dyscover – rediscovering communication

Posted 28th July 2020

6 members joined physio, Kim for a session which challenged mobility, balance and coordination. Sitting or standing, they followed Kim’s easy to follow instructions, which were modified to suit individuals’ abilities. After some boxing to get the heart rate up, members discussed sports they took part in, and Kim demonstrated an exercise app. The group agreed it was good to try a physical activity over zoom – we look forward to having Kim back for a second session in August.

Posted 16th July 2020

Whilst term ends this week for all our regular groups, the Summer Activities programme launches from Monday. We have coordinated a 7 week programme of varied activities, all to be delivered via Zoom. Members will continue to benefit from therapy led activities and crucially stay in touch with their friends at Dyscover.

Posted 7th July 2020

On 25th June we hosted our first Virtual Open Morning and it was a real success!
Rosemary and 4 of our Ambassadors were joined by 4 Visitors, and they discussed our ‘Dyscover at Home’ programme where we demonstrated some of the Zoom features we are using to aid conversations. The group separated into breakout rooms for our visitors to chat with Members about the benefits of this on-line service and even did a poll on what they’d be doing when the call ends! We will offer this again next term to anyone interested in seeing how this is working well for us with positive outcomes.

Posted 3rd July 2020

Initially we were pleasantly surprised at how many of our Membership would take up our on-line services but we’ve been even more thrilled to get those a little more hindered by either their lack of tech equipment or those a little less confident joining our Zoom groups!
We have been able to loan out some of our iPads and our Service Staff and Volunteers have offered some 1:1 sessions to build confidence and help people to familiarise themselves with these new methods. Members have been really pleased to see some much missed faces joining the groups.

Posted 18th June 2020

Last Thursday as part of Volunteers Week, we held our first ‘Volunteers Social’ on Zoom and it was lovely to see so many group volunteers all together again. We were joined by Alice, Rosemary, one of our trustees Jenny and also our president, Gill. We do hope that everyone enjoyed it!

Posted 18th June 2020

Service Coordinator, Suzanne, has been planning a busy schedule of Summer Activities, all to be delivered online via Zoom. Last Monday 3 Members participated in a Seated Pilates Taster session with coach Natalie. All exercises were carried out sitting on a chair and focussed on developing core stability and coordination. Paul said how much he enjoyed the session and complimented Natalie on her slow speech and precise instructions. Natalie has agreed to run 2 sessions in our summer break.

Posted 18th June 2020

More Summer Activities are in the pipeline, this time developing the skills of our own Members. Paul has a passion for photography and spent time with Suzanne discussing his ideas for a Summer Photography session which he will help deliver via Zoom.

Posted 4th June 2020

We are really grateful to Epsom, Banstead and Ashtead Rotary clubs who have donated funds for us to purchase 4 New laptops. These are needed by our Service team delivering our ‘Dyscover at Home’ programme!

Thank You!

Posted 4th June 2020

Dee joined us earlier this year as a volunteer at our Tuesday morning group. After a full time career in IT she was fortunate to be able to switch to part time work to allow her to spend more time supporting her mother and also to help out in the local community.
When Dee came across Dyscover she was very interested in what we do as her father in law has aphasia and she says that she knew what a positive impact conversation provides.
Dee says that she ‘absolutely loves volunteering for Dyscover and can see what an enormous difference the support meetings have on members and their carers’.
But COVID-19 has brought on new and creative ways of working and Dee now provides telephone support to 2 members, talking to them regularly, each week for about 30mins. She says that she has found it allows to ‘connect to members on a personal level and get to know more about them’.
Dee has also provided some IT training for staff and volunteers.
Dee says that she also finds the weekly staff/volunteer team meetings useful and that ‘it’s a good way to stay in touch with the other team members and hear the progress of the united support’ and that she is ‘proud to be part of the Dyscover team’.
Thank you Dee for sharing your story and for being part of the team! We are very grateful for all your hard work!

Posted 4th June 2020

Camilla is one of our newer volunteers having joined Dyscover earlier this year.
Camilla is a retired nurse and in later years of her career she specialised in public health and was involved in setting up stop smoking services.
Although Camilla is enjoying retirement, especially further developing her creative side, she wanted to continue using her skills and experience and a friend recommend volunteering for Dyscover.
Since joining us, Camilla says that she is really enjoying being back with a group of people and that she is learning lots too – in particular ‘when to speak, when to listen when to offer suggestions and other tools’. She is also interested in how music and art can be used as a means to help communication.
Since the lockdown, Camilla has been volunteering as part of the Dyscover at Home team and has found this really interesting and although ‘it takes more concentration because you cannot pick up on so many non-verbal clues, it is really interesting to see just how much people can get out of using Zoom and how connection still takes place.’
Camilla lives in the country with her border collie puppy and enjoys her lovely garden under the north downs. She has taken up oil painting, enjoys singing with a choir and always has a sewing project on the go!