I first met Mark in August 2020 when he was an inpatient at Rose Lodge Learning Disability Specialist Assessment and Treatment unit in Hebburn.
Mark had spent much of his life in residential settings, none of which were suitable for him, in fact due to his diagnosis of Autism and Learning Disability, the residential model had a negative impact on Mark. These residential Hospitals were also out of area, making visits from his family difficult. Our aim was to transition Mark into his own home in the community, nearer his family, with a dedicated staff team to support him.
As parents this is more than we could have wished for. I cannot praise the team from Orbis enough. After years of worry about what would happen to Mark in the future, we can now relax and enjoy his company. We regularly visit, often at short notice, and he enjoys visits home too.
We started to work closely with Mark in the hospital getting to know him and his many routines and he became familiar with us. We also started to look for a property that would suit his needs, this took some time, but we found the perfect place and had some adaptations made to suit Mark’s needs. A staff team was recruited in late 2020 and they started their induction period in January 2021. We place a high priority on excellent quality training which the team completed and joined us in Rose Lodge, so that Mark could get to know them and vice versa.
Mark finally transitioned into his own home in April 2021. He took to his new environment and although the first few weeks were a challenge for him, he soon settled into a new chapter of his life. Mark has gone from strength to strength, he loves his home and is very trusting of his staff team. He enjoys going out for daily drives in his car and walks by the sea, or in the countryside.
Mark enjoys lots of activities, particularly meeting his parents for lunch in the pub. Mark recently celebrated his 40th birthday with a big party at his parents’ house, he had an amazing day!
Mark's Story in Pictures
Mark loves to be out and about in the community and meeting his parents for lunch in the pub!
