On first meeting Peter he can seem shy but once he gets to know you he is a sociable young man with a good sense of humour.  He is able to hold a conversation but sometimes this masks the fact that he has significant communication difficulties which can impact on his ability to receive, understand and express information.

Peter had a difficult start to life, attending a specialist school in his home town where he would get into trouble for disruptive behaviour, destruction of property, carrying knives, swearing and starting fires.

In 2008 he was admitted to a specialist hospital and then a small rehabilitation house attached to the hospital before returning home.  Unfortunately due to an incident where the police were involved Peter was later re-admitted to hospital where he stayed for two years before moving to a staffed home nearby to his home town.  This gave Peter the space and independence he needed at that time and in 2013 he went back to live with his father.

During this time Peter was prescribed an antipsychotic medication to manage his behaviours but in July 2017 Peters GP referred him to the learning disability community treatment team to look at his medication.

Peter wanted to start a new job working in a garden but because of the amount of medication he was taking it was thought to be too much of a risk for him to be working with machinery.

Peter went along to a pharmacy led clinic and was adamant he wanted to come off his medication.  He felt like he was in a better place, was settled and secure at home and it felt like the right time to choose the life he wanted.  A life where he felt valued, where he was doing something he enjoyed.

Together the team agreed to start reducing Peter’s medication a bit at a time so that they could make sure he was managing and not experiencing any side effects.  Peter’s dad went along to all the appointments and kept records of Peter’s moods, behaviours and sleep patterns at home.

By December 2017 Peter was completely drug free, just having outpatient appointments to check up on how he is doing.  Peter’s life has changed completely, he is doing the job he wants to do and enjoying working outside in the gardens and the ‘banter’ with other lads.

He has joined a local gym, and is taking pride in his physique and appearance.  He goes to the gym every day and then comes home to ‘chill’ and listen to music, at one point he even sold his game station and games.

Peter’s life now has meaning and goals, it is full of activities and his life is enriched.