What requirements do the young people have? They generally have an inability to socialise and lack of awareness of the things you and I take for granted in our everyday conversations and relationships with other people. I actually have a 19-year-old son who has Asperger's, which is one of the reasons I do this job.
How do you meet these needs? The unit is like a large home, and we try to develop a homely environment. The building is not like a hospital unit at all: it is actually like a big, old rambling Queen Anne house. The team that works with the children basically acts as surrogate mothers and fathers, so we do the things that normal parents would do with their children, such as taking them shopping or swimming. But we are trained and we are acutely aware of their shortfalls. We try to put them in controlled situations where they do meet other people, and do things that they perhaps would be reluctant to do in their own home environment.
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