Supporting an autistic person to access activities in the community

Actions and outcomes

This case came into the service as a self-referral.  F was struggling with many aspects of their life and had been to see their GP and Primary Care, however they felt that this had not made a difference.

 

The issues presented by the individual were:

 

  • Low Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem
  • Executive Functioning issues
  • Lack of structure and purpose (limited activities other than with family, picking up medication and one charity activity per week)
  • Feelings of extreme exhaustion
  • Sensory differences
  • Struggles with emotion and communicating needs
  • Struggles with self-acceptance including the diagnosis.
  • Childhood trauma from bullying and family problems.

 

Through regular support (via phone, face to face and text/email), F has managed to improve their situation.

 

The intervention put in place was 1:1 support from a support worker, and peer mentor support.  This intervention lasted 11 months. 50% of the time was spent providing support virtually (e.g. phone calls, text and email), and 50% of the time was spent providing face-to-face support in person, which usually happened every other week.

Feedback

F is no longer feeling that they cannot take control of their life.  They are engaging in activities that they are interested in and motivated to participate in: Cookery Course, Art Course and Volunteering.

 

We measured this person progress by using the Outcome Star but there were real observational differences in their presentation.  F started to smile and joke more often and communicated with myself and others about their interests and ideas.

 

F not only enjoyed the course with the Gwent IAS – they were also able to access an art course at the same community setting. F now attends a different cooking course within the centre, so they have two new activities to take part in, which will be good for their longer-term wellbeing. These activities are situated less than a mile from their home and they are comfortable with the staff and other group members.

Lessons Learned

This support was quite difficult to deliver.  Partly because of the pandemic and the restrictions but mostly because F struggled to accept that I could be trusted and that the support provided would not just be a couple of meetings.

 

In addition, F’s communication style made it difficult to know what they were thinking/feeling about our conversations.  They were very ‘closed’ and didn’t want to share very much.

 

Part-way through my intervention I felt that this person was struggling more in terms of acceptance, and I arranged for extra support from our peer mentor in the team to ‘reach them’ on a different level.

Information

Health Board:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
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