Case Study: Supporting a disabled staff member in the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

Amy is a member of the Team Around the Family (TAF).  Amy’s line manager is Norma Goode and her Team manager is Gareth Powell.

Amy was diagnosed with autism in early 2020 and the TAF team contacted the Autism Team for general advice on working with this diagnosed condition.  More recently Amy has received a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

A year and a half on with determination and the support of her Team, Amy is thriving in her role.

The Team applied for funding to the DWP who have supported Amy with £26,000 of funding through the Access to Work Scheme.  This has provided specialist technical equipment and a 1:1 support worker from ASDES ( Autistic Spectrum Disorder Employment Support http://www.asdes.org.uk).  The support worker is with Amy on average once a week although the frequency is dependent on need. 

Amy has received coaching - also funded through the Access to Work Scheme.  This is a fortnightly 2 hour session and includes co-coaching with Amy’s support worker and supervisor. 

An example of the reasonable adjustments that have been put in place is the introduction of mind mapping software that aids Amy when visiting a family to structure her assessment of their situation.

Amy has recently participated in a team day where she shared with the wider team what the diagnosis has meant to her and how she had adapted her practice.  The team found this to be a very powerful testimony.  The support agency ASDES has asked whether she would consider a secondment to them to share her experience with other companies.

Amy has been involved with Cardiff University interviewing potential PHD candidates for a piece of autism research.

The Access to Work funding is time limited but the Team can apply annually for support funding depending on Amy’s needs.

The Team would never say that this has been an easy process but it has been rewarding and Amy is a good example of how teams can tap into the support available and successfully employ and integrate a disabled member of staff.