Dovida: upskilling caregivers to support younger people

One in ten of the people our Dovida caregivers support is under the age of 65, and one in ten of these are under the age of 18. We are seeing an increase in referrals of autistic children for home support and respite, as well as an increase in referrals for people who are living with complex behaviours and/or clinical needs. In response to this, we have developed new policies and training programmes to support our practice and upskill our caregivers with a focus on autism awareness, loco parentis, seizure awareness, emergency administration of Buccal Midazolam, and Crisis Prevention and Intervention.

There has been a fantastic response to the training from both care managers and caregivers who enjoy the practical nature of the programmes. For example, the autism training programme focuses on understanding what autism is (and isn’t!) and explores how autistic people may have challenges with communication and social interaction, repetitive behaviours and sensory issues. We consider what lies behind these challenges, identify potential triggers that may lead a person to experience an autistic shutdown or meltdown and explore how caregivers can respond appropriately in a person-centred way. The participants enjoy applying their knowledge to the ‘real life’ scenarios discussed as part of the course. In April, we will launch our e-learning version of the programme on the Home Care Professionals Academy. 

Work is also underway to develop a restrictive practice policy that will serve as a tool to educate care managers and caregivers about human rights and what constitutes restrictive practice. This policy has been developed with input from Dr Drona Sharma (Consultant Psychiatrist Intellectual Disability, Autism) and Dr James O’Mahony (Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist, Lecturer UCC and former Area Director of CAMHS). We are also working with Registered Nurse Tutor Breda Moloney to develop specialist education for caregivers in neurogenic bowel care – this will enable us to develop a new bowel care service that will support adults with spinal cord injuries, allowing them to come home – instead of going into a nursing home – after rehabilitation at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. The bowel care programme is currently being piloted in Mayo, Galway and Tipperary. Further information is available from Kathy McLoughlin at kathy.mcloughlin@dovida.ie.