Case Study - Parent Group Work

How many does it support?

• 304 Parents of young people aged 10-16 have been
supported by an a parenting worker since 2017
In 2018/19 the Parents peer mentoring project have
worked with
• Number of parents Identified (referred) – 305
• Number of parents recruited (appropriate referrals) – 219
• Number of parents taking up the service – 163

Case study of parent accessing the Parenting Project

Background
D is a 10 year old boy in year 6 at the local primary school. He lives with his mum and dad and 18 year old sister. There are further siblings who do not live at home. Mum and Dad do not work and were claiming ESA when I first met them due to mum’s anxiety and depression issues. Mum does not leave the house on her own. The referral for parenting came from the Early Help Family Worker due to parents struggling to manage D’s behaviour at home. School considered the issues to be lack of boundaries at home as they said D was fine whilst in school. When I first met the parents mum presented as very low. Both parents were struggling to manage their son’s behaviour, especially his angry outbursts and said as soon as he walked in the door from school he generally ‘blew’. Family outings were very hard with D demanding things whilst they were out and then deciding he wanted to go home. If they did not comply with his wishes he ran away, causing further stress for the family. D did not sleep on his own, sharing a bed with his mum and she had to stroke his hand every night to get him to go to sleep. Parent’s felt unable to challenge their son or put boundaries in place and D ruled the household with his temper tantrums and emotional outbursts.

Support provided
One to one parenting support to provide strategies to address more severe issues. During this time it became apparent D possibly had an additional need and demonstrated behaviours consistent with a child on the autism spectrum. Strategies were discussed with parents specific to D’s needs. It also became apparent D was struggling at school more than school thought so TAF meeting arranged. At the TAF meeting school were made aware of concerns over D’s additional needs but they did not agree with what we had observed. A Emotional Resilience Coach attended the TAF meeting and agreed to pick D up to support on recognising and managing his emotions. At this point a request for an Educational Psychologist was turned down by the school. Mum was referred back to the GP for support with her mental health and is now engaged with Let’s Talk. A referral was made to Kids for the Sleep workshop, the ASD awareness course and SENDIASS. Mum agreed to attend the Stepping Stones course and completed this. Mum and dad attended the Sleep Workshops. Mum and her sister completed the ASD awareness course. Mum and D were supported to attend appointments with the Community Paediatrician who made an ASD referral for D.

Impact
Mum’s mood has greatly improved. The family have a better understanding and strategies to manage D’s behaviour. They are more able to support D and to ensure his needs are met by schools/professionals. Family outings are much more successful. Dad’s relationship with D has gone from strength to strength. D received a diagnosis of dyslexia and, after visits from Speech and Language, school brought in the Educational Psychologist who identified some of D’s sensory issues that were affecting him in school. D is now on the waiting list for an ASD assessment and with the support from the Kids Sendiass worker an EHCP has been applied for. The Emotional Resilience Coach had an impact on D as he did not feel school were listening to him initially and they did this.

Next steps
Mum still feels she needs some on-going support and so I have referred on for a Child Dynamix Parent Peer Mentor.
Kids Sendiass are also still supporting with the EHCP and D’s access to education.

Feedback
Mum-‘The TAF meeting was useful to help with school issues’

Feedback from other Parents
Parent B with child with undiagnosed additional need:-‘We only started getting somewhere when you got involved. Some of the strategies really work with her.’

Quotes from SF10-14 group work (attended by parents and young people)
“I feel like I listen to my child more and am able to help them and understand them more”