Social participation and communication

2024/09/05

I listened to my friend Keiko as she told me about her daughter Myu.

Myu is 18-year old girl who needs care in her daily life.

She is a friendly girl and likes interacting with others.

Today I will share with you how Keiko, who took care of Myu by herself,

decided to support Myu's more adult participation in society.

In the next post, we will discuss participation and communication

as occupations, and the function (power) and meaning of the occupations.   

Social participation and communication

　　　　　　　　　　　　 Myu and a helper

Keiko is a woman in her fifties who lives with her husband and three

children．

She talked to me about her daughter Myu, 18 years old.

Myu has congenital spina bifida.

Her legs are paralyzed and she can’t walk.

She needs assistants and medical care for her daily life.

Myu is a cheerful, friendly and talkative girl.

Myu graduated from a school for children with special needs this March.

She now enjoys commuting to continuation shelters.

She goes to one sheltered workshop where she performs light jobs like

folding towels four times a week and to another one for rehabilitation

exercise.

Myu likes interacting with others but her thinking is quite shallow and

her judgement is limited.

Myu crawls to get around inside their home but she needs help to move up

to her bed and to have a bath.

Keiko has taken care of Myu since she was born.

But Keiko has suffered from a low back hernia, hip fracture, and joint pains

in her knees, elbows and shoulders, increasing for years.

It’s getting harder for Keiko to physically take care of her daughter by herself.

Since this May, Keiko has used a care service.

A helper comes to help Myu move from transport back into the house

when she comes back from a shelter.

Keiko realized the care service relieved her more than she had expected.

Then she started using them for bathing service for Myu.

Keiko felt her suffering getting less.

Meanwhile, she realized that she cannot provide this kind of care of her

daughter forever.

Keiko started thinking: Myu has her own life and Keiko should help

Myu to start living a more adult life. 

Keiko started acting to find a group home for her daughter Myu.

Keiko has another concern in helping Myu start her adult life.

She realizes that communicating with others is a meaningful and

important occupation for Myu.

She is always friendly to anyone and likes interacting and talking and

laughing with them.

Myu was an actively involved student in her schools and had a leadership

role in her classes.

Myu is now a mood maker in the nursing station and sheltered work setting.

For example, when a new intern student was nervous and tense at the

nursing station, Myu talked to the student like a senior student to release her tension.

In the shelters, she also actively interacts with clients and staff.

When a new client looked depressed he became isolated as other clients and

staff hardly talked to him.

But Myu approached to him in a friendly way and gradually cheered him

and made friends with him.

This client and Myu are now close like a grandfather and his grandchild. 

But Myu’s behavior doesn’t always fit the social situation.

For example, although it’s acceptable to tease someone in the family about

having stinky feet, outside the family it’s not acceptable social behavior.

Myu doesn’t understand the subtle differences in social situations.  

Keiko is afraid that Myu will not be accepted by people in society

because she is so friendly, but not always appropriate in her

communication interactions.

Keiko thinks it’s her role and responsibility to help Myu start her adult life.

She hasn’t found a group home for people who need medical care that

would meet Myu's needs yet.

But she plans to continue helping her to find place and learn more

appropriate social interaction for her adult life.