Brianna is a young woman who loves the theatre, beach, and animals. She is diagnosed with an intellectual disability – autism spectrum disorder – and has challenges supporting her mental health. Brianna has been with Avivo since 2015 when she and her mum engaged Avivo to implement Brianna’s funding plan. At the time, Brianna was supported by her mum and a team of Support Workers and Mentors.
In 2015, Brianna developed an acute psychosis requiring hospitalisation. This was very traumatic for Brianna and her family and continued over three years. Her mum was experiencing carer burnout and Brianna’s health and wellbeing was also impacting her younger siblings.
Brianna started attending a Disability Group Home for respite stays. With the support of a NDIS Local Area Coordinator, Brianna and her mum started to explore Brianna moving to a Disability Group Home full time. Over a three-year period where Brianna was both experiencing acute psychosis and requiring full-time home and living supports, Brianna and her mum were still unable to identify a long-term option. Disability Group Home life was not best suited to Brianna’s mental health and disability support needs, and many Disability Group Homes refused Brianna for fear of the impact of her mental health and wellbeing on other participants.
Another way
In 2016, Brianna and her mum had engaged a Host for overnight weekend support one to two weekends a month. Brianna was matched to her Host Tracey because of their similar interests. Not only did Host Support give her mum a break, but it also gave Brianna an opportunity to extend her network and experience different homes, people, and lifestyles. Brianna’s mum and Tracey say they quickly noticed an improvement in Brianna’s wellbeing as she continued to thrive in a Host Family environment.
By 2018, when a full-time Group Home option still hadn’t been identified, Tracey approached Brianna and her mum about supporting Brianna full-time. Brianna’s mum describes this as a ‘Godsend’ and says that ‘Brianna has flourished’. Brianna is seen as an integral part of the Host family, with Tracey saying how thankful they are for Brianna to have come into their lives.
Holistic approach
Holistic models of support that include family, friends, support, employment, education, leisure, and connection to community, create strong systems for people to live their life and achieve their goals. Now that Brianna was in a stable and happy home with her Hosts, Brianna was excited to explore these rhythms and routines to enrich her world.
Brianna, with the assistance of her mum, Host, Support Coordinator and a disability employment agency, was able to identify volunteer work three days a week in a local op shop, and most recently Brianna has also secured paid employment one day a week.
Brianna is engaged in equine facilitated learning which enables her to build upon her skills and spend time with animals, which she loves. She attends a social group on Friday afternoons which is run by her Occupational Therapist and Speech Pathologist, focused on an array of different ways to explore communication, relationships, meet new people, and socialise.
Brianna also attends another Host home fortnightly, which provides Tracey with a break period, as well as an opportunity for Brianna to continue to meet new people and experience different homes and lifestyles. This is supporting Brianna to look at more independent living options for her future. On these stays Brianna enjoys activities like art, swimming and karaoke.
In her spare time, of which there isn’t too much, Brianna rehearses and performs for a local drama agency, has been invited to consult for Disability Services Commission on NDIS Individual Living Options and Host Support, goes for walks along the beach with Tracey and their dog, does meaningful activities with her Support Workers, watches movies at home, and now feels ready to explore a romantic relationship.
Brianna, her mum and Tracey say that an important part of Brianna’s supports is having everyone ‘on the same page’ – with Brianna’s life and goals at the centre. This requires the people in Brianna’s life to work together alongside her, to ensure she has choice and control over her life, to be open to exploring new things, and to be innovative and constantly re-designing as Brianna’s wants, needs, and goals change into the future.
