Tag: IDD

September 16, 2020

Direct Support Professional Week 2020

This year has proven once again how innately important our Direct Care Professionals are every day. During this pandemic the importance of our DSP’s has continued to shine through on a daily basis. Many DSP’s have gone above and beyond their typical duties this year to make sure the person they support received the services they needed. Often this meant...

Categories Community/Everyday Life

September 9, 2020

Being Human

Image of Clarke Peters credited: Tulane Public Relations / CC BY Image of Chadwick Boseman credited: Georges Biard / CC BY-SA I recently read an article in which actor Clarke Peters says he misjudged fellow actor Chadwick Boseman.  Peters said he told his wife that he thought Boseman was a bit “precious.”  He went on to say that he told...

Categories Community/General

September 2, 2020

When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade

While the pandemic has brought about a lot of changes that have not been positive, it is wonderful to hear those little stories that are having a great impact. A huge thank you goes out to the Arc of Indiana for sharing a fabulous project that they are a part of during this time. I don’t know about the rest...

Categories Community/General/Resources

August 26, 2020

Managing Anxiety in a World of Uncertainty

The very nature of anxiety is to feel worry about things that may not be within a person’s sense of control. To feel worry even when not being confronted with a direct stressor. To feel worry, worry, worry. It’s hard not to worry these days. There’s a lot to worry about. Too many things to even list. So instead, what...

Categories General

August 19, 2020

Closer: One Page at a Time

Sure quarantine might have allowed you to grab your books a little tighter and sink in a little deeper (if the news channel was turned off) but the isolation is maybe getting to you. You’re starting to feel like the somber, lonely tick of the second hand on your wall clock; but what can be done? When all the social...

Categories Community/General

August 12, 2020

Lyme-The Imitator and Quiet Epidemic of the Northeast

Fever, chills, muscle aches-first thought these days…maybe it is COVID-19?  That has been at the forefront of our minds for several months. With the guidelines in place to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, more and more people are participating in outdoor activities.  But it is important to realize that as we focus on the pandemic, much of the northeastern...

Categories General

August 5, 2020

COVID-19 Changed the Way We Work. How Much of That Change Will be Permanent?

Emergency/Disaster Preparedness is a term with which most of us are familiar. In its simplest definition, it refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of an emergency or disaster. As providers of services for people with intellectual disabilities and autism, we have devoted significant time and resources to make certain that our agencies were prepared in...

Categories Community/Technology

July 22, 2020

Mokusatsu

Mokusatsu is a Japanese word with several shades of meaning.  Much like many of our English words, the meaning is left up to the person using the word.  Only that person knows the intent.  Mokusatsu: to ignore, to refrain from comment, or to seek more information.   Looking back in history it is easy to imagine “what if,” “should of,” “could...

Categories Community/General

July 15, 2020

Beautiful Places to Explore in PA

Did you know… there are more than 2,000,000 acres of state forests, 4,000 lakes and reservoirs, and 86,000 miles of rivers and streams to explore just in Pennsylvania alone! Over the last few months with all of the changes that took effect in our lives with COVID-19, I started thinking about all the things I wanted to do once I...

Categories Community/General/Resources

July 8, 2020

News from Google Helps People with Disabilities

It is widely acknowledged that smart phones and tablet computers are playing a significant part in improving the lives of people with disabilities. New technology to make things easier for those with cognitive and physical disabilities is being introduced by Google™. An app, Action Blocks™, designed for Android™ devices will make smartphone tasks more manageable.  A block (shortcut) can be created for...

Categories General/Resources/Technology