Our universal areas of support

Seven-year-old Emily has cerebral palsy and learning difficulties; she is a full-time wheelchair user and needs a hoist to get from one place to another.

Specialist service

When Emily started school she was supported by specialist therapists who made sure the right equipment was available to manage her postural care.

Our Speech and Language Therapist provided a communication passport so staff knew how best to communicate with Emily and support her learning. A manual handling care plan was also put-in-place.

Our multidisciplinary team worked together to establish the best position for Emily to use a switch to make choices and communicate actions, and which switch worked well for her.

Emily’s mum noticed she was coughing more at mealtimes and discussed her concerns with the Speech and Language Therapist, who observed Emily in school and provided eating and drinking advice for staff.

Emily continues to receive regular progress and equipment reviews.

Targeted care

When Emily’s teacher noted she was showing awareness of needing to use the toilet, she immediately informed her parents and the Occupational Therapist. Together, they organised trialling a school toileting system to support regular access and boost Emily’s independence.

After two terms, the Occupational Therapist reviewed Emily’s progress with toileting and reported she was starting to remain dry.

The Speech and Language Therapist spent an afternoon in Emily’s class to work with her teacher on maximising communication in the classroom. They discussed new vocabulary resources which would help Emily with the up-coming topics.

Whole school therapeutic approach

The school team used a total communication approach to support Emily. They followed best practice guidelines to support her postural management and multi-sensory approach to learning.

All staff were trained how best to support Emily when being transferred by hoist and how to support her eating, drinking and toilet needs.

Therapists regularly attended school coffee mornings and parent’s evenings to further connect with staff and Emily’s parents, who were able to get more information about therapeutic approaches.