Kelly Barnard, service manager at one of our services in Scarborough, supports one autistic person with extremely complex needs. After implementing some of our new autism-specific procedures, she is already seeing an improvement in their quality of life.

Penny* has very limited communication abilities, is non-verbal and exhibits challenging behaviours as a way of expressing herself when frustrated, angry or upset. When spending time in her home, she remained in the dining room for much of the day as she never wanted to access the communal lounge.

After conducting an autism-specific environmental assessment, Kelly adapted the lounge area and Penny* now independently chooses to spend time in the room.

As Penny* communicates mainly through objects of reference, Kelly’s team is also starting to use her favourite objects as prompts to encourage her to try new activities and environments and reduce any anxiety.

Kelly said:

“I have reassessed Penny* using the tools and have thought of so many new methods of communication we can use to enhance and enable her control over her own life, understanding, activities and daily routine.

“I feel so inspired by the new guidelines, which break things down into processes and are perfect for Penny*. My staff team are completely on board with implementing things on a gradual basis so as not to overwhelm her.”

*Some information has been changed for confidentiality purposes.

• 
• autism