Becky was born with Downs Syndrome an intellectual disability. As an adult Becky emerged with a strong creative streak, and a strong will to get things done. Becky is also fortunate to have a part time carer who shares her artistic interests and her exercise programs at the Maleny Gym. Corrie Wright is a Maleny based artist and qualified carer. Here she tells Hinterland Times editor, Michael Berry about her long term support of Becky s creative survival.
“I STARTED supporting Becky with her art eleven years ago. The first year we went to TAFE together and after that she worked with me in my studio. I could see that for Becky, art was a way of communicating, so I took over a mentoring role with her.
From an early age Becky’s mum taught her through the use of patterns. This is a process that involved putting words, numbers, colours, etc on the floor and Becky would crawl over them reading and learning as she went. The shapes and colours communicated to her even then. Becky’s Mum, one of the founding members of the Maleny Arts and Crafts Group enjoyed painting, so art was always around her. When Becky found she could paint and work with art, it was a way of decifering information and bringing it out again. “
Corrie has always been a career artist but at the same time has felt a need to commit to the broader community. She gained a Certificate IV in Disability and has worked with downs syndrome and cerebral palsy patients for 15 years. During that time Corrie has found that creativity has an important part to play in the disability sector because it offers a different approach to the way people learn.
“I believe that a lot of people with intellectual disabilities have a right brain approach to things. When I first met Becky, her way of getting information back out again was through her art. So we started using her painting as a way of learning. We started to tap into the other side of her brain that she needed.”
Sadly, Becky has other problems, particularly with her eyes. She has depth of field difficulties which make it difficult to diagnose. While this affects her art, it also impacts on the physical side of her life.
“When we started coming to gym Becky couldn’t even sit on a fitball because of a depth of field imbalance. But we started working with the trainers, Charmaine and April and now Becky gets on and off the fitball without any problem.
“One positive thing that Becky has had all of her life is her ability to say, I can do that or I will give that a go. I think that’s partly having lived in a family with six children and being treated as a normal child.
“In the gym Becky knows that I am not just standing there to help her, because she can do it. I think you have to empower people to know that they can do it.
“April has been working with me on Becky’s programs and we are always targeting different things. At the moment it is Becky’s balance because her eyesight has declined considerably over the past two years. So exercises like balancing on the fitball and stepping up and stepping down are important. And with April, we have implemented a program that she can do at home too. It helps to give her confidence right now when her eyesight is not as reliable as it has been.
While care for the intellectually disabled is clearly demanding, the long relationship between Corrie and Becky has been sustained through a connection with art.
“We’ve gone all around the country doing workshops together,” says Corrie. “Becky goes into joint exhibitions and she has her own exhibitions. I am constantly surprised at the power of her art to communicate despite her intellectual disability.”
Maleny Community Gym trainers are experienced in tailoring programs for the elderly and disabled. Tel: 5429 6911
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