Paul is 61 years old and lives at one of our supported living homes in Northumbria. He has a learning disability, epilepsy, and Tourette’s syndrome. With his big sense of humour and beaming smile, he brightens everyone’s day.
But this wasn’t always the case for Paul. When he first joined us over 25 years ago, his confidence was low, and he experienced mental health difficulties. Transitioning to us from a specialist mental health hospital, he presented high levels of challenging behaviour. Becoming easily frustrated and anxious, he needed 24-hour support to navigate daily life.
Our expert team suspected Paul was experiencing a form of trauma, and his behaviours were communicating this. Using person-centred support, our team got to know him as an individual. They took time to understand what his life was like before joining us, what he needed support with, and what was important to him.
They soon understood that Paul had many worries about daily life. He struggled to trust people and often felt insecure. They also discovered Paul felt fearful about many aspects of his health, stemming from past experiences. Knowing how this might be affecting many areas of Paul’s life, our support team were determined to help him work through his worries and take positive steps towards a healthy, happy future!
Get to know Paul!
When Paul first joined us, his mental health difficulties meant he struggled to interact with people he didn’t know, including his housemates and support team. Nervous around others, he wouldn’t access the community for everyday activities, like shopping or attending essential medical appointments.
From the day he moved in with us, our team empowered Paul to be himself. Using person-centred support, they helped Paul fill his days with meaningful activities. Fostering a safe and positive environment, they quickly established a trusting relationship with him and watched his confidence increase.
Noticing consistency and familiarity were key to Paul’s wellbeing, they worked with him to establish a routine and gently introduced changes to him. Keeping Paul at the centre of his support, they empowered him to make decisions for himself.
Feeling valued and secure in his environment, the trauma Paul carried started to slip away. His challenging behaviours reduced, and his vibrant personality shone through. His confidence increased each day, and he socialised more with his peers at our supported living home. Soon, he started accessing the community to do his own shopping and participate in his favourite activities – like going to the cinema.
With his support team empowering him, Paul continued to establish his independence. Even though they knew it would be a long journey, they were determined to support him to take the next step on his journey: overcoming his fear of medical appointments.
Building Paul’s confidence
Paul is verbal but expressed his fears around health in a variety of ways. Simply at the mention of medical appointments and procedures – like flu jabs – he would become distressed and present challenging behaviours.
Paul’s support team worried about his health for many years. They used their expert training and person-centred support to monitor his health. They used visual cues – like body language – to spot if he was feeling poorly and arranged telephone appointments when he needed medical support.
Understanding the importance of in-person examinations, Paul’s support team continued to empower him with the confidence he needed to eventually attend them. They were open and honest with him about their own medical procedures – like blood tests – which showed him the procedures were safe, and he wouldn’t be in danger if he had one.
Paul also saw his housemates come home from having blood tests and other routine health checks. This also reassured him he would be fine, and they were important for keeping him healthy and happy.
Our support team also arranged for a local Pharmacist to attend the service when it was time for Paul’s support team and housemates to have their Covid and flu jabs. Paul was invited to watch the procedure. By gently demonstrating different health procedures to Paul, he finally found the confidence to attend a medical appointment that would reveal something about his health.
Paul’s big health achievement!
Paul’s team were overjoyed when he expressed he was ready to attend a medical appointment. Even though they could sense his confidence, it had been a long time since he’d been to an appointment. They knew he would need easing into the process, and it might take time for him to adapt to the environment of a doctor’s surgery.
So, they started from scratch and booked a routine health check for him, which included a blood test. Together, Paul and his support team had gradually prepared for this moment. Paul had seen others have vaccination, so they were confident he could navigate a blood test.
Paul woke up full of confidence on the day of his health check. Before his appointment, he whipped round the home to let everyone know where he was going. He knew his support team would be by his side the whole time and bubbled with excitement as he got closer to overcoming his fear!
During Paul’s health check, the doctors and nurses adapted their communication to meet his needs. They ensured they gave him time to prepare for his blood test and showed him what each instrument was for. Paul doesn’t always freely express himself to people he doesn’t know, but his support team could read his emotions. At each stage of the appointment, they helped communicate his feelings to the doctors and nurses, ensuring he wasn’t scared or under pressure.
Successfully navigating his health check, Paul beamed with pride as he left the doctors! From having his bloods taken, Paul’s doctors were able to spot he had high cholesterol, which could affect his heart health. With this information, Paul’s support team helped him make lifestyle changes to treat this. Adopting a healthier diet and increasing his activity levels, Paul successfully reduced his cholesterol!
Future health and happiness
Since his health check, Paul’s health future has changed for the better. For his team, it’s reassurance he’s healthy from the inside out- things that can’t be visually detected will be found and treated. As well as his routine doctor’s appointments, Paul’s also been to the Opticians for an eye test, and the Dentist to have his teeth checked. His team are incredibly proud of what he’s achieved and, with his health in tip-top shape, they’re excited to see what he’ll achieve in the future!
Learn more about our support!
Discover more about our expert, life-changing support on our dedicated learning disabilities page.