Portage and early support service- case study
Tomas was just 3 years old when he started having weekly home visits from The Children's Society's Portage & Early Support Service. He lives with his parents, and two brothers. There were concerns about Tomas's social communication and behaviour, and he was having speech therapy. His parents felt really anxious and unsure how to cope as a family at a time when Tomas's communication difficulties and "different" behaviour were becoming more obvious to others.
Tomas's had major tantrums due to frustrations over communication, and often seemed miserable or cross. He had no spoken words, did not use a finger to point, and could only communicate his immediate needs by pulling someone's hand or crying. Tomas's behaviour had become the central focus of the family. His parents were very worried about his relationship with his brothers, and how he would cope in a nursery setting.
Tomas had shown no interest in small cartoon pictures of toys that the Speech Therapist had tried, and it was thought that he did not yet understand pictures. Portage introduced some large photo-cards of snack foods Tomas liked and he showed immediate recognition. He quickly built up a repertoire of pictures, such as grapes, toast, milk, that he could use to "tell" his family exactly what he wanted by finding the right picture. Next the Portage worker took digital photographs and laminated them to form a tailor-made image bank of favourite toys, people, activities and surroundings, so that Tomas could give a picture to communicate what he wanted to have or "talk" about. His parents use the pictures to show him what is going to happen next, such as "going in the car" and "going to nursery". They also show him pictures to help him make simple choices.
Tomas is much calmer and happier now that he feels he is understood by those around him. His world feels less confusing and arbitrary. He is able to express his immediate needs and wants successfully through pictures and he has more choice and control over what happens. His parents have increasing confidence that they can manage his behaviour by helping his communication skills improve, and see a much more positive relationship with his siblings.
The Children's Society will continue to support Tomas and his family as he develops his communication skills, and when the time comes for him to finish with our project, we will work closely with other agencies to ensure that they have the understanding and skill to build on his particular communication needs and strategies.