ANIMATED MUSIC Captions by Amy Park. Edited by Virginia Philp. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015 VAUDEVILLE MUSIC PHILIP: (CHORTLES) Hello, and welcome to Philip's world! This is my parents' house, and this is my flat. And these are my parents. This is my city! This is my girlfriend, Vanessa. This is my girlfriend, Vanessa. Hi. And I'm Philip! Hi, Donkey Dog. Hi, Donkey Dog. (CHORTLES GOOFILY) Hello. Hello. (ROARS) Hello. I'm Fitness Athlete, and I like to run. Uh,... with a person with autism, actually, they always have this wild imagination, to be truthful. It's very hard to explain. When I'm by myself and I get really bored, I just think of an idea for a story involving good guys and bad guys. Then I just make this big play using the puppets that I've got. It helps me go out into the community, talk to different people about Special Olympics, giving them information about it. (CLEARS THROAT) Welcome. I'm Keep-Fit Athlete, and today we are here to talk about Special Olympics. Yeah. Special Olympics provides a year-round programme of sports training and competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. SPIRITED MUSIC CLANG! Philip's got such a busy life with all his activities. He's out nearly every night of the week. So, these are my ribbons that I've won over the years with Special Olympics. There's the first-place ribbons; the second-place ribbons; the third-place ribbons; the fourth-place ribbons; the fifth-place ribbons; the sixth-place ribbon and a disqualification, which I'm not gonna tell anyone why that happened. I think Special Olympics has opened your way to the world. I think Special Olympics has opened your way to the world. Oh, it has been marvellous. Certainly. Certainly. Certainly help them grow. You meet all the friends and all your sports. You meet all the friends and all your sports. It's given you more confidence. Philip's confidence doesn't just help with his sport. (CHORTLES) It's got him involved with all sorts of things. This is me. I was Hades from 'Greek Is The Word'. There's me as the bellboy from... 'Elvis Presley In The Hotel Of Secrets'. Here I am graduating from Otago Polytechnic. I got a diploma in computer science. I've got a cool flat at home, but I can't live with my parents forever, although there's lots about living on my own that I don't know. I was hard work for my mum. Really hard work. Just seeing the way he was when he was born, with being blue and his limbs wrapped around his head... And when I was born feet first, the cord was still wrapped around my neck. I couldn't breathe... GENTLE MUSIC ...because part of my brain must have been damaged. Like, the cells in my brain, they don't, like, glue to get` what's that word I'm looking for now? Um... Like... You guys are normal, OK? OK, so maybe I'm, like, confused. As Philip was growing up, I started to think Philip's probably autistic. Very mixed up, very confused, very frustrated. He didn't like you to cuddle him. He never made any sounds other than shrieking. Philip didn't talk till he was... about 6. And he started to mimic cartoons on TV. And he watched so many cartoons that eventually he could talk like the cartoon characters. When he was little, he used to do a lot of talking to his hands. I bought him a set of finger puppets, little ones you could put on your fingers. So when he was talking, if people walked by or came to the house and saw him do all this talking, it wasn't quite as bizarre as just doing that, talking to your hands. And I think it all sort of grew from there. For Philip's dad and myself, it is a wonderful feeling to see how far Philip has come. And if you train hard, be a good friend and listen to your coaches, one day you may get to be a Global Messenger. Hey! Isn't Philip a Global Messenger? Yep. GENTLE, SOOTHING MUSIC Part of being a Global Messenger is promoting Special Olympics. Today I'm live on air with Access Radio. This is where Thomas van der Lugt's 'Special Olympics Hour' is being held... at this lovely community building. Hello, listeners. Philip Lomas is here today to talk to us about the Global Messenger programme that he is now a part of. Hi there. Hi there. What is a Global Messenger? What is their role within Special Olympics? They're involved with going out to the community, getting everyone involved with Special Olympics. It gives them all the details they need and all the confidence they need to get them involved in Special Olympics. Sounds wonderful. And I also hear that you are off to a selection camp soon. < It is for the LA 2015 NZ team. That's right. So, I'll be meeting my teammates for the first time, and I'm gonna be training well with them. The training starts at the Wellington selection camp. It's the first time many of the athletes have been living away from home. JAUNTY MUSIC Hello! Welcome to our little... duvet cabin. This is Stephen. Say hi. Say hi. Hey. This is Matthew. Hello. (GIGGLES SHYLY) And this is Sam. And this is Sam. Hello. It's just... getting used to knowing everyone... and not having any fallouts and that. No fights? > No fights? > No fights... at the moment. We've had a health check with the team doctor. We've done a uniform fitting. We've had a photo shoot. And we've done a swimming session. PA ANNOUNCEMENT ECHOES You're all right there, Philip? You're all right there, Philip? It's cool. You're all right there, Philip? It's cool. Turn around. What I'd like you to do is just kick a little bit harder. Your feet are a little bit too deep. So let's bring our body up. So we want to kick that a little bit harder, OK, on your back. Cool? OK, I'll try. OK, I'll try. That's all I'm asking. WATER BUBBLES At the end of the weekend, what I am really hoping that they do go back to their coaches and their other athletes from their area and tell them what they've achieved over the weekend ` how they've fixed something in the water, how they were told to fix that something in the water ` then pass it on to their other athletes as well. Go! CHIRPY MUSIC We're really proud of` We're really proud of` Yeah. We're really proud of` Yeah. ...of Philip. He's done really well. Thanks. Thanks. What we want for him at the end of the day... is just to be like anybody else, to be totally independent of Mum and Dad, just like any child you may have. He's gonna need help, but we are not... Getting any younger. Getting any younger. ...always gonna be here to offer him that help. So the sooner he gets out there in the real world and learns how to look after himself in the main, the better it will be. That's my opinion, anyway. There's no point leaving it till he's 50, cos he'd be absolutely snookered by then. DOOR CREAKS CURIOUS MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES I'm gonna make myself a nice cup of tea. < What do you`? What do you think about living in this flat? I get all the environment, like peace and quiet. Like, I get my own personal space away from my parents. So, anyway, they're constantly asking me, 'Why is it hard to go flatting?' Probably what to cook and... probably doing my laundry and making my bed. All that stuff. Well, I was thinking of flatting with someone, actually. Tell us about that. Tell us about that. I was thinking of going flatting with my girlfriend, Vanessa. Well, he talks about going flatting with Vanessa. I think that's going to be down to Vanessa and her mum, isn't it? I think that's going to be down to Vanessa and her mum, isn't it? And... I've got nothing against them flatting together, but at the end of the day, we know that Philip is... Likes his own space. Likes his own space. ...a person who likes his own space. HUMOROUS MUSIC My parents think I can't look after myself. Well, it's up to me, actually. If I can look after myself... well, I'm gonna try. I'll prove it to them. (CHORTLES) Listen, what your mum and dad are worried about... Yes, that's the part that worries us. Yes, that's the part that worries us. ...that you'll totally` you'll` All right, you'll move in with your girlfriend, but you'll totally ignore her and do your own thing. So you want me to stop doing that, then? No, I` No, I` I probably will stop doing it if you want me to. No, it's not` No, it's not` I'll give up the PlayStation and computer for her` No, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying to completely stop your PlayStation or whatever. But you've gotta realise you have somebody else there with you, you know? It's like I realise your mum's there. That's why I run away all the time. Into the garden. Have a smoke and do the gardening and whatever. Into the garden. Have a smoke and do the gardening and whatever. And then you go out to Karitane. I go to Karitane drinking whisky, but she doesn't know, because I'm there by myself. Mm. Mm. They don't like to be` Especially females do not like to be ignored. (INHALES SHARPLY, WHISPERS) Dodgy ground. Philip is learning a lot about women. (CHORTLES) I think Philip knows a thing or two already. Hello, hon. Hello, hon. How are you? Hello, hon. How are you? Good, thank you. Hello. I bought you these. I bought you these. Oh, thank you, hon. You look so beautiful. You look so beautiful. You look so handsome. Mm. JAUNTY MUSIC It's very flash to have a girlfriend that can drive a car, and I'm a little bit jealous. ENGINE TURNS Turn right here. Yeah, just` just relax. Watch out. You just keep your eyes on the road. I don't think you'll ever drive a car. You might be all right down the road, but there's always people out there who aren't. They learn by the book, people with autism. He wouldn't appreciate varying traffic situations, basically. And that would be a problem, obviously. HORNS HONK But you're independent as far as transports goes, anyway, Philip. And he knows how to catch buses. And he knows how to catch buses. He knows how to catch buses. And he knows how to catch buses. He knows how to catch buses. And at night I walk. And he's a good walker. And he's a good walker. And a good walker, too. SPRIGHTLY MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES I'm off to see my best friend, Ryan. He lives by himself. I really want to be like that one day. MUSIC CONTINUES So, Ryan, how's the flatting going? Oh, it's going fine, thank you. I've been keeping this place nice and clean. What about the wild parties? What about the wild parties? Oh, we don't stop at wild parties. Loud music. Um,... playing board games. I spend time with girlfriends and other friends and stuff like that. Do you miss living with your parents? Do you miss living with your parents? Oh, no, I don't. Not at all. I've been thinking about going flatting very soon. Ah, yes. Ah, yes. Probably with my girlfriend. > Of course. Of course. You're flatting with a girl. Have you got any advice about that? Sure. First thing, you have to get to know her really well. Make sure you don't have a fallout when it comes to arguments. If you two have an argument, how do you deal with it? Don't just walk away and go to your room. Um, you just tell them how you feel, and then it'll be resolved. QUIRKY MUSIC That was pretty good advice from Ryan. Maybe he should probably run this past Vanessa. How was your day today, hon? How was your day today, hon? Really good, baby cakes. How was your day today, hon? Really good, baby cakes. Oh, that's good. You know what, babe? I've been thinking. What about, hon? What about, hon? I was thinking maybe one day you and I should go flatting together. Yeah, that'd be a good idea, hon. Can't wait. Yeah. Well, we have some stuff we need to work on towards that, though. Yeah, we do. Yeah, we do. I'm gonna have to learn how to cook, actually, and learn how to do budgeting and shopping and... Yep. Yep. ...probably learn how to clean up my own flat and all that. Yeah, it's a good idea, hon. What about you? What about you? Um, probably shopping, more cooking, budgeting. OK. How do you feel about going flatting with me? Really good. We're gonna have lots of fun together. Are you worried about anything? Are you worried about anything? No, I'm not worried about anything, hon. Well, my dad told me that I should be spending less time on the PlayStation to spend more time with you. to spend more time with you. Yeah, that` that's a good idea, hon. We need to spend more time together. Yes. It's not gonna work out if I do those sort of things. No, we need to make this relationship work. No, we need to make this relationship work. Yes. Beep, beep. Beep, beep. Honk, honk. (GIGGLES SHYLY) Beep, beep. Honk, honk. (GIGGLES SHYLY) (CHORTLES) Oh, I'll never be flatting. Unless you call living in a toy box flatting. I wonder what skills you actually need. The shepherd's pie. The shepherd's pie. OK. Right, what do you need? Um, I need mince. Um, I need mince. All right. So that would be, um... Onions... 'Vanessa's been dating Philip for a while, and that's been going pretty good. 'And they just need to spend a lot more time together.' They need each other, really. We're not going to be around forever. That` That` That's not a nice thing to say, but, you know, they need somebody else in their lives that make them happy. Philip makes Vanessa happy, and she's learning living skills, like cleaning. That's part of life. So I'm teaching her to get up in the morning, get your breakfast and just... do what you have to do. Oh, that doesn't sound so bad. I wonder what insights Joe has up his sleeve. Weeds... are things that are growing where you don't want them to grow. What we want to do is dig underneath all the weeds, loosen all the soil around the roots, and then the weeds are easy to pull out. Be careful of the plants. You just want to loosen it, because if you move the soil, you bury the weeds. It's very therapeutic, weeding, because you can just sit here, pull the weeds out and think about your girlfriend, mm? I wish the plant was my girlfriend, though. Now, take it steady. WIND GUSTS Just be careful what you're stamping on. That's it. Good job. Good job. Today I'm going to be cooking a beef... (MUMBLES INDISTINCTLY) It's called goulash. A beef goulash. On the packet, it says that you use... READS: '500g lean warm steak, cubed; 'one medium onion slice; 'two medium potatoes, peeled and cubed.' Do you want some help, or are you quite happy? I'm happy doing it myself, thank you. Do that in strips... about that wide. Mind your fingers. Most of his cooking that he does, he does in a microwave. It worries me a bit about an electric cooker, because Philip still can't concentrate 100%. He might be watching some wrestling on TV and have the cooking going and decide to go and watch TV and forget about the cooking. Set it to 20 minutes. Will do. And away she goes. And away she goes. MICROWAVE WHIRRS (PLAYS 'AMAZING GRACE') I gave up work to look after Philip. After that, I decided I was going to do home play therapy. And because Philip didn't like to hear the sound of the human voice and he loved music, I sang to him. I taught him by song. And he` he was fascinated by hearing my voice had changed from general talking to a musical sound. And I thought, 'I'm going to do everything I can to try and break through the barrier.' And so if I see Philip has an interest in something, I'll hone in on it. And so that's how the swimming's come about, because he loved water; how the acting's come about. BREEZY MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES PHONE RINGS Good morning. Donald Beasley Institute. I work at the Donald Beasley Institute library. It's a library that has books on research of people with intellectual disabilities. My job is working in the library, like putting books away, laminating, spiral binding, photocopying, answering the phones, typing data on the computer. Over the years that Philip's been working with us here at the institute, he has absolutely developed. He has engaged with a lot of people. He's definitely sociable and willing to contribute and enjoys being part of those conversations. They were probably quite difficult for him in the early days, but` but now he, um, you know, absolutely enjoys that. Hello, Paul. How are you this morning? Hello, Paul. How are you this morning? Oh, I'm good, mate. I'm good. Look, um, I've got a couple of reports that need, um, spiral binding and laminating. Yeah, I can get on to that for you. Yeah, I can get on to that for you. That's great. So, the work partnerships one and staff survey. OK, Paul. Thanks. OK, Paul. Thanks. Great. Thanks, Philip. Donald Beasley Institute's working on a huge project about people with intellectual disabilities who've been in trouble with the law and they have to go to court, and they don't know what to do, and they can't have their voices heard, so they have to get help. It is important for people with disabilities to have a voice, because they have to have their rights because they can't support themselves. JAUNTY MUSIC WHIMSICAL MUSIC This is my technical coach, Kieran. I have come back from the selection camp in Wellington, and my coach gave the instructions to Kieran that I need to work on not to splash and proper diving. MUSIC CONTINUES Good work. At the moment, your hands` on your left hand is, like, splayed out. So we want to have it more in. So it's not like that, but it's just a little bit open and a higher elbow and pulling down. Oh, OK. I see his challenge as he's going to have to drop his weight down a little bit. And by dropping his weight down, he will be able to swim faster in the water. But the challenges with that is, uh, like, you need to increase your exercise and have a cleaner diet. I train about three days a week. Like, Monday,... Tuesday and Wednesday. SPRIGHTLY MUSIC When I'm swimming, the other athletes try to beat me in a race, but I'm gonna try and swim as hard as I can so I can beat them in a race, and it proves that I'm a better swimmer than they are. At the end of the race, so I may look tired and panicked and all worn out, but it's worth it, though. It's worth all the achievements that I've done. MUSIC CONTINUES This is the Special Olympics swimming squad. This is the Special Olympics swimming squad. ALL: Yay! This is the physio programme where the Special Olympians go to do their training. And tonight I'm gonna teach Grant how to do kicking with the board, freestyle, probably drills and probably breaststroke. First thing I want you to do, I want you to kick all the way over there and back again without stopping. OK? Let's kick together. LOFTY MUSIC Very good, Grant. So, now we're gonna do breaststroke. I'll watch. I love coaching, because it builds up a lot of confidence in me. It makes me much stronger. It's getting better. Sometimes it's very difficult when he don't listen to me. CHIRPY MUSIC Well done. Well done. Gee, my life looks boring compared to Philip's. I get the feeling he is far too busy to go flatting with Vanessa. So... So... This is a nice walk, isn't it, hon? Yeah, it's a lovely walk, babe. Yeah, it's a lovely walk, babe. Nice day for a nice beach walk. Yeah, it's a lovely walk, babe. Nice day for a nice beach walk. Yeah, lovely sunset. Yep. Yep. Look at some of those waves over there. Oh, for the race. So, what have you been up to? So, what have you been up to? Um, not a lot. Just helping Mum around the house and that. Yeah, I've been helping out with my mum,... Yep. Yep. ...my dad. (GRUNTS) (SIGHS) What a lovely day, sitting on the beach with you, hon. Yeah, lovely day, too, baby cakes. Yeah, lovely day, too, baby cakes. Yeah. I'd like to move in with my girlfriend, but for now, we are just going to take our time getting to know each other. Oh, great. I've got sand on me now. Oh! Wonder what tomorrow will bring. Wonder what tomorrow will bring. Yeah. The more time we spend together, the more time we have for a bright future. CHIRPY MUSIC The end! JAUNTY MUSIC Captions by Amy Park. Edited by Virginia Philp. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2015