Unit 22 Report: Impact of Life Events on Autism and Brain Tumour Cases

This report examines the impact of significant life events on individuals and their social networks, using case studies of individuals with autism and brain tumours. It assesses the challenges faced by these individuals, including difficulties in social interaction, physical limitations, and the emotional and financial strain on families. The report also explores the organizational policies and support systems in place to assist individuals and their families, focusing on the roles of healthcare assistants and social networks. Furthermore, the report reflects on the care provided, considering the need for practical support, emotional understanding, and the importance of addressing the needs of both the individuals and their caregivers. The report provides an overview of the impact of these life events and the significance of support systems. This report is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib, a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

UNIT 22 SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS THROUGH
SIGNIFICANT LIFE EVENTS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO3..................................................................................................................................................3
Organisational policies as well as support individuals and the social networks which they are
having which are affected by life events which are significant..................................................3
LO4..................................................................................................................................................5
Reflecting upon the individuals who have faced life events which are important and are
supported in the care of service provision...................................................................................5
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Autism is a disorder in which the social issues due to which the patient feels depressed in
social interaction and fear so much that the patient in unable to live properly (Autism. 2019).
Brain tumour can cause cancerous as well as non-cancerous disease. The skull includes brain,
which contains rigid structure and due to tumour, any growth inside the brain stops and this
causes non-functioning of brain properly. In the study organisation framework and practical
approach will be discussed along-with reflection and referral and support for both the patients
and society is discussed.
LO 1 – Assess the impact of significant life events on individuals and their
social networks
Introduction
Significant life events are major changes in ones circumstances that affect their whole life and
their life may not be the same after this event. In this essay I will be explaining the two different
perspectives of significant life events that have impacted service users daily lives. These events
can be both expected and unexpected but this demonstrates the unexpected and negative side of
life events. In my two case studies I will be discussing the affects of autism and brain tumours on
the service user as well as surrounding people. Life events can have either positive or negative
impact over the lifestyle of an individual, as they are significantly affected by such events
(Graves, 2009).
Case Study 1– Severe Autism
I work part-time with a young adult who has severe, non-verbalising autism.
History and ongoing situation
J was discovered to have autism in his early years following some vaccinations, up until that
point his development had been normal, by this time mum had had another baby boy. J’s autism
has affected the whole family, it is very difficult for them all and the family can’t live as a
normal family, their life style is very different to that of a family without an autistic child.
The financial cost of raising an autistic child also has an impact, it can be very expensive on the
family finances providing extra care and support to enable the family to have some ordinary

family time together without having to worry about J’s needs. Because J cannot verbalise he is
unable to say what he wants to eat, so mum doesn’t know what he wants, she therefore makes
food for him that he doesn’t want and it goes to waste. He is also unable to tell people if he wants
to go to the toilet, so frequently wets himself, he also needs continence pads for night time, this
is all an extra cost, including the cost of frequently, mostly daily, washing of clothes and
bedding.
Mum has had to give up her job in order to look after J, he has also become the central focus of
the family, so his two younger siblings tend to suffer from their needs and desires being
neglected within the dynamics of the family. The parents have minimal time for the younger boy,
which causes the parents to feel guilty regarding their parenting of them. The younger boys
appear to cope with this relatively well however, but have very little interaction outside of the
home, except for at school.
The family is now unable to do normal things such as go on holiday, this is because J now being
under Adult Social Services he is no longer entitled to respite care, and mum and dad have been
unable to find anywhere nearby that will take him for a short period because most adult providers
will only accept adults with this type of disability on a long term basis. J is also difficult to
handle in busy, noisy environments so the family are not even able to go out shopping as a
family as this would distress J too much and cause the family to have to return home, having not
completed their shopping trip.
Mum had to give up her job due to the amount of appointments J had, he also has some physical
issues which are difficult to identify initially due to him being unable to tell anyone that he is in
pain, and these issues are only identified by noticing a difference in J’s behaviour or the way he
walks etc. At times mum can become very depressed because she feels guilty for not giving
enough time to her husband and the other children.
Mum also feels ashamed when J wets himself when they are out, he refuses to wear incontinence
pads/pants outside the home, and looking like an adult and with little interaction with him, he
looks perfectly normal; however she feels people judge her badly when he wets himself because
they do not understand his issues, this makes her feel embarrassed, sad and angry to varying
degrees. Mum is also very concerned if anything should happen to her, what would happen to her
son if anything happened to her, who would look after him in a caring enough manner?

It is very worrying for both parents if their health should decline, mum also had diabetes. Their
sons’ condition also means that they miss out on cultural activities, gatherings and other events,
such as their other sons’ awards nights etc. This causes a long term, underlying level of stress
that can become very harmful to their mental health which can sometimes manifest itself in their
physical health.
Social Network
J is the eldest of 3 sons of a Muslim couple, he is approx 20, and his brothers are 16 and 13. J
goes to a day centre during the week where he mixes with carers and other service users. J also
has his ‘home/direct’ carers, there are about 8 in total who take him out at varying days and
times around his attendance at the day centre. Outside of this J has very little interaction with his
extended family and community since they either have to come to him, or it requires a lot of
organising in advance. I am only aware of one instance when J has gone on a break with his
family, this was a short break at a holiday camp in the UK, a fairly short drive from home and
was organised, as a group event, by a Muslim organisation.
Role of me as a health care assistant
As a health care assistant, I have been involved in understanding the problems that was being
faced by J. I was involved in motivating him to communicate more fluently so that I am better
able to analyse the problems which is being faced by J. I also make sure that during my tenure J
do not face any issue that can hamper his health outcome. I have motivated J to also include in
behavioural therapy where the health care professionals lay keen emphasis on improving the
communication disability which is being faced by infants.

Case Study 2- Brain Tumour
I work with a service user who has had the significant life event of having a brain tumour. This
life event was a significant and unexpected life event that happened in her later adulthood, which
has impacted her whole family; the after effects of a brain tumour are very often life-long.
It has changed her life completely as she is unable to complete daily tasks without feeling pain.
As a result of this it has restricted her activity and exercise, due to her strong medication it has
slowed her down and takes even longer for her to go about her day. In this case the tumour has
had an enormous affect on the family, as a result of the tumour the service user has lost the sight
in one eye; also if she does not go through further treatment she will lose the sight in her other
eye too.
Prior to the diagnosis of her brain tumour the service user she was looking after her husband
who has dementia. This has affected the couple, and therefore extended family, a great deal. The
service user feels very sad, hopeless and very emotional at times because she is no longer able to
look after her husband.
The service users treatment involves 6 weeks of radiotherapy, and as such she will need to be
looked after herself during this period, the rest of the family are too busy leading their own lives
to have the time to look after both or either one of them.
Following on from her treatment the service user is now bed bound and needs 24 hour a day
care, due to her husbands’ dementia, he does not understand why she is in bed all the time rather
than looking after him and the house, this causes extra stress within the household as the husband
becomes frustrated as a result of this.
Social network
It has affected her social life as she cannot visit her family as often as before and cannot attend
social events along with her family. She feels secluded as she is unable to go on days out and
social events with her family. On top of this she also is unable to go shopping for long periods of
time as she gets tired quickly.

She is not able to attend cultural events such as going to the mosque to pray and she feels
saddened by this as she used to attend the mosque daily as it was her chance to socialise. She
also used to fly to Bangladesh every year to visit relatives but due to her regular appointments
she is unable to stay as long as she desires.
Conclusion
Evidently, significant life changes have a great impact on numerous people from old to young.
Many of these events are uncontrolled and have a terrible impact on the service user themselves
Life stages of case study
2

but also their carers. Although these life events can’t be prevented but they can be helped with
the assistance of other people.
LO3
Organisational policies as well as support individuals and the social networks which they are
having which are affected by life events which are significant.
Case 1:Severe Autism
Medway council is having strong policies for the autism which is faced by J, as J is facing issues
such as having environment which is noisy, family troublesome in handling issues of J, the pain
is not been shared with the family members and also J has stopped outing activities. Mum is also
worried and she quitted the job due to the Autism faced by J and she is taking extensive care of
him and she was having diabetes and worried that it do not affect J (Rosly. and et.al., 2020).
Medway council is having social networks in which the disease is treated in innovative way by
making the students plays sports and diverting the interest of the patients. The patients, order
make socially active they are introduced to the social activities step by step in which they are
made socially active by framing the policies in which the problems faced by J will be analysed
and on the basis of the analysis of the problems the framework is designed and under the
framework The key areas which are hindering in the treatment of the patient will be determined
and the resolution of the problem will be done accordingly. Organisational policies support for
the J in relationship with piratical aspect is categorising in the framework. The framework for J
will be effectively addressing the issues (Zhao, 2019). J is unable to speak well for the problem
faced by him for this the framework will be starting talking with J as much as the doctor can first
and then send the feedback of the report for the further process in which communication with
family and friends will be enhanced. This will provide effective remedy for the problem in which
J will be able to share what he is feeling and what are the needs of him to feel better. The issue
faced by J which is fear of going outwards, as outing is felt by him as a noisy environment,
Medway council will solve this problem by relating the policy with actual support by realising
the patient the importance of outing in which the patient will be given treatment by behaviour
management therapy and medication therapy is applied as per the framework. The therapy will
include betterment of the patient by letting know the patient we are part of the society and

nothing is more important then, society for humans (Zhang. and et.al., 2018). This will be started
by making visit J in the garden and slowly engaging him in the social activities such as run for
fun, run for entertainment and various others. This will lead to more indulgence of patient in the
social activities and due to which he will become more active and agile towards the social work,
this will divert his mind and the patient will be started feeling better and free of stress.
Case 2: Brain Tumour
Under this case where a woman is facing brain tumour, its a life long disease and due to which
she is unable to complete the task which are of daily basis on time and also due to which it is
having enormous issue on the family (Rutkowski. and et.al., 2018). The framework for the
treatment or Medway council policy is Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy in which there are
chances that the disease might get cured and might not get cured. Because the disease might be
resolved and might not be as the disease falls under the critical diseases on earth. But if the
organisation policies are related with practical solutions then it depends upon the age and time
form which the patient is suffering from the disease if its long then there are higher chances that
the issue will not be resolved (Brain tumour. 2019). Taking medicines timely may result in gaining
some relief and can cause moderate development and may the women function better as the eye
vision of the women has been lost and she is unable to support her husband who is also suffering
from disease known as dementia. If precautions have been taken such as taking timely medicines
and timely treatment it would have been better. It is good for the women now to follow the
framework treatment in which first step is Radiotherapy and then Chemotherapy (Nicol. and
et.al., 2019). At this stage the tumour has become exceptionally huge in the brain this will cause
migraine as well as infection. After the therapy if the women take timely medication for the
treatment then there are higher chances that the issues will be resolved. She should not make the
disease a big issue and should increase the will power to deal with the disease without thinking
too much of the disease, this can be done by diverting the mind in which she can manage her
social life by outing activities after the 6 week bed rest (Pinto. and et.al., 2018). She should plan
a family trip outside and should spend time with the other family member by sharing the life
experiences and social activities such as get together activities and other social activities. This
will make life interesting and due to which the women will not feel alone and overthink. She
should also practice meditation and yoga in which taking deep breath and exhaling activities

must be performed wisely. She should also indulge herself in the physical activities such as
walking and cycling this will reduce her stress and will make her more agile and fit.
LO4
Reflecting upon the individuals who have faced life events which are important and are
supported in the care of service provision.
Case 1: Severe Autism
My client is suffering from the Autism and in order to support him and his family I personlly will
take care of him. The period of support will be one year in which all the activities and the
progress report will be made (O'Connell. and et.al., 2018). I will collect the data of the ones who
are having the same diseases in which I will make a community of the similar suffering people.
This will be helpful as to make to all the patients similar activities which are necessary for the
treatment. I will also make a referral support in which I will both the patient and the social
network will get appropriate treatment advice from the expert(Barry. and et.al 2018)My team
will deeply analysis the strengths of each of the patient and then each patient be motivated to
boost the interest. This will lead to more indulgence of the patient in the activity. A team will be
made in which similar interest patients will be included and this will help better treating the
employees. A friendly environment will be created so that the mind of the patients are not
affected due to it. Social as well as personal skills will be given in order make the task interesting
and which will ultimately help the patient to cure the disease (Li. and et.al., 2019). Social
services adult team's active participation will be given to J as well as complete team for the
period of first three months. In the next three months report will be made and the effect of the
activities will be seen and on the basis of which what are the weak areas will be addressed in the
next three months in which sports and social activeness will be given due importance. In next 6
months additional support will be needed as the condition of J is critical and J is not feeling good
and his nose in bleeding (Aspromonte. and et.al., 2019). This thing of J will be looked upon by
the specialist and the specialist will see what are the available remedies for J. This can be
specific for specific patient and accordingly the treatment will be made to the patients. Even if
the situation is not good than patients will be refereed for the intensive care in which the special
care will be given to the patient.
Case 2: Brain Tumour

The second case is completely different from the first case and it is more critical in which the
patient will be requiring separate treatment for the same. After seeing the condition of the patient
it is found that the situation of the patient is critical and I will deal with the patient by referring
the patient to the hospital (Balaji. and Sumathi, 2018.). During the six months I will support the
patient by taking care of the husband and also the wife in which it will be taken care that
intensive care is given to the patient. After the Radiotherapy, if the situation of the patient is well
then the community of similar patient will be formed and similar treatment will be given to them.
Successive report will be prepared in which the report will be compared with patient of similar
treatments and similar factors (Zhan. and Wang, 2018). I will play a dominant role in the support
where I will be playing a role of a nurse which support the doctor and this will help me to gain
the insights of the decease. This will help me to better handle and treat the patient to due which
the whole community suffering from the disease will be benefited. Referral process will be taken
for both the women and the patient if the patient is not getting well. This will help the patients in
the advance treatment in which the critical issues of the patients will be addressed. Under the
advance treatment I will first look at the surgery in which the single area which is infected will
be managed and after the management of the single area other area will be seen (Bray, 2019).
Then Targeted therapy will be done in which the specific area is covered with the special
treatment of that area. After this therapy immunotherapy will be provided in which special care
will be given to protect the immune system which will help the patients from the heart attract and
silent attack. I will do the work of support in which I ill support the doctor in achieving better
results of the patients (Puthenparampil. and et.al., 2018). I will do the same for the other patients
and this will help them as well I will also help the upcoming generation by viewing how their
nurturing is done. If there are no sports and social activeness then it will be introduced in their
life it will help them not to have similar problems which had happened with the women. There
are very much positive impact of the indulgence of sports in the growth and development level of
the students and there are minimal chances that the patient will suffer from the such harmful
deceases.

Illustration 1: Brain Tumour