We have a sensory house out in the garden which we wanted to make more use of. We knew we needed something new and exciting that could be personalised for each person and thought it likely that an iPad would hit the spot. That got us thinking about an application to the Great Interactions fund. Everyone was very pleased when our application was granted and we could make the purchase.
After we got the iPad up and running with the basics and all members of staff were familiar and confident with it we wanted to learn more and use the iPad to its full potential. A member of staff, Val, went to a meeting at MacIntyre Central to learn about different sensory Apps that we could use. She came back with lots of new Apps that we hadn’t previously discovered, that supported a variety of unusual and exciting sensory experiences.
Tina is a lady who dislikes anything within close proximity to her and becomes very anxious should this occur. The iPad has helped to build staffs confidence as Tina now enjoys sharing stories with staff because instead of reading a story from a book, the iPad has interactive features that are more engaging and staff are able to further encourage this resulting in Tina staying interested in the story and wanting to hear it to the end. However Tina’s favourite App is definitely animal sounds, where she can point out and name animals and imitate their noises whilst the iPad is placed at the bottom of her bed, so it’s not too close. Tina laughs and claps the whole way through these sessions whilst staff gently encourage Tina to make choices around the sounds and animals. Having the iPad has helped us share special times with Tina, she frustrated less and appears to enjoy spending time with us more.
We really couldn’t have imagined just how successful an iPad would be in supporting new ways for us as a staff team to interact with people.
These are just a few example of the limitless amount that the iPad has to offer each person at our service. Not only does it have a seemingly endless amount of fun and exciting activities, but it has also helped to provide a diverse range of opportunities for us to have Great Interactions with the six people we support. Whilst using the iPad we still use all ten facilitation skills: listening, observing, communication and creativity to name a few….But we know our interactions have improved, and will continue to do so as we challenge ourselves to be even more creative and interesting to the people who live at Ceely Road.
Natalie Tillett
Practitioner, Ceely Road