Case Studies
Childhood Brain Injury
Our client is now a young man who sustained a severe brain injury as a young child, resulting in various cognitive difficulties. He walked with an obvious hemiplegic gait.
He has always lived in rural location and had a love for the countryside and animals.
Arrangements were made for him to attend a rural based boarding school who encouraged the young boys to assist in caring for the schools farmyard animals and take part in other rural activities. He was accepted as a weekly boarder returning home at the weekend.
Prior to him leaving this school a run down smallholding was purchased and renovated. The barns were also renovated to provide large workshops and therapy areas. Stables were erected plus a drying area for him to turn out his horses or shows. A further area away from the main house but within part of a barn was a quiet area with a computer and easy chairs were available. Snacks can also be taken here. – It is viewed as a bolthole for the client when things get to much.
It is anticipated that a support team will probably be required at some point and accommodation within the home has been made available. Architect and case manager working closely with the family in making sure that the home also had a separate bed sitting room with en suite facilities in order to recruit and retain good calibre support workers.
Once the small holding was complete, the client has been able with assistance to grow his own organic vegetables which are to be sold at local farmers markets. He breeds horses with help from mother, has chickens, has had a pig and a number of dogs.
During the winter months he has been looking to renovate a showman’s caravan with help from his enablers. Having just passed his tractor test, he will be looking for some part time work on local farms during the summer period.
Both client and family have and are being supported, being sensitive to all needs, through the adolescent years when fraught times were had.
It has required very careful recruitment of buddies / support workers who were comfortable working in a very rural environment and helping to care for animals as well as some land management. This has resulted in having recruit different support workers for different activities, but all with a love of horses and the countryside.
The needs of this young man have changed as he has passed through his childhood, adolescence into manhood and will continue to change as he ages. The specialist brain injury case manager must be able to adapt and meet changing needs as they present themselves. It must always be recognised that we are enablers and not disablers. Careful risk assessments and monitoring will allow most activities to be undertaken. As with any risk assessments they often cannot be removed but can be reduced to as low as practically possible.