The pictures show the computer room where I will be working and the room next is the printing room. I will also be doing photography and learning to work in the darkroom.
On the 14/8/06 I had an appointment in the CRC Clontarf that was going to some dramatic changes to my life, which I wasn’t expecting.As I drove over my head was a muddle with things going through my head. I was so nervous. I got their almost an hour early so it gave me time to check out the public transport.
One good thing is its just 15 minuets from the Dart station. It would mean I would have to get two trains too and from, it’s not journey by car it takes for ever to travel to.
I went in sat in the reception for about 15 minutes waiting to be called in for my meeting. David came out to me and welcomed me to the CRC and he showed me around and helped me relax some, and introduced me to some of the people I would be working along side during my assessment.
Too my amazement my assessment started their and then, I guess that was a good thing I didn’t have the time to think.
Over the days of my assessment I got to have a good look around and take in my new surroundings and meet with the people working their.
I must say that it is a very relaxed and easy going development. Everyone were so nice all wanted to get to know me and make me feel welcome.
Now that I have passed my assessment I will start my Rehabilitative Training that will run over the duration of two years.
The Central Remedial Clinic is a non-residential national centre for the care, treatment and development of children and adults with physical disabilities. Services are provided for people with physical conditions ranging from the very rare to the more familiar, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and arthrogryposis.
Services at the Clinic include clinical assessment, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, social work, psychology, nursing, dietetics, orthotics, technical services, seating services, orthopaedics, paediatrics, parent support, vision and hearing specialists, transport and catering.
The Clinic has four Dublin-based Day Activity Centres located in Clontarf, Coolock, Firhouse and Hartstown. These centres provide social, physical, educational and recreational activities for adults whose disabilities prevent them from participating in other training or work programmes.
Rehabilitative Training (Pre-Vocational Training), is provided in Clontarf, and is sponsored by the NAHB. There are three levels of programmes a) Foundation Programme, b) Pre-Vocational Programme Level 1, c) Pre-Vocational Programme Level 2.
There are two FÁS Vocational Training Programmes in Clontarf, a) Desk Top Publishing, b) In-Plant Printing also run in Clontarf.
The Clontarf Workshop also has Sheltered Employment with Training opportunities.
History
During the 1940s and 1950s, there were several outbreaks of poliomyelitis in Ireland, especially in the Dublin and Cork areas. In response to the concern for those left with disabilities as a result of this illness, the Central Remedial Clinic was set up in April 1951 by Lady Valerie Goulding and Kathleen O'Rourke as a small non-residential treatment centre in a house in Upper Pembroke Street in the heart of Dublin.
Kathleen O'Rouke was a remedial gymnast with a special interest in rehabilitation therapy. She worked with patients on therapeutic exercises and trained others to do the same. Lady Valerie Goulding had already displayed her unique spirit of concern and charity through her previous work for the disadvantaged in Dublin. She was to prove a charismatic and persistent campaigner for the CRC and soon gathered a number of prominent business people together, who provided advice and helped her to raise funds.
In 1954 she had gathered sufficient funds to move premises to Goatstown, just south of the city centre. In these early years, the emphasis of the CRC was on providing medical and physiotherapy services for children and adults, but in 1956 a small primary school and sheltered workshop was opened.
As demand for the CRC's services grew, so too did its requirements for space. It was decided to move to the north of the city, as there were no services for people with physical disabilities there, and in 1968 the present purpose-built facility in Vernon Avenue, Clontarf was opened.
Lady Goulding was Chairman and Managing Director of the CRC from 1951 to 1984. A staunch believer in the value of early diagnosis and treatment, it was through her foresight and campaigning that services for children and adults with congenital physical disabilities were developed.
As polio has largely disappeared, the role of the Clinic has gradually changed. What was once a one-room clinic with two patients is today the largest organisation in Ireland for people with physical disabilities and provides a comprehensive range of services to almost 4,000 children and 500 adults throughout the country.
To find out more about the CRC click here
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