Case Study

Aiman is a 56-year-old man that has come in for respite care to the care home where you work. Aiman is usually cared for by his wife. Unfortunately, his wife has had to go into hospital for surgery. Aiman has had several TIAs but recently he has had another stroke, leaving him with mobility issues and also dysphasia. He is very distressed at being admitted to the care home and on occasions his behaviour has been challenging. Nafisa, the new senior carer, has joined the team and has asked the staff about Aiman. Some of the staff have explained that it can be difficult to help Aiman at times; they have tried to get him motivated but he often resists their efforts. They also mentioned that he can be aggressive, so they leave him be unless he is in need of something. Since then Nafisa has questioned staff about his care plan, about his relatives, and when they visited. She then started to ask how everyone communicated with Aiman. The staff wondered why Nafisa was asking so many questions.

1. What measures should Nafisa take to manage the risk from challenging behaviour?
2. What was Nafisa trying to find out?
3. What different intervention strategies and assistive tools that support communication could Nafisa use?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.