Seeing more, doing more, enjoying life more

Alex lives with his family in Newport and until recently had always received support during the daytime. However, when a member of Alex’s family had to go into hospital for an operation, he needed more support during the evenings.

The additional support turned out to be a real benefit for Alex, and his sleep patterns improved significantly.

Together, Alex and his circle of support decided that the extra evening support hours for Alex should remain in place permanently. As well as meaning a better nights sleep for the whole family, it also allowed more time to go out on more adventures because he could now return home much later in the evening.

Alex didn’t just go on these trips on his own – other people in Gwent and Powys were also asked where they would like to go. You can tell from some of the destination choices that there are a lot of animal lovers; Longleat, Noah’s Ark Farm Park and Bristol Aquarium were all popular picks.

Because of the number of support staff required, and the need for flexibility, people travelled in their own cars, but organised several pit stops during the journey where they met up with each other.

Spending more time with others means that everyone, including Alex, was able to build relationships and increase their network of support.

The trips have also been a great opportunity for staff to come together and share new ideas and learning. Everyone has benefited from the trips – people’s worlds have opened up and staff felt supported. We’re planning to do lots more in the future, and look forward to everyone growing in confidence.

Alex’s parents said:

Alexander has been introduced to new activities and a wider social circle, which has made a big difference to his life. The extra evening support has also greatly improved our quality of life.

You can read more about our impact in Gwent in our 2022-23 report: