Author Archives: sheridanforster

New Resource: Listening to those rarely heard


cross-posting from an email from Jo – can’t wait to watch this
Hi everyone,

Here is the link to the video Rhonda Joseph and I have been working on over the last year or so titled ‘Listening to those rarely heard’. This video has been designed to guide those who support adults with profound and severe intellectual disabilities to have their preferences heard through supported decision making. It has been developed by Scope with funding from DHS.

It accompanies a training package which will be online soon. However, it can be used as a standalone training tool. I need to reiterate that it has been developed for people who don’t communicate formally and although it has relevance to all decision makers it has been developed with these people in mind.

I will be presenting this at the upcoming ‘Communicate, Participate, Enjoy: Solutions to Inclusion conference’ in Melbourne next week.

Feel free to pass the link on to those who you think might be interested.

http://www.scopevic.org.au/index.php/site/resources/listeningtothoserarelyheard

Jo

From NDS Newsletter – Group homes for people with PIMD

I’ve grabbed the following from an NDS newsletter. I think it is only for Victorian group homes.

Do you know of any great group homes for people with intellectual disability and high support needs?

The ‘culture’ of group homes has long been recognised as being important in realising a good ‘quality of life’ for people with intellectual disabilities, but has been little researched.

The School of Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University and the Tizard Centre in the United Kingdom have been awarded funding from the Australian Research Council to learn about the ‘culture’ of highly performing group homes for people with high support needs. We want to understand what the staff culture in good group homes looks like, how it emerges, how it changes over time and what supports it. Our findings will help to inform organisational development, policy and practice in group homes.

The project brings together key researchers in this field, Professor Jim Mansell, Professor Chris Bigby, Dr Julie Beadle – Brown, Dr Marie Knox and Dr Tim Clement. Together we have much experience in investigating quality of life in group homes.

Do you know a group home for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities that you regard as being one of the best of its kind? You may work in such a setting or know one that you consider to be a flagship service.

If you are able to recommend such a service in the broadest terms,( i.e. without breaching confidentially) that might be invited to participate in this research, please contact Professor Christine Bigby, phone: (03) 9479 1016 or email: c.bigby@latrobe.edu.au. Alternatively, you could bring this newsletter item to the attention of a manager in the relevant organisation.

New report: UK


From the PMLD Network listserve:
Dear All,

The report on “Communication and people with the most complex needs: What works and why this is essential,” which Sue Caton and I started last year, is now finished. The final report is available at

http://www.mencap.org.uk/document.asp?id=20568 for the main report and

http://www.mencap.org.uk/document.asp?id=20570 for the Easy Read version.

Sue and I would like to thank, most sincerely, all the members of this forum who contributed to the report. Your input was really appreciated, and we hope you like the final version.

Best wishes
Juliet Goldbart & Sue Caton, MMU j.goldbart@mmu.ac.uk

I’ve had a flick through the report and I think it is excellent. It will be of interest to speech pathologists, teachers, service providers, and families. I think it also provides a a good template for other interventions (e.g., physio, OT, music therapy). I must say I’m also well chuffed to see HOP in there (a commitment to give a person 10 minutes of 1:1 time).