Learning Disabilities

Glenholme provides support for young adults and adults with learning disabilities, including those with autism, physical disabilities and complex needs. Support is provided in residential and supported living services and through outreach domiciliary care.

Learning Disabilities

Glenholme provides support for young adults and adults with learning disabilities, including those with autism, physical disabilities and complex needs. Support is provided in residential and supported living services and through outreach domiciliary care.

Learning Disabilities

Glenholme provides support for young adults and adults with learning disabilities, including those with autism, physical disabilities and complex needs. Support is provided in residential and supported living services and through outreach domiciliary care.

SUPPORT

Glenholme has over 30 years of experience in providing support for young adults and adults with learning disabilities and autism, including:

  • Supporting people who have behaviours that challenge
  • Supporting people with physical disabilities and complex physical needs (e.g. peg feeding, Epilepsy, Cerebral palsy)
  • Supporting people with learning disabilities and mental ill health, including those that self-harm
  • Supporting people with additional disabilities such as communication difficulties and sensory impairments and other complex needs
  • Supporting people with forensic histories

We provide support at our facilities in:

PERSON CENTRED PLANNING

Glenholme’s care is genuinely individualised and person centred. Those we support are treated with dignity and respect. Support is personalised; responding to the unique needs of each individual. It is co-ordinated, to ensure a holistic approach and, it is enabling; allowing those we support to fulfil their potential. We believe it is important that those we support are completely involved in the decisions which are made about their care.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORT

We use Positive Behaviour Support to improve quality of life and reduce the need for adverse and restrictive practices. Our focus is on the person and their needs rather than the behaviour. We also work with friends and family members to ensure the broadest possible support base for changing behaviour.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Across our services individuals are encouraged to develop their independence and gain as many new experiences as possible, we prioritise inclusion in the community encouraging people to take part in a range of clubs, socialise, take regular exercise, pursue their interests and hobbies, access training and where possible find voluntary or paid work.

We provide support through genuinely individualised person centred care that respects the individual and promotes independence and the achievement of personal goals. We promote a culture of positive behaviour support based on the values of recognising each person’s individuality and their human rights, a rejection of adverse and restrictive practices, focusing on the person and their needs rather than the behaviour.

Glenholme work in partnership with individuals, family and carers as well as social care and health professionals, ensuring the highest levels of support, focusing on achieving quality and measurable outcomes for people, for example, using comprehensive Health Action plans for health and wellbeing including mental health, supporting someone with communication difficulties to get the support they need and training staff in different communication methods.

Our care pathway offers support in residential, supported living and outreach settings, so that we can meet the changing needs of an individual as their independence and aspirations progress.

We provide support at our facilities in:

Learn about our service users’ success stories

Case Study 1

Joanne moved into Shakespeare House in 2019, just before the COVID pandemic began, from a children’s residential unit where she had been living for several years.

Staff from Shakespeare House met Joanne at her placement and Joanne visited Shakespeare House a number of times before moving in. Visits were based around Joanne getting to know the staff, bringing personal items over gradually for her room, and helping her prepare for the move to a new home. Staff at Shakespeare also produced a “moving in” story book for Joanne, which staff at her previous setting used to show Joanne the house, her room and pictures of the staff, so that Joanne would feel more relaxed when making the transition visits and eventually moving in.

When Joanne moved into Shakespeare she was doubly incontinent. But, with support from staff, and building a routine with Joanne to visit the bathroom regularly throughout the day, today she is now practically continent. Joanne now recognises when she needs to use the bathroom and will take herself without any prompt from staff. This has had a huge effect on both Joanne, who now understands the need to use a bathroom both when at home and when out in the community and also with her parents, who can now take her out and on holidays knowing that Joanne can recognise and better express her needs.

Joanne also self-harms – hitting herself or objects with her hands or arms. This has reduced significantly since being at Shakespeare House – an in-depth PBS plan is in place for Joanne and for staff to support her should these behaviours happen. Joanne also has a clear communication passport. As Joanne is non-verbal, it is important that staff can recognise and understand how Joanne communicates with noises, gestures and body language. This again has helped reduce Joanne’s self-harming behaviour and she now expresses herself less physically in this way.
Joanne loves to go swimming, out for meals, listen to music and dance.

As Shakespeare has communal living areas, the team have supported Joanne to still enjoy her love of music, whilst being able to allow others to access the TV. Joanne now has an iPad and some wireless headphones, which she can use almost completely independently – switching them on and scrolling through music to find what she wants to listen to. This means Joanne is still included in the communal living area with her peers.

Joanne goes food shopping every week with staff and is supported to make her own choices for food. Joanne helps place items into the trolley and is encouraged to help pay for items at the till. Joanne is supported to purchase clothes regularly and again is encouraged to make her own choices about what she would like to wear. Staff may show her two items and Joanne will point to the one she likes – however lately Joanne has been walking up to clothing and picking it out herself!

Joanne has and continues to grow into a happy, healthy and beautiful young lady.

Case Study 2

Robert moved into Holdingham Lodge from the respite centre after having a failed placement. They started the assessment process straight away with the Manager.

Robert called the service every day for updates and information on the placement. He spoke twice daily to the Manager before deciding himself and making everyone aware this is where he wished to live. Upon moving into the service, great difficulties were had with challenging physical behaviour and a diagnosis of Prader Willi Syndrome causing excessive weight and a misunderstanding with food and drink consumption.

The staff at Holdingham Lodge worked tirelessly to support Robert out of typical restrictive fad diets, and help him to understand good meals and nutrition. Including how to bulk-buy and batch-cook meals, increasing his independence daily around meal choices. Realising his achievements of better health, Robert started to find joy in the gym and exercising; completing up to 50 miles a week on the exercise bike and swapping sugary drinks for bottled water.

To date, Robert has lost a healthy total of 4 stone which has had a positive impact on Robert’s social activities, improved his relationship with food enabling him to make better decisions on eating in or eating out; and created great staff relationships that he says will last forever for him.

Case Study 3

George spent close to 10 years in hospital settings and lived a very restrictive life, with minimal access to the outside world and limited access to holistic and therapeutic support methods.

In April 2021, George joined Holdingham House as the service’s very first tenant. Before George moved in, the bedroom was emptied, the curtains were removed, pictures from the wall were taken down and fixtures were removed. This was because George has a very low tolerance to any stimulus.

George was also causing constant property damage and engaging in multiple physical incidents of restraint every day and night with staff causing harm to members of staff and himself. Since moving in, George has achieved so much. Throughout the house, George enjoys operating the curtains in the lounges and has pictures of both transfers and canvases on the wall. George’s social role valorisation has increased with the local pub and coffee shop knowing him by name and face. George is now often seen in the local Asda trying on clothes to look his best and making requests to access his favourite parts of the community.

Alongside this, there has been a reduction of multiple anti-psychotic medications with no increase of impact to incident frequency removing one medication completely and another to half the previous dose. George has also not been in receipt of a physical restraint and is only used for breakaway techniques – a massive achievement which was previously thought forever unachievable.

Gone from being a recluse hidden away with no interaction, to being a verbal outspoken, outgoing achiever who is working on his writing skills, social skills, and his fine and gross motor skills.

Learn about our referral process 

More Information


If you would like more information about any of our services, please call us on 01753 978888​ or use our online form.