Working with people with autism: the professionals

you many people with autism are dependent upon the social care workforce for the support to live a fulfilling life but they have a wide range of needs so what are the key issues to consider when working with people with autism this film follows two professions Dominic coal is a care worker cuts and marks day services in North London and Oxfordshire social worker Emma Boswell works with teenagers in transition to adult services Emma is on a statutory visit to see 17 year old Dan who has severe learning disabilities you feel better now dan is living at the squirrels residential home Denver has come to monitor his progress I'm gonna show you what we do I think you like activity father we want to be seen that he's well stimulated we want to see that he's happy we want to make sure that he's healthy we want to make sure he's being better challenged and prepared for adulthood be a while since I've seen you it's about being aware of when they get anxious I do keep eye contact with him but if I feel them she's finding it a little stressful then I'll leave Dan has been serious about really watched a year and in that time his communication skills have improved usually you would have to guess if he was in pain you'd have to guess if he was unwell and you where you would guess what was going on with Daniel was through his behaviors how are you feeling today can you show me so what this placement has been able to do is to use be able to use pictures in ways that he's understand so now he's actually managed to communicate through symbols of what she's wanted show me please I understand you're good you're happy well sir oh you're happy that's good today is a good day and I can have this exactly the same approach will slightly adapt it and it won't have one of the thing to do with me you know it's totally on his terms so I'm guided by the staff and guided by how Dan is on the day can I come up as well okay let's go and have a cup of tea Hanson marks dominic works one-to-one with autistic adults who have challenging behaviors and complex learning needs today is working with Michael developing his communication skills well should we get a cup of tea first oh yeah dude you want to help me make it oh yeah okay let's make we don't know me go straight into a session we normally give like five minutes just for them to become accustomed to the new environment to settle in and to feel at ease just have like five minutes relaxation in between each new environment can really help reduce anxiety eggs that modern would - yeah I'm very good thankful but with you there ah what you have to be have to be very calm very calm but when we have our cup of tea after our tea we're going to go and do plum the day yeah look in your folder okay but we have tea first via Dominic's first priority is giving Michael a structure to his day so today is Tuesday and where are you will that be but we're having quality time now but where are we right now David what you do in quality time at MIT and who did you make tea for me and me thank you very much for doing that after up tea do you know what we're gonna do three that again for you dance and we call it dance and movement excellent you want to find I think our structure is very important for people with autism because our predictability can actually make someone feel safer and secure and if they're not sure what the future holds sometimes anxieties can arise this for Friday so we'll put it on Tuesday straight from the beginning of the day students will come in and they'll be aware of exactly what activities I would do that particular day so if it's not raining we can play football but if it rains what should we do might have them watch a film okay some individuals might take a lot longer for them to process what I have said so when you use languages you know kit to be kept quite short simple word short sentences or use visual prompts to actually get your message across and what's he got on his hands what's he got on his hands on his hands lover gloves so Michael the gloves keep his hands warm warm or vice-versa if they're actually trying to communicate something with you you need lots of patience okay did you have fun or sir just have fun today what am I did you have fun when a man which man oh man on the video oh are you game I know laughter all morning and well done Michael that's ex nothing's done yet okay emphasizing the positives is another key technique encouraging Michael giving him lots of praise makes him feel very good about himself it kind of gives him a lot of self-belief and he's willing to kind of try and try out different things and also you know if something doesn't always go right or you find something a bit difficult we'll probably adapt it a little bit to make it a little bit easier so he always feels good about himself and then try and progress with that and try and get him to do something which is a little bit more difficult which takes a bit more concentration okay now whatever facial I did itis right why am I now yeah sad idea your eggs and well done Michael we're doing really well so if I'm sad what's extremely important it's kind of like empathize with our students and to try and see how they view the world from their perspective a lot of common sort of anxieties we have amongst our students is the fact that they find it difficult to communicate to their needs or to communicate what they actually want the actual challenge is not just the behavior it's understanding why they're doing the behavior because a particular change in behavior is still a way of them communicating something which they're upset about so the fact that they're communicating is still kind of a positive thing Dominic is also very aware that many of his students find noisy or distracting environments de-stressor it's quite good to kind of use lower vowels or methods so they're able to gain more concentration or more awareness of what's going on in that particular environment like one person talking to a particular individual at a time not having too many voices can help the student to actually understand what is expected of them or to understand what is being said we've also adapted like session rooms so they don't have much too much clutter or too much information they're kept very tidy at all times our last part why where's your TV DVD player Brandon that did it so when are you getting a new one back at the squirrels Emma's priorities to ensure that as an autistic person Dan is provided with the appropriate services as he makes the transition to adulthood and that links are made with all the key people involved his care including support work ultimately there's a settling down period and that our challenges faced by residential staff so it's about listening to what they have to say and thinking about how you best know p'n up the conversation a little bit more well I want you what else isn't done that we don't know that there because the parents are always very clear to advocating that he was capable doing so much more than at what was happening I mean his land of understanding is is really high he knows exactly what you're saying to him and what you're asking of him it's about taking the knowledge that you know and then assessing what they're already done and then challenging the placement of how they're going to further develop it well actually most key person of course is the parents so you're keeping them up to date you're asking them what they felt about what people comments people have made is there other ways that you think things could have been done better what do you hope that and your hopes and future desires for their children transition planning needs to start early and be led by both the young people and their families so that real choices and opportunities for their future are delivered whilst recognizing that it's an anxious time and the decisions need to be very carefully considered to guarantee that the choices made are the right ones it's about keeping you know the spirits up that I choose the best thing as far as Dan is concerned into our dolt hood it is progressive it is moving him forward no noise did you say hello yeah you try your best I have a good honest and open relationship with the parents and you have to feel that you can challenge in an appropriate way because ultimately you're the advocate as the social worker that you're looking it from a different perspective I'll see you soon she's enough good boy you

Channel: Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)

Views: 244,526

Keywords: autism, scie, social care institute for excellence, learning disabilities, learning disability, autism spectrum conditions

Id: QG6A5c8_1YY

Length: 11min 7sec (667 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 05 2014