw his great grandmother and went and stood beside her, holding her
hand and watching the event. Daniel observed how the diggers were standing
and he stood to attention also.
Daniel was very thoughtful the whole day. He looked honoured, as well as
very smart.
Daniel’s mum and brother were there also. They were very proud to see
Daniel wearing the medals and representing the Muir family. Daniel said
he enjoyed himself.
Daniel is a member of the Papakura RSA where his grandfather’s photos
hang on the wall.
Daniel has Outcomes around his interest in war artefacts and has recently
visited the Waiouru army museum.
Well done to Waka Eden in supporting Daniel to achieve his
Outcomes goals.
Vince Doggrell – Service Coordinator
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As part of achieving Spectrum Care’s ongoing vision of ‘people with disabilities living great lives’, we’re constantly looking for opportunities to streamline
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