Co-production
We know that we can’t make decisions about a person’s support, staffing changes or new activities without involving them and understanding what is important…
Autism
Autism is a lifelong neurological difference in how individuals approach social communication, social interaction and social imagination. There are many different terms used to describe autism and in MacIntyre we have taken our lead from a large survey of autistic people which concluded that identity-first language (such as autistic person) was overwhelmingly preferred by autistic respondents (Bonnello, 2018)*.
We understand that each autistic child, young person or adult is unique. Our skilled staff start from building an understanding of each person’s specific strengths and needs, using Person Centred Approaches to help them achieve their wishes and goals. MacIntyre’s DNA (our values in practice) and supporting ‘in the MacIntyre way’ is central to our approach. We work closely with people and their families to plan for the future and ensure each person we support is able to live a life that makes sense to them. Within our education services, autistic learners have access to a broad and balanced curriculum, led by highly-skilled educators who respect individual learners’ communication styles, interests, skills and needs whilst supporting them to achieve person-centred goals.
The majority of the autistic children and adults we support in MacIntyre also have a learning disability or other diagnoses such as ADHD, physical health conditions or mental health conditions. This includes autistic people who also have severe learning disabilities and communicate other than through speech as well as autistic people who do not have a learning disability but might need support with certain aspects of their lives. We also support autistic people who have been in secure settings to live successfully in the community.
MacIntyre successfully supports autistic children, young people and adults who can find the world distressing and whose behaviours can be of concern. Our approach in this area is guided by our MacIntyre Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Framework. We are aware that poorly applied PBS ideas can and do have a negative impact on the lives of autistic people and so it is important to us to ensure that our PBS Framework is autism informed. You can read more about that here . Importantly, MacIntyre does not consider self-regulatory behaviours (stimming) to be behaviours of concern unless the person themselves does, or they are unsafe, or impacting on the person’s wellbeing. The ability to manage anxiety and emotions through stimming can form an important part of ‘a life that makes sense’, particularly to some people on the autism spectrum .
MacIntyre is establishing an autism advisory group of people with lived experience of autism to guide our autism work plan and inform our autism special interest group, our training and our understanding of autism best practice. To find out more about how we support autistic people please have a look at our news items.
References:
Bonello, C (2018) 11,521 people answered this autism survey. Warning: the results may challenge you. - Autistic Not Weird
Autism Special Interest Group
MacIntyre’s Autism Special Interest Group supports our Quality Strategy and provides a chance for our staff to promote and share best practice.
The Group meet three times a year in both the North and the South, bringing together staff from across the organisation who support a person with autism. It is an opportunity for our staff to expand their knowledge and learn from their peers.
Involving the people we support
We ensure we involve the people we support in the Autism Special Interest Group meetings as much as possible. If a person is unable to join the meetings in person, we used videos, photos and written stories to share their experiences and views on the topics being discussed.
Guest speakers
We are regularly joined by guest speakers who bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience. From talking about personal experiences, to pet therapy, problem solving and the impact on families, we value the contribution that guest speakers are able to make to our meetings.
Contact us to find out more
More about our approach
Communities
We know that good things happen when we connect with others around us. Our Everyone Everywhere approach is about making these connections a more intentional…
Death and Dying
The ‘Dying to Talk’ pilot project will enable us to help people we support, their families and MacIntyre staff understand and feel supported talking about…
Employment
At MacIntyre, we believe that every person with a learning disability should have the opportunity to work.
Families
MacIntyre was established by the parents of a disabled child in 1966 for all people with a learning disability to live a life that makes sense to them.
Health
People with a learning disability are living longer, yet they are still dying 20 years younger than the rest of the population. It is well known that…
Intensive Interaction
Intensive Interaction is an approach to interacting with and teaching early communication and interaction skills to people who do not find it easy communicating…
Person Centred Approaches
Providing person centred support means always listening, learning and focusing on what is important to and for someone, now and in the future.
Positive Behaviour Support
A Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) approach involves focusing on improving a person’s quality of life and understanding the reasons behind any behaviours.
Resources
Here you will find a variety of resources covering issues around health, wellbeing, end of life and other topics
Safeguarding
We are committed to the safeguarding of the children, young people and adults we support across the organisation and encourage openness and transparency.
We are More Than A Provider
MacIntyre is one of six not-for-profit organisations that are calling for change in social care. Together we are known as More Than A Provider.
Have you seen our resources?
As part of sharing our expertise we created a number of resources.
These include: guides, posters, leaflets, case studies and much more.
These include: guides, posters, leaflets, case studies and much more.