The Case Study

A CASE OF WHAT?

I heard you read a “case study”

And I wondered a case of what?

Wine or books or chickenpox

Because I’m a person am I not?

I wasn’t there for the finer detail

Of how I was analyzed

Did you consider how I’d feel?

Because I think you’d be surprised

At my humanness amongst the boxes

That you have time to take a glance of

I’m your bread and butter

I’m important to you; just because

So I’m trying to be a good participant

I don’t want to cause you worry

I know there’s other people who are waiting

For you to call them in a hurry.

You see before my case came across your desk

I was free, if not neglected

By a country that kept saying

My community was rejected

You want me to feel empowered

So this is what I need to do

Be creative with my words and thoughts

I’m looking at life through

A lense of self-protection

And I’m working every day

To find the right connection

So my community can have their say

But right now I’m having fun

I’m not poking fun at you

The system makes me sigh

I’m sure sometimes it makes you want to spew!

So let’s agree to try and do our best

At both our roles in this

It’s just you know I’m so in awe

Of living life in bliss!

Firstly - do I need to put punctuation in amongst the lines for other people to get the flow of how to read out my poetry - I don’t think so, learning to talk to again to someone else’s tune was SO alienating, my voice, I ached to hear my soft tinkling voice of self-reassurance.

Sometimes I would love to say to the decision makers of the NDIS world - try, just try not talking for a day and not only don’t talk, but don’t move, sit in a corner on your own, and have a barrage of labels, deficits, demands, and negative historical accounts piled on and around you that you cannot escape from and you can’t defend yourself against.

I’m in a good space, a really good space emotionally, anchored, by self-love. I’m always aware of how the past impacts my current life and what I continue to rise above. I feel in flow with so much and yet as soon as I turn towards how this system wants me to work in a certain way I become unsure of my strengths and how what I bring to this NDIS world is valued.

You see while well-meaning comedy acts and a certain jest was a popular way in the past to try and lighten up the negativity of how people actually lived with all that “othering” in the past. I sat up late at night feeding babies, changing nappies and reassuring myself that the children who were growing up in this world would have a more well-rounded view of language, emotion, and social inclusion. I didn’t know how this would happen, but I knew how important it was to me and that the children of the future needed more than what adults of my era were able to offer.

This isn’t going to be a long Blog - the power is in the poetry if anyone can sit long enough to reflect on how they are contributing to making a positive culture change personally, I’d love to hear it!

With love, light, and energy

Sue