Active spastics (1969)

[Music] in addition to the National Society there are many groups on regional and local levels for the aid of spastics those in Lincolnshire had long felt that a residential home to cater for the needs of adults btics in the area was well overdue but none of the individual groups was financially able to tackle the problem alone then in 1961 Grimsby scunthorp and Lincoln groups together with those from Boston Stanford and granon decided to pull their existing resources and with a massive fundraising Drive collected £3,000 in 5 years the result of this combined effort is the Lincolnshire Center at scumthorp this first center is purpose-built on a 2 Acre Site on the outskirts of the town and its Architects won a Civic award for the way in which the building itself harmonizes with its surroundings inside there's a feeling of cheerful spaciousness which is a feature of most newly built modern centers and there are many individual touches including this ay in the center Courtyard the first residents moved into the center during April 1966 and at once appreciated the atmosphere of happy and formality the facilities leave nothing to be desired and the warden with the hous mothers and staff are unsparing in their efforts to bring a true home life into the whole place there are 30 residents living at the center ranging in ages from 16 to 34 years in the workshops which are an integral part of the center they are joined each day by seven other spastics who live nearby all employed for a full five day week most of the people have been handicapped since birth or early childhood though two were involved in Road accidents and received injuries to their brains which caused the conditions from which they [Music] suffer the workshops have a regular supply of subcontract work available from firms wishing to cooperate with the center and the workers are kept busy in preparing rubber components for hydraulic braking systems assembling plastic Loops for curtain Glides fitting bolts to insulating plates for electric motors and the final assembling of plastic boxes [Music] although this kind of work appears simple to the onlooker it is far from being so to a handicapped person where many routine jobs would be boring and tedious in the finishing shops of factories every movement the makes on the work item is the result of concentrated care and effort bringing with it a sense of achievement the production line in the workshops is so planned that each does the job for which he is best suited a variety of Jigs and Technical AIDS have been developed to help each individual these vary from expensive and sophisticated power tools for a resembling electrical units to simple wooden pegs placed to hold sheets of rubber [Music] components the employees work in teams so that the more able can help the others and in this way even the most severely handicapped can find work on the bench this is important both psychologically and economically all monies earned in the workshops are paid directly to the spastics as weekly wages so they know as well as feel that their labor and effort is worthwhile [Music] n oh [Music] [Music] the manager in charge of the workshop has devised many of the Jigs and production AIDS himself and is always on hand and ready to help the residents find great satisfaction in their work and this itself promotes a sense of well-being and goes a long way to minimize their disabilities both to themselves and those around them the word itself does not mean a great deal to the average person and the usual picture is that of a child people do not realize that a child grows into an adult but what exactly does mean it is the common name for the condition known medically as cerebral py the term cerebral py covers all types of physical disability stemming from congenital brain damage the work that these spastics are doing at this Center is an excellent way of providing them with the physiotherapy they need an improvement in their control and temperament develops together with the emergence of the community spirit for although enthusiastic and conscientious over their work they are as anxious as any normal worker to leave the bench for the dinner table for most of the residents are quite capable of looking after themselves at meal times but some of the more severely handicapped have to be [Music] helped a number of relaxations and activities are organized for the and they are encouraged to take up hobbies and spend their free time in a way which is satisfying to them there are knitting sessions for the girls and much of the work they do is sold at local Fates [Music] in order to give the residents the opportunity to study a number of evening classes are held at the center the results from the art class are particularly good painting shown at an exhibition in scumthorp could have been sold several times over until the classes were started a number of the most successful artists had never held a brush before [Music] many of the residents share bedrooms and are able to provide company and help for each other there are a number of single rooms and one of these is occupied by a boy who is by way of being an Electronics wizard he has qualified for the Duke of Edinburgh Ward and as a keen radio ham holds a license to operate his shortwave homebuilt transceiver he has contacts with enthusiasts all over the world and makes up his log on an electric typewriter in addition to this he does original construction work and currently is working on a project to build a super sensitive microphone his room is so full of equipment that there is hardly space for his bed in spite of his busy schedule he still finds time to stick Pinups on his wall as do some of the other residents many of the famous wrestlers in these signed photographs are interested in helping spastics and have visited the center to the great Delight of the residents records are popular with most of the spastics and though some of them are followers of the pop scene this boy prefers classical music in the privacy of his own room [Music] a number of the residents are TV addicts sent a car for me what did you do I about it for all of them oh de young people like looking their best for a dance these girls are having their hair done by some of the house mothers before a discotek evening these are held regularly in the largest room these evenings are the high spots in the social life of the center and they are always well patronized by the residents and their friends from local youth clubs and other [Music] organizations despite their handicaps the spastics enjoy dancing even when they are only able to watch [Music] the main aim of all concerned in the work at the center Warden house mothers and those who raise the funds to run it is to try and free the individual spastics from the constriction of their disabilities and en able them to realize fully the abilities that they do [Music] [Applause] possess in this Center suc uccess has undoubtedly been achieved but a great many more centers of this type and more specialized ones are needed throughout the country your help will be welcomed [Music] B [Music] [Applause] [Music]