Since moving into one of our Merry Den supported living services, Katy has been achieving amazing goals thanks to support from her consistent core team.
Transition into Supported Living
Katy is an autistic person with a learning disability and complex needs. She is a non-speaker and receives 2:1 support, 24 hours a day.
When she turned 18, she moved from a care home environment into one of National Care Group’s supported living services.
When Katy arrived at Merry Den, she didn’t want to participate in any activities and would display challenging behaviours. A committed team of skilled support colleagues got to know Katy, monitoring what she does and doesn’t like, and how she would interact with different activities. This helped with her transition.
The team devised a personalised care plan to help Katy develop independent living skills and achieve goals.
Achievements by Katy
Katy has been at Merry Den for over two years and is going from strength to strength with her dedicated support team.
Increased access to the community
Katy was supported to get a mobility car. She now enjoys visiting local attractions and recently went to a nearby safari park.
From monitoring Katy, the team discovered that she loves going to the park and listening to the birds with the wind in her face. Katy enjoys a daily routine of an hour-long walk to a duck pond and now leads the way each day.
Katy also regularly attends a milk shed. With support from the team, she gets out of the car to get milk from the machine and even chooses what syrup she wants with it. Previously, she would have tried to drink all the milk and eat the syrup.
Developed independent living skills
Katy enjoys baking with support from colleagues and mixes the ingredients independently.
She also chooses what she wants for lunch, dishes up her food, and washes the pots afterward. Previously, food would have to be locked away in cupboards.
Improved personal hygiene
As a result of the support and encouragement of the team in a supported living setting, Katy now goes to the toilet independently. She gets up in the night and then takes herself back to bed.
“Some of these goals may not seem huge but they are transformational for Katy. She has grown so much since moving into Merry Den supported living, thanks to a dedicated core support team empowering her to exceed her potential, achieve goals, and live as independently as possible.”
“You are smashing it Katy! Everyone at Merry Den is so proud of you. We continue slowly bringing in new activities and experiences for Katy, each day supporting her to develop independence.”
