Most people with a learning disability were born with it or acquired it shortly after birth. They may have difficulty understanding, learning and remembering which can make it harder for them to communicate, learn new things, and sometimes to undertake physical tasks.
Family carers - parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and friends - often provide much of the care for people with learning disabilities in order to help them live independently.
In many cases, carers have to support their loved one for the rest of their life, so may have decades of experience as they negotiate the health, education and social care systems through infancy, childhood and adulthood.
Indeed, it is often the personal commitment of family carers which enables the person they care for to expand their horizons and live a fulfilling life.
Providing care for someone with a learning disability can be very demanding and it is important to ensure that carers make time to look after their own health and emotional needs.
Carers may have to deal with anything from toileting issues to challenging behaviour, so it is helpful to understand what help is available in your local area.
Here at Coldbrock Healthcare, we provide support for people living with learning disabilities across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.
Often this involves simply providing temporary respite care, so the usual carers can take a break. However, in some situations, our support can also be provided on a semi-permanent basis.
Support can be provided in the client’s own home or in a shared living environment.
The services we provide can range from occasional visits from a support worker, flexible support during the day or in the evening, overnight and/or at weekends, right through to 24 hours a day care.
Some services might be shared if more than one person with support needs live together, for instance a couple sharing a flat.
Our staff are fully trained and take a person-centred approach to planning and delivering each individual’s support. This means that when we work with a person and their family, we listen to what they want and what matters to them, so they are always at the very heart of conversations and decisions about their support, and how it is planned and provided.
Together, we create a unique and tailored ‘personal support plan’ for each individual, that outlines the type of support they receive, how much and how often.
Our fully trained staff can help with things like:
Personal care
Health and wellbeing, washing, preparing meals, medication
Running a home
Maintaining a tenancy agreement, budgeting, paying bills
Healthy living
Help with making healthy lifestyle choices
Household tasks
Cleaning, laundry, cooking
Building links with the community
Developing friendships, maintaining personal relationships, contact with family and friends
Leisure activities
Socialising, going on holiday
Education and employment
Identifying opportunities, applying for college or jobs, arranging training.
If you would like to find out more, call us today on 01452 699 120 to speak to one of our friendly team.
Alternatively fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.