Sonya is a person we support at Ivydene, one of our specialist care homes in Hampshire. She has a learning disability and needs support with some daily living activities and accessing the community. Since joining us in November 2020, our specialist team have used person-centred support to help her establish a meaningful routine, attend appointments, and do the things she loves! With their support, she’s embedded herself as an active member of both her home and the local community.
Sonya enjoys keeping busy and has lots of different interests and activities that she likes to do each week. Whether that’s arts and crafts at home, dining out, or visiting the local bowling alley, she’s always on the go! So, when she expressed to our team that she’d like to try something that she hadn’t done in a long time, they supported her decision – and joined her on her journey to making a big achievement.
Celebrating small moments
Sonya lives a vibrant and independent life at Ivydene. Our team support all her passions and interests, enjoy making memories with her, and supporting her to achieve positive outcomes. One of Sonya’s favourite things to do marks an everyday, small moment that brings both her and our support team great pride.
Sonya loves popping to the shops to buy different things that she needs. For many years, our team have helped her access local amenities in different ways. Many years ago, Sonya used to travel around by bus, but this was something she hadn’t done for a long time. One day, she decided she’d like to try taking the bus into town.
Our team supports Sonya’s choices about how she wants to live her life and the goals she works towards. So, when she expressed that she wanted to catch the bus, they supported her to plan when this would be. Sonya had a hospital appointment coming up and identified this as the perfect opportunity to catch the bus and achieve her goal.
Big journey, big achievement
Through their person-centred approach, our team at Ivydene know Sonya extremely well and understand how important her goals are to her and how achieving them positively impacts both her self-confidence and independence. So, they ensured Sonya’s bus trip was a success.
On the day of Sonya’s big journey, they took things at a steady pace. Service Manager Emma dropped Sonya and her Support Worker, Debbie, at the hospital. This ensured she didn’t feel overwhelmed about processing feelings around her bus journey and her appointment.
But Sonya impressed everyone with her resilience. Full of confidence, she took her appointment in her stride and then walked to the bus stop after her appointment, ready to head into town. With Debbie by her side, she took in the local sights. Sonya loves watching the world go by and enjoyed seeing different things along the bus route.
When they arrived in the town, Sonya ran some errands and indulged in one of her favourite activities – shopping! After grabbing some essentials, she headed to a coffee shop for a well-deserved jam donut and strawberry lemonade. Sonya doesn’t always feel confident paying for things herself. But, after her bus journey, her confidence was soaring and she paid for her refreshments on her own!
Sonya was having a lovely day and had already made many achievements that helped her feel even more independent. Venturing back to the bus stop, she was ready to make the journey back to Ivydene. On the way, she stopped in the precinct to listen to some people singing songs. On the bus ride home, Sonya took in more of the local scenery as well as the atmosphere of something she hadn’t experienced for a long time.
With her confidence high, Sonya expressed to Debbie that she’d love to take the bus again soon and would even like to try a train journey!
Taking public transport again marked a massive moment for Sonya, who thrives on her ability to maintain her independence. By taking this journey, she made more achievements than she expected and discovered a new level of confidence. With specialist support and a team who promote her choices, Sonya’s first train journey isn’t far away.
I now feel confident in buying things which helps me to be more independent. I hadn’t been on a bus for a long time.
Sonya, a person we support at Ivydene
Discover more!
Learn more about our specialist support at Ivydene on our dedicated webpage.