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>> There's yours, there you go. Nathan? Here you go, you're in charge of that, House money
and your money okay? Now we go shopping, ready? Let's go.
>> John: Nathan's primary disability is that he has autism. So for Nathan that, that impacts
on his life in many different ways, particularly around various day to day routines that he
has and how he socialises and interacts with other people in the community.
House with No Steps has been working with Nathan for about 5 years and he's come a
long way in that time. Nathan now lives in his own home with his
house mate, it's a house that they rent and they have control over what goes on day in
day out. The programs are designed by themselves and their families to ensure that they enjoy
the most out of life and they're being supported to do the things that they want to do.
Previously it would be unheard of to try and introduce Nathan to a local market environment,
just because of the noises, the crowds, the bumping, the range of different smells.
A myriad of different things that impacted upon him. Nathan now not only has that ability
to cope with that, he's also enjoying those experiences and when heís there heís taking
control of what he's doing within those days. Who he engages with, what he browses and where
he looks for different things and what he chooses to purchase.
>> Natasha: 18 months ago Nathan going to the markets for Nathan would have been very
stressful on him, not to mention the staff and probably the people at the markets. So
having Nathan going out and doing that is just you know it's a milestone for him and
I think you know the people that have been with him.
It's so important I think for Nathan's development and his skills to be able to do things independently
is a big turning point. Again that's Nathan's sign that Nathan's
workers that have been helping him and looking after him and you know really reinforcing
that because I know myself that it's easier to do something than to get him to do it.
>> John: Nathan really enjoys his cooking program. It's an opportunity for him to learn
the nutritional values of food and healthy lifestyles and he obviously loves to taste
the final product and to share that with others. So it's a great accomplishment for him in
having this program and being able to pursue that and that continues to increase his independence
and also his self confidence in his daily life skills
We're very proud of the work that our staff, our clinicians and other professional people
have had in working with Nathan because the transformation in him and his increased levels
of self confidence, his personal self esteem, the way that he interacts with other people
including his family has improved so much and as a result has improved his quality of
life.