Leonieke
Leonieke was one of the first persons to respond to our request for participants. She calls herself a ‘Dutchie living in Belgium’ since she was born in the Netherlands and already lives in Belgium for a couple of years. Leonieke studied Social-cultural Work in Antwerp and went on Erasmus to Denmark. At the time of our research she was working as a job coach. Leonieke has epilepsy and says she is not always in control of her own body.
After our first meeting we noticed that Leonieke had a busy schedule because of her new job and her membership in various organizations. Therefore, it wasn’t easy to arrange new appointments and we decided together with her that she would write us occasionally about the things she wanted to share concerning herself, her international experience and her epilepsy. Immediately, Leonieke came across as someone who wanted to be heard and share her story. Also, she seemed a very determined person with a strong opinion.
Leonieke is proud that she went on Erasmus to Denmark, it made her feel more confident in coping with her disability and she felt more independent.