Pete is 23 and lives with his Shared Lives supported living host.
Pete is registered deaf (from birth) and has a cochlear implant with an external hearing aid. He can hear very well when people are facing him and there is limited background noise. He also lip reads a small amount. For the past five years, Pete has been having British Sign Language lessons from his ex-social worker.
Pete has some mental health difficulties which vary in severity depending on triggers experienced. He can experience obsessive compulsive disorder tendencies when feeling insecure. He has counselling from a specialist who travels to the area for annual consultations (or in times of extra stress) due to PTSD originating from childhood abuse.
Pete also has a learning disability. He attended mainstream secondary school, having most lessons in the Learning Support Unit. He gained a GCSE in science. Pete has attended various Learn Devon courses at the arts centre. He has particularly enjoyed the independent living courses which involve volunteering and raising money for charity. He has progressed in literacy and numeracy to about Entry Level 2 but it has been extremely difficult for him to maintain his skill levels.
Pete uses an iPhone and can text friends and family. He owns a laptop, browses the internet and has a Facebook account to send messages and photos to family living away from the area. He uses Skype to video call. He travels independently on the bus and walks around town visiting friends he has made in local businesses.
Pete has a passion for supercars and has bi-monthly driving lessons as a hobby but it is understood by his carer that Pete won’t reach a level sufficient to pass his test. He ‘works’ at Noah’s Place (a charity that supports people with disabilities) three days a week, learning horticulture, DIY and animal care skills. Pete has needed supervision when undertaking work experience.
Following an initial discussion with Youth Hub Devon and his carer, he has decided that he would like to undertake some further learning to achieve higher functional skills grades. He will do this with the right support and tuition at Learn Devon and will undertake an online training course as he feels remote learning would suit him better.
Pete will then apply to do a supported internship which he would like to do with a local garage so that he can learn more about cars. This will also give him the option to undertake work tasks that allow for distance from others when he needs it.
He will receive full support from a job coach whilst on placement, which he can apply for with support from the training provider, from Access to Work.
Pete’s journey started with foundation learning then moved on to further education and finished with a supported internship.