My name is Paul Berry and I am a community learning facilitator at No Limits in Chesterfield. For the past 5 months, one of our students, Daniel has had quite a bit of upheaval at home while also turning 18 years of age. Daniel has recently moved into residential accommodation in Nottinghamshire and is living away from his parents for the first time. Daniel does not always find it easy to communicate verbally and is rather shy. Prior to leaving home, it was very difficult to keep Daniel away from his home for more than a couple of hours as he became anxious. So upon meeting Daniel for the first time since his move, I felt somewhat nervous about how he would respond to us.
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When I met Darren for the first time I was just 10 or maybe 11 years old. It was at the home where he lives at White Ladies Close in Worcester, my first introduction to MacIntyre and the environment of the services it provides. I was immediately met with great warmth, not two steps through the front door, by the excited hug I quickly received from Darren upon first sight of me. The way I witnessed the staff interacting and responding to Darren and his housemates (and also myself, being a child at the time) gave me a strong impression of the almost familial relationship amongst the people within MacIntyre; staff and supported people alike. (Though I admit in my early youth I may not have thought this in quite such measured vocabulary!)
My first job was at the age of 18 - a Christmas temp at Poundland , where the great interactions were, to put it politely, thin on the ground and I thought back to the work environment I experienced in my first visit to White Ladies and also various other drop-ins throughout the years. It gave me the idea to actually apply for a job with MacIntyre to work under a better atmosphere with wider possibilities, and the opportunity to work alongside people who understand the importance of good relationships and great interactions. And, rather wonderfully, I now have a number of people to share my interests in Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson with ...! I don’t work regularly with Darren, but I still remember – and am reminded every time I see him – how brilliantly people respond to him and how he improves the moods of everyone around him. In a few weeks’ time we will be going to Hay-On-Wye together for the day, blasting out 80s music all the way there & back and spending our time perusing the music books in second-hand shops, which we both love...(and there’s scope for a Mag article right there). Jesse Murray Relief Support Worker Worcestershire Wiltshire is a very rural county, located in the south of England. It can take a long time to travel from one town to the next, and it can be very challenging to use public transport as bus times could mean travelling up to 2 hours to get to where you want to go. This could be difficult for people because travelling to and from an activity that they really enjoy could mean spending lots of time on a bus. Since starting with No Limits in September 2014, one person we support, Aimee, has always had the ‘goal’ of becoming more independent with travel. Aimee was initially shy and found travelling on public transport very challenging. When working with MacIntyre support staff, they found out the difficulties of bus timetables in Wiltshire and how long it takes to get to special places like the gymnasium for Aimee’s body-balance classes. As Aimee was 17, she decided that she wanted to learn to drive a car. Using great facilitation skills, MacIntyre staff worked with Aimee to design a timetable where they could support her to practice the Theory Driving Test and the Driving Hazard Perception test. These sessions also helped her with her maths and English. Because Aimee struggles with reading, staff also supported her to apply to the Driving School so that she could receive extra help with taking the tests. After successfully completing the Driving Theory Test and Driving Hazard Perception test, MacIntyre staff have been supporting Aimee to gain more independence skills. These skills should help Aimee when she gets to own her own car. MacIntyre staff used their own cars to support Aimee to learn how to put petrol into a car. Aimee can now do this herself. Aimee’s new targets are for her to be able to check tyre pressure, check the oil level and top up the windscreen wash. Aimee began driving lessons with a local instructor. At the second attempt, she successfully passed her driving test. All this has led to greater independence for someone who is shy and found public transport a real challenge. Aimee now has her own car and is able to independently travel around rural Wiltshire. Well done, Aimee. Alana Walton
Community Learning Facilitator No Limits Wiltshire Click here to view our latest MacIntyre Story, The Haddons Bike and Trike Show I work with a young man called Gaz who is making great strides, as a result of him being approached, taught and listened to his way; the way we are taught by MacIntyre, to customise our approach for each person, not a standardised box ticking exercise. It used to be that Gaz would never ever go on camera deliberately and videos would make him hide, it made him feel anxious and self-conscious. Over the past year I have worked with Gaz to develop a good relationship with him, by understanding his need for space, his need for gentle praise, utilising his special interest for trains and overall patience and warmth toward him. Gaz has progressed: we now seem to have a budding film maker as Gaz's confidence has grown immensely in the last few months. A trip to Buckinghamshire Railway Centre was the final catalyst, with understanding, encouragement, fun and the temptation of his own YouTube channel, Gaz watched me demonstrate making a video at the centre. I used different voices and a few deliberate mistakes to engage Gaz and we joked that he could do a much more professional job. When I started to interview a steam train Gaz decided to have a go. It has taken many months for Gaz to gain the confidence and trust to be able to do this and he was brilliant. A new Gaz appeared behind the camera and began to address the audience and without any practice he encouraged them to comment on his work. Well done Gaz! I personally feel the work, patience and person centred approach has enabled Gaz to grow into a more confident young person and there is more that can be done to open more doors for Gaz and give him the confidence to decide to go through them. Gaz has now made 6 videos with support in a week, using the iPad and the iMovie app. These videos are now proudly displayed on his own channel; he checks the views daily and awaits any comments with bated breath. We plan to make some Gaz eye view tour guides of different places. Watch his space… And his channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWZE2XTXiLNUyqtUzdqDsGQ Here are the links to Gaz's first two videos. https://youtu.be/iq-v1RB5GTQ https://youtu.be/BvMEf9FvmCw He would be delighted if you visited and left a comment. Mark Sawtell Community Learning Facilitator MacIntyre No Limits - Luton Click here to view our latest MacIntyre Story, The Haddons Bike and Trike Show I am in the fortunate position of being able to visit services in my area on a regular basis. I get to see all the good bits – people getting ready to go to their Lifelong Learning Centre, getting ready to go to the pub for lunch, a visit to family, village parties, birthday parties, trips to the cinema and seaside!! I am always amazed and delighted to see the way staff encourage and support people in these activities. The use of Great Interactions – getting down to eye level to make eye contact when people are using a wheelchair, a gentle touch to the shoulder as someone nervously looks on at a session at the learning centre. Encouragement to wave the flag for MacIntyre at Wheathampstead village day!! - All subtle but important things. When speaking to staff on my travels they do all this naturally – the atmosphere in the houses is like a family, good laughter, good banter and picking each other up when something goes wrong. Staff tell me that they like the way MacIntyre promotes Great Interactions, they see this as a positive reflection on the organisation and are proud to be part of it. Staff say that they are pleased when they get good feedback on how they interact. This feedback can be from a colleague, a manager, visitor or family member. What we are not so good at is recognising and recording this as a compliment!! When I am visiting services I see staff sitting on the floor with people playing games, lying across a bean bag to make eye contact, sharing a laugh and a smile together. When I have attended reviews or team meetings I see staff using reflection to discuss what has worked or not worked for somebody. I think that Great Interactions has given staff the tools to hold better discussions; it gives staff ‘food for thought’, it is simple yet effective and allows staff to really think about how they interact with people and how to make it meaningful. Debs Ibbetson
Area Manager Beds and Herts Registered Care and LLL Click here to view our latest MacIntyre Story, The Haddons Bike and Trike Show |
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