LEARNING DISABILITY PRACTICE April 2009 | Volume 12 | Number 3 21
Feature
This arTicle reviews the care of a pupil, Ben (not
his real name), with whom i had significant contact
during a practice placement at a special school for
children with a diagnosis of autism. `autism' and
`autistic' are used throughout the article as general
terms that cover the entire autistic spectrum. The
reasons for Ben's autism and why care decisions
were focused in a particular way are discussed.
in 2001 the government published the white
paper, Valuing People, which outlined plans
for improving the lives of people with learning
disabilities and their families (Department of
health (Dh) 2001). it set out 11 national objectives,
objective one being `maximising opportunities for
disabled children'. This objective states that children
with a learning disability should have access to
maximum life-chance benefits from educational
opportunities.
Valuing People also promotes the use of person-
centred planning (cambridge and carnaby 2005),
meaning that the care plan should place the
individual at the centre of any decisions or actions
taken (Gates 2006). Therefore, reviewing the care a
pupil receives in an education setting and making
recommendations for the future in the form of a
care planning for children
in educational settings
Using coloured cards, Joanne Hammond devised a care plan to help
a boy with autism increase his ability to wait without becoming agitated
person-centred plan will help to promote a positive
and valued lifestyle.
Case study: Ben
Ben is a 12-year-old boy with a moderate learning
disability as a result of his autism. he presents as
a happy and talkative child but sometimes displays
emotional outbursts and can appear very anxious.
This is thought to be due to his rigid and inflexible
thinking, a consequence of his impairment of
imagination (one of the triad of impairments used to
define autism). his autism affects other areas of his
cognitive and adaptive functioning such as:
communication � Ben has deficits in his language
skills such as the inappropriate use of pronouns
and echolalia.
interaction with others.
attention span relating to activities not of his
choosing (due to lack of imagination).
Obsessive and repetitive behaviours (due to lack
of imagination and to gain sensory input).
Personal safety and independent living skills.
Ben's educational needs
autism is a pervasive disorder that can affect all
the activities of a person's daily living. There is
no specific treatment for autism (Marshall 2006),
although Wing (1996), howlin (1998) and Marshall
(2006) all state that those affected can be helped to
reach their full potential through special methods
of education, such as teaching in a structured
environment.
all of the pupils in Ben's class have the same
condition, but they have individual needs and
function at varying levels. Therefore, some decisions
on education are related to the whole class, but
because they are not a homogenous group, and as
autism is on a spectrum, other decisions are related
specifically to Ben's needs.
Joanne Hammond describes how, on a student nurse placement in a special
school, she helped plan and deliver care for Ben, a boy with autism. The care plan
she devised addressed a specific aspect of Ben's behaviour: his inability to wait
without becoming agitated. With support from colleagues, the care plan proved
helpful in encouraging Ben to modify his behaviour. This article details the care
plan and how it developed, and includes reflections on lessons learned from the
process and on nurses and education staff working together to the benefit of
young people with autism.
Keywords
Autism, care planning, education, nursing student
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