[nfb-talk] About myself for David and anyone else interested.

[helene ryles]

Hi David, 
   
  No you didn't bore me. I hope you can say the same after I've finished, but you did ask about my background. So here goes: 
   
  I am 37.  I was born prematurely with thyroid defficency, mild Asperger syndrome and mild deafness which deteriated gradually.  I am now profoundly deaf. I was born in Newzealand, spent 2 years in Australia and moved to europe at the age of 3.  My folks travelled a lot in France and England. (My mum is french and my dad is English).They didn't settle down until I started school.  I went to a special school.    It was basically just a dumping ground for all the kids, for what ever reason weren't doing too well in mainstream.  I education was also suplimented at home as my dad was a teacher.  When my dad realised that I wasn't going to take any exams I was moved back to mainstream education.  I was bullied so much in the first high school that I had to leave. I then moved to a Partial hearing Unit. I made friends with the other deaf kids but we were taught using the oral only aproach which I am totally against as I was hoping to learn sign language. 
   
  I started losing my sight at  age 17.  I was at Doncaster Deaf college. I more or less went to pieces. Especially since nobody could find anything physically wrong with my sight and it's still a mystery as to how and why it happened. This isn't the first time I suffered from Depression. I also went through a really bad patch when I went to mainstream school. I kept fighting with the other kids and started self harming there. Anyway life was hell, I left the deaf college, went to a couple of blind colleges, went to a unit for deaf with mental health problems,  and still managed to be awarded a
   deaf achievers award while training for my first guide dog Bruce. My life is very much like a game of snakes and ladders, I'll climb, I even manage to get a few volentary jobs, and then depression strikes again and I loose everything. Deafblindness is no big deal compaired to Depression. 
   
  I also tended to move around a lot.  I left home because mum and I completely failed to get on. She struggled with depression as long as I knew her although she tried to deny it while I was growing up.  After getting seperated from Dad we were very poor as she could never get  a job. She died of cancer 3 years ago. 
   
  I eventually ended up in Peterbough. I had a volentary job working as a masseur at the local day centre mainly for people with learning difficulties. I also went to pottery classes and ended up doing a couple of charity treks for Guide dog's for the blind.  I raised the first 2k and a bit without too much bother. Then I fell in love with one of the staff and almost imediately enrolled in another charity trek across the Sinai dessert this time.  I think this is where things started to go downhill.  When I started suffering from depression the dr's just put me on drugs. I ended up also taking canabis, meeting my ex flatmates and moving in with them where I spent most of my time getting stoned out of my tree. 
   
  It took my guide dog Jilli to get me out of that fix. By that stage my self worth had plumitted to zero. I wouldn't have got out of the mess I was in to save myself but I would do it for Jilli. Although if I'd stayed on that path I 
  would have lost Jilli sooner or later. So I made myself intentionally homeless.  My friend did point out that if I told the housing people that I'd left due to domestic violence, which was true as well, I would have had a flat sooner. I didn't want to. Infact I once denied anything the sort was happening to the social workers. I just told them we weren't 'compatable'. Which was quite dumb when you think of it but I've done a lot of stupid things in my time.
   
  Since then I'm still living in Birmingham, UK in the flat I was eventually given. Although I nearly left when this drug dealer moved in and became a total nightmare.  Still it's an ill wind as they say. My long cane tecnique improved no end after having to negociate the obsticle course that was once my path. (I couldn't use Jilli as he was leaving food about and I wouldn't be too surprised if it was poisoned).  He's in prison now thank god. I also did a course in ceramics, attempted a degree in Ceramics at Wolverhampton Uni. I also became vegan, got lots of rescue animals (too many at one stage but the number is deminishing). I am now completely drug free apart from the thyroxine which I've always needed. But they don't really count. I've stopped self harming now too. 
   
  I've been involved with the Animal Rights movement for a while now. 
  (NOT ALF/PETA style though). I started reading NFB last year.  After RNIB I find their ideas very refressing. It has already started to help as before I used to depend too much on the residual vision I have. Which is a good job as last summer I started having problems with light sensitivity.  My sight has started fluctuating again. 
   
  I hope I havent bored too many people.  Thanks David for your offer of help. 
   
  Helene and Jilli. 
   
   

       
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-------------- next part --------------
Hi David,
 
No you didn't bore me. I hope you can say the same after I've finished, but you did ask about my background. So here goes:
 
I am 37.  I was born prematurely with thyroid defficency, mild Asperger syndrome and mild deafness which deteriated gradually.  I am now profoundly deaf. I was born in Newzealand, spent 2 years in Australia and moved to europe at the age of 3.  My folks travelled a lot in France and England. (My mum is french and my dad is English).They didn't settle down until I started school.  I went to a special school.    It was basically just a dumping ground for all the kids, for what ever reason weren't doing too well in mainstream.  I education was also suplimented at home as my dad was a teacher.  When my dad realised that I wasn't going to take any exams I was moved back to mainstream education.  I was bullied so much in the first high school that I had to leave. I then moved to a Partial hearing Unit. I made friends with the other deaf kids but we were taught using the oral only aproach which I am totally against as I was hoping to learn sign language. 
 
I started losing my sight at  age 17.  I was at Doncaster Deaf college. I more or less went to pieces. Especially since nobody could find anything physically wrong with my sight and it's still a mystery as to how and why it happened. This isn't the first time I suffered from Depression. I also went through a really bad patch when I went to mainstream school. I kept fighting with the other kids and started self harming there. Anyway life was hell, I left the deaf college, went to a couple of blind colleges, went to a unit for deaf with mental health problems,  and still managed to be awarded a
 deaf achievers award while training for my first guide dog Bruce. My life is very much like a game of snakes and ladders, I'll climb, I even manage to get a few volentary jobs, and then depression strikes again and I loose everything. Deafblindness is no big deal compaired to Depression.
 
I also tended to move around a lot.  I left home because mum and I completely failed to get on. She struggled with depression as long as I knew her although she tried to deny it while I was growing up.  After getting seperated from Dad we were very poor as she could never get  a job. She died of cancer 3 years ago.
 
I eventually ended up in Peterbough. I had a volentary job working as a masseur at the local day centre mainly for people with learning difficulties. I also went to pottery classes and ended up doing a couple of charity treks for Guide dog's for the blind.  I raised the first 2k and a bit without too much bother. Then I fell in love with one of the staff and almost imediately enrolled in another charity trek across the Sinai dessert this time.  I think this is where things started to go downhill.  When I started suffering from depression the dr's just put me on drugs. I ended up also taking canabis, meeting my ex flatmates and moving in with them where I spent most of my time getting stoned out of my tree.
 
It took my guide dog Jilli to get me out of that fix. By that stage my self worth had plumitted to zero. I wouldn't have got out of the mess I was in to save myself but I would do it for Jilli. Although if I'd stayed on that path I 
would have lost Jilli sooner or later. So I made myself intentionally homeless.  My friend did point out that if I told the housing people that I'd left due to domestic violence, which was true as well, I would have had a flat sooner. I didn't want to. Infact I once denied anything the sort was happening to the social workers. I just told them we weren't 'compatable'. Which was quite dumb when you think of it but I've done a lot of stupid things in my time.
 
Since then I'm still living in Birmingham, UK in the flat I was eventually given. Although I nearly left when this drug dealer moved in and became a total nightmare.  Still it's an ill wind as they say. My long cane tecnique improved no end after having to negociate the obsticle course that was once my path. (I couldn't use Jilli as he was leaving food about and I wouldn't be too surprised if it was poisoned).  He's in prison now thank god. I also did a course in ceramics, attempted a degree in Ceramics at Wolverhampton Uni. I also became vegan, got lots of rescue animals (too many at one stage but the number is deminishing). I am now completely drug free apart from the thyroxine which I've always needed. But they don't really count. I've stopped self harming now too.
 
I've been involved with the Animal Rights movement for a while now.
(NOT ALF/PETA style though). I started reading NFB last year.  After RNIB I find their ideas very refressing. It has already started to help as before I used to depend too much on the residual vision I have. Which is a good job as last summer I started having problems with light sensitivity.  My sight has started fluctuating again.
 
I hope I havent bored too many people.  Thanks David for your offer of help.
 
Helene and Jilli.
 
 
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