Learning disability support in your own home

 

For the thousands of people in the UK who are living with a learning disability, their daily lives are affected in a variety of ways. Many of them rely on their family for support. But with a fully trained and dedicated live-in carer, we make it possible for you or your loved one to live as independently as possible. 

Around 1% of the British population live with an autistic spectrum condition and many of those people will have a learning disability. Around 1 in 1,000 people in the UK live with down syndrome, some of whom will also have learning difficulties.

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Support for people with learning disabilities

 

Parents or carers of people with learning disabilities can feel overwhelmed, especially as a child grows into a young adult. Your child may develop at a slower rate than others, and need extra health check-ups – but there is support available if you should need it.

Helping Hands’ carers are fully trained and experienced when it comes to caring for someone with a learning disability. If your family is unsure of how to best cope during transition to adult services a carer from Helping Hands can support you with your loved ones health. When a young person lives with a learning disability, a carer from Helping Hands can support them with their development, their social and communication skills and any other issues that may arise as a result of their learning disability.

 

I believe this is an excellent model of support and one that should seriously be considered for anyone with a learning disability needing support. Having ‘live-in’ carers means that people have a choice in how they live and who they live with. Too often people are forced to live with others in group or residential settings.

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Our approach to learning disability care

 

A learning disability is always unique to the person, and in every case we concentrate on people’s gifts and strengths. At Helping Hands we understand how to support someone with a learning disability. 20% of our younger clients have a learning disability, many of whom have been receiving live-in support from us for a number of years.

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Supporting a loved one with autism

 

If you are caring for someone with autism, you may need support when communicating with them. Often people with autism can find items in their surroundings hostile, when other people wouldn’t. It’s important to communicate clearly with an autistic person as they will sometimes misinterpret what you say. Our carers can help you to communicate effectively with your loved one, and introduce you to techniques to aid communication, and to identify what causes their frustrations.

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Support for someone with down syndrome

 

If you live with down syndrome or care for someone who does, you may find you need extra support. A Helping Hands carer can support you and your family and help with the development of someone who has down syndrome. Perhaps you’ve found that your loved one needs extra support with language and clear speech. Your carer can work with local speech therapists to ensure that your loved one is receiving the developmental support required to improve their speech.

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Support which enables independence

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You may also find that your loved one requires extra help with their social development, getting out and about and meeting new people. The Helping Hands team are not just available for your loved one’s physical development but for their emotional development too. They can be a friend who will listen to your worries, and a companion to share your interests with.
We aim to support people with learning disabilities to live independently as part of their local community, close to existing networks and family if possible. Having live-in support means that the person can exercise choice and control over their life in ways that would not usually be possible, if living in structured environments such as residential care or group living.