Susan's story at The Lawrence

Susan's background

In her previous setting, Susan had presented with behaviours that challenge, sometimes causing injuries to herself and others. At times, this had resulted in Susan being restrained over a period of many hours. Susan’s social worker and family decided that The Lawrence could be a better environment for Susan to improve her wellbeing and begin to develop her independence.

When she arrived at The Lawrence, Susan was withdrawn, highly dependent on her wheelchair, and required a lot of encouragement and support with her mobility. Susan’s support team at The Lawrence knew that helping Susan to develop confidence was going to be a big focus, so that she could begin to live a more independent life.

The team sought out the support of healthcare professionals within the community, arranging for Susan to have frequent sessions with a physiotherapist. The physiotherapist worked with Susan over a period of time to help develop her range of motion and strength in her legs, to support her with her cerebral palsy. Quickly, Susan gained confidence in her abilities and was able to begin walking more.

The team at The Lawrence also recognised that Susan would require some assistance to rebuild her family relationships, with whom she had a complex history. When Susan’s psychologist reassessed her, resulting in her learning disability diagnosis being repealed, the team at The Lawrence worked closely with her family to support them through this. With the help of Susan’s psychologist, the care team at the home have supported Susan to help her understand her emotions and develop strategies to manage her feelings and relationships with others.

Achieving positive outcomes

With the right support and the right environment in place, Susan began to come out of her shell and learn new skills. She is now able to manage all aspects of her personal care and finances, which she previously was unable to do. Her care team note that she is now willing to try to complete tasks independently before asking for support, and requires a lot less reassurance when doing so. Her confidence has come on leaps and bounds, and she now feels confident in speaking her mind and making decisions about her life. Susan is able to plan and choose which activities she would like to engage in, and recently has taken up new hobbies, such as swimming.

In addition, Susan’s mobility has also seen a huge improvement. She began to use a crutch whilst accessing the community, rather than relying solely on her wheelchair, and now is able to access the community without any mobility aids. In addition, Susan has chosen to taken up educational pursuits, having recently completed a college course in English. She has since enrolled in a number of other courses and hopes to complete a Mathematics course next.

Susan is now in a much better place with her family and enjoys regular contact, home visits and family holidays. She hopes to continue to develop and strengthen these relationships.

The registered manager at The Lawrence said, “Susan has had an amazing journey while at The Lawrence. She has gained her independence back though developing her own confidence in using a crutch when walking in the community, no longer needing PRN medication and is believing in herself more. I’m excited to see what she will achieve in the future.”

*Name and images have been changed to maintain confidentiality