We first met Keith in 2009 when he was receiving support from another provider outside of his local area. And after 8 years Keith, who by then needed less than 10% of his originally-commissioned support hours, was able to move on from our specialist support.
Keith had a particularly stressful, traumatic and disruptive childhood characterised by repeated placement breakdowns, turbulent relationships with family and substance misuse. Keith was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD aged just 5.
Keith’s placements included several residential schools and foster care placements. He moved into a children’s home where he struggled to control his anger and bullied the other children, and in his early teens he received two police cautions for ABH.
His adult placement broke down following a major episode which frightened the staff, together with alleged threats to harm people in the service accompanied by the collection and construction of weapons.
Where is Keith now?
Keith has developed safe and appropriate coping strategies and demonstrated an improved ability to regulate his emotions. Following a significant reduction in high intensity incidents his support halved to 1:1 support and then further reduced to 9 hours per week with a consistent member of his team over several years.
Keith volunteers in a gym where managerial responsibilities give him a sense of purpose. He has become a parent and has been supported to explore options and resources to support good parenting.
In preparation for Keith’s change of provider, our support focused on life skills. We supported him with strategies around ordering medication, paying bills, making GP appointments, contacting his Care Manager and making appointments with the council and benefits team.