Jane* has seen dramatic improvements to her quality of life since starting at MacIntyre School.
When Jane arrived at the school at the age of 15 she had significant challenges with transition and self-injurious behaviour. Jane was underweight and had difficulties with personal care. Her social interaction was practically non-existent, as she didn't want to go out or take part in activities.
Over the following 12 months, her well-being transformed and Jane has become one of the biggest success stories MacIntyre School has ever seen. Working together using a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach, the care and education teams supported Jane over 11 months to reduce the frequency of restrictions needed to keep her safe from 129 in the first 6 months, to 32 in the following 6 months. As well as achieving a reduction in the frequency of restrictions, the team also reduced the severity of them with only 2 restraints during the latter 6 months, compared to 64 in the first 6 months.
Strategies were adopted to build trust and support Jane with personal care. Through trial and error, the staff team quickly identified things that Jane would eat.
The school’s Speech and Language team provided support in developing symbols and photos of various food and drinks and introduced a PECS book. With repetition and encouragement, this helped Jane to make her own choices.
Jane now attends school every day and goes out in her local area. She also allows staff to wash and style her hair with 1:1, rather than 3:1 support.
To find out more about MacIntyre School’s approach, please contact Vickie Redmond, Transition Facilitator
- t: 01296 681274
- e: [javascript protected email address]
- form below
*Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
