AN Okehampton menswear shop has been the first volunteer to display a Puzzletree poster in its window. The posters are part of a scheme to assist people with learning disabilities confidently to use local facilities in town. They will now be able to carry a Puzzletree card to present to others if they need help or are finding it difficult to be understood. Shopkeepers and other service providers linked to the scheme will carry a similar card with contact details to ring if they need help to provide assistance. A poster in their window will let people know they are part of the scheme and are prepared to help shoppers with learning disabilities. Donald Rooke, of Donald's outfitters, is the first person to sign up to the scheme. He said: 'We think it's a great scheme. We do sometimes have customers with disabilities needing a little more time spent with them. We're pleased to help in any way we can, so this scheme helps us help them.' David Skrzypczak, a client of Okehampton's Puzzletree day centre, based in the table tennis club, said: 'Sometimes I talk very quickly and get embarrassed. It would help people understand what I'm trying to say, and they could phone someone else if they need help to understand me. 'It will give people confidence to shop more independently, especially if they are nervous.' John Tudball, who has hearing difficulties, said: 'I go into town on my own sometimes and I feel cross when people don't realise that I can't hear. This card will help in those situations.' Devon County Council's executive member for adult and community services, Cllr John Rawlinson, said: 'It sounds easy, but this scheme can make a lot of difference to people's confidence to visit places in town. 'We'll see how well it works here in Okehampton before possibly rolling out the scheme to other parts of the county.' Puzzletree was set up in Okehampton in 2002. It provides daycare for people with learning disabilities, funded by Devon County Council, and also runs a drop-in advice and information service, which has received donations from Mencap, Okehampton Town Council, and Okehampton Charities.
