1. Active Support Workshop
Jen Rhodes
Principal Clinical Psychologist
Northumberland Tyne & Wear NHS Trust
Steve Wilson
PBS Practitioner
Tees Esk & Wear Valley NHS Trust

2. Aims & Objectives
To provide participants with an overview Active Support and who it would benefit from it
To provide participants with the opportunity to observe an activity and generate feedback
To outline how the approach can be implemented
To consider some of the challenges of implementing Active Support

3. Exercise 1: Your life
Complete a timetable for a typical day in your life (be prepared to share with the group!)
Time
A typical Monday…
7.00
7.30
8.00
8.30
9.00

4. Feedback What sort of activities fill your day? Must do activities
Should do activities
Things for fun
Spending time with friends
Helping others
We have busy lives, but unfortunately the same can’t always be said for the people we support

5. What is Active Support?
Active support is a way of getting people with learning disabilities more involved in their lives.
It helps people, who may need staff support, to do things like cooking, washing up, making drinks etc.

6. Person-centred active support
Providing enough help to enable people to participate successfully in meaningful activities and relationships
People gain more control over their lives, gain more independence and become more included as a valued member of their community
Irrespective of degree of intellectual disability or presence of extra problems

7. Why do we use it?
A lot of people with moderate learning disabilities spend a lot of time doing nothing. This isn’t good enough.
People with learning disabilities should have busy lives with lots to do.
If people are not doing things, they are more likely to engage in behaviour which is considered challenging.

8. Engagement in meaningful activity
Helps us keep fit and mentally alert
Gives us a sense of personal worth
Allows us to express who we are
Establishes common interests with other people
Develops our talents and allows us to show what we can do
Demonstrates our independence and autonomy
Is the means by which we look after ourselves and our daily needs
Provides the basis for friendships and living together
Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities, 2000

9. Why do we use it?
Some people with learning disabilities need staff to help them to do things.
Staff are often busy doing other things, like paperwork or cleaning.
Active Support teaches support workers new ways of helping the service users

10. Every moment has potential’
Not, “which activities can they be involved in?” but, “how can I help involve them in this right now?”
Find parts of activities person can do
Fill in the gaps with your help to ensure they succeed

11. What do we do? We teach all staff about Active Support in a workshop
2. Two trainers coach every member of staff individually. We watch them, give them feedback and then try some things out with them.
Aim is to change staff behaviour ……….
It’s a whole house/system approach!

12. Staff Workshop A 1 day workshop Introduces the ethos of active support
Introduces the structured timetables and recording charts. This helps staff to begin to think about timetabling activities before the interactive training starts
Ideally, the workshop would be facilitated by 2 AS trainers

13. Interactive Training
Each member of staff has an interactive training session, which is facilitated by 2 AS trainers (lead & support trainer)
Interactive training involves:
Observing a member of staff
Providing them with feedback
Coaching
Observing them again

14. Lead trainer: Narrative Recording

15. Observation & Feedback
Giving Feedback is a crucial aspect of active support. Base your feedback on the narrative recording charts
Needs to be sensitive but honest
Try and include positive elements, as well as areas to improve on

16. Feedback Consider commenting on: Task preparation and presentation
Providing support and assistance
Making participation rewarding
Style

17. Coaching
Don’t be afraid to get involved! Some of the most effective coaching is when the trainer gets involved themselves
It’s easy to tell people, but try showing them!
Don’t be afraid to get things wrong! This will improve learning.

18. What have we found?
Service users are more engaged in activities after Active Support n=136

19. What have we found?
Staff are more engaged with service users after Active Support n=136

20. Case examples
Ted
Before AS, staff did all of his personal care. After AS, staff handed him a flannel and used hand on hand to help him wipe his face.
Kate
Before Staff did a big shop every week, and put away shopping. After AS, staff supported Kate to go to the shop for items for lunch and then supported her to put items away.

21. What else have we found?
Staff have enjoyed it and said it helps them to be better at their job:
“I feel bad that I’ve never done this before. X can do so much more than I thought”
“It was scary to start with but it’s really helped X”
“the coaching was really helpful. It made me smile to see how much X can get involved in things. I didn’t realise that before.”
“It’s the simple things that you learn from the training that really make a difference. I’ll never do that [activity] in the way I used to.”
The effect of changing staff behaviour ………
There has been a significant increase in job satisfaction in direct care staff following AS training (Rhodes & Toogood, 2016)

22. Creating Capable Environments
Integrating person-centred approaches
Person-centred planning – important for co-ordination and development over time
Person-centred thinking – Helps to promote the right attitudes – puts the person at the centre of their own lives and of staff activity
Person-centred funding – can improve control over who supports them, how and in what activities.
Empowerment model NOT Hotel model

23. Challenges Getting wider system on board. Need to ensure:
Sign up from management.
Commitment to workshop and coaching.
Staff to be available.
A relatively stable staff team.
Adequate staffing

24. Overcoming Challenges
Train the Trainers
Training Seniors/ Managers to deliver the approach
Evidence that model has more longevity if senior/ managers are involved (can be used as second trainers)

25. The future We think it really helps both staff and service users.
We hope to do more of it!

26. Active support……
Is the enabling relationship between staff or other carers or supporters and the people they support
It is what staff do and how they do it, whenever they support someone
Whether for one minute, one hour or a whole day

27. Active Support Training Resources
Jones, Perry, Lowe, Allen, Toogood & Felce (2009)
Active Support: A Handbook for supporting people with learning disabilities to lead full lives.
Available free of charge as a download from ARCUK
arcuk.org.uk/wales/999095/en/active+support.html

28. Mansell, Beadle-Brown, Ashman & Ockenden (2005)
Person-centred Active Support: A multi-media training resource …
Available from Pavilion Publishing Company

29. Related Resources Toogood (2010)
Interactive training: supporting people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities in meaningful activity.
Available from Pavilion Publishing Company

30. Related Resources Toogood (2010)
Person-centred Planning: Implementation manual for promoting positive outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
Available from Pavilion Publishing Company 30

31. References
Rhodes, J.A., & Toogood, S. (2016). Can active support improve job satsifaction? Tizard Learning Disability Review. 21,2,54-60.
Stancliffe, et al. (2008) Active support; a critical review and commentary. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability. 33,3,
Totsika, V., Toogood, S., & Hastings, R.P. (2008). Active Support: Development, evidence base and future directions. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation. 35,