Participant spotlight – Georgie

13 October 2021

Meet Georgie. She is a young woman who joined the OC Connections (OCC) Day Support program eight years ago after she finished her schooling at the Monash Special Developmental School in Wheelers Hill.

The OC Connections Day Support program offers individuals like Georgie the opportunity to pursue activities that focus on building everyday life skills, like cooking, getting fit, developing skills to access the community and exploring favourite hobbies.

OC Connections encourages and supports people to be involved in a wide range of activities based on personal interests and their individual goals.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgie attended the OCC Day Support program five days a week. She enjoyed participating in offsite activities where she was able to develop her skills in the community, including going to Caribbean Market to buy and eat lunch, bowling, bushwalking, trampolining and visits to Myuna Farm in Doveton.

Georgie’s Mum, Michelle says that the skills she learnt from her visits to the market, such as ordering food, handling money and eating in a food court have not gone to waste and have been put into practice on their Sunday morning outings between lockdowns.

Before COVID-19 Georgie was supported by OCC Disability Support Workers who would walk her home two afternoons a week and assist her to develop skills such as getting clothes off the line, making her afternoon tea, making her lunch for the next day and washing her hands.

During the lockdowns, Georgie has spent time at home but she has also been eligible to attend OCC where she has taken to doing puzzles, playing games, going for walks and getting involved in music activities and cooking.

Recently, she made new connections with like-minded participants and has enjoyed playing games and watching movies with them.

OC Connections Disability Support Workers are guided by the OC Co-Achieve model to support people living with disabilities to achieve their goals, great and small. Our Day Support team have worked with Georgie to support her to develop her skills and take part in new and meaningful experiences so she can live life to her full potential.

Michelle says “Georgie has done well during the 2020 and 2021 lockdowns. She has kept herself busy, happy and has continued to learn during this time.”

During her time at home, Georgie has helped her family to build a vegetable garden. She has enjoyed going for walks, sitting on the front verandah and throwing the ball to her dog, Reuben.

She has also been working on her cooking skills and has enjoyed having time to watch a spot of horse racing and AFL football on TV as well as going for drives in the car. During a break in the lockdowns, she was delighted to be able to get dressed up and attend her brother’s wedding.

In August, Georgie’s parents, Michelle and Chris visited the Northern Territory. While they were away, Georgie enjoyed her independence. She attended the Day Support program at OCC and spent the weekend at home with family and a Disability Support Worker.

Michelle said, “While she missed us, Georgie adapted well. She enjoyed spending time with different people but she also had the routine of her daily program at OC Connections. It was a great new experience and an opportunity to build her independence.”

Georgie is now further developing her independence by using the OC Connections Short Term Accommodation service where Georgie and her family hope she can hone her self-reliance skills, have new experiences and importantly as a young woman, form new friendships.

Georgie’s participation in a variety of OC Connections programs has enabled her to receive person-centred supports that have have assisted her to pursue her dreams and achieve her goals.

OC Connections can help you to transition from school!

OC Connections has a range of support options for school leavers with disability to assist with the transition from school life to the adult world. The type of supports you choose will depend on your goals, interests, support needs and funding. Find out more here.

Read about OC Connections participants who have transitioned from school.