Jamie’s* history

Jamie is a young gentleman with a diagnosis of autism and moderate learning disabilities with behaviours that may challenge. He spent his early years at home with his family before moving into residential schools. Unfortunately, due to his attitude to learning, his non-compliance with his care plans and his behaviour in general, Jamie’s school placement broke down.

When Jamie came to us

Jamie was very stressed when he arrived at Beeches due to his school placement breaking down. The team ensured that his transition to Beeches was in-depth as they were aware that the level of internal anxiety for Jamie was high. He needed lots of reassurance, guidance and motivation from the staff team.

Jamie was unsure of himself and needed guidance to make the simplest of choices, he would always look for staff confirmation on how to complete routines. In addition, he lacked social skills, was reluctant to approach others and wanted to stay in his own world. Jamie was unable to make eye contact with others and unable to join in with group activities, including refusing to eat meals with the other residents.

To cope with his stress levels, Jamie used to scream out loud and throw things in any direction, often causing damage. He was reluctant to engage with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), refusing to get out of bed for his sessions and claiming he was ill, all to avoid the situation.

Jamie’s care

The team soon realised that Jamie was going to need small steps to overcome some of his behaviours, anxieties and to build relationships. The team appointed him with his own keyworker to give 1-1 support, along with some comfort and consistency through a familiar face working with him to devise his own Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) plan.

Jamie had weekly 1-1 MDT sessions with a psychologist, speech and language therapist and an occupational therapist. The team carried out communication assessments and analytical data of his receptive and expressive communication in relation to his autism.

The team worked with Jamie to develop his life skills which were poor when he arrived at Beeches, they looked at his personal hygiene, budgeting, work experience, social skills and enabling him to use public transport.

Over time, Jamie was able to mingle and socialise in large group settings, holding his own in social settings and conversational contexts. After a while, Jamie started attending a local college (with his keyworker) and attending resident information meetings.

Jamie today

Jamie is now able to look after his own money with his new budgeting and mathematical skills, he learnt skills in how to pay bills, use the internet for local council information and also basic problem solving to manage with the demands of everyday life.

He is now able to use public transport to access his local football club with his friends from college and also use social media with the appropriate level of responsibility.

Jamie has come so far with the dedicated support of the team at Beeches and now after six years has successfully moved on to his own supported living accommodation. The team have supported Jamie to gain the knowledge and ability to have a fuller life, enjoy his independence and become an equal and integrated member of his local community with freedoms and values that we all take for granted.

*Name has been changed to protect his identity