Over 80 children and young people living in residential care have been supported by a specialist multidisciplinary team since it began in January 2020. The Disability and Development Services team plays a key part in the department’s commitment to build a care system based on need.
The program is based on a therapeutic and trauma and development informed approach, recognising that children and young people who have experienced abuse often have developmental delays and trauma-related behaviours.
The team works closely with carers in residential care homes to understand the individual needs of children and young people, provide developmental assessments of young people’s skills and abilities and identify areas where they require additional support. The team supports carers in learning how to respond therapeutically to the individual developmental needs and behaviours of children and young people.
Case study: the importance of creating a nurturing predictable environment
An occupational therapist from DCP’s Disability and Development Services recently provided support to carers of a 16 year old young person living in a non-government residential care setting.
The young person’s behaviours were compromising her safety and impacting on her ability to engage in activities of daily living and build positive relationships with her carers. The young person had multiple diagnosed disabilities and an NDIS plan, but NDIS providers were not yet in place.
“We did a number of assessments to understand the young person’s development across developmental domains,” the occupational therapist said.
“For instance, one of the first things I did was to request a language assessment, which found that even though the young person was verbally fluent her ability to understand language was at the level of a 2 – 4 year old.
“This information was vital for the care team, as it allowed them to link in appropriate NDIS therapists who could meet the young person’s needs.”
The occupational therapist also reviewed the physical environment of the placement and worked together with the young person and her care team to create a space that supported her emotional regulation and engagement in meaningful activities.
“Creating an environment that is nurturing, predictable and meets the individual’s developmental needs is important in establishing a space that is healing and provides a sense of safety”.
“We created a sensory room where the young person could go and engage in activities to help regulate her behaviours, like craft and card games.
“The physical items in the room don’t need to be expensive or complicated. We used things like a bean bag, a soft unicorn and other tactile activities.”
Evenings had been identified as a challenging time for the young person and the occupational therapist supported the care team to establish positive night time routines.
This included developing visual routines to help the young person to understand expectations in a developmentally appropriate way, individualised visual stories to support her participation in activities that were challenging and activity-scheduling that encouraged her to engage in meaningful activities.
“Establishing predictable routines helped her to cope with a time of the day that she found quite challenging and overwhelming,” the occupational therapist said.
“It is important to create an environment that provides predictability and consistency and to make sure that care is responsive and developmentally appropriate.”
The occupational therapist and the department’s Regional Disability Consultant worked collaboratively with DCP case workers, NDIS therapy providers, the Department for Education, SA Health, SAPOL and relevant non-government providers to gather and share relevant information that was essential in supporting the young person’s safety, development and wellbeing.
Staff from Disability and Development Services continue to be involved with the care team in supporting the young person and are providing training and on-the-ground support for her care team.