Cam

Cam has a severe learning difficulty and challenging behaviours. He suffers from a rare condition called Homocystinuria.

Cam is a friendly and well-humoured young man. He is non-verbal, incontinent and reliant on others for his daily needs. He manages to communicate his own way by leading his support team to what it is that he wants and pointing.

Cam loves the outdoors and being active is very important for him. Though he used a wheel chair for the first 18 years of his life, since being at ZENO he walks and never uses it! His mobility and fitness level has increased to such an extent that he enjoys walking for 2-3 hours around places like Delamere Forest and the Peak District.

Please have a look at his weekly schedule…

Monday

Cam has now developed enough to be able to take staff to the kitchen cupboards and point to what he feels like for his breakfast. With support he can pour a cup of juice. After breakfast he has time out with staff at a local park. In the afternoon we swim at one of the specialist centres in Colne. Swimming is one of Cam’s favourite activities; he loves splashing and the excitement of putting his head underwater.

In the evening he enjoys some quiet time in the home environment after a physically active day. This tends to be in the garden and also in the sensory room. Supper is served after a bath and again Cam is able to make his own choice and, with partial support, make his supper. This progress has taken many years to achieve but he enjoys the satisfaction and the delivery of something that he has selected and helped to make. We continue to build on these achievements in order for Cam to have as much independence as possible.

Tuesday

On Tuesday we drive out to the countryside or to the beach. Cam really enjoys the sensory stimulation of these environments. Cam enjoys the different textures around him and will stop to touch the grass, leaves, twigs, or play with the sand and the waves on warmer days at the beach. This stimulation along with the exercise creates a really enjoyable and rewarding day.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays, in the summer months we have a day out each week on the canals using our barge at Whaley Bridge. This is a less demanding day physically, but enables good sensory stimulation and for Cam to meet up with friends from other services. We have lunch out, usually it’s sausage and chips for Cam being his favourite. In the winter we mainly go to visit our horses. We ride in the indoor arena, getting the horses ready first, then having a riding session, followed by cleaning and feeding them in their stables.