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Blog: Resources & Ideas

Holocaust Memorial Day activities for PMLD: What's the point?

1/25/2019

3 Comments

 
EDIT: 5th February 2019
Tweet from National Holocaust Centre and Museum:
"Thank you @CollarCuffsCo for relating #HMD to the important role we all play in improving the lives of young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). We have a duty to create an appropriate reflective and sensory experience for them: https://goo.gl/Jx8pqA "
​

Observe and Remember

Practitioners working with children or young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) are often asked to consider ways to offer experiences that will include them in observing particular calendar days, from Remembrance Sunday to Children in Need. The merits or benefits of doing this are frequently debated, however from scanning through a range of practitioner forums over the past few days it seems that many are being asked to do something to mark Holocaust Memorial Day - some are positive but unsure what to do, while others feel uncomfortable with the idea but have very little power to refuse the request. I feel there's a duty to respond and support colleagues, and to offer something that will, at the very least, create an appropriate reflective and sensory experience for these children and young people - you can download the resource I've written below.

The Holocaust and genocide are tremendously important and sensitive topics in contemporary society, and continue to inform discourse around human rights, religion, culture, gender, sexuality, and also disability. People with PMLD are frequently neglected or ignored by the government, local authorities and health and social care services, and are often denied access to most of the world beyond their homes or schools by a lack of even the most basic of human rights: truly accessible, hygienic and safe toileting facilities; see the Changing Places campaign.

Society at large tends to pity and patronise them and perceives them mainly to be suffering, rather than thriving; see Joanna Grace's TedX talk for a full and frank exploration of this. As practitioners we see and hold dear the potential of each individual we work with: we recognise their needs and preferences, their thoughts and feelings, their senses of humour and interests, their contributions to the world - no matter how big or small that world may be - and we continue to advocate for and with them alongside their families and carers. Within our sector, the Core and Essential Service Standards for Supporting People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities have at their heart a complete dedication to ensuring the full participation, autonomy, voice and rights of a group who would, at the hands of Nazi Germany, potentially have been part of the T4 euthanasia programme. Holocaust Memorial Day is a perhaps an annual reminder or call to action for why we must keep on championing the rights and needs of people with PMLD; as part of the constant commitment to remembering the Holocaust, the often used words are 'Never Forget' and 'Never Again' - let's make sure we don't and that it never does.

Relating Holocaust Memorial Day to the important role we play in improving the lives of people with PMLD perhaps opens a new space from which to engage in this annual day of reflection, and there is a simple activity suggested here to support this. This session is drawn from the work of Liz Collar, a special education teacher with nearly 40 years of experience working across a wide spectrum of needs, and whose dedication to making art, music and history accessible and relevant to young people with PMLD has inspired so much of my own practice - she's also my mum! It is also informed by my time as an academic in the field of Religious Studies, where I developed a specialism in Holocaust Theology and Jewish History.

For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day visit: www.hmd.org.uk
3 Comments
sam
2/6/2021 10:22:44 pm

i totally agree with everything you have said and everything you stand and fight for... i myself have had & will continue to have experiences you have mentioned above. but what i have had difficulty with, and not in the past or necessarily in the future... is that my child does not need this right now during the current pandemic, they are already struggling with isolation, loss, grieving (associated behaviours) and getting help within school. next year is fine, we will have moved on... i know other parents whose children are struggling with the same issues. i have seen the resources, which ordinarily would be great... just not now. sorry

Reply
Julia | Collar & Cuffs Co link
2/7/2021 08:42:40 pm

Hi Sam,

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me about my resource. I'm so sorry to hear how hard things are for your child at this time - this resonates so much with me and my family situation too. I am really pleased that you are able to navigate that boundary for you and your child: Holocaust Education really does need to go with good self care for some people.

I would like to give a bit of context to the resource though, as I feel it may be helpful. The first thing to say is that this resource was first released in 2019 in response to seeing a lot of practitioners in early years, primary and special schools being required to do something to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and not knowing what would be suitable/accessible. I reissued it this year as I felt it tied in well with this year's theme: 'Be The Light In The Darkness'.

Holocaust Memorial Day is an annual event held on 27th January, a day which marks the liberation of Auschwitz. It happens with or without the Covid-19 pandemic, and is incredibly important to many people - myself included. Resources are often needed in January to support Holocaust Education, and this is one resource that schools, early years settings and families could choose from. I don't prescribe it, it isn't a specific part of the curriculum, it's there as a free resource for anyone who would like to use it. I am careful in the resource to ensure that self care is specifically mentioned as the Holocaust can be such an emotive subject and we must be mindful of our approach as well as any impact it may have.

You are welcome to take or leave any of my resources, as is anyone. I am sorry if due to circumstances you have found yourself having to encounter it when you would rather not. I understand that must feel very difficult for you, and I'm wondering how you came into contact with the resource and have been left feeling like this.

The second thing to say is that this resource celebrates some of the beautiful and timeless rituals of Judaism even without the Holocaust angle. The beauty of scooping light and warmth from a candle to the face as a sensory activity and as a spiritual one can be found in Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism. It's a symbol of cleansing, of finding ourselves together in the light of togetherness, hope, and connection to the divine in ourselves or in God. I hope sharing this activity and the parts of the resource that suggesting mirroring parts of the Passover meal can be experienced for these meanings too. I integrated them into this resource because the opening scenes of 'Schindler's List' are so iconic and profound, but these ritual activities have existed for thousands of years and are used weekly by some Jewish families to welcome the Shabbat, as well as being part of yearly Passover celebrations. They can be part of something joyful, as well as something sad and traumatic, but they are living, breathing rituals that are part of the lives of those Jewish families I am privileged to have known.

The final thing to say is that I am SO mindful of the emotional and mental health impact the pandemic has had on families, but especially on some of our most vulnerable and disabled children and young people. For this reason, I have spent the last year finding any funding I can lay my hands on to develop resources to help support us through as best we can. These resources are free to families, schools and early years settings to choose from if they wish to. I have a whole suite of sensory stories developed with Mainspring Arts (http://www.mainspringarts.org.uk/strings-and-things-sensory-stories) that specifically looks at helping work through that grief, isolation and loss in ways that support both children and adults alike.

I have resources about First Aid responses to big feelings specifically for families in Lockdown using games, activities, story massage, dance massage and more because I know firsthand how tough the meltdowns can be. I have a whole set of sensory walking activities families can choose from to support regulation, connection, and to add a bit of extra wellbeing oomph to their daily walks. I've put some of my productions into video sensory stories, especially 'Crabby', which is about anger, frustration and meltdown so there are creative, fun, and accessibly resources to share with children to normalise the feelings they are encountering.

I would ask you not to judge me on my Holocaust Memorial Day resource. I do understand the temperature of the times, I am doing my best to meet the needs of as many people as possible, and all my resources are optional. This resource is not for you, but it has been used by other families this year for a moment of reflection on the Holocaust. There is room for choice for everyone, and I completely respect yours. I am sad to read between your words a feeling perhaps that your family's circumstances are not being understood or listened to, but please know that I do hear you.

Sending you a

Reply
Julia | Collar & Cuffs Co link
2/7/2021 08:45:29 pm

nd your family all my love and best wishes.

Julia
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  • Home
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  • Covid-19 Projects
    • The Library Presents
    • Looking Out, In & Up
  • Productions
    • Be Not Afeard
    • Crabby
    • The Christmas Clock
    • Little Meerkat's Big Panic
    • You, The Loo, and Nappy-Nappy Noos
    • The Girl From Mars
  • Sensory Trails & Tours
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