Short Break Stories

Autism Initiatives Lothian Short Break Project

A story by Autism Initiatives Scotland

To date we have delivered 2, two night/three day activity breaks / respite trips for 20 individuals from Edinburgh, Lothians and the Borders. The activities on each trip were selected by the individuals and we covered hill walking, mountain biking, canoeing, map reading and orienteering over the two trips away.

In addition, we also focused on essential life skills (cooking, cleaning, planning, social skills and essential relaxation) whilst staying at the Cromdale Centre. Individual feedback as well as feedback from parents/carers has been excellent.

To provide a bespoke short break service to individuals with Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism. To allow "time out" from either supported accommodation or the family home whilst supporting the individuals to work on social skills and social communication in a relaxed and informal environment.

To assist individuals to express preferences and make decisions about things that affect them on a relatively short scale. To provide opportunities to practise independent living skills, encourage engagement in physical activity and promote healthy eating. To develop confidence by trying new things and encouraging individuals to take responsibility for aspects of the short break.
Tip 1:
Plan your activity weekends thoroughly in advance, supporting, encouraging and engaging with your potential participants throughout the process.
Tip 2:
Ensure that all possible participants and parent/carers have detailed information regarding the timings and content of your activity break well in advance of the event.
Tip 3:
Do not be afraid to be led by your participants when planning, it is their activity break! In addition, always have a "Plan B" for any given day which accounts for poor weather.
The staff team noticed that one of the participants, who finds interacting socially exceptionally difficult - even at our project in Hill Street, seemed much less anxious in general when he was away with us. He interacted exceptionally well in the supported environment and took on all the challenges of the weekend with great confidence. This confidence has continued since returning from the activity break and his parents have commented " When our son returned, he was obviously relaxed and had enjoyed everything about his time away. He had enjoyed the activities, the location (particularly canoeing) and being in a situation where he could just be himself without the stresses of trying to fit in".

Another participant, who we know spends a lot of time on his computer, enjoyed the activities and re-learned how to ride a bike on the weekend as it had been a number of years since he had ridden one. His mum, by way of a parental feedback form, commented that "My son really enjoyed the outdoor activities, he normally spends a lot of time in front of a computer - it has given him the confidence to try new things and really hopes that he can participate in more activity weekends in the future!" Another participant commented that "I have realised that physical exercise can be fun! It has increased my self confidence and given me a sense of independence".
One of the participant's parents, by way of a feedback form, commented that "it was great to be able to get out for a meal, relax and not have to clock watch". They thanked us for such a successful weekend, stating that "Our son has never stayed overnight, even in the house, by himself, so has always had to come with us. This weekend gave him the opportunity for a holiday which played to his interests".

Another participant's parents stated that "It was great to know that our son was away enjoying himself, making friends and having the support that he needed. We were able to properly relax for the first time in a long time".

Another service user's parents commented that "This weekend was a huge benefit to us as a family. We were able to spend quality time together without having to consider my son's needs, in the knowledge that he was being well supported".

One of the participants parents also commented that "our son being away for the weekend relieved tensions that had built up between us all as a family - it gave us some much needed respite!"
One of the participant's who came away with us in October finds engaging with any kind of service exceptionally difficult. Upon returning from the trip his mother commented, by way of e-mail "I would just like to THANK YOU very much for taking my son on this activity weekend. He had a great time, and came back much the better for it. Please can you continue to encourage him to come to No. 6, as I have been trying to do for over a year, as when he gets there he really enjoys himself" The outcome of this has been that the participant has been coming in more regularly to Hill Street, giving his parents a bit more respite during the week.

Another of the participant's parents said that having access to this type of supported break for their son made a huge difference to their year and added to the feeling that there is support out there that can make a difference.

We strived to ensure, by way of our monthly newsletter and information sessions regarding the activity breaks, that all potential participants were empowered to let us know what activities they wanted to be involved in. We liased with parents/carers with respect to any health and medication issues and ensured that we had a rounded picture of someone's capabilities and support needs.

In addition we had to ensure that we provided a plan B for each day's activities in order that we provided for the potentiality for individuals who may have had a change of heart about taking part in an activity when away. It was also crucial for us to ensure that our participants were encouraged, reassured and supported in both the activity setting as well as within the residential setting - monitoring and evaluating throughout each day.
Working for Autism Initiatives, a tailored, personalised approach is one of the main principles we strive to achieve every day. It was imperative to recognise from the start of this project that it was the participants' activity breaks - not anyone else's, and therefore personalisation was key.

We ensured that there was plenty of "downtime" during the course of the evenings, which led to a lot of creativity from the participants as to how to use that time. In addition to the main chosen activities of Hill Walking, Canoeing, Orienteering and Mountain Biking, an impromptu night walk around the village of Cromdale (with head torches), games of football, basketball, table tennis and a cinema night,all suggested by participants individually and agreed upon by the group, were enjoyed.

Taking a flexible approach and ensuring that the opinions of all participants were taken into account was paramount, leading to an organic, inclusive feel at each of the activity breaks.
None of the individuals that have been on the activity weekends are eligible to receive respite funding through statutory sources. The provision of this fund was crucial and has enabled us to provide much needed activity/respite weekends to this key client group.
Being in a supported environment away from home gave the participants a chance to simply be themselves without the everyday pressures, anxiety and stress of having to fit in. It provided the opportunity to take part in activities that they had suggested and learn life skills crucial for independent living in the future.

Furthermore, the activity weekends provided a sense of control for the participants over the weekends away where they were given responsibilities and supported to make choices and challenge themselves in a supported environment. Friendships have been born out of the weekends away, improving confidence, self esteem and well being.
We did not have any unexpected challenges. The challenges we faced as a staff team had, in the main, already been thought through and risk assessed.

One unanticipated benefit was the staff team getting a much fuller picture of the individuals who came on the breaks than expected, thus enabling us to better support them in their continued use of our service at Hill Street.
We advertised the activity breaks in our monthly newsletters over a number of months and held information sessions at Hill Street to provide further information to people. We used our knowledge of service users we knew, as well as looking at our database of service users to identify individuals and parents/carers who would most benefit from the weekends.
We advertised the activity breaks in our monthly newsletters over a number of months and held information sessions at Hill Street to provide further information to people. We used our knowledge of service users we knew, as well as looking at our database of service users to identify individuals who would most benefit from the weekends.

Additional support needs included, depression, anxiety, self harm as well as medication for a variety of mental health issues.
For us to be able to plan with our service users and deliver activity breaks away from a home setting has always been something that, as an organisation, we have always dreamed of being able to do. The much needed respite that has been delivered to parents and carers through this funding has been fantastic and not something that we would have been able to do without the support from Shared Care Scotland.
Feedback sought during the course of an activity break from participants as well as post event feedback forms issued to participants and parents/carers. Staff also kept records of their own observations during the activity breaks and discussed them as a team throughout the course of the activity breaks.