“Small Things came up with ideas where we could give our customers more choice and more independence. It highlighted what our customers are capable of through showing us a different view.”
Samantha Truong, Northcott Service Coordinator

A group of Northcott customers living in our supported accommodation service in Bowral have more choice and independence throughout their day.

What is Small Things?

Small Things was developed by Northcott Innovation with the goal of improving interactions between frontline staff and customers. Through the little connections that happen every day, customers have more opportunities to be independent and communicate their choices.

Northcott Innovation developed a model where final year allied health students become part of a Northcott household over a six to eight-week period — observing, interacting and supporting customers and staff.

“Rather than a therapist coming in, doing an assessment or some sessions and then leaving, we decided to embed the students in the home every day over a longer period,” explains Samantha Frain from Northcott Innovation.

Northcott partnered with the University of Sydney to invite speech pathology students to participate in the project as part of their clinical placement.

“The frontline staff who are experts in disability support, and the allied health students who have a different skillset and knowledge base, work together to come up with different ways to do the little things that matter with customers. The students are then clinically supervised by a Northcott Therapist who also visits the home,” she explains.

“In Bowral, we recognised the customers could be a little bit more independent in the community and participate more around the house. We saw an opportunity to take the house from good to great.”

Positive outcomes for Bowral

Northcott’s Bowral house is home to five customers, all with complex support needs. The allied health students got to know each customer’s abilities and habits and, working with the support staff, suggested small changes or tools that could improve each customer’s day.

Jon – more choice and control with his own request cards

Jon loves to have lunch at the local RSL, but he won’t always make decisions for himself. Having his own customised photo request cards now means Jon can tell his support workers what he wants and order it
for himself.

Annette – better communication now everyone knows her signs

Annette has a severe hearing impairment and is non-verbal. When she was a young child, she developed her own sign language with her sister. Although she learnt Auslan later in life, the signs she now uses are a mixture of both Auslan and her own individual signs. Having access to picture cards that accurately represent each of Annette’s signs now means her support workers can consistently communicate with her in a way she understands.

Pete – Ageing his way

Pete’s team have always supported his love of music, but Pete’s skills and abilities are shifting as he gets older. Small Things created a video-based communication profile, so everyone supporting him can easily understand how he shows what he likes
and dislikes, and what to do to make sure he maintains his independence.

Arthur – sharing his passion using his new communication board

Arthur is passionate about Lego. He also has a hearing impairment which can impact his ability to interact with others. A specially designed Lego communication board has now made it easier for Arthur to chat to other people and share his love
of Lego.

Michael – greater independence when shopping through picture based request cards

Michael loves going out in his local community, but sometimes others have trouble understanding what he wants. Having picture request cards of his favourite items to buy (chocolate, hot chips and a coke) now means Michael can order and purchase exactly what he wants without assistance.