Warren Coconut suffered a brain injury at 20, but is now happily rebuilding his life, feeling supported and included in his community thanks to his NDIS supports.
Thirty years on from the injury, he now receives daily meal preparation, support with weekly house cleaning, has a new scooter, and four hours of one-on-one support a week from support providers My Pathway and Napranum Aboriginal Council Disability Service.
With regular one-on-one support, Warren is relearning simple tasks like colouring in and drawing. His artwork is amazingly helping to trigger memories prior to his accident thought to have been permanently lost.
Warren is also being supported to rebuild other life skills like reading, writing, banking, budgeting, shopping, and learning to keep track of time so he can manage his day-to-day life better.
He is also enjoying greater independence on the new scooter, able to drive himself to his favourite places – the beach, the river and around the community to actively engage with people.
Warren’s mum, respected Napranum elder, Maryanne Coconut said these simple supports have had such a positive impact on her son’s life and it is a result of genuine collaboration between, herself, local disability support provider My Pathway and the Napranum Aboriginal Council Disability Service.
“Warren fell and hit his head on a bitumen road when he was 20. He was rushed to Townsville Hospital and had to have an operation on his head. When he woke, he couldn’t move his right side, he lost his speech and he couldn’t walk properly,” Maryanne said.
“We thought he wouldn’t ever walk again, but he is very courageous, strong. He started trying to walk around the house, then he got stronger and started to walk a bit better.
“Then his voice came back, and he started to talk. At home we have always encourage him to do things. He gets up in the morning, showers and shaves and he can make his own tea.”
Maryanne said Melissa, from My Pathway, has been a great help and the one-on-one support she provides has really helped to improve Warren’s life.
“Trusting someone to help is a big thing for us, but I can see Warren has a lot of trust in Melissa. He looks forward to her visits and I can see he enjoys doing activities with her.”
Melissa said while she had worked in community on and off for eight years, she didn’t know or bond with Warren and Maryanne to begin with, but Maryanne soon helped her to understand Warren and where he required support.
“When I first met Warren, it was quite confronting. He spoke loudly and gestured with his arms and hand to communicate, but after a few visits I got to understand him better and learnt that due to his acquired brain injury he needs to amplify his voice to speak.
“I also found Warren got agitated easily and quickly, so I started to implement art activities and these have had a very calming effect on him. I find he really starts to focus, and it has helped him to remember parts of his life prior to his accident.”
Melissa said when Warren has a memory he gestures to his head.
“Last week he drew a bus with people in it. I asked him what kind of bus it was and who was in it. He said it was his school bus and he was in it with his friends, and they were heading to Weipa North, which is where he went to school,” Melissa said.
I’ve just been amazed at what he’s been able to remember. It just goes to show this kind of support is fantastic for triggering memories and it’s also good for Warren’s broader mental health.”
Melissa and Maryanne said they are so proud of Warren and his determination to achieve.
“Warren is improving more and more each week,” Melissa said. “It just goes to show simple supports do work and they can make a world of difference in improving people’s lives.”
This story first appeared on the NDIS website.