autismcornwall

I came to Cornwall to work for Green Light PBS Ltd. in November 2017.  At the time I knew absolutely nowhere in Britain.  I was very excited to be going to work there!
I can still remember the call I got to let me know that Green Light was interested in interviewing me.  During that call, I heard a lot about how Green Light was incorporating ABA into its approach toward supporting individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.  It sounded very exciting and like a great opportunity.
At this time, I had just finished a year’s contract working for a company that were using a non-applied behaviour analysis orientated positive behaviour support (PBS) model in the North West of Ireland.  I was sad to be leaving the North West of Ireland as it’s a beautiful place and the company had offered to extend my contract an additional six months. But I really wanted to work in a residential care service that used ABA tools as part of its approach to PBS.  As far as I can gather, this isn’t really wide…

Green Light's Senior Team welcomes Group Quality Manager Heather Sanders
Senior team members welcoming Heather Sanders who recently joined Green Light as ‘Group Quality Manager’.  Heather joined Green Light from her previous role as an Inspector for the industry watchdog and regulator the Care Quality Commission.  
Heather’s skills and experience will ensure that as we grow our managers receive the guidance and practical support they need to provide a great service to the people we support.  
Heather has already started to provide training and updates on sector news to managers and with her support, we hope to see teams start to achieve the ‘outstanding’ ratings they deserve.  
Heather will be sharing articles, updates and sector news from her Green Light twitter account @GLHeather

‘Difficult behaviours are messages which can tell us important things about a person and the quality of his or her life’ David Pitonyak Building on the success of their first in-house behaviour analyst, Green Light recently appointed a second behaviour analyst to help understand these messages and the support needed for a decent quality of life.

Stephen Buckley, who grew up in County Cork and studied an MSc in Applied Behaviour Science at Trinity College in Dublin, is working alongside Tizard Centre trained behaviour analyst, Ioanna Konstantinidou to create tailored programmes of support for individuals with autism and other conditions increasing the risk of the person displaying ‘challenging behaviour.’ Behaviour that is detrimental to their safety or ability to have a decent quality of life.



Green Light’s director, Jo Pyrah said “Many of the people that we support have long histories of being failed or let down by services. More often than not, this is due to people failing t…

Ex-service personnel looking for a new career are ideally suited to the care industry, says Marcel Ballinger, a former Royal Marine who recently joined Green Light. He’s no stranger to danger having spent 15 years with various units touring countries including Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone. “People think that ex-military personnel are cold and hard-faced but I’m very passionate and caring. War operations are not just about fighting it’s about winning the hearts and minds of the local communities and finding commonality and building trust.”
Marcel left 30 Commando RM Plymouth in 2012 and was working as a bodyguard for the British Embassy in Baghdad when a chance encounter with a spider saw him return home to Cornwall for good. “I was bitten on the ankle and ended up in the American hospital. It was touch and go for a while as the poison spread through my leg. They threatened to amputate but thankfully I made a full recovery, it made me realise what was important in my life, my son…

Kerry & Sarah congratulating Calum on his recent appointment as Deputy Manager at Springfield House in Perrancoombe.
Springfield House, the latest home to be opened by Green Light, is currently home to two young men, with a third young man hoping to move in early next year.  Supported by a team of 12 plus staff it’s a busy household nestled in the picturesque Perrancoombe Valley on the outskirts of the popular beach resort of Perranporth.  
Calum Rollo joins the team as Deputy Manager. It’s a varied role and one that Calum is excited to have taken on: “My aim will be to maintain the great team spirit and morale amongst the team.  Having worked as a support worker at another Green Light home, The Pines, helps me relate to the team.  It’s good for them to know that I can do the job.  There was a great mix of skills at The Pines. Everyone had different needs that took patience and a flexible approach.  We used to walk on the coastal paths and we visited a theme park. For one young man …

Behaviour Expert Joins Autism Care Team in Cornwall

L-R Green Light’s head of recruitment, Sarah Miller, Ioanna Konstantinidou and Green Light’s managing director, Jo Pyrah.
Cornish care company, Green Light PBS Ltd has welcomed a behaviour analyst, Ioanna (Yianna) Konstantinidou to its team in Newquay. Her key aims are to provide bespoke training for Green Light’s support teams working with adults who have autism, some of whom may present with challenging behaviours. Initially, she will be involved in training new employees for three new family-sized homes which are due to open in Perranporth, Redruth and Camborne.
Ioanna trained in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to Masters level at the internationally regarded University of Kent School for Learning Disabilities; The Tizard Centre and is the first ABA practitioner registered with the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board to be based in the county.
The company, which employs more than 200 people and runs 14 fa…

Green Light PBS Ltd is proud of its dynamic workforce from a record beating kayaker, musicians, jewellery designers and marathon runners.  Geno Crawford, a father of three and a support worker based at The Pines in Carharrack, started pounding the streets to shed some excess timber, as he put it taking part in his first race last year.



The Roseland August Trail (RAT race) starts at St Anthony Point, St Mawes and finishes at Porthpean, St Austell, and is  a gruelling 32 miles that took Geno 10 hours to complete. “My second run was the Exmoor Stagger which was 16 miles over Dunkery Beacon - the highest point on Exmoor in Somerset,  which I did it in 3hrs 50 mins. This was the most challenging run due to the 3,600 meters of climbing hills in extreme conditions. I twisted my ankle 10 miles in and was being sick because of the pain. I pushed on through the last 6 miles and ended up being severely dehydrated due to being sick. My game plan went out of the window and I really struggled. But b…