Case study 5
Kate Stevens and Michelle Galla
Background
You are a support worker who has just started providing support to two young women who both live independently in a duplex home and both require minimal support.
Kate Steven’s medical history
Kate is 23 years old and was born with Down syndrome and has a mild intellectual disability. Although Kate is a good communicator verbally she can at times be difficult to understand due to her dysphasia.
She has an inactive lifestyle and poor diet comprising of high fat fast/take away foods. She prefers the ease and convenience of these foods over home cooked fresh food. Her lifestyle choices have contributed to weight gain and poor dental/oral health issues.
Michelle Galla’s medical history
Michelle is 32 years old and has an ABI as a result of a serious car accident six years ago. Michelle is able to cook, eat, shower and do most things for herself but has difficulty staying focussed on tasks for long periods of time and requires prompting at times to complete tasks. Michelle also can become frustrated when completing lengthy complicated tasks resulting in angry outbursts and behaviours of concern such as self-verbal abuse and hitting herself, sometimes lashing out at staff both verbally and physically as well.
Your support visits
You support these young women three days of the week; with other staff providing support on other days. You have noticed that Kate has not been buying any fresh healthy foods as there are no fresh foods in the refrigerator or cupboard. On your last visit you noticed Kate has strong halitosis and she was complaining of a tooth ache.
You have observed that when coming in to close proximity to Michelle, the faint aroma of body spray/perfume does not hide her offensive body odour. Michelle is constantly scratching her inner elbows, behind her knees and between her fingers. On checking on the itchy areas you note a musky smell and red broken skin.
As part of skill development and independence building, your role is to monitor and encourage Michelle to complete everyday household tasks. Clothes in the washing machine appear to have been washed and are starting to dry, yet there is a urine odour in the machine.
Michelle is wearing the same dress that you last saw her in, with food stains across the chest. You approach her tactfully with an offer to assist with her shower today and she replies in an angry tone, “I can do it myself, I don’t need any help”.
Your Task
To provide information and education regarding:
- Their individual (Kate and Michelle) health concerns/conditions
- Maintaining their health to a level that will enhance/promote independence
