We sometimes fail to realise that teaching is a gift given and one that is received too. As part of the Master of Occupational Therapy Course, Annmaree, Suzanne and Susannah went to give a lecture on dual sensory impairment using lived experience, research and verbatim testimony. We covered key issues: Annmaree’s journey with deafness and then blindness and the funny and not-funny things that happen along the way.
We talked about research and what we have learned about what is needed for good care and communication. We love talking with health and social care students at Uni because they are the professionals, practitioners and policy makers of tomorrow and they can and do make a difference.
Dual sensory impairment in older people is common.
Dual sensory impairment is under recognised, under diagnosed and under supported in Australia (and a great many other countries). We have a rapidly ageing population and all of us will be affected one way or another by sensory loss whether it is ourselves, our parents, our friends , family members.
It’s important to recognise and support people, carers and families because dual sensory impairment is associated with increased rates of loneliness, poor health and wellbeing. It is also a remediable risk factor for cognitive decline. So recognising the condition, giving information and putting supports in place can make a big difference to happier, healthier and safer older people with sensory impairments.
Suzanne then got up and showed the students how to use the deafblind manual alphabet and the social-haptics communication emergency sign (a big X drawn on the back means: “take my arm, come with me now, I will explain later, there’s an emergency”). So these are gifts given and shared so that these occupational therapy students become practitioners who are better informed and alert to the fact they may be a first responder, a person who notices the hearing loss and the low vison and puts them together.
But the students gave back. By listening, engaging and asking really important questions. And that’s not all. Today I was asked to come in by the course co-ordinator. She gave me an extraordinary thank you gift from the students. Every single one contributed to this most amazing living and sensory-rich symbolic “thank you” I have ever heard of or received. There is a potted lime scented geranium plant: rub the leaves and be rewarded by Jo Malone-esque fragrant citrus. Nestled in between the geraniums are LegoÔ flowers in tight bunches, a contrast in touch modalities between the slightly furry geranium leaves and the rigid and smooth toy plants. But there is more: the plants sit in a pot within a larger bowl. Between the bowl and pot are stones, pebbles, shells and coral from each of the students. Some are from their homes in Sydney, some are from their homes overseas. One piece of delicately patterned coral is from Halong Bay, Vietnam. There are little rocks from Sydney Uni grounds and shells with smooth pearly interiors and ridged outsides.
The students wrote:
Dear Annmaree,
As a token of the cohort’s appreciation, we have prepared a sensory gift for you! We hope you can enjoy the scent of the Lime Geranium and all the artifacts contributed by students and staff.
I especially want to highlight the following contribution –
Item: Fragment of dead coral
Where does the artifact come from: “This coral fragment I brought home with me from the shores of Halong Bay from my trip in recent years. Halong Bay in Vietnam is home to 100-200 species of coral that are distributed in many coral reefs that stretch hundreds of metres. Pollution and increased predation have caused a decline in coral colonies in the Gulf.”
With much appreciation, from all the occupational therapy students.
These students from the University of Sydney are going to be thoughtful and creative when they hit the wards, outpatient departments, service organisations and anywhere else they land. And that is a very great gift indeed.
