William's story
Hi, my name is William and I'm currently living in a supported living service.
Before I came to live here, I had been in hospital for a while after becoming unwell. I don't really want to say too much about the reasons why I was in hospital, only that I had found it difficult to cope whilst living in my previous flat and had lost confidence in living independently.
Unfortunately, being unwell also meant that I had to take extended sick leave from my job at a local school – this was particularly upsetting for me as attending work each day had given me a sense of purpose in being able to employ my skills, as well as an opportunity to socialise and make new friends.
While I was being treated in hospital, I talked to my parents and told them that I didn't want to go back to my old flat. Instead, I wanted to live in an environment where I could continue to exert my independence, but at the same time have access to support and guidance should I need it.
I found a really nice flat I wanted to live in and my social worker helped me make enquiries as to what support I could receive. I found out that the staff who work there have a lot of experience in supporting my specific service needs, in particular, individuals with a learning disability who are recovering from an episode of mental ill health. I also found out that staff would be able to support me in returning to work, which was something that was very important to me.
When I first moved in, it took a little while to adjust to my new setting. As it was a supported living service, there were lots of things I had to organise, such as signing a tenancy agreement, applying for housing benefit and paying rent, and buying my own food and cleaning materials. Staff were always available to support and advise me as I found my feet. I was also assigned a key worker, who worked closely with me in organising and arranging my new living environment, as well as helping me to collect my possessions from my old flat.
At the moment, I'm being supported to return to work. This is being achieved gradually, with the aim being to build my working hours back to what they were before I became unwell. I've been working closely with staff and my job broker from the community team to help build my confidence, both at work and when I'm travelling to and from school each day. I currently have support to do this, but I'm confident that I'll be working and carrying out my duties independently by the end of the year.
Aisha's story
One Step at a Time recently supported Aisha, who had a mild/moderate learning disability. She wanted to develop her skills and abilities in the workplace as a potential means of income, and to increase her social circle. However, she was anxious that she would not be taken seriously and worried that she would not be successful within a work environment.
Aisha was keen to undertake meaningful work in an organisation where her skills would be valued and her contribution rewarded accordingly. She was aware that there were a number of barriers to this and sought support from staff to identify a plan to develop her skills and confidence. We were able to assist Aisha in developing her basic literacy and numeracy skills through enrolment in a local college that offered the appropriate courses. Initially a member of staff accompanied Aisha to her classes until she had built up her confidence to attend independently. We worked closely with the college to ensure that her specific needs were met in a way that did not indirectly single her out from others.
As her skills and confidence grew, Aisha extended her learning to an IT course, where she developed a great interest in computers and the internet. We supported Aisha in arranging a broadband account and assisted her in organising a meeting with her bank to set up a savings account to enable her to purchase a computer.
When Aisha was ready, we helped her complete a CV and engaged her with her local job centre.
In time, a position at a local dairy was identified where short-term support was needed in entering backlogged order/delivery data onto their IT system. Aisha was successful in her application and was proud to be able to complete the task in its entirety.
Habib's story
Habib had lived at home with his parents until the age of 24, when he expressed the wish to live in his own home. At this point, Habib had no skills in regard to budgeting or managing his own finances. He could cook simple meals and had accompanied his parents to the supermarket, but his personal hygiene skills were rather limited and he had never washed his own clothes. He had involvement with a care manager and a community nurse as he was also an insulin-dependent diabetic.
Habib was very clear that he wanted his own home and appeared to see no barriers to this; his parents were not over-protective but naturally very anxious. Therefore, his care manager referred him to OSAAT's supported living service.
Habib had an assessment carried out to determine the level of his individualised budget to purchase the support he needed in all areas. It was deemed that he would have access to the Independent Living Fund to direct payments should extra hours of support be required during his move.
A new service had just been developed and Habib was asked if he would like to visit and see how he felt. The accommodation comprised eight self-contained flats with 24-hour staff cover providing individual packages of support.
Habib arranged his own initial assessment meeting for support at home, with his parents, the care manager, a community nurse and two housing support workers from the new service in attendance. He clearly stated that his initial goals were to move into his own home, as well as continue his voluntary work at the local transport museum; therefore the meeting had to be carried out in a very tactful manner as Habib was a little limited in his insight as to the realities of living independently. All present agreed that the best outcome would be to identify the areas in which Habib would need support, to determine who would provide this and work out how many hours would be required.
In line with Habib's wishes, he did not have a transition period, which meant that the support package had to be highly robust and in place from day one of Habib's move. Usually, when service users are in agreement, detailed, well-planned transitions take place that are led by each person's individual needs.
Laurence's story
Laurence was placed with One Step at a Time following a prolonged period of time within a residential unit. He presented with moderate/severe learning difficulties and complex needs, and was non-verbal. He often displayed challenging behaviours, particularly when he was expressing his needs and staff were unable to understand his requests.
Laurence had a basic grasp of Makaton; however, staff in his previous placement had struggled to communicate with him due to their limited knowledge of sign language.
Laurence first moved into supported living on 2:1 staffing due to the complexity of his needs and the risk of challenging behaviours. In order to minimise these conflicts and maximise his ability to communicate his needs, all staff working with him were supported in developing their Makaton signs with Laurence's Occupational Therapist. Staff also carried picture cards on their belts with key Makaton signs so they could refer to these as and when Laurence communicated with them. In addition, staff used picture aids on a daily activity board so Laurence could plan his activities and communicate his needs by showing the relevant image.
Following the implementation of the above communication tools, Laurence's challenging behaviours have decreased. Although he still utilises 2:1 support, this is mostly for spending time in the community to ensure his safety.
Kaamil's story
We were asked to provide a support service to a gentleman with a moderate learning disability who was living in community-based, warden-controlled accommodation, whilst receiving day-to-day support from members of his extended family.
Although born in the UK, Kaamil speaks little English. His family is from the Pakistani region of the Himalayas and Kaamil's first language is Pahari. Kaamil was mocked and verbally abused on a daily basis by the children in the area he was living, causing him great distress. He socialised exclusively within the local Pakistani community and had limited social skills within the wider community.
Kaamil had numerous personal, social and health needs that were being neglected as a result of his circumstances. OSAAT recognised that, while the local community offered a positive support network, he would need to develop wider community links to enable him to live as a valued member of society.
We liaised closely with Kaamil's family and community elders in order to secure their ongoing support for both Kaamil and us as support providers, particularly with regard to translation services. In an environment of shared learning, we have been able to slowly break down some of the barriers that existed, begun to understand some of the social stigmas associated with learning disabilities, and the involvement of statutory services in this community. Ultimately, we achieved a sense of mutual respect.
Whilst we always strive to employ staff members with complementary cultural backgrounds to the service users with whom they work, this is not always possible. In these, and similar circumstances, it is therefore essential to adopt a respectful approach with the willingness to learn.
We worked with Kaamil to identify another property in the area he felt safe living in whilst still being able to easily access social and community activities. With the security of retained family and social links, as well as a wider circle of friends resulting from participation in a range of activities, Kaamil has become increasingly trusting of his support worker and is slowly beginning to build his independent living skills.
