Currently I am an inter at an agency that works with developmentally disabled individuals. It is a non-profit agency that has been serving New Jersey's special needs community since 1986. The agency was the brainstorm of prominent UJA Federation Board members who identified a growing need within the Jewish (and non-Jewish) community for services for individuals with developmental disabilities within community settings. After much advocacy the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division for Developmental Disabilities agreed to the establishment of the first Kosher group home in New Jersey. Currently the organization operates 10 residences (group homes and supportive apartments) in Bergen County. New Jersey’s first kosher group home opened in 1988. It’s second was dedicated in 1994.
Currently I work with the apartments community of independent as supervised apartments. My consumers are all males.
I have not chosen which consumer I would like to track the progressive of. My supervisor and I discussed two potential consumers that would be eligible for these assignments. One consumer M, I would be tracking his daily activity level. He also has a problem with gorging on food, so I would like to track his ability to control himself throughout the week. Consumer D has weekly responsibilities that he must complete but still needs prompting to get them done, I would be working on completing those activities with no prompting making him more independent this achieving a goal and having the ability to track. I was thinking of tracking both of these consumers and seeing who does better, and see how and why.
I think your agency description is good, although I don't really have a sense of the work that you do specifically. As you choose which consumer to track, think about how you will intervene in a way that is important and meaningful to your clients. This is especially challenging considering their intellectual disabilities! In general, your blog will look and read better if you preview it first and proofread your work carefully. I look forward to seeing where you go with this very important project. I can see that your work will be an asset to your clients!
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