News & events Broadview awarded NAS Advanced status!
Broadview is one of our residential services in Hampshire, supporting up to six adults with autism and learning disabilities. We’re delighted to announce they are the latest service to be awarded Advanced accreditation status by the National Autistic Society (NAS)!
Led by manager Alison Murray, the team provide an active, friendly environment for the people we support. We spoke with Alison to find out more about how they achieved this incredible recognition, and what it means for the people we support.
What was the process of getting to Advanced status like for you?
We did our basic accreditation with the National Autistic Society around three years ago. At the time our autism lead, Raj, identified that we were already working at an advanced level and encouraged us to apply for the Advanced assessment soon after.
Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, so we couldn’t go ahead with this, but we continued to push forward with this goal in mind. The team knew that everything we planned to implement, big or small, would make a difference when we eventually had our Advanced assessment.
What did you implement that contributed to your success?
We introduced a system called ‘My Active Day’ sheets. They evidence what activities the people we support get involved with and how these contribute to their skill development. It’s an interactive approach and we support our residents to fill the sheets in. They tell us what they did, what the experience meant to them, and what they gained from it.
Whether they’re building friendships or improving independent skills, every activity is important in their development. Being able to evidence this progress is particularly important during an NAS assessment.
We also provided case studies on the people we support. These case studies explain what needs each person has, how we support them, what they’ve achieved, and how well we know them. When they first arrive with us, we do initial assessments, but we also get to know them as individuals so we can truly tailor their support to them.
Each resident is totally unique and we’re always thinking about how we can move forward a little bit more with them. We think about what activities might help them develop a particular skill, or how we can adjust our support approach to help them achieve their goals.
What do you think were the key factors in achieving Advanced Status?
I think it’s the way we interact and engage the people we support in our approach and support styles. We have lots of visual aids around the service, including an activity board in the house and an emoji board in the garden. There’s also a tree in the lounge that the people we support hang chore cards on.
This interactive approach is important. It empowers the people we support to get involved in daily activities, which helps develop their daily living skills and independence. Visual cues also help the people we support to process information easier and can help reduce stress or challenging behaviour.
We’ve actually removed all MAPA and safety interventions throughout the house as a result of this approach. We’re at a point where we can now use verbal cues to manage challenging behaviour. To achieve this across the whole household is incredible.
How were the people we support involved in the assessment process?
We prepared them in advance and encouraged them to communicate any concerns they had. The moderator was with them for a whole day, observing them doing different activities, and talking to them about their support. It’s a lot of change for them, so it was important we communicated what could happen on the day, and the purpose behind the assessment. We did rehearsals with them to ensure they felt comfortable and reassured about the process.
Everyone we support has capacity to understand the process and the benefits of having the Advanced accreditation. They got really excited about the assessment and were so involved with the assessor – she couldn’t get a word in; they were so chatty!
What‘s next for Broadview?
We have a few projects in the pipeline! We’re looking to approach a few local businesses and help them to become autism friendly. This is important so that those in the wider community can understand people with autism and their additional needs. The people we support are active in the community and like going to the local pub to play pool and listen to music. It’s important for us to create awareness with the business owners and make these spaces accessible and safe for them.
We’re even going one step further with this initiative! One of the people we support is performing at Southampton Pride in September. She’ll be singing on stage alongside her support worker, and we’ll all be going along to support her! As well as creating a bond with the wider community and generating more autism awareness, it shows the incredible relationships that our team have with the people we support.
Find out more
To learn more about our specialist autism support and how we can support you, a loved one or a client, complete our quick and easy form, and a member of our team will be in touch.
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