Andrew’s story
Andrew* moved into Julian’s House in December 2014 as a crisis referral having been with Foster Carers for 6 years.
On arrival, Andrew was highly distressed and agitated due to having less than a weeks’ notice that he was leaving his previous home.
With a history of challenging behaviour and self-harm it was clear from the initial two days in the service that additional support would be needed for Andrew, particularly at night. Andrew would stay awake for up to 72 hours at a time, destroying his room and presenting very challenging behaviours. He was non-verbal and also had partially incontinent communication which was a serious initial problem for staff.
How we supported Andrew
We immediately put in place additional one-to-one support at night which Andrew responded positively to. Over a period of 2 weeks with intensive support, Andrew began to engage with night staff.
At the end of the second week, Andrew indicated that he would prefer to live in a ground floor room which was accommodated and we saw a marked improvement in his behaviour and general mood.
As Andrew had a better understanding of his environment, he began to engage in the communal activities of the house and began to interact even more positively with sta.
Through detailed dialogue with the family, Andrew’s room was developed in terms of furnishings and he began to take ownership of his new room.
With easy access to staff, Andrew also commenced with going out into the community and started to indicate what activities he would like to do with one-to-one with staff.
Andrew’s outcomes
After just one month at Julian's House, the additional night support was removed due to the enormous progress Andrew had made and the stability that he now appeared to have. After two months, the PRN Zopiclone was also removed from Andrew’s prescribed medication.
Andrew now sleeps well every night in his own room and in fact has settled into a busy weekly timetable.
In terms of the day time support that Andrew now receives, this has reduced due to his continued progress. Initially supported one-to-one in the house, this has now been reduced to his support being provided during the core hours and Andrew has even shown a willingness and ability to prepare some of his meals.
His Foster Carers who visit regularly are relieved with the progress that Andrew has made and he still sees them every week which has given him the stability in two locations - although he does now refer to Julian’s House as his home.
*Name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.