Appreciate Autism - February 2020

Appreciate Autism February 2020

n o i t a t i d e r c Ac special!

Welcome!

Welcome to the latest edition of Appreciate Autism, the Voyage Care newsletter that focuses on autism. We will be sharing the latest news on NAS Accreditations as well as sharing thoughts from specialism experts.

“I have been truly inspired by the impact of our autism specialism. I have seen for myself the positive difference your amazing work makes to autistic people’s lives every day.

It has been encouraging to see services embrace the resources and support provided by the Quality team.

The changes at the services working towards NAS Accreditation are remarkable! However, there is also evidence that the enhanced resources are having a wider impact – as demonstrated by those services achieving our Internal Quality Mark for autism support.

Finally, a big congratulations to the team at Sheringham Avenue for not only achieving their NAS Accreditation but also becoming an Outstanding service. It’s a great example of how clarity of purpose combined with hard work and dedication lead to fantastic outcomes for autistic people.

Thanks must go to everyone who has been involved in developing our autism specialism, cementing our position as the leading provider of specialist autism services.”

Jayne Davey, COO

NAS Accredited services

We’ve had lots of success with services becoming NAS Accredited. Congratulations to the services who have achieved this prestigious award recently and to those who have retained their accreditation — no easy feat!

“Staff know the people living in the homes extremely well.

Interactions are conversational, warm and reassuring.”

“The care provided during the assessment was consistently observed to be of a high standard, taking into account the wishes and feelings of people living there; in a culture of promoting independence and autonomy.”

NAS on Sir Evelyn Road

New NA S Accre dita

NAS on Elmsmead and Langley House

• Harefie ld Lodge • Falcon Lodge • 351 Ma idstone Ro ad • 579 Ma idstone Ro ad • 74 Sir E velyn Roa d

tions:

• Langley House • Elmsme ad • Southv iew • Woodro w Cottage • 23 Lion s Cross • Moorfie ld Lodge • Shering ham Aven ue • Heath R oad • Cecil Ro ad • Smallw ood • Twyfor d House

Retained

Accredit

NAS

ations:

• Redcliff e House • The Ced ars • BROCS/ Acorns • Ross De ne • Wood D ene

!

It’s a Hat-trick Sheringham Avenue not only became NAS Accredited but also became an Outstanding service after being assessed by the CQC! We spoke to Champika Gallage, Registered Manager.

“It is rewarding and a great feeling to have achieved both NAS Accreditation and CQC Outstanding!

It is amazing to be recognised and accredited by the NAS for the hard work the staff team have put in place to support autistic people. We are now on the NAS website as an autism specialist service.

On top of this to get Outstanding from CQC brought the team a great joy! After being accredited by NAS, we organised a barbeque to celebrate the success. We are hoping to organise another party to celebrate the Outstanding rating.”

Champika, Manager of S heringham Av enue

“The assessment team observed warm and sensitive interactions, where staff reassured, praised, and double-checked on choices, clearly demonstrating they understand individual strengths and support needs.”

NAS on Lions Cross

2018

Won specialist team of the year at the Voyage Excellence Awards

2019

Achieved their NAS Accreditation

2020

The CQC rated Sheringham Avenue Outstanding!

“Great to hear that Sheringham Avenue got such a good report from the CQC. I think one of the strengths of the place is the staff team, so long may they continue!”

Family member of a person we support

Each of the individuals supported has made significant and documented progress. The opportunity guidelines and development of autism practice and person centred support has been integral to these developments.”

NAS on Harefield Lodge

In conversation with Barbara

Hunt, Manager of Smallwood!

“Being accredited means a great deal to myself and the team because it assures us that we are supporting autistic people appropriately, that we are ‘doing it right’. This gives the team a greater feeling of confidence and boosts morale knowing they are doing a good job.

You have to continually look at the service you are providing, which in turn improves the support you are delivering. As a manager, I have an expectation of my team — as they do of me — that we are accredited professionals who strive for better outcomes, experiences and opportunities for the autistic people we support.

There are plenty of areas still to work on, NAS accreditation is just the beginning! We are committed to providing excellent care and support to the autistic people that live at Smallwood and will always strive to improve this in any way we can.”

15%

of all services supporting autistic people have an Outstanding element on their inspection report

Barbara’s top tips!

rson at a time and Concentrate on one pe how their autism truly try to understand impacts their life. best method of Are you adopting the at person? What are communication for th by the way they are they trying to tell you behaving? w you have If you can evidence ho d supported that understood a need an area of their life, you person to improve an accreditation. are on your way to an

Impact of visual aids in autistic communication Shaji Rajamony, Specialism Implementer

When someone’s brain is overly full of things to think about, they use written or visual prompts to set reminders – sticky notes and to-do lists, for example.

Such visuals are also useful in public places to access information when there are lots of distractions.

We may say ‘please sit down’ and point to the chair to indicate the request. It aids our understanding. The everyday person can normally process information relatively easily but for autistic people, this is not so simple. Social skills, communication and the ability to take in things around them can be a real struggle.

Research shows that autistic people may receive visual information from the world around them all at the same time; many are unable to filter this information and make sense of it. Giving visual aids provides a consistent and simpler way to explain what you’re trying to say as well as using it themselves to communicate to others. The use of visual aids has the potential to increase understanding as well as reduce anxiety and challenging behaviours.

Visual support help in three ways:

1

Teaching social skills and helping autistic people to use them on their own within social environments.

2

Supporting staff to communicate what they expect, as spoken instructions can be difficult to understand.

3

Improving understanding of what to expect and what will happen next if their routine changes. It can also help them to cope with these changes.

To read more, browse our latest news online! www.voyagecare.com

Did you know?

An estimated one third of autistic people are non-verbal

An IQM achievement for Langley House!

We used the NAS Accreditation standards to create our own autism Internal Quality Mark (IQM). This is assessed by the Quality team who go through a diligent process to ensure the highest standards are met in order to award the IQM. Any service supporting autistic people can apply to be assessed.

Recently, Langley House in Somerset achieved IQM status.

“I was a little sceptical and curious at the beginning of the process. Having now completed the IQM, I can very much see the benefits as it confirms what we are doing is best practice.

Equally, it helps you and your team to rethink and challenge practices and thought processes.

The changes we made included reviewing our approach to see if we were on the right track or not, and if not, to make adjustments.

It highlighted the skills, knowledge and experience staff have...or need to develop. We looked specifically at things like ensuring new staff know why people communicate the way they do, such as reading body language, sound pitches representing moods and managing and supporting people accordingly.

It is a very positive feeling to get the IQM, which has formally recognised our wonderful staff’s work.”

David Wright, Home Manager of Langley House

Apply for the autism Internal Quality Mark!

The autism IQM will identify your service as having met all of Voyage Care’s good practice guidelines. It demonstrates that your staff are effectively supporting autistic people in all areas of life.

Email ShajiRajamony@voyagecare.com to apply.

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ve Get invol

tism World Au ek is ss We e n e r a w A 5 April h c r a M 30

We want to hear from you !

World Autism Awareness Week is almost here! Help us raise awareness about autism by sharing your stories.

Has an autistic person you support recently achieved a special goal? Are they employed, in education or have a unique hobby and want to share their journey?

A-124-FEB-20

What is it like supporting autistic people? What new skills have you learnt to tailor your support to their needs?

Stories are meant for sharing, so get in touch with the marketing team and we can help spread your message!

marketing@voyagecare.com