Daniel's Story
Daniel* arrived at New Stead House in Redcar to be located closer to his family. Daniel has a range of complex needs, including autism and behaviours that challenge, as well as type 1 diabetes. Unlike his previous specialist residential accommodation, New Stead House was able to provide a clear pathway for Daniel through the service, into supported living within the community.
How we have supported Daniel
When Daniel arrived at New Stead House, he had a high level of anxiety, which led to his behaviours becoming more challenging. Through one-to-one support from staff and detailed support plans put in place, Daniel became more settled at the service and less agitated. These plans included positive behaviour support and an activities plan, which helped Daniel develop his social interaction skills and become more independent in the community.
Daniel enjoys a wide range of planned daily activities such as meals out, playing snooker and football, as well as going for Sunday lunch with his Dad on a weekly basis. Daniel even attends a local charity project in Redcar once a week, where he makes woodwork for our gardens.
Supported by the staff team, Daniel lives in his own flat at New Stead House, which helps him to further develop his independence skills and prepare for the next steps in his pathway, to live in the community. The accommodation within the flat includes a bedroom, a lounge area, with its own activities of daily living (ADL) kitchen, and a garden. Daniel prepares and cooks his own food, as well as maintains the flat on a regular basis.
Achieving positive outcomes at New Stead House
Since living at New Stead House, our positive and supportive approach towards Daniel has helped to reduce his behaviours that challenge, build his confidence and daily living skills. Daniel is now ready to live in the community and is currently looking to move into his own independent flat in Redcar. As part of the services provided at New Stead House, the staff team will continue to support Daniel once he has successfully moved into his own tenancy.
Paul's Story
Paul* has autism, a moderate learning disability and pica. He came to New Stead House presenting challenging behaviour, where he is now supported with a positive behaviour support approach.
How we have supported Paul
When Paul first moved into the service, he would become very overstimulated, excitable and engage in destructive behaviours. Staff found it challenging at times to support him to focus on tasks and access the community safely.
With consistent support, input and guidance from our positive behaviour support (PBS) practitioner, Paul is now able to access a wide range of activities his support workers previously did not think would be possible, even recently supporting him to successfully go to the next town on a bus.
Food preparation and cooking had also previously been a huge challenge as a result of Paul’s diagnosis of pica and his short attention span. Despite this, Paul now regularly makes buns and prepares meals with his staff. His attention span has increased and he can finish household tasks.
Over the last 12 months, members of Paul’s core team have undertaken intensive interaction training and have built the techniques they learnt into his daily living routine. His staff understand the importance of some of Paul’s self-stimulatory behaviours such as flicking water and grass that help Paul manage his own environment. They are able to use this to support Paul to undertake new tasks, as well as communicating with Paul in a way that shows him he is appreciated and valued as a person.
Achieving positive outcomes at New Stead House
Paul’s mood is now much more stable and he has a routine which he is supported to follow using visual aids and a now and next board. Staff ensure that their approach is consistently calm and their body language is neutral as too much visual ‘noise’ can be overstimulating for Paul. His speech and language have improved, as well as his social interaction with others.
Staff tailor their communication to meet his needs using simply structured sentences and promote positive behaviour with the reward of swapping one of his preferred items out of his box. He has even been able to share items with other people he lives with during group activities.
Paul’s support staff are currently working on a photo album with him. His community nurse, who has been involved with Paul for years, can’t believe the positive progress he has made whilst at New Stead House.
*Names and images have been changed to maintain confidentiality.