All resident and student names have been changed at the request of Camphill Blair Drummond.
Every morning at Camphill Blair Drummond starts the same way.
In the library of a stately home, in the middle of a safari park, people come together in unison. A candle is lit, songs are sung and a verse is said to signify the start of the day.
But this is not a religious gathering. The people gathered in the library at Blair Drummond House are adults with learning disabilities, utilising a charity that provides residential and day care for those who need it.
“Our morning gathering sets us up for the day and the week,” says Jocelyn Glebocki, the charity’s communications manager. “The meeting sets the theme for the day and allows people to just touch base and say hello. There’s also that opportunity for us to share birthdays, celebrations, welcome new people who come into the community and say goodbye to those people who are leaving.”
Located just outside of Stirling, the care community consists of seven residential houses and a mixture of workshops, studios and a bakery that provide enrichment opportunities for the facility’s 48 residents and 55 day students. Activities range from planting vegetables in the kitchen garden, to constructing rocking horses in the woodwork shop and designing T-shirts in the newly opened art and design studio.
Camphill Blair Drummond is part of the Camphill movement, a collection of communities that provide care for adults and children with developmental disabilities or special needs. Founded by the Austrian paediatrician Karl König near Aberdeen in 1939, the movement now has over one hundred communities worldwide.
Steven has lived in a residential house in the community for the last eight years. He’s a Special Olympics gold medallist in football and has a real passion for art and drama. This morning he’s working on a diamond print, pressing small, coloured plastic dots onto a design that, when finished, will be around the size of an A3 piece of paper. The work is both incredibly colourful and precise and Steven has been focusing on it for several sessions.
“I enjoy it,” Steven says. “I enjoy it because I get a bit more of a relaxed workshop where I know what I’m doing and I’m printing things.”
Steven is an active member of the weekly life of the community, taking part in the Friday Roundup which is created and produced by the media group . Residents and students write the script for the video production and Steven presents it along with a co-host.
“The most fun that I’ve had since I’ve been here is being a part of the community,” Steven says. “I’m always here to help anyone who is struggling with things like talking. I can easily help with how to communicate with people through Makaton because that’s something I did when I was wee.”
Makaton, a language programme that uses signs and symbols to help people communicate, is taught through poems and songs during morning gatherings. It allows those in the community who may be non-verbal or shy to communicate with teachers and other residents freely.
“In general, society tends to look on at disabilities through the deficit model, where it’s ‘You’ve got a learning disability so what do I need to do for you?’” says Jason Glass, the charity’s chief executive. “Whereas here it’s more like, ‘Good to meet you. How can I support you? What is it you’re interested in?’”
Glass has been with the charity for 17 years and oversaw a round of fundraising that raised over £15 million. This money was used to expand the residential buildings on the campus, upgrade workshops and build new studios to broaden the facilities range of activities.
“I like working outdoors because if you’re stuck inside, it’s a bit boring, but when you work outside it’s fine,” says Patrick, a day student who’s been coming to Camphill Blair Drummond every week since 2015. Patrick has a range of meaningful work and activities to choose from, allowing him to have choice and autonomy over his life within a safe and supportive environment.
Patrick’s place is funded by his local council, who pay for his care and the care of others at the community. This money makes up most of the daily running costs of the charity, along with donations from the public and grants from the government.
“I do maintenance with the maintenance guys on Fridays, so we look after the building and we do vehicle cleaning,” Patrick says. “If the vehicles are dirty, they get cleaned and we also clean the road and clean the leaves as well. I love it.”
Andrea Peters is a care leader who works with residents and students of all abilities at the charity. Within this role Peters takes classes on everything from stained glassmaking to needle felting and embroidery, adapting the activities to each participants needs.
“You have to build a relationship before you do anything,” says Peters. “But it’s the same with us. Would we do anything with somebody who ignores us all the time? Would we do anything for somebody who just tells us to go to bed or put our clothes on? No, we wouldn’t engage with them at all.”
Peters uses a technique called intensive interaction with some of her participants who struggle to engage in activities. The technique relies on imitation and engagement with the person, gradually building a connection where trust is established and eventually a motivation to engage in the activities that they find interesting.
“There’s an approach to care called social pedagogy, where we talk about how there is a diamond in each one of us,” Glass says. “Our job here is to fine-tune that diamond. We can do that through nurturing, encouraging, caring and dare I even use the term loving each other. Because if you create that environment where people feel safe, you feel at home. And if you feel at home, you can be yourself.”
Featured image credit: Camphill Blair Drummond
