We have been working for quite some time with a mum and son who both have learning disabilities. Mum is able to look after her son with support from the Artemis Team, which means Timmy is able to stay at home with mum who clearly loves him, rather than being placed in foster care.

We support mum in the morning and the early evening, encouraging her to stick to the routines for Timmy and to support her in getting Timmy ready for school. Once Timmy gets picked up by the school bus, we will work out with mum what her plans are for the day, and how she can prepare for Timmy returning home in the afternoon (i.e. plan activities, prepare dinner etc).

Mum also needs some encouragement and support to keep her flat clean and tidy, and some time gets spent on this in the mornings.

Mum has behaviour management plans for Timmy from the school which she sometimes finds hard to understand, and our workers support mum in understanding the plans and to implement them on a consistent basis.

In the afternoon the worker will play with Timmy while mum prepares his dinner, as he can get agitated very quickly when he is not engaged in activities.

We again encourage mum to stick to her routine and since we have started working with the family, Timmy has been having a bath much more regularly then he used to.

Mum also suffers from mental health issues, so it is very important for the workers to keep an eye on mum’s emotional state on a day to day basis and to report any concerns immediately to the health professionals and social workers involved with the family to ensure the safety of both mum and Timmy.

Weekly update reports on the family are sent to the social workers involved with the family, so if there are any concerns at all these are highlighted and can be acted upon quickly.

The social worker for Timmy commented:

Can I say that your reports are really beneficial towards the planning for both Timmy and mum. Your support with this family has such a big impact upon their ability to function to the best of their ability. Thanks so much, your on-going work is appreciated.