In the past four months that eight adults between the ages of 21 to 25 have been at the center, they've become more social and ambulatory. They are men and women with mild to severe physical and mental disabilities. One client is blind, and some have autistic-like characteristics, said Cynthia McCaghren, the center's executive director.
"A lot of what is done at the center is 'hand over hand' -- my job is to keep them stimulated," she said. "They are at such a level that the only other facility in the city that caters to people with disabilities would not suit them."
With a $97,000 operating budget -- $15,000 is raised through contributions and fundraisers -- the center counts pennies to care for the adults, who use space at the Children's Center of Montgomery.
For more than 60 years, the center has provided services for severely disabled students in Montgomery County. The school serves students in grades K-12, and most of the students are multiple disabled, non-verbal and in wheelchairs. Others have severe mental retardation, autism and traumatic brain injuries.
Another school in the city, McInnis School, also serves adults, although McCaghren said the curriculum there would not be appropriate for the adults served at Children's Center Adult Program.
There are six day-training units in the Montgomery ARC system, with those receiving services at McInnis School needing the most assistance of the six units, said Linda Partridge, principal/coordinator of McInnis School.
The people served at McInnis are taught to become as independent as possible, and are involved in functional daily-living type of things such as folding laundry and washing dishes -- anything that would help them become more self-sufficient in a group home, Partridge said.
"We don't do a lot of job training at the school, but have units that do that, such as at the Norman Bridge site," she said, adding those served at McInnis have mental illnesses and developmental and physical disabilities.
"I think McInnis is wonderful," McCaghren said. "We are not competing."
The Children's Center Adult Program is funded partly through grants, the United Way, fundraisers, donations and the small fees the clients' families pay. An upcoming 5K race (the CCAP 5K on Feb. 25) will also benefit the adult program, which started Sept. 12. By June, McCaghren wants to make room for up to 10 more clients.
Through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, public schools have always only covered a child until they were 21 years old.
"After that, they had to go home and their parents had to quit work to care for them," McCaghren said. "Or, they had to be placed in nursing homes. Our goal is to have a nurturing environment and keep them stimulated."
McCaghren said all of the clients communicate -- the staff just has to learn how to communicate with them.
And the adults have learned to artistically express themselves. For instance, self-portraits hang on the wall with their artistic names: Brianangelo, T-icasso, Cory-tello. Hanging clay plaques etched with "I love you" dry on a table, and later will be presented to their mothers as gifts.
"We try to make it as normal of a set-up with age-appropriate activities," McCaghren said, adding that includes watching the "Today" show in the mornings when they aren't playing Wii games after they arrive at the center.
Another room focuses on office management work, teaching the clients how to do things such as stack papers. The center will soon have a home center, which will help them learn how to do things such as making their beds and folding and hanging clothes.
McCaghren visited Eagles' Wings in Tuscaloosa, a day-habilitation program, to get an idea of how to set up the Children's Center's adult program.
"I learned the more we can keep them awake and not let them stay in a wheelchair and sleep all day ... I think we're prolonging their lives," she said.
Ric Andrews, a staff member at the adult center, feels he receives more from the program than he gives.
"I don't know if I can put it into words -- it's bigger than words," he said. "The whole environment is encouraging. There is a lot of stimulation; that's why it seems so lively in here. There's a lot of love in here."
Andrews recently sat with the group during the program's Book Club, as another staff member, Patricia Gulledge, read aloud "The House of Sixty Fathers."
Items representing the story, including a boat and a pig, were printed on paper and placed on the clients' laps so Gulledge could interact with them as she read the story.
"This involves them in the whole activity," McCaghren said. "It makes them feel a part of what is going on. We assume that all of these clients understand every word we're saying even though they can't communicate back verbally. We tend to recognize their abilities more than their disabilities."
Source: Montgomery Advertiser
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