Paul is a person we support at Woodley House, one of our residential care homes in Nottingham. Woodley House offers specialist support to mature adults with autism, learning disabilities, angelman’s syndrome, down syndrome, and mental health conditions. Using person-centred care and support, our team are empowering people like Paul to live the life they choose!

Paul has a mild learning disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and fragile X. These conditions have not only impacted Paul’s confidence, but also means he struggles with noisy environments and going out into the community.

However, thanks to the help of his support team, Paul is achieving his goal of spending more time in the community – helping him to live as independently as possible.

Using person-centred care and support to overcome Paul’s challenges

Paul began his journey with us in 2021 when Voyage Care acquired Woodley House.

Our team collaborated with Paul’s previous support provider to gain an understanding of his specific needs and how we could tailor his support going forward.

When we met Paul he had low self-confidence, which impacted his social interactions with others and prevented him from exploring his local community. Paul’s anxiety would often lead to him isolating himself in his room where he felt most comfortable.

Paul’s support team created a person-centred care and support plan to encourage and boost his self-confidence. This involved trying out new activities around the service, before gradually getting out into the community more frequently with his team.

Discovering Paul’s passions

Paul’s support team discovered what his preferred activities were during his one-to-one support. Once they recognised his passions, such as cooking, they encouraged him to develop these skills to enhance his independence.

Paul is now thriving and can make his own meals and drinks! He’s a regular in the kitchen and often makes himself a cup of tea whilst interacting with his support team. He also loves to help with the washing up after he has cooked.

Another big passion for Paul is football! He enjoys watching matches on the television – tuning into “Match of the Day” on a Saturday evening. This has become a regular occurrence in his weekly routine.

Alongside his other passions, Paul is creative and enjoys getting stuck into arts and crafts – especially drawing and colouring pictures – which his support team integrate regularly into his routine! Since Paul’s mom sadly passed away, he has drawn pictures of her which he treasures.

Rebuilding confidence in the community

Paul’s progression has been incredible. Our support team have been working with Paul by regularly taking him out into the community to visit shops and a local café. He never liked going out much before, so this is a massive step for Paul as he becomes more independent.

Paul has gained so much confidence and has even got to know some of the shop owners – having a good chat with them when he visits.

His support team have been so happy with his progression that they took a significant step forward recently by taking him on holiday to Butlins. This was huge for Paul! He loved the overall experience and getting out in a car was another personal achievement for him.

What does Paul’s future look like?

With the care and support of his team, Paul has transformed his independence from where he used to be. His future goals are focused on developing his independence and confidence even further.

Paul’s support team have set goals to gradually take him out further afield on public transport.

They will begin with supporting him on short bus journeys, to get him more comfortable with this mode of transport. Once his confidence grows, they will start going on longer journeys.

Reigniting his passion for attending football matches is another long-term goal for Paul. His support team will encourage him to attend park football matches, before transitioning to watching his beloved Nottingham Forest play.

Paul’s support team are also keen to see him have a kick about with the football in the Woodley House garden!

Exciting times ahead at Woodley House

Woodley House is preparing for some exciting developments to enhance the home for the people we support.

There will be a new specific sensory room for everyone to use, the lounge area is undergoing redecoration and a new floor is to be added in the dining room.

There are also going to be opportunities to take part in group activities within the service. These will be floor and table based, including sand making, painting and drawing. This will be great for the people we support – offering them meaningful activities to engage with each other.

Interested in making Woodley House your new home? Visit our service page to discover our available vacancies.

Find specialist support near you!

To find out more about our specialist support and how we can help you, a client, or a loved one, fill out our quick form and a member of the team will get back to you.

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