How we have supported Steven
When Steven arrived at Mount View House, he had a small transitions team who were originally due to be with us for up to 12 weeks. Steven had a chequered history of aggression towards other residents and staff, including significant bite injuries. This led to Steven being previously placed in a self-contained area of the hospital due to the level of challenge, aggression and property damage.
Steven required 2:1 staffing ratio at all times and would rarely engage with staff members. He was withdrawn and viewed as almost too complex to support in a positive and effective way. This was quite evident by the attitude of the transitions team and their sharing of experiences.
At Mount View House, Steven is surrounded by a supportive staff team and environment. He is utilising a communication aid and is able to make his needs known, with dramatically reduced instances of behaviours that challenge. Steven’s staff team of key individuals are now able to spend prolonged periods of time with him within his living environment and build up strong relationships based on trust and understanding.
Month-on-month there is small victories with skills and tolerances around routine and key aspects of self-care. In most recent months, Steven has gone for walks in controlled environments, which had previously been thought of as impossible. With a long-term goal set for Steven to create a fully rounded communication profile, with support from both speech and language therapy (SaLT) and positive behaviour support (PBS), this will enable Steven to further enhance his skills and hopefully create a positive series of meaningful activities.
Achieving positive outcomes
Since transitioning to Mount View House, our positive and supportive approach towards Steven has enabled him to begin communicating more effectively, engaging in positive interactions with staff on a daily basis and preparing and making his own meals.
Steven also travels into the community on a more regular basis with the use of an adapted vehicle. Although Steven still presents a significant level of challenge with regards to damaging property, where previously he would destroy clothing and bedding, we have now helped him to make requests and process information relevant to the time and activity. This has enabled Steven to make informed choices and decisions, which all come together to reduce the instances of damaging property.
We are really proud of the positive outcomes achieved by Steven, the staff team and the wider support network, that has been developed specifically for Steven’s immediate and future needs. All of these outcomes would have been unthinkable before Steven arrived at Mount View House.
*Name and image have been changed to maintain confidentiality.