Range of types of support
As with housing, support providers should also be accompanied by a Statement of Purpose, so that particular types of support can be suited to individual needs and wishes. It could follow the Active Support model and should be proactive in helping people to lead independent and person centred lives.
Active Support
Working with people to enable them to take part in all the activities of everyday life, no
matter how disabled they are. Assisting people to take part in activities in the home and outside it, helps to promote personal growth and development, new relationships and increasing social inclusion and increasing choice and control over one’s life.
Team support
A small team provided for an individual or a small group for up to twenty-four hours a day.
Domiciliary care
Where support staff come into the home to help with a wide range of particular tasks such
as preparing budgets, bathing according to need. It can include such things as helping, prompting and encouraging people to do tasks as independently as possible.
Targeted support
Where an agency provides support, sharing a larger team of support workers across a number of clients or households instead of a smaller team dedicated to an individualor to a small group. Targeted support can create greater opportunities for independence.
Peer and volunteer support
This sort of support is to be found in the Keyring model. On an informal level all tenants agree to support one another as part of the tenancy agreement. This is often rather like the support provided by families and other informal carers or it can also be paid for in cash or in kind, such as accommodation. It needs to be recognised andincluded in the individual’s care plan.
Self-directed support
Self-directed Support is a 7-stage model of planning an individual’s support package to help them achieve control over their own lifestyle. It was developed by the ‘In Control’ Project. The aim is to shift the power and control of services directly to disabled people so that they can become active citizens. The individual is at the centre, their self-assessed needs entitling them to a level of resource necessary for them to engage their own support. The resource is directly linked to the level of need in an open and transparent way and the services they receive are negotiated between themselves and any professional or worker they choose to use.
The 7-stages of Self-Directed support are:
- Self Assessment (with or without support as appropriate)
- Plan Support
- Agree the Plan
- Manage the Individual Budget
- Organise Support
- Live Life
- Review and Learn
Living with a support tenant/Supported lodging
Imaginative living arrangements can be developed to suit individual needs and to give
someone else a home. One model is having a support tenant living with one or two people with learning disabilities, sharing tasks and bills, The support tenant does not pay rent and in return for a monthly payment, with the care provider to carry out certain household duties.
Similar to this is the supported lodging model for people with higher support needs who wish to live as tenants or lodgers in the houses of the people who support them.
Transitional flexible support
This is a scheme where people living in independent housing, probably near to others,
can ask for shared, flexible support only when they need it to a maximum of 37 hours a
week. This is a specifically transitional form of support to encourage people towards greaterindependence
Assistive technology, environmental control and telecare
The latest technology can enable people with learning disabilities to do more and to become more independent. Authorities should work together with the individual, the carers, service providers, technology specialists and housing associations to provide accommodation fitted with a range of suitable equipment to support maximum independence. Linking sensors to a monitoring centre can provide emergency cover and can help people to be both safe and independent. Investment in sensors and telecare
equipment can help with the effective use of staff resources. Equipment maintenance and
replacement costs can be included in the rent or support package. The use of assistive technology can avoid unnecessary, expensive and intrusive staff support being required.
Special Needs Housing Grant
Special adaptations such as hoists, soundproofing or robust materials necessary for people with physical disability or challenging behaviour can be provided by applying for
WAG’s Special Needs Housing Grant. This requires planning three years ahead but the
adaptation of existing property or new build can be funded.
The role of the community support team
In order to plan for a more successful move, when difficulties are being experienced or
when more help is needed in the home and/or community, the Community Support Team may be involved. A range of health professionals or social workers may come into the home, day service or other community setting to assess needs and to provide the appropriate support required. This support could be around a range of things such as communication skills, daily living skills, mobility, exercise, healthy eating etc.. The support may involve working directly with adults with learning disabilities themselves or through providing training or advice to their carers, support staff and other organisations to enable people to use their skills.
