Problem addressed

Activities such as going shopping, eating in a restaurant, using public transportation or visiting a doctor are seen as ‘normal’ everyday activities by many. However, they can be a cause of stress and anxiety for individuals with additional needs due to an intellectual disability or autism. Carrying out such activities may cause distress to these individuals as they are unsure of what to expect or what is expected of them. Thus, they may refuse to participate in these activities altogether, putting them at an increased risk of social isolation and exclusion. Families and carers face challenges in understanding how they can effectively prepare adults or children with additional needs to gain the confidence needed to undertake these activities.

Innovative solution

Prepare Me is a social enterprise in Ireland that aims to ensure that all members of Irish society feel supported, informed and prepared when accessing everyday services. Prepare Me goes beyond regular communication channels, such as printed or verbal communication, to reach out to and support vulnerable individuals, such as those living with an intellectual disability or autism, in an inclusive manner. The social enterprise provides visual information, in the form of picture books, videos and an interactive website, to share information on what can be expected in a ‘regular’ life activity. It breaks down everyday activities into easy-to-understand steps using clear and simple language to walk an individual through specific events and scenarios in everyday settings. The Prepare Me pack, publicly available to anyone who requests it, is comprised of storytelling and real-life imagery so that people who do not use words to speak, or who may find verbal information difficult to process, can prepare themselves in a way that is more suited to their personal developmental needs. Prepare Me has free resources as well as an online shop with a more elaborate starter pack and multi-sensory packs with practice medical equipment.

To ensure that the needs of this vulnerable target group are adequately met, Prepare Me has sought to identify the most prominent issues and needs of these individuals by surveying 275 parents and carers of individuals with additional needs as well as liaising closely with service providers. As a result, they have been able to prepare specialised communication tools to reach out to the target group. Their first pilot initiative was carried out in close collaboration with Surgery Athenry in Galway and aims to help to prepare people for a visit to the doctor. The innovative materials that were prepared include:

• an environmental tour video that guides the person through the surgery and shows each area they are likely to use during the visit;
• point-of-view videos that show a ‘typical’ check up for a child and adult using clear and simple language;
• picture storybooks for people in the waiting area, where the experience is described in easy-to-understand steps that replicate the videos;
• visual schedules in each doctor’s room, to represent each stage of a typical examination, allowing the person to pace the experience.

Prepare Me has partnered with BUMBLEance, the Children’s National Ambulance Service, to help children and carers know what to expect if they ever need to travel and receive treatment in an ambulance. In September 2018, a third pilot programme, Prepare Me for Going to the Doctors, was launched. This programme sends out resource packs to children across Ireland with autism, aged between 3 and 13, to help them prepare for a doctor’s visit.

Key results and benefits

Users’ testimonials of the innovative, specialised communication materials have been positive. To date, 75 families have used the ‘Going to the Doctor’ resource pack. Parents have mentioned that resource packs have made medical visits, which would have otherwise caused ‘terrible anxiety issues’, ‘a breeze’ for children with intellectual disabilities. Another parent mentioned that her son with autism and hearing problems no longer experienced distress during medical check-ups. Other parents referred to the packs as ‘life changing’.

The initiative not only supported individuals with additional needs but also had an important awareness-raising function. It showed service providers, such as doctors, nurses and other medical staff, that there are alternative ways in which information can be communicated (rather than depending solely on printed and verbal communication) in order to respond to diverse patient needs and create an inclusive environment for all.

Potential for mainstreaming

Prepare Me was co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund (ESF) as part of the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014–2020.

There is clear potential for transferability of the innovative methods introduced by Prepare Me. There are ample situations in which individuals with additional needs may require tailored support in order to increase their confidence levels and their sense of social inclusion. Knowledge can be shared on new communication methods as well as on the specialised needs of these groups of individuals. Following the success of the three pilot initiatives, Prepare Me plans to build an extensive online library of ready-made digital resources which will allow individuals or businesses to create bespoke resources for their specific target group in a quick and easy manner.

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 requires service providers in Ireland to enable a person to make their own decisions regarding their personal welfare or property and affairs, by providing support and information appropriate to their condition. The unique support offered by Prepare Me could directly aid service providers in complying with the law and, in doing so, encourage organisations across Ireland to implement more inclusive measures in relation to their service provision.

The success of this initiative was noted across Ireland as Prepare Me became an academy winner through Social Entrepreneurs Ireland 2017. It was also a KBC Bright Ideas winner and was selected for the Empower Programme 2017, which assists young start-ups. Prepare Me is also a current participant in phase 2 of New Frontiers, which is a start-up programme funded by Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. These awards and the project’s participation in support programmes offer a springboard to expand its reach beyond Galway and into the rest of Ireland.