While Tim enjoyed the party, his mum talked through the essentials. A nurse is always on roster, a GP visits every Tuesday and behaviour support strategies are reviewed each week – strategies already woven into daily life, not bolted on later. Reassured, she agreed to a transition plan built on repetition and choice.
Every second Saturday Tim returned for lunch, confirmed the Wi-Fi streamed his favourite artists and decided exactly where his TV and speakers should sit. During those weeks the team refreshed behaviour strategies with external practitioners, worked with an occupational therapist on room layout and created a personalised menu so Tim could keep exploring new foods.
Move-in day felt almost routine. Tim stepped into the bedroom he’d designed – playlist playing, posters in place – and asked, “Can I stay here tonight?” From that evening the house has been home. Weekdays take him to his centre-based lifestyle program; nights bring shared dinners; Friday music sessions and the Sunday barbecues he now helps host. Behaviour incidents that once filled logs at his former service haven’t returned, and his mum says evenings are finally calm. Nursing oversight, behaviour reviews and Tuesday GP rounds continue quietly in the background while Tim enjoys a rhythm that feels entirely his own.
*names changed to protect privacy
Achieve Australia is a for-purpose community organisation that has been providing accommodation and services to people with disability since 1952.
We champion social inclusion, focusing on the individual needs and lives of the people we support