For the last 17 days we have been following a new support structure. The local learning disability and autism team have taken over my day to day support and taken the pressure off of my freinds.
This is really important because it allows me to develop my independent living skills and makes everything way more sustainable. For the first time in almost two years i have a stable home enviroment of my own rather then being dependent on my freinds support.
It’s still early days, but i am already achieving new things. For example, i am doing a weekly shop with support and i am no longer having to eat at the cafe. These are both important for my autonomy (being able to buy anything i like for food!) but also in that its a building block to other things. For example, we will eventually build up to them supporting me with Dr’s visits and helping me with trips etc.
There are still lots of challenges, of the 4 people who support me during the week i am only really comfortable with one of them and its going to take a while to build the confidence with the rest.
Another challenges is that i’m not sleeping very well compared to when my freinds stayed. I’m averaging about 4-5 hours of sleep a night and thats probably not enough. The reduced sleep leads to reduced spoons and energy and that makes working full time hours very difficult. I am getting muddled more often and towards the end of the week i tend to crash pretty hard.
The next 13 days will be the next big challenge. This is my first two week span at home every night, and two weeks of reduced sleep may make things a bit difficult.
Overall though, i am extremely happy with how the new support routine is working out. It’s the building blocks to a more independent and sustainable future for me and my freinds.
