A 24 year old client of RWW was recently coached to success by one of our case managers.
Isaac was seriously injured in a car accident in 1998, sustaining "severe head injuries". Before the accident he had been about to take his driving test and was confident of success, but this had to be abandoned due to cognitive and physical problems as a result of the accident.
Isaac made a reasonable recovery and developed a deeply held ambition which was to be a car valet and eventually manage his own car valeting business. His case manager established this was a realistic ambition but that in order to become a car valet, one must first pass the driving test. The stumbling block was the theory test. Isaac had tried the test, failed and lost his confidence.
Following advice from a psychologist the case manager obtained a relevant cd-rom, Isaac set it up on his computer and regular coaching began. After a few sessions Isaac took the test and again failed.
It was then discovered that Isaac was dyslexic and rushed at the questions, pretending he could read and understand them quickly. The case manager established a coaching method which worked involving reading the questions out himself and allowing time for Isaac to really understand the questions. He then wrote to the Test Centre and made a special case for Isaac to have these allowances made at his next test. Eventually, for the next test it was agreed that the centre would be closed, apart from Isaac, and he would be provided with a reader and be given double time. The result? He passed both theory and risk analysis, is now confident of passing the practical and is on course to achieve his ambition.
Finally a comment from a former social worker, now case manager, whose son has had a severe injury.
"Good case managers can resolve a whole variety of problems. But their value will often not become apparent until later on, when the client realises that out of the whole coterie of professionals, family and friends, that revolve around them, only the case manager was capable of organising and enabling the whole complex process of them learning to drive again; or moving into adapted housing; or setting up a team of support workers that was reliable, often in the middle of the complex process of litigation."
