C's Story
'C' is one of our amazing customers, she lives at one of our supported services in the Romford .
'C' has really enjoyed living at her service , she has made friends since moving into her new home during February of 2022 . 'C' loves to be part of her local community and it was so important for her to go to work as part of her daily routine, and the Manager and staff ensured that even with the move that 'C' was able to return to work as it was so very important to her .
'C' has worked for Mac Donald’s for 15 years. The only time she has had off is when she has booked Annual Leave to go on holiday with family - aren’t the company fortunate to have such a loyal employee! There had been a few occasions during COVID-19 when the service had to go into lockdown due to Customers or staff having the virus - consequently 'C' wasn’t able to go to work, but she was supported to contact her employer , she explained her absence to her line manager who understood and said 'C' was being very responsible. 'C' was supported by staff to carry out other activities at the service that she enjoyed and this ensured she didn’t feel isolated. She returned to work as soon as the Lockdown phase came to an end; she prepared her uniform and was all ready for her return to work - this brought familiar structure to her day again and she was so happy to be back carrying out her duties as an employee of a fast-food restaurant . Infact due to her continued hard work and commitment to her duties, MacDonald’s presented her with an award, which she is very proud of.
We at Outlook care are very proud of this young woman as she takes such pride and ownership of her working life , the manager and staff ensure that she is supported when required .
We are all very proud of her achievements .
D's Story - Living with Autism
D had a diagnosis of mild Learning Disability / Autism spectrum disorder. He lived with his foster parents and very much wanted to live independently when he turned 18. He was sharing a room at home and like any young adult he wanted his own space.
D was assessed to have limited capacity in respect to complex decisions about finances, health but he did have capacity to make choices about lifestyle, such as what he would like to spend his money on, where he would like to live. Resulting from a Social Worker review it was identified that D would benefit from a supported living service and that’s when we at Outlook Care got involved.
D visited other supported living services, and his choice was to live in a shared house with other people of his own age with his own bedroom, he was so excited to have found his choice of home. A comprehensive assessment was carried out with 'D' which included other professionals including Social Services, his known family, and his foster family.
Transition Plan
Outlook Care staff worked with D and a transition plan was agreed, this was taken at a speed that D could manage and understand. The Transition plan agreed 28 hours 1:1 per week support to assist transition from family home and for D to learn independent living skills identified in his initial assessment, such as:
- Reducing obsessive (hourly) use of toilet.
- Hoarding behaviours of household items
- Increasing independent living skills at all personal care, cooking, shopping
- Increasing personal safety awareness
All of this helped D move in a prepared and managed way to his new home.
Support Delivery
Prior to admission in May 2022, staff were fully briefed on D's transition plan and the person-centred approach needed. These included :
- Increased engagement levels to deflect use of toilet.
- Tom was shown the layout of the house and where to put things in his home.
- Learning to live with others as Tom liked to ‘mimic’ other people’s skills.
Personal preferences were considered. Structured support times were agreed with D so that he had a routine calendar of events to follow. Further steps were taken to managing unavoidable change in structure so that 'D’s' anxiety did not increase.
D still needs ongoing reassurance, so staff verbally prompt Tom throughout his day to ensure he knows always what is happening next in his day, this has been maintained since admission. Staff used PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) alongside words. D agreed to a structured daily living skill plan that included prompting with toileting, lunch preparation, laundry. D began with staff teaching him how to prepare his lunch to take to the club. In addition to the support from the team, D was fascinated at how other housemates could efficiently complete tasks and would watch and learn for himself.
Outcome
D was more than competent in toileting, preparing lunch, completing part of his laundry without prompts. His weekly support hours reduced from 28 to 25. Use of toilet reduced to 2/3 times per day which gave D a better quality of life as he could enjoy his activities without the frequent toilet breaks. D was interested in joining Partners for Independence Club but did not have funds, however, we supported D to retain the funding from the reduction in his hours to pay for his placement at the club.
D was a shy person but is now interacting more with other people and sharing his learning/experiences. He is a very strong advocate for what he wants to achieve and is competitive. He is also becoming a good role model for his peers at home. D is now working on developing his skills to complete personal hygiene, taking care of his room, learning about managing appointments, money, his shopping, planning, and preparing hot meals for himself.
