Find out more
Harvey's Story
Harvey is a young man that has a formal diagnosis of selective mutism as well as a severe learning disability, global developmental delay and sensory processing disorder. This means that he chooses not to speak and does not talk to those around him unless he wants to. Harvey came to us in May 2019 and this was the first time he had ever been in residential care. This was a very uncertain time for him and he struggled with the transition into a 52-week residential care setting which was so new to him.
Harvey had a diverse multidisciplinary team that worked closely with him in order to meet his needs. We continue to work in this way and our onsite Occupational Therapist and Speech & Language Therapist have maintained meaningful working relations with his team from within his home county.
Harvey’s care staff learned all about Harvey and how to best support him with his individual needs. They worked together to find the best ways in which to promote his independence as well as allowing him time to make his own choices around his care. Staff worked with him, creating boundaries as well as discussing and consulting with Harvey with regards to any changes that may be made. His dedicated team also keep Harvey’s key supports, parents and social workers involved and up to date at every stage. Harvey’s personal care is now fully completed by him and he couldn’t wait to show his mum and dad his new skills and improved independence.
Harvey was very unsure of having different students living with him within the home and was initially struggling with this. However, Harvey took on this new challenge a during Spring 2020 Harvey began speaking at College!
Harvey now successfully transitions between sites for education and does this almost independently. In addition to working with a variety of education staff to support him in various sessions, he will now say what he likes or doesn’t like to do. Harvey now lives with another student who lives here for 38 weeks a year. He clearly enjoys having them around and they have fun playing pranks on staff, as well as having down time relaxing, watching movies and eating buckets of popcorn.
Harvey is continuing to have support from the Speech & Language team to support and encourage him to speak whilst at college, as well as continuing with his weekly occupational therapy tasks which he uses in his home accommodation when not in sessions. Harvey enjoys participating in the activities that the provision offer, and loves to take part in things such as archery and rugby.
Andrew's Story
Andrew is a young man who started with aspirations to gain skills that would help him get a job, to develop relationships with friends and to improve his independence skills. Andrew has a real love for animals and wildlife and hopes to work in this area.
Andrew's willingness to try to new things and his positive attitude have been recognised in his recent work experience placement at a local library, where he came up with new ideas of his own to create promotional displays. They commented, "it was his imagination and ability to think beyond the instructions he was given that made his contribution to the work we do here outstanding."
Andrew has now moved onto another work experience placement in a local supermarket, where he is working more independently.
Jake's Story
Jake came to our provision with complex needs. He began his college course with aims of improving his communication which is mostly non-verbal and for him to be able to safely access the community.
Jake now seems to be a happy and enthusiatic young man who is thriving in his placement.
Jake now takes part in several safe off-site activities, such as trampolining, hydrotherapy and sensory sessions. He also uses the outside space at college and has visited the beach, supported by his staff.
Jake's ability to be around others and to communicate with them has greatly increased since coming to Dilston. His use of symbols has developed and he now makes choices using these. He thrives in the company of staff he knows well and spends much less time away from people than he did previously. Jake's capacity to let staff know what he wants has improved and he is developing firm relationships with staff in the team who work with him.
Lucy's Story
Lucy came to us in 2017 following a placement breakdown. Lucy had a diagnosis of severe learning disability and displayed some negative behaviour around some of her peers. Due to her previous placement breakdown, it was an uncertain time for Lucy and her behavioural problems created a challenging time for those involved. However with the commitment from staff, her fully co-operative parents and the support of a multidisciplinary team things began to improve.
Lucy was reluctant to engage with others in the early days of being at the college. At times she found it difficult to listen to instructions and would often wander off from a task, she was prone to not paying attention, struggled to inform staff where she was going and would take herself away from the group and essentially hide from staff.
Lucy was supported with 1:1 Education and Care, and with this support she began to thrive and make great progress. Through working on targets, creating person-centred activities and alongside staff familiarity, Lucy demonstrated that she was able to listen and carry out instructions.
Lucy received support from the Speech & Language and Occupational Therapy team encouraging her through one to one and group sessions which allowed her to become comfortable using her emerging conventional speech as well as using her Makaton to further support her communication.
Lucy has developed her confidence in using Makaton as part of her everyday communication to ensure she was able to make herself clearly understood. Lucy is much more social with her staff and peers in and around the college grounds, often initiating conversation with both new and familiar staff. She is much more confident when interacting with others now, always smiling and happy to converse.
Lucy has now successfully completed her qualification and has just transitioned into supported accommodation back in her local area.
Jason's Story
Jason was 16 years old when he first came to see Cambian Lufton College and toured the campus with his parents and staff. Jason has autism and a diagnosis of learning disabilities, as well as complex behavioural issues and severe anxiety. He struggled with structured routine and poor communication but staff were sure they could help him.
He joined Lufton as a residential learner in September 2013 and at first displayed a persistently high level of anxiety and had little understanding of what was expected of him. He found the college structure and environment very difficult to manage and lacked the concentration to engage effectively. When he did engage with staff he was often impatient and tended to rush tasks. In his accommodation he displayed challenging behaviour with frequent incidents of hitting and kicking staff and other learners. When accessing the community he required high levels of support. Staff supported him very closely however and generated a baseline assessment in order to quickly develop an Individual Learning Plan that was tailored to his specific needs.
During the first six weeks of his placement, his accommodation team and personal tutor kept a behaviour log to understand more about what Jason needed. Staff recognised that waiting caused him anxiety, whether for a meal or transport or within a session. Strategies were put in place in planning ahead to avoid his anxiety escalating into an incident. Jason was assessed by the specialist team and was identified as benefiting from 1:1 speech and language therapy and a musical interaction group session facilitated by the SLT and music therapist.
Staff have been hugely proud of Jason’s progress and the improvements he has made so far in his behaviour and participation in learning. Use of timelines, social stories and visual resources are routine to successfully working with him and crucial in preparing him for unfamiliar environments or changes to his planned day.
Jason is making great strides at Cambian Lufton College in his behaviour and is a much happier person. With clear strategies to prepare him for activities to access the community it has been possible to reduce risks and begin to reduce his staffing ratios. He has made friends and recently went to the cinema for the first time in years. He is now going to start attending a gym with support. In using PECS and visual communication strategies, he is now starting to communicate more freely and spontaneously greeting people. His relaxed demeanour is commented on by many people and his personality and sense of humour are becoming increasingly evident to his peers and staff.
