Jorna Assist

A New Beginning

My name is Pete and I have started this Occupational Therapy practice. I have used a photo of my maternal grandma (above), who inspired the name ‘Jorna’. I thought, if I use this name it’s like a promise to always do the right thing and work incredibly hard to serve the community. My grandma was always a respected community member; she had lots of friends, got out a lot, cared for anyone and everyone. Grandma Jorna is a legacy I aspire to in many ways. What I love most about her story is the incredible resilience she had, given her early years in foster care. No matter how difficult life was, she promised something better for her children and grandchildren. And it’s my turn to promise something better to the community.

Jorna Services is a promise for something better. We continually work hard, to promote social determinants of health and disability throughout our work. We are constantly working to address stigmatising attitudes and the often poor care behaviours which follow and ‘disable’ people from reaching their full potential and realising opportunities. Through educating we are building awareness and changing the behaviours of others and support networks towards something better. So in many ways our practice is aligned a lot to the ‘social model of disability’, and it should not surprise you to see and hear posts regarding advocacy, disability rights, or equal opportunities. We are strengths-based, person-centred and hold high standards in dignified and respectful services which promote autonomy.

We are not interested in medicalising disability so much, and discussing failures, deficits, problems. Life and disability are complex matters which need to be handled with sensitivity. We use goal oriented services which could be around participation in activities of daily living and improving aspects of performance across domains of functioning (physically, emotionally, cognitively, spiritually). When it comes to improving someone’s performance, much of the work is done using dynamic assessments and interventions within a process of therapy, rather than focussing on assessment on someone’s problem areas and recommending one-off interventions. This could mean exploration of opportunities and strengths and thinking outside the box with available supports. We are particularly interested in interventions under learning theories. behavioural, cognitive-behavioural, sensory modulation and motor control approaches to inform scientific, effective and ethical outcomes. Outside of this, our work focusses on community living goals (de-institutionalisation process into preferred accommodation model), innovative assistive technology and minor home modifications. We believe all people should feel autonomous in their own care and have the opportunity to work towards purposeful and meaningful goals. So much of life is a comparison to others, and not about self-fulfilment. It’s time for you to take back choice and control to enable you or your loved one’s ‘meaningful participation for the art of everyday life.’

Peter Sykes

 ...