DECEMBER
8th,9th,15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd - Submersible Santa, Deep Sea World, North Queensferry.
28th - Scary Sleepover, Deep Sea World, North Queensferry.
NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE
STEVEN GETS BACK IN THE SWIM AFTER BRAIN INJURY
In January 1997, Steven Fleming, then 18, of Inverkeithing was enjoying life. He loved fishing and socialising and was working as a painter and decorator and sharing a flat with a friend in Dunfermline.
But when he was struck by a car while crossing the road, his life changed in a split second. Steven was admitted to hospital with brain injuries, which left him with memory problems, concentration difficulties, reduced self confidence and mood swings, as well as worsened dyslexia, which made returning to work and normal life seem impossible.
Now, thank to Scottish charity, Rehab Scotland and Deep Sea World, Steven has just started a new job at the aquarium, is enjoying a whole new social life with the pals he's made at work and is looking forward to earning his own money for the first time in years.
An increasingly enlightened attitude about employing people from non-traditional recruitment sources is starting to permeate Scottish business, as Deep Sea World's actions demonstrate. And this is exactly the kind of employer that Rehab Scotland is encouraging to come forward during its 'Put Your Brain To Work' campaign, launched this week as part of Brain Awareness Week.
Put Your Brain To Work will inform and educate employers about the methods and benefits of recruiting people who have sustained brain injuries and the support available to do so. The majority of people who sustain a brain injury are aged between 18 and 25 and - given the opportunity - have a potentially long and fulfilling working life ahead of them.
Steven started his career at Deep Sea World on a six-week work placement which was arranged by Rehab Scotland job coach, Robert Shaw. Steven was a keen fisher, who had enjoyed working on several fisheries, so a work placement at Deep Sea World, just two miles from his home seemed ideal.
He quickly got involved in every aspect of Deep Sea World's work, with his jobs including cleaning and maintaining the tanks, chopping food for the sharks and eels, serving customers, learning how to use the till in the shop and serving meals in the café.
Steven's brain injury meant that he had to use certain strategies - learnt at Rehab Scotland's Brain Injury Vocational Service in Kirkcaldy - to manage his brain injury, including writing everything down in a diary to help him remember. And when his reduced stamina meant that he couldn't work full-time, Deep Sea World and Rehab Scotland negotiated reduced working hours to suit his stamina.
It is these kinds of adaptations that may deter some employers from employing people with brain injuries, yet Joyce McLeod, Catering Manager at Deep Sea World, points out these are the experiences which also make recruiting different types of workers so beneficial.
Joyce explained, "Steven came to us on a six-week work placement initially, but he fitted in so well with the team and was so motivated and enthusiastic that we had no hesitation in offering him a permanent position.
"It has been enlightening to have him working with us. His positive attitude and willingness to have a go has been good for team spirit and we've all become far more aware of disability issues and our individual strengths and differences. I really believe that employing people with brain injuries can benefit businesses."
In 1998 Steven was referred by Fife Traumatic Brain Injury Service to Rehab Scotland's Brain Injury Services, which helps people who have sustained traumatic brain injuries to rebuild their lives.
He enrolled in the charity's Vocational Rehabilitation Programme, designed to enable people with brain injuries to increase their chances of returning to work.
Over the next few months, Steven learned new ways to do the things that he had formerly taken for granted. After assessment, he began an individually-tailored training programme, which included confidence building, memory aids, problem solving, head injury awareness and new technology training - all skills which needed to be re-learnt before he could consider returning to work.
Steven said, "After my brain injury it seemed like loads of doors were closed to me. I couldn't go back to my old jobs, I had to move out of my flat and back in with my parents and I lost a lot of independence. Rehab Scotland taught me how to move forward and because I loved fishing, the job coach helped me to explore possibilities in that industry. I'm over the moon that the placement Rehab Scotland arranged at Deep Sea World has just led to a permanent job.
"In this job I'm developing lots of new skills. It's been a challenge but I've been building things up slowly and gradually been taking on more and more responsibility. It's just great to be out of the house during the day, doing a job that I enjoy and developing new friendships.
"Without the support of Rehab Scotland and Deep Sea World I don't believe I would have come as far as I have today or developed nearly as quickly. Rehab Scotland were able to help me develop ways to cope with my injury and prepare to get back to work in a new career that would be suitable for me. They had great faith that I would be able to return to work, even when I wasn't sure it was possible."
Lynda Brown of Rehab Scotland's Brain Injury Vocational Service in Kirkcaldy, said, "Our staff worked with Steven to give him the training that would get him back out into the workplace and into a job which matched his talents and skills. His new job is his first step on the employment ladder since his accident - and one of the most important he will ever make.
"Steven is a real success story and living proof that there is not only life, but a fulfilling, rewarding life, after brain injury. Forward-thinking firms like Deep Sea World who recruit people with brain injuries play a vital role in assisting our clients to rebuild their lives, while themselves benefiting from skilled, motivated new members of staff."
Rehab Scotland's 'Put Your Brain To Work' is launched on March 12-18. Further information on employing people with brain injuries and a fact sheet outlining the benefits and support available to businesses to do so is available from Rehab Scotland on 0141-554-8822.
