ONCALL received a request from a mother who needed support at home for her 29-year-old son, Dylan*, during COVID-19 lockdown.

Dylan’s background

Dylan was diagnosed with autism and resided in a Supported Residential property on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Although he enjoyed his current living arrangements, Dylan struggled to cope with the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions. It became evident these restrictions were having a significant effect on his mental wellbeing and this quickly manifested into a decline in emotional regulation abilities putting himself and other residents at risk.

With Dylan being cooped up inside with his housemates, this created additional strain as he valued his personal space. As the lockdown was likely to be prolonged, Dylan’s family needed to find a temporary solution to provide respite away from this environment. It was decided that moving Dylan back to the family home over this period would be the best option to alleviate any unnecessary stress during this time.

Dylan’s journey with ONCALL

The family contacted ONCALL to assist with ensuring the right supports were in place to support Dylan’s transition back into the family home.

As part of the onboarding process, ONCALL collected in-depth information about Dylan’s support requirements and the contributing factors that led to his decline in wellbeing.

The next step was for the family to share their requirements, including the ability to continue running their business from home and integrating Dylan’s support needs into this environment. ONCALL then identified the skill sets required from Dylan’s ONCALL support team and ensured the best action plan was put in place.

ONCALL discovered that some of our staff had previously provided support at Dylan’s current Supported Residential home. This enabled ONCALL to access a team of skilled staff who had a comprehensive understanding of Dylan’s support needs and already developed a relationship with him. This also provided Dylan with a familiar, friendly face during a time that was already full of uncertainty and stress.

ONCALL’s NDIS team provided the family with an overview of Dylan’s assigned support worker including their previous role in supporting him. The family instantly recognised the worker and felt at ease with this match.

Dylan’s progress

Within just a few days, Dylan was able to move into his family home for a 6 week period, supported by a team who had his best interest and wellbeing in mind.

Dylan’s family reported that he was initially anxious at the thought of someone being in his personal space, but after recognising his support worker, he settled in very well.

The support worker engaged with Dylan and connected with him on a personal level and ensured Dylan’s respite at home was a positive experience. With ONCALL’s assistance, Dylan improved his ability to safely navigate through the community, built on his cooking skills and worked on his independent personal care tasks.

Dylan also increased his capacity to manage his emotions and implement successful behaviour response strategies. This resulted in Dylan creating a safer environment for himself, his housemates and his support network.

ONCALL’s involvement ensured the move was a success for everyone, allowing the family to continue to run their household during the COVID-19 pandemic with the confidence that Dylan was being well supported.

At the end of Dylan’s respite, he settled back into his Supported Residential setting in a more positive frame of mind and was able to resume his normal routine.

In-home services to support Family and carers