Enhancing choice and control for people with a learning disability
Project Background
IMPACT Facilitator, Laura, is based in Positive Futures, all-Ireland charity supporting people with a learning disability, acquired brain injury and autism, Positive Futures: NI & Positive Futures: IRL The aim of Positive Futures is to work together to achieve dreams and transform lives. The project is based in Northern Ireland and focuses on a small change project directly involving people with a learning disability around choice and control.
Meet our Facilitator: Laura Doyle
My name is Laura Doyle, my background is in Law and Social Work. I have experience within a diverse range of sectors, including social care, criminal justice and the higher education sector. I have experience as a practitioner, leader and manager and more recently applied researcher.
I am based in Positive Futures, a leading charity based in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland who supports people with learning disability, acquired brain injury or autism. The project I am working on involves exploring practical improvements for individuals and their families in increasing choice and control in different aspects of their lives.
As a busy practitioner working within adult social care, it is often difficult to access applied research, but equally as a researcher there can be barriers when implementing evidence into practice.
The new IMPACT Centre is a unique opportunity to transform how we drawn on and implement evidence by adopting a collaborative approach with universities, partner organisations and people with lived experience. This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I am excited to be part of it.
IMPACT has the potential to contribute to systemic and cultural changes which is much needed within adult social care. However, such change is not possible without supporting people who draw on care and support or of care staff to be given the opportunity to form and express their views. IMPACT offers this space. This is important so that governments, policy and decision makers listen to and act upon the voice of the people we support.
Host Organisation: Positive Futures
Why did you want to be involved with IMPACT?
We were impressed by how closely the IMPACT aims, approach and projects aligned with our values and mission. We are always looking to improve our own support and the work that IMPACT does in terms of co-production and implementing evidence-based practice in adult social care seemed a perfect fit to support our organisational learning and development work.
What are your hopes for the outcomes of this project?
Our project will involve co-production with people we support. We hope that the evidence gathered from a range of sources will inform our development and pilot of a quality audit tool for our Supported Living Services (SLSs). This will involve people we support as ‘peer assessors’.
Our hope is to a) disseminate the learning and resources as widely as possible, b) engage people we support in a meaningful way at every stage of the project, and c) ensure the project has a focus on the role of language in terms of ‘good support’ as far too often ableist, dehumanising, and infantilising language continues to be routinely used, unchallenged, in people’s everyday lives.
Why do you think a centre like IMPACT is important?
High quality adult social care is central to ensuring people lead the lives they want and protecting and promoting people’s human rights. However, within our society, it is underfunded, undervalued and in need of fundamental reform. IMPACT brings together academics, host providers and those accessing support to delivery tangible changes based on evidence and best practice. Such partnership work has to be the one of the ways forward to:
- Showcase how low cost, community based change can improve people’s lives
- Inform the debate with commissioners and politicians to transform care and support arrangements
Positive Futures has an Advisory Board (including people with a learning disability). The Board meets four times a year to provide advice and feedback to Directors and Trustees who will be working with Laura.