Journey

On his own Rory has discovered a love of colouring-in online.  He will sit in his chair in the lounge with his tablet and colour for a couple of hours.  I can’t understand the attraction as it appears very repetitive.  Colouring has been proven to reduce psychological distress and improve mood.  Colouring therapy is based on the idea that colouring can help people get away from their inner dialogue and negative thoughts and emotions.  Rory quickly becomes frustrated at colouring-in by hand due to his poor fine motor skills.  Colouring-in by hand requires a high level of concentration so is tiring and the result is messy.  Online colouring seems to lower his anxiety level and give him a sense of calm, safety, and satisfaction.  Rory rarely plays video games as they happen at a speed he cannot process with a degree of complexity he cannot understand. 

This week Rory spent his last afternoon with Support Carer Caleb who has secured a building apprenticeship.  The time they have spent together, accompanied by Daisy dog, has been invaluable for Rory.  He will miss them both.  Rory and Tash are learning the ropes at Salvation Army and developing an efficient routine of tagging/pricing the clothing.  Tash and Rory have been at a bit of a loss for things to do in ‘spare’ time so we are glad the WITT Skills for Living course begins for 2023 tomorrow.  Yesterday we attended the Parafed Taranaki Whanau Day.  Rory enjoyed being with the other young people playing Boccia, Wheelchair touch and Snag golf.  The deterioration in his ability to stand and mobilise is limiting his participation.  In addition he is growing up and discovering the activities which give him the most stimulation, satisfaction and joy.  As a result he can quickly lose interest in things he used to enjoy a few years ago.  We will continue to put new experiences in front of his nose to widen the scope of his life.