Natasha’s Story

Natasha is 28 and lives in Salford, with her parents.  She was referred to Beyond Empower after being recommended by Heather, the Volunteering and Activity Manager at Aspire.

Natasha has Joubert syndrome, a rare genetic condition that causes abnormal brain development, most notably the area of the brain that controls balance and co-ordination. Natasha is unable to stand unattended and the condition also affects her speech, vision and learning. Natasha understands everything and uses BSL (British Sign Language) to communicate with family and peers.

When our Salford Lifestyle Coach, Eamonn, visited Natasha, he was informed that she would like to visit a leisure centre to see what was possible.

Eamonn arranged to meet Natasha at Eccles Leisure centre.  After she took some time to acquaint herself with the leisure centre, a programme of exercises was developed that would help her to achieve some of her fitness goals.

Since working with us, Natasha has been attending the gym on a weekly basis and is thoroughly enjoying herself. She has been a joy and a breath of fresh air to work with.

In addition, the lifestyle coach approached the Manchester Deaf Centre to enquire about the possibility of private tuition for Natasha. This has now been arranged and began in March. Natasha has been teaching some basic BSL to service users at one of the Aspire Care and Support centres in Salford.

Natasha has now completed her journey with Beyond Empower, but she enjoyed the sessions at the leisure centre so much that her family were keen for her to continue. With the help of the Lifestyle Coach, Natasha has completed her goals (to try new activities and to promote the use of sign language in groups).

She is now seeing a Personal Trainer each week and is making fantastic strides, continuing with her programme and continuing to improve her health and wellbeing.