Capability Scotland Matters - Summer 2022

Laura sharing her music knowledge
Sophie and Barisse
Ewa and Kay
Aaliyah and Nikki
an important sounding board.
This small bit of chat, in amongst
everything else Scott does with Lewis,
is fantastic for Lewis and his mental
health; to have an almost brotherly
figure in Scott to listen and respond.
Lewis talks about college; he’s thinking
of going back again. He used to go
three times a week, but his anxiety
and nerves got the better of him.
However, his time and relationship
with Scott have helped him to feel less
anxious and have more confidence.
Talking about the work with Scott
and Capability Scotland, Lewis
says “I used to be in my shell a
lot but I’m not anymore.” Having
Capability Scotland support him
and his time with Scott has made
a marked, positive difference.
The gallery is one of their top places
to visit as Lewis is a big fan of foxes,
so they like to check on the fox models
after enjoying a good lunch!
When spending time in the
community with our customers we
like to get permission to film if we’re
somewhere specific. At first, we
were told we may have to approach
the gallery’s head offices by email.
However, we mentioned that we
were from Capability Scotland and
working with our Dundee Services...
we got instant film rights with an “oh
we know who Capability Scotland
are really well” - delightful to hear.
Later in the afternoon, we drive to
Camperdown Country Park, and we
meet with nine-year-old twins Barisse
and Aaliyah for a play in the park
after school with their CLA support
staff, Sophie and Nicola. Dundee
supports children as well as adults out
in the community. For identical twins,
they’re quite different in personality!
Aaliyah is an explorer and Barisse
is a warm snuggle bug. The twins
are non-verbal but visibly they
enjoy their experience in the park;
Aaliyah is getting dizzy on the
roundabout and going as high
as she can on the swing, pushed
by the team. Barisse likes the
quieter life, watching her sister and
taking a little walk around with
her support staff, determined to
stay warm, a wise choice under
a sky that’s threatening rain!
Supporting the children outside
of school highlights an important
dimension to the Dundee Service:
it shows the breadth of care we
can provide to people regardless
of age. In many ways, the care and
support for children are different
from supporting adults but the staff
here are knowledgeable on the
adjustments they need to
make to accommodate
this and it’s all in a day’s
work for the Dundee
staff. Simply another
string to their bow.
We’re so glad
we made the
journey to
Dundee
and have had the opportunity
to shine a spotlight on their
work. Our Dundee Service was
full of discoveries. Times have
been tough for Dundee, as they
have been for many over the
past two years, but we doubt the
atmosphere of joy and dedication
to the work they do for our
customers has wavered even once.
Want to know more about Dundee?
Drop Gillian an email:
Gillian.Dunlop@capability.scot
Lewis and Scott
8 9