St Elizabeth’s Therapy Team plays a key part in the multidisciplinary assessments we carry out for all referrals to our School, College & Supported Living services. Our therapists ensure we will be able to meet the on-going needs of each individual and to ensure that training and appropriate equipment is in place to meet these identified needs.
Across our various services, almost all of our children and young people access at least one form of therapy from the team to support them with their physical, emotional and behavioural development.
Our aims are simple:
- to enhance an individual’s quality of life
- to prevent or slow deterioration
- to improve confidence and independence
- to enable them to make choices and live their lives their way
Our approach is goal orientated – looking at both their needs and their aspirations – and we develop programmes that deliver the skills or interventions that enable the individual to meet these goals, regularly reviewing progress against targets.
The Therapy Team works with our Health, Education and Care staff to offer a fully inclusive programme of support and to give access to a wide range of therapies. These include:
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech and Language Therapy
Our Therapy programmes may involve working with individuals, in group sessions (link), or by working indirectly, supporting teaching staff, care staff and families to implement new initiatives, e.g. developing a Therapy Care Plan or delivering training so that interventions can be delivered on an on-going basis.
We also offer a range of targeted therapies, aimed at specific identified needs, including:
- Art and Music Therapy
- Emotional and Behaviour Support
- Sensory Integration
- Equine Therapy
- Pet Therapy
- Hydrotherapy
We offer both individual and group sessions. Group activities can help to deliver therapies in different ways whilst combining motor co-ordination, mobility, cognition and total communication approaches. All therapists and therapies work together to build upon our multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to ensure our children and young people can achieve the individual goals they aspire to.
For our School and College learners, therapy sessions are integrated into their day and are part of their individualised timetables. As our therapists also work with teachers and support staff, the lessons and programmes developed in individual and group sessions are extended into the classroom, reinforcing their impact and enabling a consistent approach. We have re-designed “Pippin” classroom, for our children with profound health needs and learning disabilities, laying mats and thick padding on large areas of the floor, along with large beanbags and therapy balls. This enables exercises, therapy and recovery to occur within the classroom and as group sessions:
Training: our Therapists run regular training courses for care and teaching staff. Training covers a broad range of subjects and can include Dysphagia; communication approaches such as Colourful Semantics and Lego Therapy; the safe use of walkers, hoists and slings and sensory processing.
What makes our therapeutic provision so valuable?
- Personal approach – we know each of our learners very well; we understand their needs, their communication techniques and their complexities, and can support them to achieve what they want and should be aiming for.
- “Needs-Led” approach – we develop programmes of therapy, with agreed outcomes and goals, which are regularly reviewed to evaluate progress and to re-set targets to ensure constant improvement.
- Emergencies – we respond to emergency issues or sudden changes, offering an acute intervention approach. If something happens to a learner, we will visit them in hospital or work with their care team within their home here at St Elizabeth’s to develop a programme of support.
- On-site sensory facilities – including a Dark Sensory Room, Light Sensory Room, Multi-Therapy Rooms, Ball Pools and sensory breakout rooms.
- Specialist Expertise – we support people with very unusual and rare syndromes, and have the expertise and experience to support current and new clients with their individual needs:
- We are highly specialised in Dysphagia (swallowing) issues, and our Speech and Language Therapists will respond rapidly to any reported incidents to ensure safe eating and drinking.
- Our Occupational Therapists are trained to Level 3 in Sensory Integration, a highly specialised qualification that enables them to support those who struggle with sensory processing issues, by exposing them to sensory stimulation in a structured, repetitive way.
- We have close links with the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) Hub in Cambridge, and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore.
- Family Support – we support parents and families to understand the techniques and approaches we have developed with their relative, so that they feel confident to implement them at home and when they visit.
- Transition Support – with excellent cross-team working, when an individual transitions from School to College or to Supported Living, we can provide continuous care that enables a smooth transition. We also work closely with external providers to ensure that the transition of an individual into or out of our service is conducted with consistent support throughout their transition and beyond, keeping them safe and happy.
- Making Choices – we pride ourselves on offering choice to our service users, and ensure they are involved in decisions relating to their care as far as possible, and can chose to participate (or not) in whatever activities they wish.
For more information on our Therapy services, please contact Emma Jarvis on 01279 844351 or at emma.jarvis@stelizabeths.org.uk
