Ryan’s journey from childhood to adolescence in Therapy

Eleven years ago, a then four-year-old Ryan, who had a developmental delay, was working with a fourth-year Occupational Therapy student on placement, who was involved in a running school readiness program. Karen noticed during the gross motor program that Ryan was more unstable on his feet than the other children. After further investigations, from the family, Ryan was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative condition.

Karen Morrissey, the Occupational Therapy student, then began working at Scope as an Occupational Therapist with Ryan as a client. Across the 11 years they have worked together they have developed a close working relationship to support Ryan at school and home.

When asked about her Occupational Therapy goals with Ryan, Karen says, “It’s changed over the years. When I met Ryan he was mobile and did not want to be treated differently. As his disease has progressed there’s been new challenges, but he is determined to find ways to be independent. He calls the shots and we’re here to look at the goals he wants to achieve. Whether it be in the social space or community access, the older he gets the more he wants to set his goals for increased independence”.

“It's been really inspiring working with Ryan. I feel like he's a model for how we, as Therapists, do our work. The journey from child to adolescent has shown the positive impact that can happen when being supported by a multi-disciplinary team. In the future, I hope for a cure for Ryan, although we are currently continuing to improve Ryan’s quality of life through his Therapy”.

Last year, Ryan put together a presentation for LaTrobe University’s third-year Occupational Therapy Students with assistance from Karen. He spoke of his journey as a person with disability who works with an Occupational Therapist.

The Occupational Therapy students were inspired by Ryan’s bravery in getting up in front of a large audience and opening up about his experiences.

Karen and Ryan practiced the presentation a number of times and by the time he spoke, he was comfortable with recounting his story about how Occupational Therapy had increased his independence at home and at school. 

Karen was surprised that Ryan agreed to take on this public speaking role, which was a huge hurdle for him. In the end, he blew the crowd away with his confidence and experience.

Congratulations to Ryan on his impressive presentation and for his courage in standing up and telling his story.