1
What did the person seem to be telling you?
Think about their words, body language, facial expression, movement, energy and willingness to take part.
Free reflection tool
What did the person's response tell you?
Reflection does not need to be complicated. Think about what you noticed, what you offered, how the person responded and what you changed.
You can use these questions after an ordinary support visit, shared activity or moment that did not go quite as expected.
One useful question
Did my support fit the person in front of me today?
An activity can work beautifully one day and not suit the same person the next day. Good support includes noticing when something needs to change.
Five reflection prompts
Look back at one moment from the visit
2
What did you offer?
Consider the choice, activity, movement, conversation, sensory experience or everyday task you introduced.
3
How did they respond?
Did they move towards the idea, show interest, participate, hesitate, move away, become quieter or appear more overwhelmed?
4
What did you change?
You may have changed the task, pace, environment, position, communication or amount of support.
5
What would you try next time?
Keep what worked and think about one small adjustment that may make the next interaction easier.
Useful things to notice
Small observations can tell you a lot
The goal is not to judge whether the interaction was good or bad. Notice what helped you understand the person better.
The person made a choice
They completed part of a familiar task
They moved more than usual
They showed interest or enjoyment
They communicated that they wanted to stop
They appeared tired or uncomfortable
They became overwhelmed by the activity or environment
Slowing down helped
Reducing the demand helped
Changing the activity helped
What might help next?
Keep the person at the centre of the next idea
Reflection may show that the person wanted more choice, less pressure, a different activity or simply another way to connect.
Need a practical idea?
Co Regulation Sensory Cards
Use the cards when you want simple ideas involving sensory experiences, movement, rhythm, music, familiar objects, conversation and connection.
The activity is an invitation. Follow the person's response and change or stop the idea when it does not suit.
Explore the sensory cardsLooking across the whole visit?
Meaningful Moments
Meaningful Moments looks at how care organisations can strengthen choice, participation, contribution and connection during ordinary support.
It is the broader next step for services wanting to support workers to think differently about everyday visits.
Explore Meaningful MomentsPractise adapting your support
Try another Adaptive Care scenario
Use the free scenarios to explore how changing the choice, task, pace, environment, position or communication can change the interaction.
Open Adaptive CareReflection supports thinking. It does not replace current care guidance.
Continue to follow the person's current support plan, mobility guidance, manual handling requirements, clinical recommendations, safeguarding procedures and your organisation's policies.