A Real Life Story – Building on Skills

David has been supported through transition by Consensus.

David’s parents first contacted a Consensus transition service, when he was just 17. To help them find out more about the service, David and his parents were invited to come along and have a tour and meet some of the support staff.

David was still at a local special needs school and living at home, so staff spent time with his teachers and parents to carry out a full assessment. Their key aim at this stage was to find out as much as possible and ensure that none of the information about David would be lost. By speaking to all the people that knew David, staff learnt about his skills and successes, to ensure that these could be maintained and built upon.

Throughout this process the service continually assessed whether they had the appropriate facilities and staff to support David’s specific needs. After working together for some time, David, his family and the service agreed that the Consensus transitional service was the best place to ensure that his needs were met.

Following on from this decision, support staff began a six week transition plan, where they spent time both at David’s school and his home to observe his daily life. As well as watching how David’s teachers and family communicated with him, staff also watched how he interacted with others, what he enjoyed and what he found challenging. By constantly recording this knowledge, staff were able to put together a highly specific support plan and programme, which would inform his day-to-day life and activities.

At the end of the transition plan, David moved into the service. However, in order to ensure that David received consistent support and did not find the move at all unsettling, staff continued to accompany David at school, as well as on frequent trips home to see his family and parents.

In addition, David, continued to enjoy going along to a local singing and dancing group, again with the support of staff from the service.

Since this time, the service has spent approximately six months compiling a detailed person-centred care plan. Using all the information gained from their time with David and everyone who knows him, staff compiled this plan to outline David’s key goals and long term aims that would form the basis of his future support.

David is now enjoying life at the service. He is happy and settled and still enjoys lots of aspects of previous routine. Staff are now working together with social services to ensure that when David is ready, he will be able to move on to another service where he will live more independently.

To find out more about our specialist Transition support, please click here.