Alex first began his journey with Autism Practitioner Hannah while attending college. Through a person-centred approach, with Hannah working closely alongside Alex and his family to create a plan tailored to his individual interests, skills and support needs, he has now successfully completed his transition to Elmbank.
As part of the transition process, Alex initially met Elmbank Senior Autism Practitioner Natalie and Services Manager Kirsty at his college. He was then introduced to Hannah, who would be supporting him throughout his transition journey. Meeting in a familiar environment helped Alex feel comfortable and supported, allowing him to build positive relationships with staff before attending his first transition day.
Prior to Alex’s transition days, Hannah gathered information from his passport, which had been developed by his college and parents. This provided valuable insight into his likes and dislikes, strengths, interests and individual support needs which helped Hannah develop a personalised timetable. Alex’s voice remained at the centre of the process, with his choices, preferences and interests incorporated to ensure he was actively involved in decisions about his support and daily activities.
On his first transition day, Alex attended Elmbank accompanied by a member of staff from his college. He was welcomed by Kirsty, Natalie and Hannah to ensure he was greeted by familiar faces and felt supported from the moment he arrived. Alex was eager to explore his new environment and showed no signs of hesitation, confidently greeting staff and other supported individuals.
Throughout his transition days, Alex took part in a wide range of activities that reflected his interests. These included a hill walk up Dumyat, swimming sessions, trampoline sessions, bus outings, walks and visits to local parks. Alex also participated in a variety of group activities alongside other supported individuals at Elmbank which helped him become familiar with his new surroundings and develop new friendships.
Following the completion of his transition, a review meeting was held involving Natalie, Hannah, Alex’s parents, and his social worker to reflect on the overall outcome.
Reflecting on the transition process, Alex’s parents commented:
“Alex’s transition into Elmbank has been very smooth and reassuring. We had early discussions with the Scottish Autism team to allow everyone to understand him as an individual. The visit by Hannah and Natalie to Alex’s college just ahead of his first transition day was of great benefit in starting to build the relationship. On arrival on day one at Elmbank, Alex was very happy to see everyone and this continued through his transition days.”
And how is Alex settling in at Elmbank? Hannah commented that:
“Alex is a humourous and nice young man who has coped exceptionally well with his transition and has settled into Elmbank with ease. He has built positive relationships with staff and his peers and has shown confidence and enthusiasm in participating in a variety of activities.”
Alex’s parents added:
“Hannah and Natalie have done an amazing job in settling Alex into his new environment. He leaves and comes home every day very happy, and this is really reassuring for us as his parents. We’d like to thank everyone at Scottish Autism for everything they have done in supporting Alex with this transition into the next chapter of his life.”
Alex in now officially attending Elmbank fulltime and staff are excited to continue to support him to achieve his goals, develop his independence and enjoy meaningful experiences within the service.
