Spectrum

New Accommodation

“Fabulous news! The Beach at Porth has now been registered. This has been somewhat of a protracted process but we’ve made it! We are looking forward to individuals taking up residence in their smart new apartments and they will be moving in within the next few weeks. We will be holding an open day to celebrate shortly.” Mary Simpson, CEO. ‘THE BEACH’ – A NEW SUPPORTED LIVING SERVICE

This new accommodation represents the flagship of what Spectrum has to offer by way of supported living for our service users and we are sure that it will give all of us many opportunities to explore and develop the benefits of supported living.

Independent Living

Each flat will house one or two service users with Asperger’s syndrome with low staffing needs. They will gain a much higher level of independence and will be able to define their own living space to more closely match their individual needs and tastes.

A service user’s individual Lifestyle Development Plan is an evolving record and projection of their abilities, ambitions and achievements. It is a major element in the person-centred planning which itself is the driving principle behind all our care provision.

Service users appreciate the Lifestyle Development Plan because it provides a framework to their lives, but one which is flexible and responsive to their changing needs. The lifestyle plans show the need for change and person-centred planning help it to happen.

Person Centred Planning

Everyone now recognises that the service users who will be making the change to supported living represent those who have progressed to another level of ability. Conventional residential care would no longer advance their independent living skills, and The Beach is an opportunity for further progress which cannot be missed.

Initially, four service users will move in to The Beach. Two of them are fully aware of what’s going to happen and have been involved in planning how they are going to move and settle in. The other two will become involved once a moving date has been set.

When they have all settled in, three more service users will join them. Eventually, up to 13 people could be enjoying a more independent lifestyle in this new development.

The Beach - Planning the move

Staff teams are working closely with the service users who are about to make the move from more conventional residential care into a new living environment. We know that if some service users are told too far in advance that they can become pre-occupied and over-excited. For others the concept of moving has to be introduced slowly and carefully over a period of time, involving them in the planning at every stage so as to ensure there are no surprises.

Familiar staff will also be transferring with them, and close contact with friends who are not moving will be maintained.

Celebration Day at Three Bridges School

Students at Three Bridges autistic special school in Blackwater, Truro, celebrated the many awards and achievements gained over the past year at a gathering attended by families and staff.

Three Bridges is owned and managed by the Penryn-based autistic trust Spectrum, whose deputy head of Children’s Services, Rebecca Edwards, congratulated the students on gaining 23 external qualifications amongst them, together with other certificates marking the progress made by the students over the past twelve months.

Thanks to a grant from the West Cornwall Youth Trust, students from the school have been funded to attend sessions at the outdoor activity centre BF Adventure, based at Halvasso, Penryn, and instructor Mark Palmer was on hand to congratulate them on gaining special achievement awards.

At the end of the ceremony guests were entertained by a presentation from one student, Peter, with an imaginative account of a Dr. Who adventure.

Three Bridges achieved outstanding awards in all areas in its Ofsted inspection last year.

Penryn Mayor congratulates Spectrum staff on Training Awards

Eight members of staff from the autistic trust Spectrum have been presented with City & Guilds certificates by Penryn Mayor Cllr. Gill Grant, for successfully completing a 12 week course in Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS).

The candidates were the first from Spectrum to undertake the PTLLS course, for which the charity has been approved to deliver training up to Level 4 by City & Guilds.

Trainer Diana Eddy, who herself was named South West Tutor of the Year by C&G in 2009, said, ‘All the candidates worked very hard and I’m delighted they have achieved their certificates. They represent a number of specialisms within Spectrum – management, behaviour specialists, care support workers and IT – and it was an excellent opportunity for these diverse groups to work together and gain knowledge, skills and presentation delivery within a mutually supportive study environment.’

Presenting the awards at Spectrum’s head office in Penryn, when congratulating the candidates on their success, Mayor Gill Grant said she was impressed with the level of professionalism shown by the charity, and the opportunities for its staff to continue with lifelong career development.

Safe guess at Stithians Show

The autistic trust Spectrum attracted a host of visitors to its stand at the Stithians Show to take part in a Safe Crack Scheme, where the prize was £10,000.

‘It’s a different slant on the conventional lottery idea’, said Spectrum’s Charity Development Manager Deborah Moore. ‘For a pound you have the chance to guess the winning number to enter into a safe’s keypad. If the door opens, you win £10,000. We all know it’s unlikely that you’ll win but it’s good fun, and lots of people were quite excited and keen to have a go.

‘Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, and the members of the public who entered the Safe Crack scheme, we raised just over £2,500 – a very worth while effort. We were also giving out lots of information about our services, and recruitment details to people looking for work.’

Nobody did guess the correct number but the stream of visitors kept Spectrum’s staff on their toes all day, and a rota of service users supported by the charity were on hand to give out consolation prizes of Spectrum bags and pens

Spectrum opens new home Trelawney

After complete remodelling to provide a new home for six of Spectrum’s autistic service users, a former elder care home at Breage, Helston, has been opened by Cornwall’s Lord Lieutenant, Lady Mary Holborow DCVO.

Following on from the success of Spectrum’s most recently opened eco-home in Carnon Downs, P. Chapman Construction were again contracted to bring Trelawney House up to a standard of excellence, with sturdiness and longevity in mind.

‘Trelawney has undergone months of renovation and restructuring, and we are very pleased with the result,’ said Spectrum’s Head of Development Robin Gunson. ‘A great deal of research has gone into the work to make the house fit for purpose, and we look forward to moving the service users in shortly.’

Lady Mary was invited to plant a Davidia (handkerchief tree) in the garden to mark the opening, after which Joanne Gibson, one of the residents due to move in, presented her with flowers. Lady Mary, who has been Spectrum’s President for the past ten years, said Cornwall was fortunate to have such a caring organisation in the county to provide support for people with autism, and looked forward to visiting ‘her tree’ again in years to come.

The Mayors of Helston and Penryn, and representatives from Breage Parish Council, together with neighbours and other guests, enjoyed a tour of the house and the opportunity to chat to Spectrum staff about the charity’s work.

Spectrum supports nearly 100 children and adults with autistic spectrum disorders at its 24 homes situated throughout the county, and at its special school in Blackwater, which was classified as ‘outstanding’ following its Ofsted inspection last year. Further information on Spectrum’s activities is available on their website www.spectrumasd.org

Opening Chylidn House

We recently opened a new home near Truro for five young adults, four of whom will live in the main house and the fifth will have his own single person service on the premises.

The house has beautiful and extensive gardens, with a lovely large lily pond near the house which has given the house its new Cornish name, Chylidn (which means ‘pond house’).

Chylidn has been finished to a very high standard and fulfils all the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) requirements. The service users have already moved in and have all settled very well and made the place their home.

Robin Gunson gives two lectures on the triggers leading to Challenging Behaviour

The UK based service provider Spectrum marked World Autism Awareness Month with two lectures on the triggers leading to Challenging Behaviour, given by Robin Gunson, Spectrum’s Head of Developments. The lectures, which were held in community halls and free to the public, were organised by Mark Hilley of the Devon & Cornwall Autistic Society (DCAS), a charity offering support to families in Cornwall living with ASD.

For information on the DCAS please click here

A ‘fancy job’ for Toby

When Toby, a young man with high functioning autism, wanted to find a job that would make his parents proud of him – what he called a ‘fancy job’, his carers at the autistic trust Spectrum set up a person-centred planning process to examine how to help him get one.

Toby’s interests include animals, cars, walkie-talkies and microphones. His care team at Spectrum, a leading specialist care services provider in the South West, looked at how they could explore work possibilities to include those interests, and eventually contacted the RSPCA and arranged for him to try volunteer dog walking.

Finding and building personalised solutions for each individual is essential, says Spectrum’s Clinical Psychologist Rachel Brown. ‘Supporting people with autistic spectrum disorders and challenging behaviour requires dedication, time and patience. We create holistic plans which look at an individual’s lifestyle, interests, care needs and aspirations, and what our care teams believe the person can achieve. Every one of our service users is an individual first and foremost, and it’s the aim of all our staff to support them to live their lives in a way that is enriching and rewarding. At Spectrum, staff are trained through the Foundation for Learning Disabilities in a process known as person-centred planning, and this is an ethos that cascades throughout the organisation.’

Toby now visits the St. Quoit RSPCA centre near Newquay every week with carers Jim Freebury and Paul Boyle to exercise the dogs in their care. It’s a job he values highly, he keeps an album with details of all the dogs he walks, and – his parents are proud of him.

RSPCA Manager Julia Patison welcomes the help. ‘Having volunteers like Toby and his carers helps us to ensure that the dogs get the exercise they need. Toby is as regular as clockwork and we know we can rely on him turning up every week. The feedback is excellent.’

‘By looking carefully at Toby’s interests we have arrived at a win-win situation all round,’ says Rachel. ‘Toby really enjoys being with the dogs and the exercise is part of our healthy living programme. Including dog walking in his weekly activities is good for him, good for our staff and good for the RSPCA, so we’re very happy to have found this solution – and Toby now has his fancy job.’

Three members of AURA visit Spectrum from Budapest

Three members of AURA, an autistic parental support group from Budapest, have visited Cornwall on a fact finding mission.

Edit Farkas, Krisztina Horvat and Tibor Gulyas spent four days touring residential and educational facilities managed by the Cornish autistic charity Spectrum to learn about how people with autistic spectrum disorders are cared for in this country. Their tour was organised by Jon Edgecombe, Head of Adult Services, and included meeting fellow countrywoman Andrea Mikes, who manages one of Spectrum’s homes.

‘We are amazed at the level of service provided by Spectrum as we don’t have any similar facilities in Hungary,’ said Edit. ‘We are so impressed at how caring the staff are in supporting their service users with individual care plans.’

AURA is now hoping to establish a partnership with Spectrum, and the two charities are in talks to set up a training programme for staff in Budapest, which mainly consists of interested but untrained volunteers.

‘We realise there is a lot of work ahead for us, but Spectrum has provided us with inspiration to follow in its footsteps and set up a similar organisation for ourselves,’ said Krisztina.

The group, who stayed in Falmouth, added that Cornwall was beautiful and they hoped to be able to make a return visit.

Lucy McLauchlan talks about her time getting to know Spectrum

I first learnt about Spectrum when they approached me to donate artwork to their Art Auction to raise funds for the care they provide for people with Autism, Asperger Syndrome and ADHD. I was more than happy to submit work as Asperger is present in my family.

Usually, donations to auctions consist of couple of conversations; “Have sent the work”, “Thank you, have received the work”, “Goodbye”. But not with Spectrum. They proved, and still are proving to me, that they are something special.

By fully engaging in their complete role as a care organisation they are actively seeking and encouraging other people outside of this area to come and offer their own skills through art workshops, to engage with individuals interested in this expressive practice.

As our friendship built I was invited to visit Spectrum with a view to carry out such workshops. Keen to know how I could be of help, I went down to Cornwall to get acquainted.

I spent two fascinating weeks meeting everyone and seeing the bigger picture. Not only was I learning more about the ASDs (Autistic Spectrum Disorders) and the work Spectrum does with their homes and school, but also about my relationship with my own family.

Everyone I met spent a great deal of time involving me as I witnessed the impact one caring person can have on someone else’s whole world. As someone who works for herself, I feel that what I do can have no direct or apparent implication to anyone else. Here it’s a different story and during the workshops one I began to fully appreciate.

Being by the sea there’s a natural input into a better quality of life, a feeling of freedom, which only enhances what is already there in Spectrum. This opportunity to live and work on their boat, creating artwork one to one with some of the most interesting people I’ve met, was valuable and truly inspiring. This whole experience has opened my eyes and I’m looking forward to my next stay.

Lucy McLauchlan

See a video of Lucy painting here

Spade Work at Holifield Farm

A community project in Gweek that offers activities for adults with learning disabilities and special needs has proved to be just the ticket for Mike King, a resident with the autistic trust Spectrum.

Mike has been going to the Holifield Farm Project for the past four years and enjoys getting stuck in with the many projects available to the trainees, which include building, arts and crafts, conservation and horticulture.

Steve Patterson, a part time support worker with the Holifield Farm Project who wanted to combine his interests in community work and horticulture, helps out at the centre one day a week. ‘Mike is doing really well here, he enjoys the outdoor work. He’s very good with the cattle and this morning did a great job in rounding them up, and he’s now helping to fill in a new drain we’ve just installed. There’s a lot of variety.’

Personnel manager Lyn Birch said, ‘Holifield really works for the trainees. It’s successful because we’re all so enthusiastic about the project, and because it’s exciting and stimulating work in a real farm setting – the tasks are meaningful. All the work programmes are discussed and agreed with the individuals, and we look at the safety issues with the carers. The trainees really enjoy coming here.’

To contact Holifield Farm Project ring Lyn Birch on 01326 221017.

Two young service users, Robert and Elliott, walked the 150 miles from Land’s End to Bodmin Moor along a trail that will one day become part of the Land’s End to John O’Groats long-distance footpath.

They were joined along the way by other service users who completed various stages of the walk.

The whole venture took two weeks, and involved staying at campsites along the way.

All those who took part received certificates in recognition of their enthusiastic contribution. This is the second year that such a walk has been organised, and another one will certainly be planned for 2011.

Following an Ofsted inspection in March, our independent special school, Three Bridges, was judged as being ‘Outstanding’ in all seven areas. The following is an extract from the report.

“Three Bridges School provides an outstanding quality of education that fully meets its aims. The school achieves this by meticulous planning and organisation throughout its provision. The quality of the curriculum and of teaching and assessment is outstanding, and leads to most students making outstanding progress. The provision for the welfare and safety of students is outstanding and they flourish in an atmosphere that is both nurturing yet challenging.

Safeguarding and child protection arrangements are rigorous and implemented effectively.

Since the last inspection the school has made considerable progress in improving what it provides for students; this has been achieved by skilled management and the dedication of staff who use their considerable expertise to the benefit of students. The school meets all the regulations required for its continued registration.”

To read the full report, please click below(pdf link)

Some of the successful participants who undertook tests for Levels 1 and 2 Literacy and Numeracy Skills for Life received certificates from Spectrum’s President, Lady Mary Holborow, at an awards ceremony held recently at Stithians Village Hall.

Spectrum staff received training for the awards from Cornwall Neighbourhoods for Change (CN4C) through the Capacity Building Works and Skills for Work programmes funded by the European Social Fund (Convergence).

Over several months, more than 130 of the staff from Spectrum’s 24 residential homes and administrative offices have taken the tests, accredited by the National Open College Network, with more to follow.

Lady Mary congratulated the staff, many of whom achieved both awards, on putting in the extra effort needed to gain the certificates, and said it was to Spectrum’s credit that the charity provides the opportunity for their staff to gain further qualifications.