DEVELOPING A REGIONAL SERVICE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA by Ruth Firstbrook

Lifestyle development, skill acquisition and behavioural support were implemented using a range of contemporary, evidenced based practices provided by skilled staff

Extracts:

The Riverland of South Australia is comprised of a series of towns located along the Murray River with distances of between 180km to 250km from Adelaide. In the 1980’s services for people with intellectual disability were provided by non-government services coordinated by the South Australian Government through the statutory authority of Intellectual Disability Services Council (IDSC). The local management of IDSC identified a group of families in desperate need of accommodation support services for their sons and daughters who were shortly the leave the local Riverland Special School. No local services were available for this cohort of young people who, together with intellectual disability, presented with complex needs and behaviours of concern.The families concerned were confronted with the stark reality that their children would need to move to Adelaide where the only type of services on offer to meet the needs of these young people were in large institutions...

A successful funding application was made for an accommodation service for 4 young people with intellectual disability and an outreach service for up to 10 individuals with intellectual disability to teach life skills and/or provide support for behaviours of concern. The primary purpose of the application was to create services, within their rural home communities for the young people, negating the need for relocation away from home, families and networks. A secondary objective was to demonstrate that rural services for people with intellectual disability could be developed to the same, or better standard as those found in a metropolitan area...

The development of these young people has been astonishing in many aspects, with measurable skill acquisition and reduction in behaviours of concern to increased social relationships and community access. The young people moved from only being able to manage local travel of less than an hour to several days on a houseboat and finally weeks of interstate and international travel.The service built a reputation of providing quality support for individuals with intellectual disability and behaviours of concern. Subsequently further regional accommodation sites and a day options service with all support being evidence-based person-centred support utilising the active support model and positive behaviour support practices have been developed based on the success of the demonstration project.Successful outcomes for people with intellectual disability with associated complex needs and behaviours of concern is not only about the support programs provided by the organisation but the values, ethics and role of the organisation in the local community and its ethos of positive inclusion in their community. The commitment given to the young people and their families in 1986 that they would receive quality service within their local, rural region has been realised...

Read it all: https://www.asid.asn.au/files/3201_4-ida_v41_i2_june_2020_ruth_firstbrook.pdf