Meet Oliver
Oliver has been diagnosed
with autism spectrum disorder
(ASD) which affects his speech
and language skills, social
communication, and his attention,
listening and cognitive skills.
Oliver has been at Prior's Court
since 2017 and began working
in the bakery in the 2019/20
academic year.
Initially, Oliver would become
extremely anxious about coming
into the bakery as changes to his
existing routine can cause real
anxiety. This anxiety
would lead to
behaviours
which
allowed
Oliver to avoid having to go in the
bakery.
Subsequently, once he was
comfortable in the bakery
environment, Oliver would have
issues around having to take his
uniform off to complete an activity
such as a delivery of bread or to
go to the toilet as he felt once his
uniform was off, his time in the
bakery was finished.
However, in just two months
either side of the 2020 school
summer holiday, Oliver made
exceptional progress, going from
a level 4 ('supported participation')
to a level 7 ('exploration') working
level.
As of October 2020, Oliver has
been able to develop the skills to
weigh out a range of ingredients,
use the commercial mixer and
small mixer, and then go on to
knead, scale, mould, prove and
bake. He is now also able to
take off his uniform, complete
an activity (such as using
the toilet) and then put his
uniform back on without
incident.
Oliver can weigh a range
of ingredients but needs
support understanding
the number and the
maths behind the
number on the scale,
so the bakery team
are working towards
him understanding
whether he needs
more or less ingredient
on the scale.
During the Christmas
period, Oliver could
independently mix, knead,
roll, cut and bake sweet pastry
for mince pies and gingerbread
for gingerbread men, with support
only required for weighing.
Positive impacts
Bread & Beyond Job Coach Laura
Parker has observed in Oliver: "He
is always happy and engaged in
the bakery. When I collect him
from his house he always jumps
up and signs "mixing" to me and
gets his shoes straight on."
Oliver has developed skills that
are functional across his life,
such as being able to ask for
help and being able to ask the
Bread & Beyond team for more
or tell them when something has
finished.
Oliver has grown in confidence
massively and the team rarely
see any incidents of self-injurious
behaviour in the bakery anymore -
he is really positive and engaged.
The current ambition for Oliver is
to develop more skills surrounding
different breads and bread
techniques.
To find out more about
Bread & Beyond, go to
breadandbeyond.co.uk.
Casestudy - Oliver's baking skills on the rise
Bread & Beyond is a social enterprise,
formally launched in 2019, with the purpose
of supporting young people at Prior's Court
to become bakers by providing experience of
work, and creating amazing food.
Baking really suits the strength and skills of people
with autism; it is highly process driven, practical
and with an end product which is rewarding and
motivating. As of October 2020, 11 of our young
people are accessing the bakery at least once a week.
An additional benefit is the array of complementary
skills which are also learnt. For example, the
weighing out of ingredients aids understanding of
mathematics, communication, gross and fine motor
abilities, and listening skills. All of these skills can
then be generalised into other areas of life.
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