Latest College News
Loneliness is the only real disability
David Pityonak in his paper Implications and Recommendations For Policy Makers (2003), stated that loneliness is the only real disability (see the paper here). The Loneliness of the Service User People who are in services are lonely. They have very…
Read MoreWhat do social care workers do?
When asked by a person at a party what do you do, how would a social care worker reply? What is a social care worker? What do they do? An imagined conversation may go like this. Are you a social…
Read MoreEurovision Disability Punk Revolution
[dropcap style=” box,”]P[/dropcap]unk has long been the music of rebellion. Best exemplified by the Sex Pistols and their lead singer who has since gone on to advertise butter, Johnny Rotten. The man who screamed into the microphone, ‘ever get the…
Read MorePeople Planning
[dropcap style=” box,”]P[/dropcap]lanning is a big part of service provision. Supporting a person to plan their life is a massive undertaking. Think of your own life and if someone supported you to plan for every part of your day, year,…
Read MoreThe Mental Health Go to Guy
This time last year, the College lost one of its true friends, Mark Logan. Mark, if you did not know him, worked for Rehab in Galway, loved his family, music and Chelsea Football Club amongst many other things. In the…
Read MoreDisable the labels
The world can be a confusing, complicated place. To deal with this the human brain is very keen on the creation of labels and cognitive shortcuts to try to put some order on the chaos. The terms used about people…
Read MoreChoice as an alternative to ultimatums
‘Choice is a powerful alternative to punishment. If the person’s behaviour challenges you, help him to find more desirable ways to express the needs underlying the behaviours. Instead of ultimatums, give choices (e.g. “Bill, I know you’re upset. What would…
Read MoreThe Loneliness of Long Time Lock In
COVID-19 has been a traumatic, worrying time for many. We have had to deal with the pandemic by working against our instinct to group together in times of crisis. Everyone has had to socially distance and for months, many people…
Read MoreThe customer is the most important person on our premises
After recent events, there is an outcry and the behaviour of staff has been damned. But will the service and systems these service users found themselves in be heavily scrutinised and changed or, over time, will the status quo prevail?…
Read MoreThe Conferring – Celebrate what you want to see more of
The highlight of any College year is conferring. The day when a College gets to confer awards on the students who have stayed the course, survived the modules and passed the assessments. This event is no different for the Open…
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