Activities for people with Learning Disabilities

This year for Learning Disabilities week VALUES teamed up with Leicester City Council and the NHS on a project that asks people with learning disabilities and/or who have Autism to share their lived experiences of Health & Social Care.

Throughout Learning Disabilities week (20-26^th July 2022) people with Autism and Learning Disabilities attended a series of events hosted by VALUES, The Monday Club and Meadow Barn. During the event at VALUES people were able to give their experiences of Health and Social care by a variety of methods. They were filmed being interviewed, they did artwork, and they also wrote down their ideas.

There were three themes that emerged from interviews done at VALUES. The first was that people were happy with the health and social care they were receiving. People told us that they when they have been to the doctors, the hospital, or the dentist they were treated well. They were generally satisfied with the care they received and the way it was communicated to them, although many added that they relied on a parent or carer to provide and receive information.

VALUES clients loved their sessions and have made friends at VALUES. They told us the staff are nice to them. Many people said they were bored at home before they came to VALUES. Some of the people who come to VALUES also have social care services from other providers and in general people really like their services.

The one issue that people had with their social care providers was that sometimes there is an instability with staffing. People like it when there is a consistency of staff, and they can get to know the staff they will be working with.

The main issue that was raised regarding health care was that they do not always know how to communicate with people with a learning disability. Some told us that they would have liked to have used Makaton or Signalong with health care staff, but they did not know it. (Makaton and Signalong are forms of basic sign language mainly used by people with learning disabilities or Autism.)

The interviews, artwork and written reports collected by VALUES will go back to the larger group and will be included in a video that will be sent to managers and other professionals in health and social care. The aim is that it will be an instructional video on working with people with learning disabilities and autism. We will also be asking those professionals to hold themselves accountable for making the changes that need to be put in place to improve the experience of health and social care for those with Autism and/or a learning disability.

If you are able to dontate to VALUES, your dontations help us to complete this sort of work, not only making the lives of the poeple we support better, but imrpoving the lives of all people with learning disabilties and Autism. 

Links:

• VALUES website

World Autism Awareness Week is a chance to raise awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorders. While it would be quite easy for you to google the definition and common traits of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), here are some of the things I have learnt about ASD first hand over the past 16 years.

Everyone with ASD needs a different level of support

While it is true that ASD is characterised by differences in social skills, communication and behaviour, that’s a bit like saying all vehicles can be characterised by having wheels. The type and size of wheel varies greatly, as do the other characteristics of the vehicle. People with ASD vary a great deal.

We refer to autism as a spectrum disorder because while many people are able to function day to day without a great deal of support (e.g. those with Asperger’s syndrome), there are also those who need constant 1-to-1 support (or more). At VALUES we tend to support those in the middle of this spectrum, but there is still great variance in the way that people present with ASD

Autism and communication

Take vocal communication, for example. The common thread is that those affected struggle to take in social cues and may not know the unwritten rules of social interactions that most people abide to. We end up with a group of people with ASD who show very little verbal communication and another group who could talk the hind legs off a donkey (said with love, of course!).

The problem with the latter is the tendency to interrupt others or not know when someone is politely trying to get away. The added benefit with the latter group is the common tendency for people with ASD to have in-depth knowledge on their own specialised subject. This means that I now know things about buses, Only Fools and Horses, trains and Harry Potter that I never knew I needed.

Routine and predictability are important

"I find it difficult when my routine changes."

B, VALUES client

Probably the most important thing that VALUES does for our clients with ASD is provide a routine. Routine is much needed for lots of people with ASD as it helps elevate some of the anxiety they feel on a daily basis by providing predictability. Having ASD can feel like the same level of anxiety as if you’re about to sit your driving test, constantly. Imagine how exhausting that would feel! Add into that the potential for heightened senses which often accompany the syndrome and you will find great comfort in routine and predicatibity.

The way VALUES does this is to provide clients with a weekly timetable of sessions, with assigned staff. So this means that someone might know every Wednesday that they have football with Andy in the morning followed by art in the afternoon with Mina, for example. Unlike school they get to pick the activities they are interested in and don’t have to do anything they don’t want to.

Setting boundaries whilst also recognising individual choices

Another thing we can do is provide clear unmoving boundaries. My analogy for this is to imagine you are on a balcony and anxious as you are scared of heights. You want to hold on the barrier at the boundary of the balcony. Would you feel better if the boundaries is always in the same place each time you go to grab it or if it kept moving? Or worse still, what if there was no boundary at all?

We don’t try to be a parent or a teacher and we recognise our clients as adults with their own rights, choices and individuality, however we need to make clear what is appropriate when our actions might affect others. This means a consistent message about personal space, the difference between staff and friends and appropriate behaviour to peers (in the support setting).

More about VALUES

If you would like to find out more about what VALUES can do for you or your loved one with ASD or any learning disability you can visit the VALUES page on our website or contact us directly: values@valonline.org.uk

VALUES update – Settling in to the new normal

Coming back to in person services here at VALUES we have had to adjust and learn.

Lots of new clients

VALUES has been constantly growing since its conception in 1998, with a steady flow of new clients joining. The pandemic was the first time that our annual number of clients has decreased. However since being back to in-person services we have seen a rapid increase in new clients. Every year we have an influx of people who have left or partly-left education and are looking for the next chapter in their lives. Over the pandemic, those people were all stuck at home, creating a back log of new starters for us. There was also people who just wanted a change or weren’t happy with their current service who were looking to come to VALUES. So we have all been very busy settling in lots of new friends to their new sessions.

Staff shortages

During the unsettled period where we were a virtual service and then with some clients choosing not to come straight back to in-person services, we did not need as many staff members, so we did not replace people who left due to normal turnover. With the influx of new clients, and steady return of existing clients, we quickly found ourselves without enough staff. With a record number of job vacancies currently available, we have not seen the usual number of applicants. However, we are pleased say that we have no appointed some fantastic people to all posts. This includes one of our Kickstart Trainee Support Workers who successfully applied for a Support Worker role at the end of her placement.

Loss of clients

Sadly over the last two years 3 of our clients have lost their lives, 2 of which to COVID-19. This has had a big impact on all the clients and staff. Staff have had to act as councillors to the people with a learning disability that we support who have struggled to understand the losses. We know we will pull through together.

New ideas, like animation!

At VALUES we love to think of new sessions to offer our clients. We want to be able to offer all social and leisure activities as well as volunteering and learning activities. Our newest session, planned with the help of the people with a learning disability who attend, is our stop-motion animation group who have been producing some marvellous mini-animations.

Celebrating diversity

Whether it’s Christmas or Eid, Diwali or Halloween we love an excuse for a celebration. Most recently we celebrated Black History Month with an African banquet made by some of the staff and shared by clients and staff alike. Some people dressed in African clothes or just in bright colours. For many it was a chance to try some new foods for the first time.

To stay up-to-date with what is going on at VALUES please like our Facebook page: facebook.com/valuessupport

It's Learning Disability Week!

The theme of this year’s Learning Disabilities Week is Art and Creativity. This is a great theme to celebrate for Learning Disabilities Week as it’s so important to so many. We do lots of arts, crafts and other creative activities like drama and music at VALUES. Art, in some form, is accessible to everyone and anyone. There are a many benefits to being creative. These often compliment the needs of people with a learning disability very well. We can look into some of these below.

Sense of accomplishment

When you have a learning disability there are more limitations for you than other people. Most people with a learning disability do not have a career or a family of their own. Their ability to achieve things through the use of language, particularly through reading and writing, may be diminished and most people with a learning disability do not reach a high level of education. Art on the other hand is one of those things that everyone can do to their own level. Arts and crafts is my personal hobby of choice so I know first-hand the sense of accomplishment it can bring. When I have created something that I am happy with I get a little rush of pride and self-esteem. The sense of accomplishing something makes us feel better about ourselves. I can only imagine that that sense is even more important to the people we support when they do not have so many other ways to feel that sense of achievement. If arts and crafts aren’t your thing there are other ways to be creative, such as making music or dancing, all of which can achieve the same sense accomplishment and self-esteem.

Problem solving

Creating a piece of crafts is like solving a problem. You have an idea of what you want to make and from there you need to search out the items you are going to use, work out how you are going to put them together and then you have to deal with the range of problems that come along that you hadn’t foreseen. Problem solving is a great skill for anyone to practise but particularly if you have a learning disability, as it may not come as easily. Plus, if you live in a world where most of life’s problems are solved for you and its harder for you to assess danger and be out in the world on your own, then solving problems through art becomes a rare piece of independence. This low stakes kind of problem solving is accessible to all.

Observation and imagination

People on the Autistic Spectrum find it harder to deal with anything abstract. They need something tangible and preferably something they can see right in front of them. Creating art is a good middle ground between tangible and abstract to help people with autism to practice using their imagination. Its not a real rainbow on the page, but it is a representation of one, so things to do exist in another way, other than the actual physical item. In order to create a representation of something, we must observe it in real life and work out how that can be translated to a 2-D object on the page, or into a dance movement or a sound on an instrument, so you need keen levels of observation to do that.

Reduces stress

Being creative, whether that is from making music, dancing, painting, sewing, or any other form, is relaxing. It switches own minds away from our troubles so we can focus on relaxing into our chosen hobby. It’s a great way to pass time, and still have something to show for it in the end. This is important for us all, learning disability or not.

By donating to VALUES you help us supply arts and crafts materials, musical insturments and drama props to our clients to help them keep creating. Thank you. 

If you also have time to donate and a skill to share, please contact Mikaela, mikaela.p@valonline.org.uk, and ask about volunteering. 

Links:

• VALUES website

The VALUES Project, run by Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL), is helping to keep people with learning disabilities connected during the new lockdown by providing Facebook Portals to allow their most isolated clients to keep in touch.