Growing Up – Moving On
For you, as a young person, you will be looking forward to leaving school and starting the next phase of your life with great excitement. However the transition from school to adulthood can be a particularly difficult time for you if you have a learning disability, sensory or physical difficulties, autism or have mental health issues. You will have become familiar with the school environment and you may be used to receiving support in a certain way.
Moving to a new environment, often with less structure and reduced or different forms of support will take some getting used to and having to build new relationships is a frightening prospect.
As a young person with complex needs you will require specialised support and placement but whatever the need we will ensure that you are prepared for change to make sure that it happens smoothly and results in positive outcomes. It could be difficult for you to take in several options at one time. Therefore we will introduce options gradually.
Person Centred Approach
As a young person you have the right to be involved in discussions about your future. Essandore Care Group will assist you and your family to be part of the transitional planning process.
During this process you and your family will be present along with other significant people in your life as well as a number of professional people, such as your social worker, a person from Connexions and possibly people who manage adult services.
This meeting will focus on the following areas:
- What people like and admire about you
- What is important to you
- What other information about the future is needed for you
- What works and does not work for you
An Action plan for the future which may include:
- Future plans in education
- Careers and employment
- Healthcare
- Community care services
- Housing, accommodation and supported living services
Essandore are skilled facilitators of person centred planning and approaches. We can lead and develop a transitional plan for you and your family.
Bringing People Back Home
Essandore Care Group has a commitment to offer well-supported, flexible care in domestic settings responsive both to the person and their family’s needs and preferences and in doing so are able to bring the people with the most complex of needs back to their families and back to their local communities.
The person centred plan approach allows this to happen and provides options for the following:
- Future plans in education
- Careers and supported employment
- Healthcare
- Community care services
- Housing, accommodation and supported living
- Leisure opportunities
- Risk taking and risk support
- Enabling plans for self-directed support and individual budgets
Getting the planning right and future action agreed and in place gives all people including those with the most complex needs an opportunity for inclusion.
We have been successful in the following ways:
- People have left long stay hospital placements and moved to well-supported carefully planned accommodation of excellent quality.
- People have acquired new life and self-care skills.
- People were given greater choice about their daily activities and they took more decisions for themselves.
- Extensive use is made of local community facilities and social networks were developed.
- People became involved in the day to day running of their facilities with flexible routines helping to meet their needs.
- People had the opportunity to work (paid or unpaid) or attend a place of learning, such as a college or other further education facility.
- People acquired skills to manage their own financial affairs and to use money.
- People who displayed behaviours that were challenging in hospital significantly reduced or stopped the behaviours when their plans and preferences were being met.
It is noted that the ‘cost’ of person centred or individualised services for a person with complex needs is significantly reduced to the authority who purchases the service rather than paying for a hospital or institutional setting.