ARC offers a one-day introductory course, a tailored course to your organisation’s individual needs and the option of a consultancy service. The support you receive extends after the training with coaching and on-going tailored support.
Active Support is a model of care that encourages support to work with service users to carry out tasks themselves. Active Support turns person-centred plans into person-centred action to enable people with intellectual disabilities to have an ordinary life. This plan gives them choice, inclusion and confidence.
The following case studies have been taken from Halton Community Services who were trained by ARC and adopted the Active Support plan in 2009 and have become a great advocators for the practice. Some names have been changed to protect identities.
James
James is on a four to one basis and has high end escalated behaviour. Prior to the Active Support plan he spent his time in the house or on ad hoc, unstructured day trips.
But now, he has developed 20 tasks, which he carries out and he is also about to start a new job cleaning windows.
Roberta
Roberta has Down’s syndrome and prior to the Active Support plan she was passive, introvert and would spend her time flicking through a catalogue without really paying attention to it. She had no desires to try anything new and would have everything done for her.
Now she has three work placements and aspirations of getting a qualification in customer service. She gives clerical support to Halton Community Services, works at shop mobility and is a receptionist at the hair salon, as well as being a trainee stylist.
Her tasks include administrative duties, answering phone enquiries, helping customers, cleaning the scooters at shop mobility, and is even going to talk to visitors at an upcoming Community Services event.
As well as her work placements she receives regular supervision and is encouraged to discuss what she likes and dislikes and where she would like to improve.
Happy to give an interview she said: “It’s really good, we help people hire scooters out. Sometimes we can have more people in the shop. I answer the phone, I like it. I have to develop patience, we’re working on it. I know from personal experience it can hurt your neck when hair washing [at the salon] took too long. I don’t want anything to fall on the salon or care back here so I told Eileen. I like being busy. I’m proud of myself.”
Bob
Bob used to have a reputation of escape behaviour and would run off regularly.
Now, his mother says the days he works at the mobility shop are the days where he wants to get out of bed. He used to be disengaged but wanted responsibility and an office job. Now he answers the phone, gets the scooters for customers, corresponds the right key to the correct scooter and cleans them.
Now he is not running away and is well known by his customers.