With her first year in the role of being a support worker for people with muscular dystrophy [MD] coming to an end, Jo Smith, based in Dunedin, was reflecting on positive feedback from clients and their families.
''It's been absolutely fantastic and heartwarming.''
For a lot of parents, they get to be parents again and do not have to be community educators, Mrs Smith said.
That role now fell to her.
''There were an awful lot of members who weren't getting the services they required.
''It's been a huge thing being able to go in and do an assessment and finding out what they need.
''I'm looking at it from a broader perspective.
''For a lot of people it's having someone to talk to who will listen to their challenges and concerns. It can be seen as a social worker role.''
She called on members of the public to address their prejudice when looking at possibly hiring and making social connections with people who had the muscular wasting disease.
September is Muscular Dystrophy Association awareness month.
If people had questions about the disease or were aware of their prejudices all they had to do was contact the association for information or have an honest chat with someone willing to talk who had the disease.
Mrs Smith had about 150 clients in Otago and Southland.
She predicted there were hundreds of other people in those communities undiagnosed or who had no idea the Muscular Dystrophy Association existed, so remained unengaged.
''[The association] has quite a huge presence around the rest of the country. Just not the bottom of the South Island.''
Originally from Southampton, England, her background before she became a counsellor and field worker was in sales.
''I came to New Zealand in 1999 ... I always enjoyed working with people.
''I decided to retrain as a counsellor rather than having targets. I couldn't sell ice to eskimos.''
