Climatic Calgary

Going from warmth and sunshine to blizzard conditions is a bit of a shock to the system! After a six hour delay due to severe weather conditions, I finally made it to Calgary, where it was snowing very hard. This would have been lovely had it been Christmas Day, but not when you have an ill prepared wardrobe and meetings to attend. However, I managed to buy a cheap pair of gloves and took advice to pile on the layers.

I have learned that services and systems in Canada are as diverse as the weather. Each Province is governed separately, which means that they have different approaches and legal frameworks. This can range, for example, from a fully integrated school system to the existence of ‘special schools’ and various models in between.

So, I have moved from liberal Saskatchewan to Conservative Alberta and am now trying to get my head around yet another service system.

The only thing that I knew about Calgary previously was that they have a stampede, a bit like a rodeo and it’s the gateway to the Rockies. Oh and I also knew that some people were working on innovative training approaches, which was what brought me here.

Before moving on to thoughts of Calgary,  I just wanted to dwell a little on a surprising emerging perspective that is coming out of my visits. This particularly relates to direct service provision and the suggestion that there are certain setting conditions that need to be in place in order for the provision of support for relationships and sexuality to prosper. Many people, including myself, have recounted frustration, when training  provided for self advocates or staff does not produce the expected changes in opportunity and approach. Even worse, we know that there are  environments in which vulnerable people continue to feel unsafe and experience  sexual abuse, despite the move to focus more on teaching about healthy relationships.

Organisations like, COR and SAI in Saskatchewan, Montage in Ontario and Impact: Ability in Boston, as well as others that I have visited and researched, appear to have taken a  systemic approach to this issue, creating a community of safety for self advocates, family members and staff, in which the needs of the whole person, including their sexuality, are addressed. This includes creating an open, discursive, rights based fertile ground in which  the seeds of training can  flourish. Some of this thinking comes from management theory and person centred approaches, overlaid with trauma informed support and gentle teaching. At this stage, I admit to this being a swirling maelstrom of thoughts, which I hope will have crystallised by the time I need to write the final report or provide verbal feedback.

Not withstanding that the evidence from the agency examples I have seen  are incredibly encouraging in terms of the impact arising from having a multi-layered approach to encouraging and supporting intimate partner relationships for young people and adults with a learning disability.

I have been asking all my hosts for a message to send back to colleagues doing similar work in the UK. They have mostly been of  a similar nature reflecting encouragement to carry on the good work, under pressure-‘keep on, keeping on’ or reflective of solidarity across the pond-‘we share your concerns and aspirations’. It is so good to know that despite all the divisions in the world, there is a global community of people interested in improving the sexual well being of people with a learning disability.

More about Calgary in the next blog…………….