Taylor thrives in her placement

February 7, 2025

Before entering an Individual Placement Arrangement with CatholicCare in October 2022, 12 year old Taylor had never lived anywhere for very long. Her placements with foster carers and family members would regularly break down, and in the months before coming to CatholicCare she was living in temporary accommodation with agency workers. “Taylor had no rhythm or routine. A random worker would stay with her for five days then leave, and a new worker would come,” says House Lead, Rebecca. “She would go to school with food from the servo and her hair was matted.”  

Taylor’s time at CatholicCare offered her care, consistency and an opportunity to learn essential life skills. After 19 months with CatholicCare, Taylor was accepted into a specialised disability placement with another agency. Taylor knew that her time with CatholicCare was only a temporary measure until a more permanent home could be found, but her time with us was significant and life-changing for both Taylor and her care team. “There are things we have instilled in Taylor that will stay with her forever,” says STEP Program Manager, Melissa. “They have become a part of her. We were the longest, most stable placement she ever had.”  

“Our focus, when Taylor first entered our care, was to develop a predictable routine,” says Rebecca. “We would always go to the park in the afternoon, then after the park we would race home for a bath. Learning self-hygiene and how to express herself through hairstyles and dress ups were some of the cool developmental stages that Taylor got to experience with us.” 

Rebecca smiles as she recalls Taylor’s boundless energy, her quirkiness and her desire to connect with people. “Taylor cares deeply about everything and everyone. She would introduce herself to everyone at parks, and if there was a party she was bound to gate crash,” says Rebecca. While Taylor’s personable nature is one of her most special traits, it also meant that a lot of protective work needed to be done. “We knew that if we were to turn our back for 10 seconds and a stranger asked her to go with them, she would be gone. So the team did daily interactions around who is a stranger and who are our safe people,” Rebecca explains.  

In July 2023, Taylor received the devastating news that her half-sister had died by suicide. “The news was very difficult to process and amplified a lot of feelings for Taylor,” Rebecca says. “With Taylor’s cognitive disability, she wanted to be with her sister, but I don’t think she really understood the gravity of what dying means. For a few months she would say, ‘I want to die and be with my sister.’ Through consistent, persistent support that behaviour thankfully reduced.”  

Taylor’s care team showed great creativity in their pursuit to help Taylor develop her self-regulation skills. Rebecca explains a game that the team would play with Taylor, “When you feel like you’re getting upset you call out, ‘penguin!’ Everyone then stops what they’re doing to sit on the floor and take deep breaths together. After a short while, Taylor would initiate the game and she would be the one to call out, ‘penguin!’ She was so open to learning these strategies.”  

Melissa says the great work of Taylor’s care team was particularly apparent, because Taylor would often talk aloud to herself and echo things her care team said. “She would say, ‘Taylor, are you really hungry, do you really need to eat that? Your belly is only as big as your fist. Have a look at your fist and wait five minutes.” And I’m like, “That is Rebecca! That is what Rebecca has told her!”  

On Friday 21 June 2024, some of Taylor’s workers sat her down to share the great news that she had been offered a disability placement. Taylor had been waiting years for a permanent home, so she was very excited, but with the feelings of excitement came sadness and apprehension. The team shared the news with Taylor on a Friday, and she moved the following Wednesday. “If you give her too much time to ruminate it isn’t helpful,” Rebecca explains. “We made a social story about the new home, and we talked about what would be different and what would stay the same. She took us by surprise and gave us a performance of Frozen’s ‘Let it Go’ as a way of saying thank you. It was very dramatic and totally wonderful!” 

Taylor’s growth during her time with CatholicCare was particularly evident at her farewell party. “She engaged so well with everyone at the party, she had conversations with carers, she initiated different games, and she was comfortable when things were slow,” Rebecca recalls. For the first time in her life, Taylor had developed positive adult relationships and a safe place to be herself.