20th January 2026
To read his thick wad of notes, you’d be forgiven for thinking this young man was the devil incarnate or something. We basically binned them off and started again…
Nigel, Brandon’s locality manager.
When Brandon’s mum rang her local radio station in Wiltshire, she was desperate. He’d been violently attacked by another resident whilst asleep in his own bedroom. He was heavily and consistently over-medicated. He never left his bedroom, and showed pathological demand avoidance. In this emotionally intense home environment, every aspect of his support was built around what he couldn’t do or risked doing. Brandon’s only means of expressing himself was through self-harm including refusal of personal care and headbanging.
That was 2021. In 2025 the radio station got another call, a very different one. Brandon’s mum wanted to tell them how much change there had been in Brandon’s life, and to say thank you.
This is his story. We’re telling it because we’re so proud of Brandon and because we think it may offer hope to others in dark places.
We think it all boils down to seeing Brandon the person, not Brandon the problem. So first, we want to tell you about Brandon.
He’s an intuitive communicator. He reads the emotions of people around him very well and is able to express himself through gestures, though without words. Much day-to-day communication is enabled through the medium of Brandon’s collection of teddy bears – and more recently we’ve supported him to learn to use Talking Tiles. Brandon’s behaviours of distress have plummeted now that he has more constructive ways to make choices, exert control over his life and communicate with those around him.
Brandon is a real music lover and his Alexa is very important to him. Like many of us he’s energised by 80s, musicals and nursery rhymes – and if the team manages to incorporate his name into these songs Brandon finds that hilarious.
He takes a while to trust those around him – hardly surprising, considering his past trauma – and so it is really important to get the right support team. He lets us know very clearly when someone doesn’t fit!
Following a personalised video advert, Brandon largely chose his own team, only some of whom had ever worked in care and support before. Amber came from hospitality; Kingsley was a security guard training to be a mechanic. What mattered was their values, their belief in Brandon’s future and their desire to work in close partnership with Brandon’s mum, dad and sister.
They couldn’t have done it alone. The Dimensions clinical team provided a structured positive behaviour support plan and training. (Across Dimensions, we virtually never use restraint and for Brandon, even our non-restrictive PROACT SCIPr training is rarely needed. Why would it be? After all, he can be understood in different ways now.)
Brandon’s multi-award-winning, extended team have done some stunning work with him, with positive risk taking at the heart of it.
Nigel, locality manager.
What about his pathological demand avoidance?
It’s mostly gone. In fact, we think it was never really there. PDA was no more than a symptom of overwhelming frustration and fear in his old surroundings.
From never leaving his room, Brandon is now a familiar sight, out and about in his local town. He goes to parties and can cope with busy environments. When CQC visited unexpectedly he was able to invite them in. During a recent power cut he coped without the Alexa that had been so essential in learning to regulate his emotions. He walked up to receive an award all by himself – this is a big thing – at the Dimensions Christmas party – check out the video! Taking baby steps, his team has found Brandon a pathway to an ordinary life. Yes, he still gets anxious but don’t we all at times?
We’re particularly proud that Brandon is now completely free of the mood medication that used to drown him out. His ‘incidents’ have fallen by about 90%. This year, we’ll support him on a first-ever train (he wants to go to Bath) and to expand his involvement from washing and baking to more daily activities in the home.
He’s living his best life now.
Brandon’s mum
Thanks for letting us tell you about Brandon. What might you do differently now?