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Connecting people where they need to be connected most
We talk to Madeleine Levy about what drove her to train as an occupational therapist and the passion that she has for raising awareness of Asperger ’ s Syndrome .
F inal year occupational therapy student Madeleine Levy , who has Asperger ’ s Syndrome , founded Alternative Voices in 2014 . Operating in Derby and Birmingham , the theatre company aims to support individuals with Asperger ’ s with problem-solving and communication through theatre and drama games .
And on 6 April 2020 , Madeleine ’ s radio play , The party animal , produced by Peter Leslie Wilde and Andy Pilkington , aired on Switch Radio Birmingham , connecting people during lockdown .
Joining Coventry University as a mature student , Madeleine ’ s first degree was in Drama and English Literature . So what made her embark on a second career and train to be an occupational therapist ?
‘ My decision to train as an occupational therapist took a long time to realise and was mostly a subconscious process . When I was eight years old , I was assessed by an occupational therapist and a speech and language therapist .
‘ I remember at the time not understanding the purpose of their assessments . As an adult , I ’ m aware it was to support with a diagnosis of Asperger ’ s Syndrome , a form of autism spectrum disorder . I just wish I had been told the purpose of the assessment before undertaking it .
‘ I wish I had been given a booklet , with pictures in it , to help my understanding . I just remember being cross at being asked to play with blocks . I didn ’ t understand it was to test for Dyspraxia . This event was the catalyst for a lot of my future work .
34 OTnews February 2022