Oliver, aged 10
Category: Caps
When referred to Caps, Oliver was living at home with his mother Anne and three siblings. His father is deceased. All the children were known to social services and the PSNI and all had spent some time in care. There were high levels of sibling rivalry and evidence all the children were physically and verbally abusive to each other and their mother.
Oliver had a severe lack of school attendance and had also been suspended by the time Caps became involved with his case. He had previously been referred to other services, but had refused to engage with them.
The Caps Project Worker began individual work with Oliver, to help him express his emotions safely. The work concentrated on addressing the consequences of his behaviour and how this impacted on himself and others. Importantly, the worker also helped Oliver deal with issues of loss and bereavement.
At the same time, the Caps team focused on Oliver’s mother. She was offered support on how to be the lone parent and disciplinarian, to develop reasonable rules and boundaries and put routines back into the children’s day. Anne also had opportunities to share her worries and concerns and support her through the grieving process. In addition, her Caps Project Worker worked on changing Anne’s attitude to those in authority, including the PSNI, social services and school.
By including and offering support to the whole family, Caps accomplished great results with Oliver. He is no longer involved in anti-social activities, placed in and achieving strong results in a supportive school environment. Importantly, Anne is happy and much more confident in her parenting abilities and all the children’s names have been removed from the Child Protection Register
Perhaps the most success can be seen in the comments of social services, who referred Oliver to NIACRO: “Caps really have transformed this family from a chaotic lifestyle into a happy family who can manage their behaviour much more easily.”