SUSIE MALLETT

My visitors today

Monday 25 March 2013

Out and about in Munich in a wheelchair




School children and adults fighting their way through Munich by wheelchair


In this article school children and adults complain about what they have to fight against to travel around in Munich. They explain how broken or foul-smelling lifts and with transport staff and members of the public complaining about delays due to wheelchair users, hinder their progress several times each week.

One of the school children suggested that everyone should spend one day out and about in a wheelchair. Then they would know what there is to fight against.

One of my stroke clients expressed a similar sentiment this week when he described when he was in court defending himself in a case to receive a care allowance. It was suggested that it was not necessary as in a few months he would be as right as rain again! 

My client did not go as far as to suggest that the speaker of these words should suffer a stroke, but that he should spend a year in a wheelchair with the problems that the stroke had given my client. Whether this had an influence on the outcome we cannot know but the result was in favour of my client.

My partner was a wheelchair-user, I used to sit in his wheelchair around the house but I never did go out in it. I was too worried about getting stuck like we so often did when I was out with my partner and then having to get up and push it home, thus giving a false impression. But the mother of one of my clients did ride several electric wheelchairs the 10 kilometres to town and back. She also used them on the underground in test runs during the months while they were deciding which one was the best for their daughter’s needs. 

So yes, despite many improvements during the past twenty years, there still is a lot to be done so that wheelchair users and other people with disability can take an active part in everyday life without extra barriers put in their paths and without hurdles to overcome.

Sunday 24 March 2013

Peregrines in Norwich 2013



" My house in the winter snow,
with spring flower, a bird  and tree with summer's leaves"
by E, aged 5 years


Watch the birdy!

Despite the snow and wind in Norwich the peregrines returned to their nesting box on the cathedral spire and have already produced two eggs –



I wonder whether my blackbirds will return to their nesting place on my balcony this year. They were there a few weeks ago on a sunny Sunday morning making a mess pecking at the window boxes, but since the soil has been frozen again ever since there has been no more activity.

Saturday 23 March 2013

More on fit and active adults

Stroke group member on a Didicar!



Follow -up

There are some lovely photographs on facebook of the work that we did with the InBestForm group on Thursday –


I do so hope that after Easter we can get on with a longer course of sessions. The joy of this work can really be seen in the photographs on the faces of all who took part, including mine. After seeing them again and discussing the possibilities of how we can develop this work in the group my colleague and I are full of new enthusiasm.

There is much interest from the clients. Now, as always in the conductive world there is some organizing to do. The usual hurdles are there, the financing of course, but also something that is just as important but also connected.

It is always so important to get the timing of the development of conductive services so that conductors are not spread to thinly, so that all client receive the care and attention that they need. It is important to be able to offer the appropriate amount of hours and sessions in a week and the appropriate type of sessions – group or individual.

We have grown again in Nürnberg, there are a few more conductors around so I hope that this means that my colleague and I can be available now and then from some other activities and concentrate some energy to this new, ground-breaking project.

I am now wondering whether because this work is so new, I should submit just one more abstract to the World Congress Conductive Education in order to introduce our 'fit and active' conductive sessions to the rest of the world.

see more details about this at –