Supporting More Than One Person
The training has focussed on skills to support one person. There will be situations where you support more than one person.
For example, you may:
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support a group who are doing the same activity, such as painting or playing a board game
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support several people who are doing different activities, such as one person is using an iPad and another building a model
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support a group of people who live together but are engaging in different activities in different parts of the house
In these situations, you use the same 4 Essential skills you have learned so far. You also use extra strategies to make sure everyone gets the support they need to be engaged.
This video explains strategies for supporting a group.
Helping a Group to be Engaged
When you support a group, it’s best to help each person individually and move your attention from person to person. For example:
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Start with one person
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Support that person to engage in an activity
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When that person has started the activity move on to support the next person
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Move your attention to each person in turn, watching and providing support as they need it
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As you move around, think about what the person is doing now and what support they need
This video shows how staff support two people at the same time.
We acknowledge that the worker’s face mask isn’t well fitted but please focus your attention on the support provided in the video.
Activity
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How did the support workers assist people in groups?
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What were the people doing and how much were they engaged?
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How effective were the strategies?
Planning Support for People in a Group
Each person in a group has different support needs.
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Once an activity is set up, some people may only require prompting and encouragement to do each step
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Other people may require more help to participate
Where you’re positioned is important. For example, you might sit or stand:
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between the people you are supporting
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opposite them
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closest to the person who requires the most support
Remember you can create a friendly atmosphere with small talk and friendly interactions.
Staff can support more than one person at a time to be engaged. Strategies for doing this are: setting each person up for participation, frequently rotating, thinking in steps and careful positioning.