Michelle

Michelle is 31 years old and originally started coming to Dame Hannahs for respite in July 2010, before moving into Gilleys bungalow. She lives with a group of friends but gets on particularly well with Rachel as they have similar interests. Michelle has Cerebral Palsy and behavioural issues.

Michelle’s support worker Sarah has really enjoyed getting to know her and watching her develop over the last four years. Sarah describes her as a cheeky mischief-maker with an infectious laugh, a winning smile and a great sense of humour. She makes people smile and is very cuddly and affectionate. Michelle can be quite loud and vocal and has a short attention span for indoor activities, especially if she is not in the mood. When indoors she likes watching and listening to musicals and watching quiz shows as she is very good at puzzles. However she much prefers to be outside in the garden or on trips to the seaside and other beautiful parts of Devon. Being outside in the fresh air calms her down and she likes feeling the leaves and plants.

Mum Helen: “Michelle loves attention and doesn’t like it much when people are talking and not bringing her into the conversation which has been Michelle all through her life. She is a very sociable person and loves friends and family interacting with her on her mats; she loves music but prefers to go out rather than staying in to watch TV and she loves swimming, rebound and anything else that gets her out of her wheelchair. Michelle also loves being pampered, getting her hair done and getting all dressed up and then receiving compliments from people around her.
Before she came to Dame Hannahs, she went to Mayfield school which she enjoyed most of the time. Once again it was all down to how much attention she got. Since starting at Dame Hannahs she has become more vocal with the odd words coming out, which she thinks is funny. She listens to everything that is going on and doesn’t miss much. The staff in Gilleys bungalow have all been amazing and most of the time she loves it there. Roger and I feel we can chat to the staff very easily if we have any concerns and vice versa. Michelle being at Dame Hannahs really makes a difference as we need the respite and it has helped us to have real holidays which we couldn’t before and I think it’s a must for us to recharge our batteries as such.”