Monday, September 15, 2008

HELP! NEED IDEAS!

I work at an ICF (intermediate care facility) for adults with MR/DD (mental retardation and developmental disabilities). This week the folks that oversee Medicaid funding are on grounds as part of the certification process, determining if they will provide Medicaid funds for the residents who live there. One of the things they most like to see is what they call "active treatment". Active treatment is defined as "involvement and engagement in all activities of daily living".

This means that after the residents come home from their classes during the day, they don't just sit in the living room or lie down in their beds. There are various programs they need to run ... learning daily living skills or engaging in activities that they enjoy.

The ladies in my home are age 40 and up (the oldest is 73). They all have mild to profound mental retardation. Five of the seven are in wheelchairs. Three of the seven have g-tubes (where they are fed with a tube leading directly into their stomachs).

One of our ladies has a program to "engage" with a mop-like duster. We model the desired behavior and then (ideally) she takes the duster and dusts a bookshelf.

One likes stringing beads to make necklaces and bracelets.

One makes a choice of three beverages to have with her meals. The three drinks are set on an "assisted communication device" that has three corresponding buttons. When she pushes the buttons, a recorded voice states what is on the pad. By pushing the button, she indicates her choice. (Really, she just picks the tallest drink - but that's beside the point).

There are other leisure activities such as puzzles, drawing with crayons, balls, sensory equipment, etc. etc. etc.

We are supposed to have the ladies "actively engaged" on our shift from the time they get home from classes until meal time, then again after meal time until they get their baths ... then again from bath time until the time they retire for the evening.

I'm tired of the same old, same old and am looking for other ideas of things we can do with our ladies. Mobility is obviously an issue, but not necessarily a barrier. Our ladies have cognitive ages of up to 5 years old.

So, I'm asking for y'all's help in coming up with some new ideas for activities! Thanks very much in advance! Y'ALL ROCK!

1 comment:

  1. Hey LuAnn you were at my blog a little bit ago Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio! If you are interested in being a blogger for us please email me at AngelaWenke@aol.com you can write as often as you want and you get free advertising for all your sites! Thank hun Angie

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