MOVING HOUSE

“We’ve bought a new house”…..”We’re thinking of moving”…..”We are going to look for a bigger place”….. “We are looking at something close to the bus stop”….. “My child is really upset and gone backwards since we moved house, not wanting to come out of his room”…”can’t wait till we move”…”this house will be air-conditioned”
Moving house creates stress – some positive, some not so positive.  As stated by  Koraly Dimitriadis, a freelance writer (sbs.com.au/topics)  “People dread the idea as they know that it involves a major disruption to their lives”.
Over the past year, I have had several clients (children and adults) who have moved house – which has meant:

• a change of distances from the popular place to home;
• a change of school
• moving further away from current service providers;
• a chance to find new support services;
• closer to the shopping precinct;
• easier access to social venues.

It has of course involved packing and unpacking boxes of valuable and essential items but also ‘stuff’ that you threw in quickly to decide at the new place to get it all out again or just sort it and cull. Of course the memorabilia can bring back exciting times but also a time to reflect on the past and where you are going next.
Ask your Orientation and Mobility Specialist to assist in orientating you to the new home. It’s always a great time to learn of the new place when there is no furniture in there yet. I remember supporting a 10 year old girl who had a couple of visits to the new home before they moved in but only in the daytime. As her vision was more affected at nightime, we worked on a few strategies in the evening for managing when it’s dark, and locating the staircase at the bottom, noticing the change of surfaces between rooms,
When the furniture has arrived, you can be a part of the process of putting things in their place and creating new areas for personal items with sentimental value. The child can be a big part of setting up their own bedroom so they also know where those things have been placed. They won’t have to rely on other family members to locate them when needed. Ownership and independence especially with your personal belongings, gives you that comfort and familiarity and demonstrates your ability to learn and build on the knowledge as you are securing those skills in organising, sorting, discriminating and identification.
Researching the new area as soon as possible will empower the person with a vision impairment with the knowledge they gain and assist in making plans once in the home.
Orientation and Mobility is “not all about the cane”. There’s a lot of time put into people feeling confident to travel from one place to another, go to work safely and within a timeframe. Did you know that a student hoping to attend Uni the following year requires intense training long before starting so that they can walk in the first day and feel like they know where they are, how they got there and the pathway out at the end of the day.
Other pointers to consider (in the move) if you have or haven’t done so yet…

• Crossing roads – where are the safest places?
• Get to know your neighbours so that there is someone closeby if there’s a need for assistance but they may also become your best friend
• Where is the closest GP, chemist?
• What surface or pathway do you have from the front of your house and around the back?
• Public transport – buses or train stations – how far is it to the station?
• Plan ahead.
• It all takes time to orientate to a new area, to familiarise yourself to the range of new places around – doing it alone may take a lot longer
• Go to the local Neighbourhood Centre and pick up local information
• Can you leave your house knowing where to come back to?
• What instructions do you need to give for a taxi or Uber to pick you up or deliver your Friday night meal?

Remember where you packed the kettle and the tea bags – get them out and have them ‘in situ’ for those new neighbours, support people that drop in and for your well deserved break in-between allocating boxes.
If you want assistance in any of these changes, an Orientation and Mobility specialist can be part of your journey! And they too, enjoy a cuppa as well !