Unit 12 - Supporting Individuals with Additional Needs
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Kisenyi Mukalere
7/6/23
Enabling Individuals with Additional Needs to Face Daily Challenges
Unit 12: Supporting Individuals with Additional Needs - Task 1 & 2
This report will focus on evaluating the significance of receiving a diagnosis of
additional needs for one adult and one child case study, their family and
society as a whole. This report will also focus on justifying the ways in which
adaptations and support provided for one adult and one child case study
with differing additional needs can help them to overcome daily life
challenges, in reference to statutory provision. This report also evaluates the
impact of support provision for one adult and one child case study who have
been diagnosed with different additional needs when it comes to improving
their life chances and wellbeing.
Case Studies
The first case study is Rebecca Brown, an 8 year old child who is a wheelchair
user. Rebecca requires a wheelchair due to her being involved in a road
accident. She also requires one on one personal care due to the extent of her
physical disabilities which are a result of her sustained fractured spine. This
injury causes Rebecca to have no movement below her cervical spine, in other
words, from the neck down she is unable to move. Rebecca is an attendee of a
school for children with additional needs, she has access to both a teaching
assistant and a carer who assists her with personal care throughout the
school day. Rebecca lives with her older brother, Michael, who is 12 years old
and both of her parents, David and Sue. The family resides in an upstairs
apartment which was provided by the housing association. The apartment is
small and cannot be classed as wheelchair friendly. Sue works at a local day
nursery part-time, she stays at home during school holidays in order to take
care of her two children, this then reduces the amount of family income. David
is a full-time factory worker, he works long hours but has a low wage. The
neighbourhood the family live in are quite intolerant of Rebecca’s differences,
with the family receiving negative comments from neighbours outside, and
this causes the family to avoid going outside when possible (Aldworth et al.,
2016).
The second case study is Ben Grace, a 52 year old man who has both type 2
diabetes and Down’s syndrome. Ben’s learning age is 8 and so he needs
support with all angles of daily living. He lives in a group consisting of 5 other
adults that have learning difficulties and require additional support. In the
past, Ben used to live with his mother, he moved to a residential setting due to
his mother passing away last year. He has always enjoyed shopping, however,
after moving into a residence, he has developed a preference for remaining
indoors, particularly inside his room. This is a concern for the staff at the
residence as a few local youths had shouted at Ben whilst he was shopping
,with other carers and residents. Ben was recently declined entry to a local
funfair by a manager. This was a result of the manager believing that Ben’s
appearance would prevent others from wanting to enter the funfair. Although
Ben has a special diet in order to control his Type 2 diabetes, staff at the
residence found a bag of sweets underneath his pillow. The levels of Ben’s
blood glucose are unstable, making him unwell, Ben has become generally
withdrawn (Aldworth et al., 2016).
Why May Individuals Experience Additional Needs?
There are different diagnostic procedures that aid in determining additional
needs for individuals, these procedures differ for adults and children. It is
important to explain the differences between mild, moderate, severe and
profound learning difficulties so it can be understood what constitutes for
each level of learning difficulty as well as how this is determined. These levels
are there in order to gather an idea of how much support an individual needs.
Mild learning disabilities can be classified as a person not being able to
explain new information with ease and or not fully understanding new
information but being able to talk. An individual like this may simply need
more time to be able to gather an understanding of ideas that have more
complexity. Moderate learning difficulties can be classified as when an
individual finds certain daily tasks to be more difficult such as getting
dressed. These individuals may also only use basic language in order to
communicate. Profound and severe learning difficulties have a classification
of an individual who communicates with very simple and basic language or
even just gestures. People with severe learning difficulties typically have more
than one disability and require a much higher degree of support (Aldworth et
al., 2016). Profound and severe learning difficulties may relate to the second
case study, Ben Grace who has been noted to have a learning age of 8 years
old. He has also been noted to have challenges with a lot of obstacles that
occur in daily life, this could include going shopping, cooking for himself,
managing his emotions, showering and getting to bed. He lives in residential
accommodation and so trained staff that consist of carers may be able to
assist him to complete such tasks. For example they may remind him to go and
take a shower and prepare his food for him. The impact of defining the
severity of a learning disability can help the carers at the residence to better
support Ben as they have a grasp of the amount of additional care and
support needs they will need to cater to. This will directly benefit Ben as more
personalised and holistic care that considers his intellectual needs will ensure
that his overall wellbeing is promoted in the long-term.
Additional needs can stem from a variety of aspects, these aspects being
cognitive and learning needs, physical and health needs as well as social and
emotional needs. Inherited conditions such as Down’s Syndrome is classed as
a genetic condition and has an effect on the amount of cognitive and learning
needs a person has (Aldworth et al., 2016).
,Having an accident can lead to additional physical and health needs as
serious accidents have the potential to cause limb loss, paraplegia and brain
damage, all of these impacts can lead to an individual requiring care for the
entirety of their remaining lives. The short-term and long term needs of
individuals dealing with paraplegia must be considered in order to provide
holistic care, individuals dealing with paraplegia, tetraplegia or quadriplegia
may need to undergo rehabilitation (Aldworth et al., 2016). Rebecca is unable
to move from the neck down and so she requires personal care and
assistance throughout her entire day. A carer has already been delegated to
assist her with her personal care during the school day. Perhaps her parents
take care of her whilst she is at home, although both of her parents are
working and so it may be necessary for her to have an at-home carer. The
area in which they live is upstairs and not ideal for a wheelchair user like
Rebecca, either ramps of an elevator should be installed to better enable
Rebecca and whoever is assisting her to enter the apartment. This is especially
important in Rebecca’s case as she frequently needs to get to and from
school. Due to the apartment being small, provision of wider doors fit for
wheelchair users may be necessary to enable Rebecca to get from one room
to another without needing to abandon her wheelchair. Mobility equipment
such as a wheelchair has already been provided for Rebecca however it may
be beneficial for an occupational therapist to come in and assess the
apartment in order to provide more suitable home adaptations (NHS, 2019).
The needs of the elderly can also be interlinked with physical and health
needs. Type 1 diabetes is more common in children unlike type 2 diabetes
which is likely to occur in those over 40. Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can span
from changes in personality, decrease in steadiness, loss of consciousness,
stroke, blindness and recurring infections in the lower limbs. Taking care of
feet in order to prevent infection is important as diabetes is a lifelong
condition and conditions affecting eyesight, mobility and onsetting dementia
can develop as a result of failing to do so (Aldworth et al., 2016). Ben has type 2
diabetes and may need extra help taking care of his feet in order to prevent
infection, for example, a carer can come in once a day and monitor the state
of his feet as well as wash them for him. Since Ben is showing signs of having
trouble sticking to his special diet, it is important the staff take this into
account. Staff can motivate him to stick to his diet by rewarding him with
either physical prizes or putting on a movie in order to use positive
reinforcement to encourage him to stick to his diet plan. A diagnosis is really
significant for Ben in this case because it will enable him the opportunity to
access important medications that could promote his physical wellbeing. It is
important to note that the long term consequences of using diabetes
medication can actually have negative effects and result in chest infections
(London Diabetes Centre, n.d.). He also may be able to access emotional
support to help him cope and deal with type 2 diabetes, with this benefitting
and considering his social and emotional needs (Diabetes UK, 2015). Unless
type 2 diabetes coincides with obesity, type 2 diabetes is a relatively hidden
disability, and so in some ways it will not be greatly impactful for Ben when he
is outside facing the general public (Public Health England, 2014). The
diagnosis of type 2 diabetes has led to an established correlation between
, inactivity, obesity and the condition, this can be significant for society as it
can serve as educational material that reinforces the importance of balanced
diets, exercise and daily activity throughout life, thus improving the physical
wellbeing of the general population (NHS, 2017). Incorporating such
information in educational settings poses the capability to have a long-term
positive impact on the general population.
Social and emotional needs may be generated as a result of bullying. In
relation to school, a child may refuse to go to school as they are afraid of
being bullied. In this case, schools should provide counselling and advice to
children who are exhibiting signs of such behaviour. Mental health child
councillors and educational psychologists can also be involved if the school is
not able to provide satisfactory support. Children may be bullied for having a
disability and it is imperative that bullying is dealt with as it can have a long
term impact on individuals (Aldworth et al., 2016). This relates to Rebecca Brown
it has been stated that people in her neighbourhood are intolerant towards
her differences and often hurl negative comments towards Rebecca and her
family. Her general neighbourhood could include other children who attend
her school. This bullying that Rebecca is experiencing can contribute to her
social and emotional needs. It is important that her emotional and social
needs are considered as failure to do so can cause Rebecca to develop low
self esteem and possibly depression. Methods such as school counselling can
be beneficial, however mental health child councillors may be able to better
care for the social and emotional needs Rebecca has attained through
bullying both in and out of school rather than just inside school.
Social and emotional needs may also be generated due to being elderly,
specifically in relation to isolation and a loss of loved ones. Infrequent contact
with others can lead to feelings of isolation which can negatively affect an
individual’s mental health, and has the potential to cause depression. This can
be prevented through the support of a carer or local charities and religious
institutions. The loss of a loved one is highly likely to be experienced by those
who are elderly. The effects of such an event can be managed through carers
taking time to listen to service users, talking to service users, bereavement
counsellors and volunteers are able to provide longer term support for those
experiencing grief (Aldworth et al., 2016). This can be related to Ben Grace who
is 52 and has been noted to have lost his mother whom he used to live with
just last year. Due to this it can be said that Ben has specific social and
emotional needs. Sudden noticeable changes in behaviour and interests can
be attributed and likened to depression. It is possible that Ben is dealing with
this as he has shown to have a new preference for remaining in his room in
contrast with his previous habit which was to go out and shop. Self isolation
can be a symptom of depression (www.betterhelp.com, n.d.). With the death of
his mother, it is also important to note that no other family members have
been noted to be in contact with Ben, and this could have a further negative
impact on his emotional and social wellbeing as he may feel he has no one to
talk to. This can lead to increased feelings of loneliness and depression.
However, there are staff at the residence that can help to cater to his social
and emotional needs through engaging with him and keeping him from feeling
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