After we heard about the fund raised money Gobys had been awarded to spend on person centred holidays there was much discussion amongst the team as to whether or not Paul should go on a short break away. Would it be a positive experience for him? Could the support staff manage such an intense period of time with Paul if he wasn’t feeling positive about it? How could we best support the behaviour that can challenge us and Paul?
It was decided that it was in fact a great opportunity for Paul as it meant he could afford to go away on his own, which itself would make the whole experience far more enjoyable for him. In the past he has shared these trips away with other people we support (due to financial reasons) thus never having a truly person centred experience.
Those members of the team who had supported Paul whilst staying away from home before felt they had learnt a lot and could use this knowledge in helping choose a suitable destination and in supporting him whilst away. Several of United Response’s person centred tools were used to brainstorm this information – namely Good Day/Bad Day, Important To/For and Working/Not Working. These were considered along with Paul’s preferences and choices and behaviour management strategies which were already working for Paul. It should be noted that as a result of Paul’s complex needs and the severity of Paul’s learning disability he could not participate fully in these discussions but he did take an active role with support from his team.
Paul went away for 3 days and 4 nights. It was necessary for Paul to have a calm and relaxing environment where he could feel secure and safe. However, Paul also needed lots to interest him and keep him entertained – as we all do when on holiday!
Paul is a very hands-on guy and likes to be involved in all that is going on, but it is also important that he isn’t distracted by any of his triggers.
Paul stayed in Woodland Lodge in a very isolated location but just a short drive away from two busy seaside resorts.
The holiday was a huge success and it was obvious that Paul enjoyed his calm relaxing woodland lodge and appreciated the downtime this gave him whilst still living life to the full, taking in all the traditional seaside activities and attractions. Paul made great choices about what he wanted to get up to whilst out and about and it certainly was a positive but more importantly enjoyable time for Paul.
Since being home Paul often gets out his photo album from the holiday and studies the pictures with great concentration and particularly enjoys conversations about what we did during the break.
