Songbird as a whole work by and believe in the Person Centred approach, but what does that really mean?
As the wording suggest “Person Centred” refers to, ensuring the person with a disability is at the centre of decisions being made which relate to their life and the supports they will receive. This includes but is not limited to choosing their own housing, supports, doctors/medical professionals.
The benefits of this approach include:
· respecting the wishes of the individual
· allowing the person to make informed choices and decisions
· flexibility, meeting the diverse needs of different people in tailored ways
· improving the quality of care.
Getting the right services at the right time can allow the person to gain greater control over their life. The ultimate aim of Person Centred Support is to understand what each individual person wants and needs to live their own life. Every person is different so every support will also be different. It is most successful when friends and family can support and be involved the process. This will help identify and develop the person’s strengths.
We ensure we have a Person Centred approach across all our services at Songbird – our participants and residents, along with their families and carers, choose when and how they receive support, and by whom it’s provided.
Person Centred approach is best provided by Active Support. Active support is about providing someone with a disability just the correct amount of assistance in the correct way for them, so they can successfully take part in meaningful activities and build solid relationships.
Active Support empowers people with a disability to do things for themselves when possible, rather than a staff member doing it on their behalf. Yes someone may not be able to wash the dishes in the sink, dry them and put them away, but does that mean they should have to miss out on the process all together?
Active support alters the task so the person can do all the parts of the task they are cable of- bringing a bowl of washing up water to the table to allow them to clean the dishes, bringing the washed dishes over to the table so they can dry them.