Ryosuke Higuchi
Chair, Miyagi Friends’ Group

Introduction

I am Ryosuke Higuchi of the Miyagi Friends’ Group (hereinafter, the “Friends’ Group”). I have Pervasive Developmental Disorder. It is difficult for me to manage appointments, and so I do my best by making to-do checklists and writing appointments on my calendar in detail. I am currently in general employment, as part of the quota system for employing people with disabilities. My job description includes salary-related tasks, checking and ordering stock, and dealing with visits and interns from special education schools and employment transition support offices.

About the Friends’ Group

I serve as Chair of the Friends’ Group. This group was launched in April 2005, and carries out its activities with the support of the Miyagi Prefecture Joining Hands to Raise Children Association. We currently have 25 members. Our activities include participating in the national and Tohoku block conferences of the Joining Hands to Raise Children Association, participating in tug-of-war competitions, and holding events like classes to enjoy cooking or parasports. I have also talked about my earthquake experiences as a representative of the Friends’ Group. We think of the content of our activities ourselves, and hold general meetings

Last fiscal year, our Friends’ Group was unable to carry out many activities due to COVID-19. I hoped that COVID-19 would be brought under control soon. I wanted to take part in activities with everyone as soon as possible.

This fiscal year, the 61st Tohoku block conference and conference of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities themselves of the Joining Hands to Raise Children Association was held, the first face-to-face conference in three years. I took part in a breakout group on “Stress care”, and was able to propose some topics with the help of the lecturer, making it a rewarding breakout group. I was very happy when it was decided that the Tohoku block conference could go ahead, and my happiness was doubled because it took place in Miyagi, where I live. Thanks to the cooperation of many Friends’ Group members and others, the event went smoothly.

What I would like to tell people

There is something I have been thinking about for a while, but even more so since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the importance of knowing, or of an attitude of trying to know.

People with hearing impairments read people’s facial expressions and the movement of their mouths until the COVID-19 pandemic, but I realized that since we now wear masks in our daily lives, they cannot read these expressions or movement. At that time, I wondered if there were other methods of communication, and felt that these would be writing or sign language. Two years ago, I learned about the existence of the UD Talk app. The opportunity for me to learn about this came when I was in charge of supporting interns who came to the company where I work from a special education school for people with hearing impairments. From then on, I have incorporated this into my communication with friends with hearing impairments at the Friends’ Group. I learned that even if we know about the surrounding environment, there are various methods by which we can understand it. This realization felt fresh to me.

This year, I would like to try holding online events within the Friends’ Group. There are still people who cannot participate in face-to-face events, so I want to allow them to take part. In order to do this, I would also like to hold a study session about online activities during the Friends’ Group committee meeting. I would also like to run the events which we held before the COVID-19 pandemic, always keeping an eye on the state of infections. The members of the Friends’ Group are looking forward to interacting and working together with various different people once again. I will continue to do my best to meet my objectives, including inviting facilitators from outside the prefecture for music events and participating in conferences in other prefectures.

The breakout group at the Tohoku block conference. The author is holding the microphone and speaking.