New Autism Service Enables Young People To Return To Orkney
The two, both in their early 20s, had been living on the Scottish mainland for several years to allow them to have access to specialist care.However, Orkney Health and Care (OHAC) has now commissioned a new autism-specific support service, enabling the men to return home to be reunited with their families in Orkney.
The two young men along with a third male, also with autism, are all being supported within their own homes in Kirkwall with access to round the clock support. The initial focus of the new service is to develop skills for independent living and to begin the process of re-introducing the young men to their community.
The support service will be run by an experienced team of 20 professionals from Scottish Autism, Scotland’s national autism charity. The team is led by Service Manager, Carol Taylor, an Orkney resident who has spent three decades teaching in Orkney and has more than 20 years of special needs education experience.
Mrs Taylor said: “I am really pleased to be heading up the new autism support team which comes with a wealth of social care experience and a range of other artistic and musical talents. These qualities, combined with the team’s collective knowledge of the local community and its resources, will add great value to the calibre of the service.
“Through the new service we aim to reintroduce Orcadian life to these young men, ensuring they are able to get reacquainted with their home environment and become fully active citizens within Kirkwall."
Tom McGuire, All Age Learning Disability and Mental Health Service Manager at Orkney Health and Care said: “The arrival of this new Scottish Autism service adds hugely to the specialist skills and knowledge in Orkney.
“Orkney Health and Care has commissioned this service to help us to develop our local approach in providing appropriate specialist service in the community where possible. This is part of our overall strategy of supporting people in their own communities, where possible, and minimising the use of placements out with Orkney that see people separated from families, friends and their familiar surroundings in order to receive a service.
“Orkney Health and Care staff will work closely with this new Orkney-based provider, so that service users on the autism spectrum can benefit from a consistent, harmonised approach based on national ‘best practice’.”
An Orkney mother, whose son has just returned home to engage with the new service, said: “I am really delighted that my son has been able to return home to Orkney where there are far more opportunities for him than ever before.
“He had initially been anxious about returning to the island but now that he is back he has really settled well. I am just so pleased to have my son home at last.”
The Orkney Team
