Autism Jordan’s journey to greater independence and voluntary work!
Jordan is a person we support at one of our supported living homes in Derbyshire. He has autism, and has faced many challenges that have prevented him from developing his independence. Becoming more independent means a lot to Jordan, and he wanted to be able to perform key life skills on his own with less support.
When we met Jordan, he couldn’t perform daily living skills such as cooking and cleaning himself. We identified straight away this was holding him back from accomplishing his goals.
Since moving to Voyage Care, all that’s changed. Jordan has undergone a transformation and is taking positive steps to establishing a bright future. With our support, he’s ticking off his goals one by one, and has increased his confidence while becoming increasingly independent.
Joining the Voyage Care family
We first met Jordan in 2019 when he was 20 years old. He previously lived with his family and didn’t have the life skills he needed to be fully independent. He also lacked confidence in his abilities, which held him back from opportunities to be independent.
Jordan’s family felt he would benefit from higher levels of specialist care to get him on track to achieving his goals.
He attended a day centre run by another healthcare provider twice a week, but his low self-esteem began to prevent him from going.
Looking for greater support, Jordan’s family came across a vacancy at one of our supported living homes…and this marked the next, positive step in Jordan’s journey. His family made an enquiry, a Jordan’s journey with Voyage Care began. They initially took Jordan to see the home and meet our specialist team, and following a chat, it felt like the right environment for Jordan to work towards his goals.
Once the placement was set up, Jordan made the big move and we worked on getting to know him as a person, learning about his interests and what made him tick.
Getting more of an understanding of Jordan and what brought him joy helped our team create a person-centred care plan tailored to his individual needs.
As time went on, Jordan began to feel more relaxed with our specialist team and began to overcome his challenges with low self-esteem.
Building a person-centred care plan
Many people with autism find comfort in routine and patterns, which are important in Jordan’s life. A consistent routine is key to his happiness and allows him to feel comfortable when navigating daily life.
With this firmly in mind, Jordan’s support team created a person-centred care plan structured around the things he loves.
Having a sense of structure supports Jordan to feel safe and secure, helping his confidence to steadily grow. Establishing trust with his team, he was able to begin expressing himself. As Jordan opened up more, his support team began to get a better understanding of his needs, preferences and interests.
To help further develop Jordan’s confidence, we encouraged him to take on more activities around the home. Daily tasks like cleaning his bedroom and helping his team prepare meals in the kitchen have all supported his skills development and independence.
Jordan’s parents were keen to see him venture out into the community, and his newfound confidence empowered him to do just that!
His new home was placed in the perfect location, with Chesterfield town centre, various shops and local pubs only walking distance away. Jordan thrived on having so many local amenities nearby!
To help his integration into the community, the team started Jordan with short walks, and as his confidence grew, he started completed different activities such as going shopping and visiting the local leisure centre.
Even though Jordan’s progress was in full swing, he had many more exciting milestones just round the corner!
Discovering a hidden talent
Part of Jordan’s weekly activities involved shadowing his Support Worker while they completed audits around the home. These were carried out to calculate whether financial statements were accurate. It wasn’t until he started getting involved with these audits, that a hidden talent of Jordan’s emerged.
He helped his Support Worker to do calculations and quickly picked up the numbers in his head. To their amazement, Jordan was showing his Support Worker his incredible maths skills, something they hadn’t seen before!
As Jordan’s confidence with numbers grew, his support team proposed a new goal to him. They were keen for Jordan to learn how to use his own bank card, and how to operate a cash machine.
Our support team discussed this with Jordan’s family, and they were excited at the prospect of Jordan learning his new life skill! Jordan’s mum set up an account for him, and added an allowance of money each week for him to withdraw.
To ease him in, Jordan’s support team showed him how to use the cashpoint machine and he shadowed them to learn. This took a bit of time as Jordan needed to memorise his PIN number.
As he got more familiar with the steps involved, Jordan gave it a go while his support team observed. With a bit of practice, he did it!
Jordan can now withdraw his own money from the cashpoint without any assistance. This is a big milestone for Jordan, something that makes us all proud.
Gaining confidence in the community
Jordan was now familiar with going out into the community but wanted to increase his independence even further. He’d already accomplished withdrawing his own money, which boosted his confidence when trying to achieve more.
Eager to gain confidence on the bus, Jordan’s team ensured regular bus journeys were part of his time out in the community. They supported him to learn the timetables and explained the different stops, so he could work out where he was on his journey.
Starting with short trips, Jordan’s confidence blossomed. Eventually, he was able to navigate different stops on his own. He was encouraged to get on and off the bus at different stops to understand the area.
Steadily, over a four-year period, Jordan chased his dream of travelling independently, and successfully took a bus trip on his own!
He’s gained so much independence, he now frequently travels on the bus by himself. Every week, he catches the bus to the local supermarket and does his food shop!
But this isn’t Jordan’s final destination – travelling independently and accessing the local community was just the beginning!
Developing social skills
To help Jordan build his social skills, his Support Worker invited him to a monthly meeting. This meeting focuses on reviewing the progress of individuals receiving support through our services. Other Voyage Care teams from the Chesterfield area, along with some of the individuals we support, also participate.
Tagging along to these meetings was a great opportunity for Jordan’s independence, and for developing his social skills too. He’d have the opportunity to meet lots of different people from the Voyage Care family, including support teams and people we support, who would be eager to chat to him.
Initially hesitant, Jordan warmed to the idea and agreed to attend his first meeting. With the big occasion coming up, he was keen to impress and wanted to dress smartly. His team assured him he could attend in his normal clothing, but Jordan insisted he wanted to mark the occasion with a smart outfit!
During the meeting he met lots of friendly people and was even asked to help vote for our Employee of the Month. His support team helped by explaining the great things each person had done during the month, and they agreed on the choice together.
Not only did Jordan love the experience, but he’s now made it a recurring event on his planner!
Taking part in volunteering work
As Jordan continued to increase his independence, his support team were on the lookout for new opportunities that could progress him further.
While out exploring the local community one day, Jordan and his team came across a charity shop offering voluntary work placements.
This was exactly the type of opportunity that would take Jordan to the next level, giving him more confidence and independence in the local community.
Eager to give this a try, Jordan and his team got in touch with the shop and arranged for him to pop in and get familiar with the environment.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed to begin with, Jordan soon adapted and enjoyed helping the staff with different activities, such as organising the items in the shop and interacting with customers.
Volunteering has been a massive step for Jordan, and he now works at the shop twice a week. It’s given him a new sense of independence and shown him what it’s like to be in a working environment.
Future goals
Jordan has come on leaps and bounds since we first met him, and his mission doesn’t stop here! He’s assured us there’s more exciting things to come and goals he wants to tick off his list.
One of those goals is to achieve paid employment. He’s enjoying doing his voluntary work and wants to progress so he can earn some money. Our team will support Jordan all the way with this goal, keeping their eyes open for appropriate opportunities and helping him develop in key areas to help him get there.
Becoming a Quality Checker with Voyage Care is another one of Jordan’s goals. His support team proposed this idea to him, and he’s gained an interest in applying for the role.
This would involve Jordan going to other services in the Voyage Care portfolio with his team and inspecting their level of quality against a score card. This wouldn’t just support his independence, but give him ownership of something and allow him to make new friends along the way.
Keen to achieve even more independence, Jordan has a long-term goal of moving into his own apartment. We are with him all the way and Jordan will be encouraged to continue exploring news tasks that will enhance his independence further.
With the support of his expert team, Jordan is living the life he always dreamed of and is set to accomplish even more in the future!
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