When Home Manager Sophie met Sean in December 2020, he hadn’t left his home in three years. He also wouldn’t speak to his family and didn’t engage in any activities. The team at his new home in Surrey were initially very concerned for his wellbeing.
Sophie quickly built up a relationship with Sean. By working at Sean’s pace, and finding out his likes and dislikes, Sean began to engage more, such as attending small trips with team members. On multiple occasions, Sean didn’t want to get out of the car at the other end, but our team would encourage him to get a drink from the shop, which he did.
One of the biggest concerns was that Sean wasn’t taking his insulin and wouldn’t eat as a result. Our team explained to Sean how important this was and assisted him with the process. He now feels confident enough to check his own blood sugar (while team members help him read the numbers). He also understands “too high” means he needs to drink more water (previously, this would be coke) and “too low” means he needs to eat something.
Sophie helped to build Sean’s confidence by making a visual activity plan with a few activities, such as accessing the wider community. She prepare him as much as possible for what to expect before things happened.
Our team also worked on improving Sean’s engagement with his family. They achieved this by asking his parents to send in a letter with some photos, and Sean would write back and add photos too. Sean then began to chat to his parents through video calls to make him feel more at ease. Eight months later, Sean agreed to see his parents face to face and even gave them a hug.
His recent accomplishments include helping the Home Manager to decorate the sensory room, walking to the shops (about a thirty-minute walk), and having meals out. Sean has become so confident about going to the shop that our team have been supporting him to carry out this activity independently.
Our team have also learned that Sean loves maintenance and helping Sam, the handyman. Each week Sean will walk around the house and check all the maintenance needs, upload them to the portal and call Sam to tell him!
Lately, Sean began showing an interest in horses again and expressed that he wanted to work at a local horse riding place. After a few months of trying to find work, he finally succeeded and now supports running a class for young children with disabilities once a week. He helps to get the horses ready, guides the horses around with the children, and cleans and grooms the horses.
Our team have noticed a tremendous change in Sean. He was initially very reserved and unwilling to engage, but nowadays, he’s a lot more outgoing and smiles/laughs a lot. He’s also extremely helpful, as he always offers to help the team with cleaning, building and decorating. Sean is now a lot healthier and has managed three blood tests so far this year which is another amazing achievement.
Sean is looking forward to the future, in particular, guiding the horses out and learning how to do this independently. He’s also taken an interest in learning how to use the bus again.
He told us that he’s most proud of helping with the horses and getting back out into the community. When we asked what built his confidence, he mentioned Sophie and Gareth (the Home Manager and Deputy Manager of Ambleside Lodge).
A huge well done to Sean and our team for everything that you’ve achieved!
