When we started to support Susan* and her team there were apparent difficulties in her travel. The car Susan had was causing her difficulties and she was showing behaviours that told us that she wasn’t happy. Together we looked at this and worked with her family and Occupational Therapist (OT) to see what the concerns were.
Susan had a car that she was secured into the back of , whilst in her wheelchair, but staff weren’t too sure why this had previously been recommended as Susan can walk enough to get in and out of an ordinary car. It looked like she didn’t feel safe and was showing signs of this through her behaviour and self-injury, so her staff team thought this could be the first thing to try and change, in the hope that they could try and make Susan’s travels a little more comfortable.
Dimensions were able to get access to a demo car, which Susan and her team trialed this for two weeks. Susan has autism and needs people to remain away from her personal space but requires the security of environment around her. The trial car was a large eight seater which meant Susan had plenty of space to herself but was also given the security of the seating around her.
The car change needed to happen through Mobility; however, changing to a larger car would require a large deposit. Susan’s mum didn’t have these finances so we worked with the OT and Mobility to access grant funding to pay for Susan’s new wheels. The grant passed and we’re delighted to share that Susan received her new car in the first week of January!