Every day, our support teams across the UK achieve incredible outcomes with the people we support. At our dedicated Prader-Willi syndrome service Barnford House in Oldbury, our team and the people we support are already celebrating small wins and big successes!

Since opening in June 2024, they’ve welcomed three new housemates – Megan, Jamie, and Zid – who have all embarked on an exciting journey towards independence. With the support of our team, our new housemates all set exciting goals when moving to Barnford House… and they are already ticking them off their lists!  

Eager to explore their journeys to Barnford House – and uncover the secrets to their successes – we spoke with Service Manager, Jeana Bircher, and Deputy Manager, Amanda Cole, to learn more!

Life at Barnford House

At Barnford House, our support team deliver specialist support to people with Prader-Willi syndrome. Underpinned by evidence-based techniques, they support individuals with a range of needs, including food and weight management, autism, and challenging behaviours.

Demonstrating our company values, Jeana, Amanda, and the team ensure all our housemates are treated with dignity and respect – and are empowered to live healthy, happy lives.

Amanda and Jeana are proud of the family-orientated culture they’ve created at Barnford House. Coupled with a skilled and knowledgeable team, they deliver person-centred support that truly makes a difference to the lives of each of the people they support:

“We have a dedicated and compassionate team who are committed to understanding and meeting each person’s unique needs. Together, we work closely with the people we support and their families to create personalised care plans that promote independence, personal growth, and wellbeing.”

“As a home, we needed to create a team that is valuable to the people we support and demonstrates expertise in the complex needs of people with Prader-Willi syndrome, like challenging behaviour, so we can support our housemates to live their best lives!”

Since Barnford House’s grand opening, the team have worked hard to help the people we support meet their goals. Focusing on individual needs, they encourage individuals to participate socially and enjoy their favourite activities in the local community.

Engaging with local activities and organisations supports essential social skills and fosters a sense of belonging.

As well as building relationships with each other, Megan, Jamie, and Zid have been supported to maintain their relationships with their families as part of their transition to Barnford House. Amanda and Jeana said:

“Many of our housemates transitioned to us from their family homes. We understand the impact this has on both the people we support and their families. So, we publish a quarterly newsletter for the people we support and their families. The response to this has been wonderful! Involving families is vital for maintaining meaningful connections that enhance the wellbeing of everyone we support at Barnford House.”

How we empower successes

As soon as our team at Barnford House received news that the first three people were set to move in, they sprang into action!  Excited, they began preparing the service for their new housemates! Part of this process included creating person-centred support plans, centred around each individual’s needs. Jeane Bircher said:   

“We know the people we support come from diverse backgrounds. This means they need their own individual support plans set up with the help of their families. Each support plan is different but generally covers the person’s social history, daily routine, preferred communication methods, and daily support needs.”

Understanding moving out of the family home can be both exciting and daunting, our team at Barnford House value family involvement. This is particularly important when making decisions about the care and support of their loved ones. Our team also know how the community can benefit the people we support. As part of our person-centred approach, we place importance in community integration.

Located in a vibrant area of the Midlands, Barnford House is perfectly placed for enhancing opportunities for our housemates.

Amanda Cole commented: “Once we knew our first housemates were due to arrive, we recognised the importance of getting them familiar with the local area – community ties are vital for everyone’s development. In the first week of them living with us, we showed them local bus and train routes. This helped support them to identify that the world was open to them, and they could reach places of interest, either by themselves or with our support.”

Remaining committed to their cause, the team continuously seek out additional learning and development opportunities, like specialist Prader-Willi syndrome networks and forums, always looking to enhance their knowledge and skills. Jeane Bircher and Amanda Cole expressed how team training impacts quality of life for the people we support:

“As one big family, we work together to deliver truly person-centred care for each individual. Our knowledge and awareness are crucial to doing this. For example, food management is a massive part of Prader-Willi syndrome. Within the home, we have set structures and routines to manage food intake in the house and out in the community. This gives the people we support the power to manage their food intake with support. They can feel more confident about food and ensure their weight and health are well looked after. Without our specialist training and continued development, this wouldn’t be possible.”

All about Zid

Zid is 19 years old and has Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, and challenging behaviour. With many additional needs in his daily life, the team knew it was all hands-on deck to support Zid to live a fulfilling life!

Transitioning to Barnford House from his family home, Zid previously struggled to establish independence and pursue the things that were meaningful to him.

His family found it difficult to manage his condition – especially his challenging behaviour and weight management. Positive outcomes felt out of reach – until he moved into Barnford House.

Reflecting on Zid’s needs, Jeana and Amanda said:

“When Zid arrived at Barnford House, he felt confused. He thought it was a temporary arrangement and believed he could return home. We worked hard to help him understand that Barnford House was his new home and reassured him we’d support him every step of the way!”

Zid felt a deep loss for his family home and often expressed he wanted to go back and be with his loved ones.

As emotions ran high, Zid presented additional challenging behaviours. But our team remained faithfully by his side and supported him to navigate this change.

The team supported his emotional wellbeing and prompted him to talk about his thoughts and feelings. They encouraged him to share any concerns he had.

They gently guided him through daily life as he adapted to a new routine – particularly around food. Since food is a key issue for people with Prader-Willi syndrome, Zid found it hard to follow instructions on what to eat and how much. But along with his empathetic, compassionate team, they established a new routine around food. Together, they started to see hope.

Our team’s specialist support

At first Zid would contact his family daily. He missed being with them every day. But our team soon noticed the absence of his family meant this was a big trigger for him. Each time he contacted them; he would present challenging behaviour afterwards.

To support Zid’s emotional wellbeing, our team ensured his day was full of exciting activities and meaningful interactions. This way, he stayed focused on the things he loved and didn’t focus on things that worried him – like missing his family.

Our team built strong connections with Zid’s family. Involving them in every aspect of his care and support, they have an open, honest relationship. Amanda and Jeana understand the importance of working with Zid’s family to enrich the support they deliver to him:

“Because Zid missed his family so much that it affected his behaviour, our team worked with them to create a plan to reduce these episodes. Together, we decided contacting Zid three times a week would support his behaviour management. We made sure Zid was on board with this. Now, his behaviours have reduced, and he still looks forward to chats with his family!”

One of Zid’s greatest achievements since moving to Barnford House is his impressive weight loss.  Identifying this as a goal when he moved in, he’s achieved a loss of over four stone! Supported by his team, Zid accomplished this through a calorie-controlled diet and more structured eating pattern.

Since losing weight, his confidence is soaring! Now, Zid loves nothing more than participating in activities at the home and in the community. He loves to go swimming, to the gym, and enjoying walks in the community.

Before achieving his weight loss goal, Zid didn’t engage in much exercise. Now, there’s no stopping him! Both Zid and his team are beaming with smiles as they continue to accomplish amazing successes together.

Meet Megan!

Megan is 26 years old and has Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, and learning disabilities. Before joining us, Megan lived with another provider that was closing down. Megan’s mum Michele worked with Megan to find her a new home!

Before moving to Barnford House, Megan had established a good level of independence, however her needs meant she still required ongoing support. Once she moved into Barnford House, her team established a unique relationship with her:

Jeana Bircher said, “Megan is independent and needs little help from us. But her needs mean she does need support to navigate daily life, which is where we come in. We support her to do things that are meaningful to her. She’s proactive with her daily life and books her own hair and nail appointments. We help Megan choose nail and print designs for her to take along to her appointments. Her mum can’t quite believe it – Megan never wanted to have her nails done before!”

“Since being at Barnford House, she has taken a keen interest in the local disco on Saturdays. She even met her boyfriend there! The team are incredibly supportive of this. Relationships are an important part of life.”

Family orientated, Megan has a close bond with her mum, Michele. They talk every day and often enjoy outings together. They have even gone to Tenerife on holiday! Thanks to the team’s person-centred care, Megan can live her best life and create lasting memories.

Megan’s healthy delights

Megan loves cooking, but her Prader-Willi syndrome creates challenges for her to live out this passion. Our team worked with Megan to produce a person-centred plan involving her love for cooking. They agreed that Megan could cook for the whole household each month – which her housemates enjoy!

With cooking once a month working well, our team searched for ideas to further boost this passion. They came across a 12-week healthy eating cooking course, which instantly sparked interest. Discussing it with Megan, she was extremely excited about the idea!  She knew the course would support her daily living skills and help her with her healthy eating goals.

Megan attended the sessions and had a great time, but this soon presented an additional challenge for the service when she was allowed to bring food home. Barnford House has a strong approach to food management because of its trigger for people with Prader-Willi syndrome, and how it can cause difficult behaviours.

Megan identified the issue herself and started to bring the food home for a different reason – to share her delicious creations with her support team! In admiration of her generosity and strength of spirit around her needs, the team were incredibly proud and always looked forward to trying her food throughout her course.

Let’s talk about Jamie!

Jamie is a 37-year-old man with Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, and learning disabilities. He thrives on routine, structure, and involvement. Being kept in the loop and understanding changes are particularly important to him.

Before Jamie moved to Barnford House, he lived at another service. When the service announced they were was closing, his mum began searching for a home that Jamie would love.

She wanted a placement where his interests would be supported, like cooking and chipping in with looking after the home.

Above all, Jamie’s mum wanted somewhere he could call home! Barnford House sparked her interest, so she got the ball rolling. Always wanting what’s best for her son, she was nervous about Jamie’s move but had a good feeling about our Prader-Willi syndrome specialist service!

Jamie is loving life at Barnford House

When moving day arrived, Jamie was excited but also felt nervous and became withdrawn.

He soon came out of his shell with the support of our kind and compassionate team. Reflecting on Jamie’s moving day, Amanda and Jeana said:

“We ensured Jamie was aware of all decisions that affected him. This covered food timings, meal plans, and routines. We also encouraged him to express his views openly. With these opinions flowing, Jamie expressed to the team he wanted a cat – a male, ginger cat to be specific. With a strong passion for making sure his housemates are happy too; he made sure they would all be happy if he got a cat. The team also made Jamie aware of his budget around owning a cat and the costs and commitment that came with this.”

Jamie got the go ahead and we conducted a risk assessment with Jamie’s help.

Amanda saw the value in adopting a cat and found Jamie the telephone numbers for local animal shelters. Then it was Jamie’s time to shine!

“Jamie searched for his furry friend, with minimal support. Jamie contacted everyone himself and arranged dates to see cats. He soon grew a strong connection with the Manager at our local Cats Protection. Jamie found the perfect cat called Ginger Tom, who soon became Dexter!” When Dexter arrived at Barnford House, the team put in place a feeding routine for both Jamie and Dexter. They knew it was important to manage Jamie’s food intake and wanted him to bond with Dexter – mealtimes were the perfect opportunity for this!

Jamie’s passions

Jamie’s mum wanted to keep Jamie’s passions alive, allowing him to cook and be involved in meetings around the home. The team worked with Jamie to make this to happen. Now, he cooks for the household on a monthly basis and is always proud of the outcome!

Keeping mum’s wishes in mind, the team invited Jamie to express his opinions even more. He started joining new staff interviews and shared his feedback.

“We knew this would be good for Jamie because he liked having choices in his care. What better way for him to do that than by talking to the staff who would work in his home. Jamie excels in writing, spelling, and observation. The team noted he was sharp at gathering his thoughts and feelings about the candidates. Jamie is also involved in diverse types of meetings which helps him gain a sense of belonging and trust.”

Future plans to greater success

The team at Barnford House are keen to continue nurturing the individual goals of the people we support.

Zid is eager to go back to college and expand his skills and knowledge.  His team are proactively searching for accessible opportunities, so Zid can tick this goal off his list!

Megan has shown a keen interest in becoming a volunteer at her local charity shops, so she can grow her social skills and independence further. Our team are working with her to find a placement that will support her ambitions!  

Jamie thrives off being involved in meetings and getting his housemates’ views about their home. With this taken into consideration, the team have spoken about Jamie helping on ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’. This is where Jamie will have the chance to communicate with his peers at Barnford House and at other nearby services about wellbeing and gather ideas to propose to the team.

With the right support, there’s no stopping our housemates at Barnford House! These successes prove that person-centred care and support is crucial for ensuring positive outcomes, so people with Prader-Willi syndrome, like Megan, Jamie, and Zid, can live fulfilling lives.

The future for Barnford House is promising and the team are excited to help more people with Prader-Willi syndrome!

Find specialist Prader-Willi syndrome support near you!

To find out more about our specialist Prader-Willi syndrome 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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