Age Regression

What we mean by age regression sadly isn't well understood by the wider public even if in the last ten years or so it has more of an acceptance by health professionals and people engaged more in the world of mental well-being.
I think the first thing we need to say is being in a child-like state of mind doesn't mean we are not cognizant that physically  we are that chronological age recorded by law and therefore governed by law, rules and to a point custom that apply to it.
To put it another way if we're over the age of majority then that does mean those things that are inappropriate  to be engaged in with an actual child still apply even if we see ourselves as being one still.
If as I did I started regressing in my teens elements of the same did come into play too even if then I was under the Minor umbrella cos somethings you may do at say sixteen aren't appropriate to doing around younger kids either. 
It's no more a route into hurting kids than medicine, teaching, or being involved in any activity that may involve working with kids regardless of some of the ignorant comments you may read might suggest because boundaries still apply.
The second thing is there's no magical age of transition from play to 'serious' activity alone with many of things regarding social roles being formed out of economic necessity during the Industrial Revolution and the tendency in agricultural communities for everyone to pitch in doing what they could taking into account age to gather the crops in or work on garments to be sold to raise money.
The discovery of Childhood as we understand it today goes back to what Britishers would call the Victorian era, that's to say from the 1830's onward and the reaction to the previous eras seeing children as mini adults, being dressed as such, having to work and not being able to have time alone from adults to play.
If you look at the common driver of much of the legislation during this era it is to gradually reduce the hours and ages children worked, to provide for education and encourage a separate social life  for children alone through things such as play or crafts.
That space is created and then filled by children themselves.
Similarly for those of working age more free time has been made by law and custom so that even if of necessity we may work (and most of us do) then we too can play, explore or make things.
Age Regression is more a question of going back to that point in our lives as children  and acting on those feelings and interests we had and for a good number of us still have that we feel most comfortable with. 
The only difference is some of those things are more associated with being a child even though we all know adults must be involved as they design toys, test out construction kits or even get paid to play with Lego.
For a good number of us we find going back to more of our past lives therapeutic, putting in a place mentally we feel more comfortable, at one with ourselves being able to BE ourselves and for some work through emotional issues too.

Just being younger than my years me

As we enter a new month and approach a significant date I thought I'd post something around what it means to me.

 This time of year reminds me so much of the largely unchanged way that I am no different in many ways around the ages of these children and even the fuzzy warm lack of focus of it might as well be a metaphor for both how I am and the prism I see things through.
Any of them could of been me and certain respects more mentally sharper and alert too.
Our world compared to todays was a good deal simpler for just reading, playing and watching tv more often than not together and communication was mainly face to face by phone with parental approval so we'd sure know about it if anyone had been mean.

  We read comics, often joining fan clubs whose paraphernalia come through the mail and talked about them during school recess  and in many ways that remains what I loved and within reason love to do even now cos in my head I'm still the same.

 In the recent snowy weather my first instinct remains to gather up snow to have snowball fights and to make snowmen. This year even the outdoor model railway village got snowed in!!!

 I'm in so many ways the same as I was when I was legally younger.

The disabled week

It's two weeks this Friday so today I'm making a second day in the week post which is as well as I have been very busy this week.

One thing I have been doing is working on copying using the dbPoweramp program from Illustrate, a number  of cds to the micro sd cards used by new music player that I hadn't gotten around to so for example I have a complete set of Adele's cds and studio recordings by Genesis stored with a full set of original album art.
I think the bigger thing though is I have been getting more to grips with feeling at one with who I am, not least the way those disabilities make me and my life the way it is given much of the way encouraged when I was younger amounted to throwing a cloak over the myriad of ways everyday life is effected as if it was separate, embarrassing thing.
What passed as coping strategies encouraged amounted to an denial externally for the benefit of those who didn't want anything outside of a brave doing so well for all that girl script for me and internally not taking ownership of how my disabilities had left me and the things I need to do that are different  to manage them as part of living, part of the life skills that never happened.
Things such as reconciling the acceptance of how your life is impacted with the kind of attitude that makes a life even if it involves more support  and oversight being less of a daily chore and more about living.   Something then that's neither about denial or self limiting opportunities, having abilities mixed in that can be used while accepting the disabilities that cannot be ignored.
Much of that is something I've had to do as part of periodic reassessment of my Capability Of Work (WCA 50) for my Employment and Support Allowance income benefit claim answering a barrage of questions although last time they just saw my medical evidence and awarded it at top rate.
I'd like to end this entry by thanking my BFF Lucy for her support and encouragement over this period.
x

Bigger girl talk - The value of work

I deliberated over where to write this but decided as there were other things I may wish to talk about elsewhere I'd do that here this Friday.
A few years back a Government Minister here in Great Britain, raised several eyebrows when he appeared to suggest a major measure designed to set a basic level of pay - the National Minimum Wage - ought not to apply to learning disabled employees and the resultant storm left people thinking the idea was discarded.
Recently a noted personality and champion of disabled people and indeed parent of a 'grown up' child with Downs Syndrome, Mrs Rose Monckton decided to raise this topic again as the person who runs a training program for learning disabled adults.
The essence of her argument run that the output might not justify the National Living Wage for those over Twenty-four years plus the National Minimum Wage of Sixteen through Twenty-four year olds and many lived with their parents and so didn't 'need'  more than say Two pounds per hour as their parents provided for them. Hate the expression, but in essence this two pounds would be more like 'pocket money' for them being used for snacks, trips out and clothes rather than say food or housing costs.
By doing this, she argued learning disabled people would be more included in the work force and more importantly would feel they had a place in society that would be valued.
I suppose the first thing is to I say I share the same objective not least for having learning and developmental disabilities on top of physical ones, believe strongly in a more inclusive society and that even people  with learning disabilities should have employment opportunities.
That's where it stops with me because while some may be content with living with parents or some shared home with assistance -which absolutely is their right- the problem with this is it means they could not look for an flat where they would need to find money even if they claimed back some housing costs though other welfare programs.
The second area of concern is we are purposely exempting people on the basis purely of diagnosis and labelling from the everyday wage expectation whereas in the past 'top up' schemes would of helped companies employ people by paying them so they offered the same wages to a disabled employee.
The third area is if the argument is that some work may be therapeutic in terms of teaching life skills, the 'value' of work, retention of abilities which as someone who is disabled I'd agree with, then there was no reason they could not be  permitted to work in a voluntary capacity, assisted with any necessary travel costs and perhaps allowed to keep a small amount of any money they were given by way say of tips without having to declare everything.
That would provide  for much of this, be more flexible and not compromise the notion of everybody regardless of disability being literally of equal value reflected in their wages.