Staff News - Oct '24
- Laura Bohnke
- Sep 29, 2024
- 4 min read
Jump to:
Admin and Programs
Megan and Linzie have been working hard on preparing our Self-Advocacy Workshops. We are currently piloting the program for adults. The workshops will cover topics and themes including: knowing yourself, effective communication, engaging with your community, voting, interacting with police, and understanding your rights.
Olivia has been leading our second pilot of our Life Skills Program. Students have been having a fantastic time engaging with activities and recipes. They've worked on increasing food exposure and sensory tolerance. We asked parents for input on goals that would be meaningful for their families, and we've followed client interest in selecting and extending our activities. We will be making recipe books for each client featuring photos of themselves with their own creations!
ABA
Spirit Days:
Oct 10th: Decade Day + activities with the metric system
Oct 31st: Costume Day with office trick-or-treating
Our Group Gather project has really taken off! Kudos to Mary Mac for all her planning and organizing. This is a daily opportunity for all clients to engage in class-like activities even if they are not in our transitional classroom. Activities come in sets. Each week has a theme, and each day has an activity according to a category: gross motor, music, story, art, and science. So far we've explored camping, autumn, gardening, and sports. We've built bird feeders, done yoga poses inspired by the shapes of things in the garden, built marshmallow cabins, read books about athletes, and so much more! These activities are done as a group in the morning, but materials remain available all day for clients who weren't able to participate at the same time.
This past month Kelly presented information to WIC case managers and nutritionists. She helped them learn about autism and about understanding the causes and purposes of behavior. She provided them with ways in which they can make appointments more comfortable for their clients by using ABA principles.
Our BA's will be attending their HABA conference October 11-12. They'll be furthering their education, staying current on best practices, and making connections. HABA's theme this year is Inclusivity, and we are so excited to see what our BA's bring back for us to build on.
Supported Pathways
We've added "Morning Welcome" to our classroom routine. This group time reviews basic knowledge while allowing students to practice classroom discussion and interact socially. This fun routine helps orientate them to the rest of their tasks for the day and also connects them to their classmates and instructors. Other group times occur in the afternoon - we enjoy a weekly science session and daily art activities based on the science topic for the week.
Waiver
Reminder: Game Night time change is permanent. It will continue to occur on the 3rd Friday from 5-7pm.
Client Celebrations!
Several of our Game Night attendees have built on the the connections they formed here and scheduled their own private game night meet-ups. This fits one of our Game Night goals perfectly - that our clients develop and sustain meaningful friendships.
Social Squad will resume this month with a pumpkin-related outing. Watch your email and Facebook for announcements of date, time, and location.
Welcome to our newest DSP, Shelisa Fikes!
It was amazing to see so many of our Waiver staff members come out to the Autism Acceptance Walk. Thank you all for showing your support!
Employment
Individual Client Highlights for the Month
MR: New job as an eligibility specialist for the state of Indiana. They will be taking inbound calls and gathering information to help callers complete their applications for public assistance. MR also has strong skills in graphic design with future goals of combining these skills with program management. They are excited for how this job will help them work towards their future plans.
TR: New job at Party City. We are so appreciative of Party City for seeing TR for the capable employee they are and understanding that compounding factors can affect clients' past experiences unfairly.
BT: New job at Ivy Tech as a notetaker/scribe. They are happy to be working in a professional capacity with the school that invested in them.
CA: Won an office competition and wrote an article on the Special Olympics.
CB and JA: Worked alongside their employers to navigate challenges and maintain success.
Congratulations to CA, TB, BK, DL, and MC for their successful closures. It's great to see each of them stable in their jobs and thriving independently!
Employers Who Have Gone Above & Beyond
Treasure House: They are a training site and employer. They've worked to understand the root causes of client behaviors rather than make assumptions about the behaviors. By collaborating and developing accommodations, they've empowered our clients to be successful.
Ivy Tech: Staff, Megan Y. and Joyce B., display a commitment to accommodating and accepting. They came on site to meet with us and have worked to get to know our client as an individual. They've used a restorative approach free of judgment because they understand that negative social behaviors in many cases do not indicate negative intent. They look beyond social conventions and ensure they are giving and receiving communication clearly.
Honorable Mention
Kroger in New Haven: They have been supportive and understanding of client's aspirations. They've followed our client's interest and cross-trained them. Our client is now able to afford their own apartment and is thriving.
Comments