As a child Robert's motor skill development was delayed and doctors were unable to determine his intellectual and hearing capabilities. Robert's mother Ethel, was a dedicated stay at home mum to Robert and his younger sister, Judy. She often told stories of Robert's adventures to great heights. She would find that he had scaled some great height in their house. "I recall one time when I looked up at our two storey house to see Robert sitting on the bathroom window ledge, humming to himself and rocking his body. As you can imagine I had no idea how he had made his way up there but I was afraid to call out because in those days the windows opened out from the bottom. But, he was perfectly happy sitting enjoying the sensation of being so high."

Ethel and Norm were firm believers in making sure that Robert was given every opportunity to learn and interact with people. So when the time came for Robert to attend school Ethel and Norm approached several special schools. However, after lengthy discussions they were advised that because of Robert's multiple disabilities they could not teach him.

Not satisfied with this outcome Norm began looking for solutions and in 1962, after several years of hard work, their dream was realised. Ethel and Norm Scott, together with five other families, created a playgroup for their children who had multiple disabilities. These founding members of Multicap rallied together, fundraised hard and in 1973 they purchased the land at Eight Mile Plains where they continued to run play based activities for their children with multiple disabilities.

Fast forward to 1996, Robert was 45 and still living with his parents who were ageing and needed support to caring for him. It was at this time that Robert began to receive in home support from Multicap. Every day a support worker would come to the house and help support Robert and give Ethel a break from the huge load of caring for Robert.

Things took another turn for Robert and his family when in 1997 Norm died. It was shortly after this that Robert's mother expressed that she could no longer care for Robert. Within hours Robert moved into Multicap's Supported Accommodation and then into his own home in the community with several of his friends. At this extremely difficult time for the Scott family one thing stood out and that was the support provided by Multicap to Robert and to his family. In all way and always, Multicap will find a way.

Robert continues to learn and develop his skills at Multicap and in the last few years Robert has learnt to use a spoon, drink from a cup and eat a sandwich on his own. Robert has also been learning new ways to communicate, he has been working with staff to learn tactile signs so that he can let staff know how he is feeling. Robert now knows four tactile signs and staff are still working with him on a few more. This is a huge accomplishment for Robert.

Today, at 60 Robert is semi-retired and only attends day services twice a week. The rest of the week he enjoys relaxing and taking things slowly; he has regular massages, aromatherapy, and loves going swimming to keep him as mobile as possible. Robert and his flatmates are currently looking for two new houses in the community to meet their changing needs. There are many way you can help Robert and his mates scale great heights. You can donate, volunteer or buy a ticket to Multicap's 2012 Debate Lunch. These funds will go towards creating Opportunities4Life for people with high needs disabilities like Robert. Become part of our  circle of support, help provide Opportunities4Life, in all ways and always.