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Supporting someone to understand their diagnosis during the pandemic

Actions and outcomes

CO came to the support service following her diagnosis just before the COVID-19 pandemic.  She attended the post diagnostic course virtually and this was followed up with 1:1 work.

CO also started the Managing Time and Wellbeing Course but was unable to complete the course due to new work commitments.

Following an Outcome Star, completed at the end of the virtual post diagnosis course (VPDC), we identified several strengths but also areas for development. The use of exercise to improve both wellbeing and physical health was extremely beneficial for CO, as well as providing her with a much better insight into her autism – in particular, her sensory processing difficulties and the needs that result from this.

Support with managing and balancing time and activities was identified as an area for development. Although the course could not be completed due to new work commitments, CO noted improvements in this area.

The COVID-19 pandemic created difficulties in providing a traditional support package to CO, but this gave both sides the opportunity to be creative and use technology to develop a support package. The regular use of telephone and email as well as video calls meant that CO did not have to leave her home, which she identified could have been a barrier to her accessing some support services.

Feedback

“I learned so much about myself, especially from the course (VPDC). I was unaware that so many of my issues were down to my sensory needs. By exploring these in turn it has made my life so much more managebale. I would have liked to have done more work on managing my time as I realised from the course (VPDC) that my executive functioning skills are very poor, but I know this is something I could always return to in the future.”

Lessons Learned

The use of virtual services was in its infancy when we started to work together, but the success of virtual interventions for CO demonstrates that there is a need for this both now (during COVID times) and in the future to meet certain needs.

The use of the VPDC enabled us to not only develop a working relationship, but also to be able to provide an informal assessment of where to begin to work together.

Information

Health Board:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Local Authority:
Unknown
n/a
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