Active support has been trialled in different settings with people with severe learning difficulties and has been successful in encouraging participation in everyday tasks, not just ‘big’ one off activities such as visiting theme parks and going to the seaside. This model implements a more independent view to involving people with learning disabilities in an ‘ordinary life’.
Inactivity, boredom and lack of interaction for people living in care homes with intellectual disabilities significantly reflects the enthusiasm and performance of staff (Landesman-Dwyer,Sackett, & Kleinman, 1980; Rice & Rosen, 1991). Staff mediate access to, and use of, the opportunities presented by the home and community through the way they provide help and encouragement.
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People with learning disabilities also like to do the same, but may need extra support in order to have the same range of opportunities as anyone else. Making friends can be one of the more difficult activities to be a part of.
Active Support enables people with disabilities to develop their current skills as well as new ones, access a wider range of opportunities and engage in activities alongside others, building important relationships and social networks that are part of an ordinary life. These skills give people more control over their own lives and build confidence and self esteem.
Without a good understanding of Active Support, staff can often provide too little, or too much assistance for people to participate in activities. There can be a tendency to provide less assistance to people who are less able and more assistance to people who are more able, instead of the other way around. It is important in active support to consider individual strengths and work on these, giving people the chance to try things before doing it for them. Active Support builds on the skills people already have. It ensures they have the opportunity to do things they already have the skills to do, or it can extend the range of available activities to include more complex and interesting
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The training package includes:
• The history of Active Support – The different models of support from ‘Hotel’ to Person-centred practice.
• The values of the Active Support model
• Working as a team – not a morning shift or an afternoon shift but a core team working for the individual
• Providing the right level of support that promotes participation and engagement
• Looking for opportunities in everyday life to enable independence not dependence
• Overview of expected outcomes and barriers – achieving person-centred plans
Interactive training is the second component of the active support model. This looks at training managers to observe their staff implementing active support and giving immediate feedback. This involves management on the ground and shows their support for the model. Analysis indicated that there was a significant improvement in engagement immediately after interactive training for a distinct subgroup of participants. Findings support the combination of the training at different levels for improvements in the quality of life for people with learning