European Lifestyles
Case Study 1 - Children's Residential Services
Antecedent Brief History - (C)
C is a young man who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of three and who has received special needs services within Oldham since. In September 2002 C was placed at a specialist residential school in Congleton. However, over the last few years a pattern of deteriorating behaviour had emerged, which at times had threatened his placement. C's behavioural difficulties included, spitting, kicking, scratching, punching, slapping and absconding. Ofsted and the local authority had issues with his care and so following an incident which involved C breaking through a window to escape his room; it became necessary to seek an alternative placement for C following the breakdown of his placement.
Assessment and Person Centred Plans
When we commenced our assessment of C, we visited him at his residential placement in Congleton. We found a young boy isolated in a room, lying hunched on a bean bag semi-naked. His support staff standing apart only prepared to approach him with caution. He was kept apart from the other students. He was on a regular dose of Lorazepam to manage his behaviours. He was regularly visited by his parents but hadn't been home for some time. Assessment concluded that his challenging behaviour is an expression of his frustration with communication difficulties/interacting with others. His receptive language is an area of profound delay and is better with additional cues such as context and routine.
Progress and Outcomes to Date
C has shown remarkable progress since he has been with us and is barely recognisable from the young man that we first met. He enjoys his school and mixes well with his peers. He regularly accesses the community via public transport and enjoys amongst other things shopping in Liverpool. He now visits his family in Oldham, his brothers enjoying his company. At a recent looked after Children's (LAC) Review, C's mother thanked us for "giving her back her son". Oldham have since placed with us again and our growing reputation in Children's Services and Transition has helped in winning Tenders with Adult Services. C still challenges on occasion but staff remain positive and are looking forward to continuing the support and progression of this popular young man.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Case Study 2 - Adult Services
Antecedent brief History - (A)
A is a 22 year old man who is diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.
When A was referred to European Lifestyles he was living at home with his mother (single parent) and 3 younger siblings one of whom has a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. A was described as challenging to his mother, siblings and others outside of the family. Whilst living at home he had tried to access various day activities including a day service run by the Nugent Care Society where he was supported 2:1, he also had placements at Vauxhall Community College and Old Swan Community College. All of these placements had broken down and the referral was made to us for shared support in one of our existing supported living schemes.
Assessment and Person centred Plans
We began the 'getting to know you' process and assigned a support worker to A, this coincided with updating A's Essential Lifestyle Plan (ELP). We worked closely with the Liverpool Aspergers Team. A risk screen was also completed to assess the risks A presented to himself, others and the property. Throughout this initial period A was still living at home but made it clear to us that he didn't want to be there. We had already identified a shared house. As we got to know A we supported him to visit the house, meet the other tenants and stay for meals, progressing to overnight stays.
The parents commented on how positive the process felt. Assessments were commenced by our residential and educational service in order to gain a holistic perspective. Meeting arranged with her unit staff team and stakeholder professionals and a review of case files helped compile a comprehensive picture of S's needs. We then identified how his new home and staff team should be configured to meet those needs.
He moved in to the shared house in August 2005. We continued to add to A's ELP as this is an evolving document, and as time progressed A started to tell us that he now wanted to live on his own. This was a struggle for us due to A's vulnerability. Whilst supporting A we had discovered that he likes to write letters to people, even people he hadn't even met. The content of these letters often contained explicit details of murders, deaths or descriptions of a sexual nature, which made him vulnerable and a possible 'target' by the public as a response to his letters. However, he was becoming more stressed living in the shared house. As a team we needed to look at what needed to happen to protect A whilst supporting him to achieve his dream of living alone.
Progress and Outcomes to date - (A)
We began to liaise with our Housing and Accommodation Manager to look at finding 2 flats in the one building both with one bedroom. A does not like to go out in the evening so does not need waking night or sleep in support. Our innovative idea was to offer A one of the flats and the other flat would go to a member of our staff who was in the process of looking for accommodation for himself. Although this member of staff would not be a part of A's support team, they could still be there for A should he need it. In November 2006 A moved into his own flat and the staff member moved into the flat below. A is still living successfully in this flat with 1:1 support 4pm - 10pm Monday to Friday and 12pm - 6pm Saturday and Sunday. A is fully conversant with our 'on call' system which operates out of hours. The member of staff no longer lives below A as this was no longer needed. A still writes letters but to key people who aren't shocked by the content but see the letters as an indicator of something being on A's mind.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Case Study 3 - Adult Services
Antecedent Brief History - (J)
In the spring of 2006 plans were announced to close Budock Hospital following an investigation that uncovered physical and sexual abuse. European Lifestyles was the first organisation to move a person out of institutional care into supported living. J is 45 years old and had spent all his adult life with Budock. During this time we know that he was subjected to physical abuse and even had a broken shoulder, this incident is still under investigation. J moved into his new property in November 2006 and received 24 hour support. A very capable man, J is also extremely vulnerable and has a history of mixing with the wrong crowd.
Assessment and Person Centred Plans
J has been supported to live within his own community successfully for the past two years. Following the Development of his Person Centred Plan, J was able to choose his own team, decorate and furnish his own home and manage his own bank account. Recently, following close working relationships with Commissioners and the multi-Disciplinary Team, J has had his package of support reduced and now has three hours per day without support.
Progress and outcomes to date
By supporting J to reduce his support European Lifestyles has once again proven to Commissioners that our services are not only person centred but cost effective; our reputation in the South West is second to none. The Local Commissioner, Phillippa Swindell is on record as stating that European Lifestyles has proven itself to provide the best quality support in Cornwall.
_____________________________________________________________________________
More Case Studies:
Children's Residential Services
Children's Educational Services