King of Swing

Matthew, a thrill-seeker who loves exciting and energetic activities, has been laughing a lot this summer thanks to his new garden swing.

Matthew is supported by FitzRoy at our supported living service, Bainbridge Close, in Norfolk. He has profound disabilities and his movement is very limited. But he doesn’t let that get in the way of enjoying a whole load of activities.

Matthew’s key worker, Jenny Parry, told us about his quest for adventure.

Matthew loves getting out and about, exploring and being mobile or in motion. He goes on activity holidays every year and does a variety of different things from abseiling to biking to zip wires. After the success of his zip wire experience on last year’s holiday we started to research some equipment for him to recreate the thrill at home.

“We knew we couldn’t have a zip wire in the garden! We searched different websites and finally found a company who could make a custom made-to-order swing to fit his wheelchair, and we supported Matthew to purchase his own swing.

It took several months to arrive and in May, Matthew had his first ride. At first he didn’t know what to make of it, but once he got going he was smiling and laughing.  Now he enjoys going on it two or three times a week and he also enjoys watching his best friend Sandeep having a go.

It’s fantastic for Matthew to enjoy motion and be outside in the garden. He loves social interaction and to see other people having fun. Matthew will be 40 in September and is having a party with a magician and disco – he loves music and flashing lights. He’s also off on another activity holiday this year and we can’t wait to see what he’ll get up to.

I really enjoy working with Matthew, supporting him to be adventurous and finding fun activities. It’s great to see him smiling so much.