The Outward Bound Adapted Programme
This year’s ‘Impact Focus’ puts the spotlight on our Adapted Programme, sharing the many life changing outcomes experienced by students, families, and community organisations alike and the exciting new developments in this area. With the invaluable contribution of key supporters like the Ministry of Social Development, the Mackenzie Family (JR McKenzie, son Sir Roy Mackenzie and now the Mackenzie Family Trust), the Douglas Charitable Trust and the Joyce Fisher Trust, our Adapted Programme has been enabling disabled people to come to Anakiwa to experience an Outward Bound course since the late 1970s.
Data gathered from our Activate, Aspire, Upbeat, Insight courses Reference: Research New Zealand 2020.
What did you enjoy most about the course?
“Everything! The sailing, all the challenges, getting to know everybody. I was born to do this.”
Gabriel Ashby, Horizons 658
“The benefits have been in the area of increased confidence and willingness to try new activities. It was, without doubt, a positive and mindset-changing experience for my son.’’
Data gathered from Horizons course evaluation forms Feb 2019 – Mar 2020, filled in on Day 8 of the course. N= 44
Ben attended an Outward Bound Horizons eight-day adapted course in early 2019. Pip says it was a ‘hard sell’ initially to get Ben to agree to go, but as he learned more about what to expect and the family became more comfortable with their son and brother travelling on his own for the first time, nervousness turned to excitement. For Ben, going to Outward Bound presented a very tangible opportunity for him to “do something different”.
“Ben had left school and was flatting in an assisted living situation and kept saying he wanted to do something different," says Pip. “The challenge was to work out exactly what ‘different’ meant. While Ben is very well known here in Oamaru, we wanted to give him the opportunity to stretch himself physically and to also meet other young adults with intellectual disabilities who don’t live in his community and find out what their lives look like.
“I had heard about Outward Bound’s adapted courses and thought Horizons was the perfect place and time for him to push himself out of his comfort zone on all levels.”
Pip admits she was apprehensive about the level of assistance Ben would need while at Outward Bound, but was put at ease through the many conversations they both had with the instructors and the school’s support crew.
Discussions prior to Ben travelling to Outward Bound also detailed what the course’s eight days would involve, which was crucial for Ben’s preparation. “Ben had conversations with the team so he was very clear about what to expect. They introduced themselves to him and shared a lot of information and he asked lots of questions – they are so on to it!”
As Outward Bound was Ben’s first trip away on his own, the family embarked on a road trip, driving to Timaru, farewelling him as he boarded a flight to Wellington, the first leg of his journey.
“It was Ben’s first plane trip so naturally I was anxious. But Outward Bound and Air New Zealand have a great relationship and the airline provided wonderful support. He loved it – so when he said earlier this year he wanted to fly to the Gold Coast to visit family and friends, I knew he could handle it.”
Pip says Ben doesn’t see himself as someone with Down Syndrome, rather simply as ‘Ben’ and the family has brought him up as a person with unique strengths and not a disability. Calling her son ‘a very active participant in the world’, Pip says it was at Outward Bound that Ben learned new skills and discovered he “wanted to do other stuff”.
“He returned home with a desire to get a real paying job and that has come to fruition. He now works at Fat Sally’s Restaurant and Bar and is a valued member of the team, loved by staff and customers alike. He also helps out at community events – he’s really social and enjoys working in hospitality.”
Pip and the extended family have also noticed that since coming home from Outward Bound, Ben is connecting more with his community and has a new found confidence to try new things. He is also more aware of others and genuinely interested in what they’re doing.
“Ben’s the first one to tell you about himself, but now he is more interested in others. He asks questions, which is something new. We believe his experience at Outward Bound contributed to this – learning about turn taking and that in a group situation everyone has something to say and we need to listen. It has strengthened his already strong social skills.”
Ben also enjoyed the physical aspects of the Horizons course in particular, the tramp and the experience of being in the dark with just a torch to guide him. It’s these details Pip discovers in Ben’s journal that he kept while away, and which provides a constant source of conversation.
Ben has many plans on the horizon, including travelling when restrictions lift and going on another Outward Bound course.
“When I spoke to him about maybe going to Outward Bound again in a year’s time, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He has a lot of fun reminiscing about the friends he made and things he did.
The Trax Seal of Approval is New Zealand’s benchmark of Adaptive Adventure Travel & Inclusive Tourism. Makingtrax is an internationally recognised not for profit platform that initiates and facilitates outdoor adventure experiences for people who normally would not have access to them.
Their commitment is to make adventure opportunities accessible for all abilities and that now includes Outward Bound. This means, as an approved inclusive operator, we are committed to working with our students to tailor their Outward Bound adventure to their abilities.
To gain our Trax Seal of Approval, Outward Bound followed recommendations from Makingtrax Director Jezza Williams and it was through these that from January 2021 we have committed to broaden our Adapted programme to include teens. Giving younger New Zealanders who live with a disability the opportunity to come to Anakiwa to break preconceptions of their physical limitations and test their boundaries at a crucial time in their life, continues to deliver to our philosophy that there is more in everyone.
“The Trax Seal is a great thing because it demonstrates our commitment towards inclusivity. Subscribing to Makingtrax provides Outward Bound with professional advice and support to ensure we can provide quality courses for all our students with physical disabilities. Jezza is on the end of the phone for any questions we have or support we might need.” - Kelly Hamilton, Research and Development Manager Outward Bound.
Pictured L-R: Adapted Course Manager Caroline Campbell, Research Manager Kelly Hamilton and Makingtrax Director Jezza Williams.
Leah Stewart says she always knew she wanted to volunteer at Outward Bound. But to make that dream a reality, she was required to go on a course herself. So two years ago, Leah attended a 21-day Classic course, which she says was life-changing in many ways, even telling her instructors she’d be back, but not as a student, as a support worker on an adapted course.
“I’ve been helping people with disabilities for many years,” she says. “A friend at high school had cerebral palsy and was a wheelchair user. I became one of her support workers and that’s how it all started!”
Before going to Outward Bound, the 25-year old Cantabrian was at a crossroads in her life. While she was carving out a flourishing film industry career, she also realised that she was passionate about working in the community and helping people. It took a “massive decision” to set Leah’s future career path.
“In order to do the course, I had to quit my job. It was a real turning point.”
Leah first volunteered as a support worker on a Horizons course in late 2019. She says often those with disabilities don’t get the chance to find out what they’re capable of.
“People want to help, rather than giving them the opportunity to do things for themselves. So it was fantastic to see the group interact together. There are many situations at OB where someone must take on a leadership role so for the first time in some of their lives, they were able to actually help others. Some could barely tie their own shoelaces but could help others tie theirs.”
“It was like they were saying “don’t help me, I’ve got this”. I learned to step back and let them learn, even if it meant failing at first. It’s something I’ve brought back to my own work. Give people the power to learn and let it happen.”
During the Horizons course Leah says it was often the small things rather than the big things that created the learning experience, for example getting equipment ready, helping to prepare food, or organising themselves for an activity.
“They could apply those small learnings to the big activities like sailing. They really got a lot out of just being in the group and working as a team.”
Leah now works full time in the disability sector as a Community Support Specialist for a home-based care provider. She supports clients who have a range of brain injuries and complex mental health disabilities. Her experiences on the Horizons course are still very fresh.
“I recently went to a café where one of the Horizons students from my course was working. To see her out in the community, chatting away was so inspiring. It was cool to think that maybe I had a little part in creating that. It was very special.
"Volunteering as a support worker is a big commitment. But I would choose to go to Outward Bound instead of going on holiday. It’s that rewarding." Leah Stewart, OB Support Worker (pictured)
Parkinson’s New Zealand For more than a decade, Outward Bound has hosted Parkinson’s New Zealand clients on UPBEAT, a course designed specifically for people living with the early onset of the condition. Parkinson’s NZ nurse Paula Ryan says it was an easy decision to partner with Outward Bound as the two organisations’ values closely align. “Our values are to support people to live positively with Parkinson’s and to collaborate and find strength not as an individual but as a collective. Outward Bound fosters positivity and collaboration among people living with early-onset, and the UPBEAT course helps us meet the needs of those clients.
"It’s always heart-warming and inspirational to see how people with Parkinson’s grow an appreciation of themselves once completing the UPBEAT course. They recognise, through effort, that they can push themselves and are capable and strong. It’s an exceptional course."
EIT Hawke’s Bay More than 20 young people have been sent on a Horizons course from EIT (Eastern Institute of Technology).
Katy Kenah is EIT’s tutor of the NZ Certificate in Skills for Living and Skills for Work. She says Horizons is a “wonderful opportunity” for the young people she works with, and sees them coming back with pride, confidence, great memories and new friends.
“I have been on an Outward Bound course myself and also twice as a support worker for Horizons. On my course, I learned that despite difficulties and challenges, there are so many things I can do or can overcome. The Horizons experience is no different. Support is available to overcome individual and situational challenges. And with that comes growth and confidence and skills for the future.”
Life Unlimited Life Unlimited brings together a range of health and disability services to help individuals achieve a more independent life. Funded by the Ministry of Health, the charitable trust’s work includes supporting disabled people to strengthen community connections.
The organisation has partnered with Outward Bound since 2019 and recently sent a client on an eight-day Horizons course. Life Unlimited’s local area co-ordinator, Suse Wilson, says Outward Bound provides quality life experiences for disabled people.
"The young man I was working with came back from his course with increased confidence and faith in his ability to undertake a number of challenges, including travelling alone to somewhere new."
“We also saw improved decision making, the broadening of his horizons and maturity. A highlight for him was being able to prove his capabilities to others."
Special Olympics NZ A relationship between Special Olympics NZ and Outward Bound was recently formed - one that will see a new course and a leadership programme designed for its athletes.
Special Olympics NZ lower North Island regional sports coordinator Jemma Drake says the relationship with Outward Bound will benefit its teenage athletes and athlete leaders who have an intellectual disability.
“Outward Bound is a wonderful fit for Special Olympics NZ and we support and admire the amazing work they already do for people in our community. It’s an exciting and valued new relationship, one where we can inspire and encourage people with an intellectual disability on a bigger scale and help change the course of their lives."
Kimi Ora Unit, Papanui High School Papanui High School’s Kimi Ora Unit is for students with an intellectual disability. The unit provides each student with an individual education programme, which aims to transition and support students through work experience opportunities and towards independent living.
Four Kimi Ora students have attended a Horizons course and unit head Sharon Scott says she saw huge changes in confidence in the students who attended.
“One was willing to try new experiences, another was anxious but overcame that and said it was one of the best things she’s ever done.
“Outward Bound provides another opportunity for our students to experience new challenges and take risks in a supported environment. The result is an increase in their self esteem and confidence, which definitely complements and builds on what we are doing at school.”
