Before moving to Hill House

Tom had a diagnosis of autism, learning difficulties and ADHD. He had been excluded from his previous school due to the severe levels of challenging behaviour he was exhibiting towards others. These behaviours included physical aggression, making very loud vocalisations and throwing objects. Tom was living at home with no education input. He had been prescribed anti- anxiety medication and needed 2:1 support throughout the day.

Tom had poor communication skills with little use of sign language and did not have access to a communication aid. He used to point to what he wanted or take an adult to an item.

Tom displayed anxiety around food and he also needed a high level of support with all his daily tasks.

How Hill House supported Tom

The education, care and therapy team at Hill House worked together to support Tom in order to start his education day and to feel comfortable moving to a home with other young people. Tom needed a predictable routine and benefitted from having a visual timetable which helped him to understand what was going to happen next.

By implementing an individualised behaviour support plan everyone was able to support Tom in a consistent way. This included building lots of motivational activities into his day and offering choice at every opportunity.

Tom had support from our Speech and Language therapist and soon began to use PECS (Picture exchange system) to communicate some of his needs and wants. This gave him the confidence to communicate more independently and also supported his use of signing and speech.

Tom took part in regular Lego Therapy sessions where he was able to learn skills such as turn taking and collaborative working.

We supported Tom to join in at every opportunity; this helped him to develop his confidence, skills and abilities and provided him with a wealth of highly positive, memorable experiences.

The Impact of these Strategies

Tom was able to attend school every day and had 100% attendance. He was able to spend time with others including taking part in large group activities.

Tom had 0 incidents of challenging behaviour for the 10 months before leaving Hill House, he no longer needed his anti – anxiety medication or 2:1 support.

Tom was able to be spontaneous with his communication. He was able to copy others and follow a process to complete a task, learning new skills all the time.

He was able to work in the on-site design and technology workshop using a range of tools and materials and later transfer these skills into a real-life work experience setting at a local workshop.

Tom was able to attend off site activities such as climbing club and Bushcraft where he learnt resilience, stamina and self – confidence; he was able to participate in weekly football coaching sessions and even visited the Houses of Parliament, taking the commuter train to London with a group of other young people.

The Hill House curriculum enabled Tom to meet his EHCP Outcomes and achieved over 160 AQA accreditation unit awards.

Positive Outcomes

Tom moved to an adult home closer to home. The move was successful and he is happy and settled in his new home.

Tom was able to transfer his skills to also be able to access a day service working in a 'Parks & Recreation'  programme. This is perfect for Tom as he loves to be busy and active, work outdoors and work through a range of tasks which he previously learnt during his time with us.

*Name has been changed to protect identity