Preparation - What this means for Ted

Preparation for the process:

Ted is actively supported by his social worker Claire, and she explained the process to him, involving his advocate Tracey.

They discussed:

  • who he wished to involve in the care and support planning process
  • the professionals Claire would liaise with on his behalf
  • his communication needs. Since Ted had experience of many meetings in which he didn't feel involved, Claire and Tracey drew up a list of 'do's' and 'don'ts' which included types of locations where he felt most comfortable having conversations.

Claire and Tracey showed Ted a pictorial timeline of what was going to happen and who would be involved. Tracey supported Ted to put this in his diary. They also talked with him about his family's involvement. Ted wanted his parents to be invited to the conversation 'meeting' and for his sister, June, and advocate to help him prepare for it.

Preparation by Ted:

Tracey and June (Ted's sister) met Ted at his flat and had conversations about what matters to him, what was and wasn't working and what he wants in the future.

Ted really wants to have a job, to have friends, and to have a car again. Tracey helped Ted to think about how he could share this information. He decided to assemble a collage and a diary of his 'perfect week' - having a job for a couple of days a week, helping a DJ in the evening, seeing friends in the evenings, family at the weekend and having a girlfriend.

Claire and Ted created a diary sheet to compare his life in six months time.

Preparation by Ted's family:

Ted wanted his family to be involved so Claire arranged to meet his parents and his sister to find out what was working and not working from their perspectives, and what they wanted in the future.

Preparation by the practitioner:

Claire checked that Ted had had a recent review with his GP, and talked about self-management issues related to his cough.

She looked at the recent functional assessments from the Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Psychologist and Psychiatrist and also asked them for what they thought was working and not working. She also met with Ted, to do an assessment that showed he was eligible for a personal budget.