Learning to care for learning disabilities

By Angela Richardson and Samantha Imeson

Samantha Imeson joined Abicare in March 2017 and quickly found her feet within our Salisbury team. Fast forward a little over 2 years and she is now one of our Community Team Supervisors. Sam works closely with management to look after our growing team of 30+ carers working out in the community, providing care for vulnerable people in their own homes.

At home, Sam has a son who is 7 years old, almost 8. He is Autistic and has the mental age of between 2-3 years. Sam has found it difficult to find the support to allow her to build the skills to a) recognise her son’s triggers and b) allow her to learn techniques for managing his sometimes challenging behaviour.

Sam was invited to attend a local course called ‘Time out for Parents: Children with special needs’. This course is made up of seven sessions that are written by parents and professionals with input from many different families with experience of children with special needs. They aim to help support parents/ primary caregivers in meeting their child’s needs.

AROUND 1 IN 50 PEOPLE IN THE UK HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY.

Sam’s experience with looking after her son and the skills she has acquired as a result of his learning disability has given her an interest in working with learning disabilities professionally.

“I am so happy to welcome the first new Service User with learning disabilities to the Abicare Home care Salisbury team later on this week. We are really looking forward to the challenge and I feel that, by drawing from my personal experiences, I can oversee the introduction period and allow our team to deliver the most effective care possible.

We are trained to deliver person-centred care at all times and this is especially important in the successful care of Service Users with learning disabilities. Everyone we care for is unique, with their own experiences, needs and preferences. People with learning disabilities have the same qualities but may have additional needs due to their disability.

We already have a core team of carers in place to ensure continuity of care and a steady routine for our new Service Users.

We understand how important it is to give time to our care assistants to establish a relationship with the service user, their family and other care professionals. The more we understand our service users, the more effective we are at understanding their needs, communicating well, identifying stress and providing the support that a person may need to make decisions about their care on their own terms."  - Sam Imeson

If you have an interest in working in care, with learning difficulties or would like to see more about the services that Abicare provide, why not have a look at our website?

www.abicare.co.uk