Poppy talked to us about helping young people with learning disabilities have their voices heard, her experience with hearing loss, and the difficulties that brings when interacting with her GP practice.
On weekdays I go running every morning along Bournemouth Beach. So, I’m up at 5.30 each morning to do that. My work’s really flexible, so it might be that I’ll do maybe an hour’s work for a little bit, then I might go and meet some friends or something, and then I’ll work again a bit later. Usually, from Monday to Thursday, I work evening sessions supporting young people with disabilities. I might do one-to-ones with them, or I might be running youth sessions, so that can be until like 6, 7, 8 o’clock at night. The young people I work with are really inspiring. They challenge inequality and they are just awesome humans. So that makes me really happy, and it also makes me feel good about myself that I’m able to help these young people if they’re struggling to find solutions.
The young people I work with are really inspiring. They challenge inequality and they are just awesome humans.
The biggest thing I’m proud of is setting up the Chatterbox project. I set it up from scratch 15 years ago, where I just had a few young people with disabilities who were really frustrated that their voice wasn’t being heard. I supported them to look at ways that they could find solutions to that, and the Chatterbox project was born. It’s just a really amazing thing watching young people come to us that are really shy and have no confidence and no belief in themselves, and then maybe a few years later just seeing them grow and develop and shine and believe in what they do and who they are.
I sort of always look at the good in everyone, but also, yeah, try to surround myself with kind of positive vibes. Doing exercise is really good for me. I know that if I go running every morning, that’s good for my fitness, but also for my mental health. I really enjoy watching the sunrise, and even when it’s raining, it just makes me start the day really well. I also like going swimming and things like that… any kind of fitness stuff is good for me. I also enjoy cooking and just hanging out with my friends and family and just going and exploring places. We love going traveling to different countries and exploring, but not just staying in one hotel, like, backpacking around and trying different places out.
They wouldn’t really change things to be easier; the process wasn’t flexible.
I have really bad ear infections and sometimes I lose my hearing. I think it’s linked to going swimming. So that’s been a real challenge. For example, when I go to the doctors, they say I have to have a phone call, and then I can’t hear on the phone. So then I have to find a friend or have my partner come and help me, which can be really frustrating. They wouldn’t really change things to be easier; the process wasn’t flexible.
I’ve never seen the same GP ever. I’ve been at the same practice 15 years, and I’ve never seen the same person. Um, so yeah, that can be frustrating. They’re just looking at the screen and not really interacting. It’s very closed questions, things like that… I’m also kind of aware that there’s a time limit, so I’m rushed when I am in there; I’m conscious that I have to quickly say what I’m doing and then go out the door sort of thing. Maybe they could look at their approach perhaps. I don’t know.
I’ve been to ear specialists and stuff like that, and no one can really find out what the issues are. I’m just lucky that I have a good support network around me who help me if I do lose my hearing. I think that’s the most important thing, they really support me lots.
