Independent Living Service

Background

This service is a day program service that was established to meet the Independent Living and Community Access needs of 20 people who had previously been employed in the workshop and who it was considered would benefit from an increased level of and more individualised support and training. The service operates from a centre in the CBD on a daily basis, 5 days aweek.

Aims and Objectives

The broad aim of this service is to maximise the potential of each individual in accordance with the Disability Services Standards to have a happy, secure and meaningful life that is both appropriate to each person's goals and needs, and which is valued by the community,. Specifically this can be resolved into 3 broad objectives:

1. Maximising each person's ability to live as independently as possible within the appropriate emotionally supportive social setting.
2. Maximising each person's ability to access community facilities as independently as possible.
3. Maximising each person's ability to make, overtly express and implement choices about his/her wants and needs.

Training

Participants are trained in skill development and acquisition of life skills. For each person, an Individual Service Plan (ISP) reflecting their assessed strengths and needs is developed. ISP's provide a learning experience relevant across all the living skills and community access guideline areas. Each ISP is based on a functional approach, focusing upon holistic, real world learning activities and building upon each individuals demonstrated strengths, whilst identifying the needs of each individual.

Activities

Based on the ISP, each person participates in a range of relevant daily activities. The activities range from 1-on-1, to small group dynamics training, and are located in appropriate community settings, or at the centre. Individual training is often located in the consumer's home or in the community.

Activities currently participated in include kitchen/domestic skills, shopping and banking, art and drama classes, personal care skills, public transport training, augmentative communication aids (COMPIC and Makaton), developing appropriate leisure and recreational skills and interests such as bush walking and sport, crafts - papermaking, sewing, weaving, music and percussion. Vocational skills include gardening/nursery skills, woodwork, lawn mowing and garden maintenance, community access. Physical fitness areas include gym routines, walking, aerobics, gentle exercise class for the older participants, yoga, and dance/movement. Social skills and appropriate behaviours underpin all the consumer's participation and learning and training areas.