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Community News
February 2023
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Stacey’s New Home
Lisa Turner, Associate Director
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Stacey moved into a new home with a new provider in January. This was in the works for months! She met with her new provider throughout those months and really enjoyed spending time with her. After moving in with her new provider, Priyanka, Stacey quickly became part of family. They have dinner together every night, play a game, and settle down to watch some television before bed. Priyanka takes Stacey to basketball practice every Friday night. Stacey continues to ski on Sundays with her dad and tells Priyanka all about it when she returns home. Recently, Priyanka invited some friends over for dinner and games. Stacey had so much fun joining in as though she had known everyone for the longest time. Stacey has been thriving in her new home and is working on new skills. She continues to maintain her routine by going to her day program every day which is very important to her. When you first meet Stacey she can be very quiet and may not talk much. However, since being in her new home, she seems excited to chat with Priyanka and tell her all about her day. Stacey has been opening up more and more, which has been amazing to see and hear about.
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My Favorite Craft Activity
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I make pictures with stickers. Each sticker has a number and you put it on the picture that has the same number. I have finished about 9 books of pictures. It is a lot of fun. I give them out as gifts. I have done cats, dogs, birds, horses, flowers, fish, sea animals, and stained-glass pictures.
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Lea’s Cold Weather Fun
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The cold winter weather hasn't stopped Lea from being active and out in the community! She's still going to gymnastics and having fun with her friends there. She enjoys being so helpful by shoveling the snow. Lea loves going to the YMCA to walk the track, pump some iron, and do water aerobics! She just started going to Dancing Wind Studio in Hillsborough. Donna, the artist at the studio, lets Lea's creativity run wild.
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Josie Dupouy, Program Manager
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With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, Sherrie and Dianne were invited to a Valentine’s Party at St. Anselm College. The party was in a gymnasium that had been sectioned off into three parts. One side was for dancing, one was for crafts, and the last section had tables and chairs. In the back of the room was a table with pizza, snacks, and drinks for the partygoers to enjoy. It was an adventure right from the start. Sherrie and Dianne went in and were invited to do a photo booth picture. At one table, some volunteers made Sherrie a pipe cleaner heart necklace with some purple stick-on gems. Dianne decided on some heart-shaped glasses! When they turned the corner to the table and chairs, they saw their friend Lorieann. Sherrie and Dianne grabbed some heart-shaped cookies, popcorn, and water and went over to say hi. Everyone enjoyed catching up and eating their snacks. After parting ways, Dianne made a couple of Valentine’s Day cards and Sherrie socialized with a few people around her. When they decided to head home, they picked up the picture from the photo booth and were given a carnation flower to enjoy. Everyone had a great time and hope to go back next year for some more Valentine’s Day fun.
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Suzie’s Three Senses!
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Mallory Hoffman, Program Manager
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Do you find yourself sitting at your desk playing with a pen, rubbing a warm cozy blanket while sitting on the couch, or shopping around for cool new Pop it toys? These things are all considered sensory items. What about opening the window just to smell the fresh grass or buying your favorite scented candle for home?
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Sensory toys, projects, activities, and items all are designed to stimulate the five senses: sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight. Not everyone uses these 5 senses daily; Suzie is one of them. Suzie uses touch, smell, and loud sounds. A typical day for her is filled with sensory activities such as shredding paper, coloring, listening to loud music in her headphones, playing with playdough and so much more. These all help stimulate her senses, enhance fine motor skills, and encourage one on one interactions. Due to her inability to see, Suzie uses touch the most, but it is well known she enjoys smell from sitting outside smelling fresh flowers, using her favorite body lotion, or taking a trip to the ocean to smell the salt water. Do we need to use all 5 senses daily? Absolutely not, as Suzie models that each day.
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Out of the five senses, which do you use the most?
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A Great Gift to Share
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Patrice Aguda-Brown, Home Provider
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I love to read, and I love to read to others. Once a week Gregg and I go to the Keene Public Library to pick out books that would be of interest to him. I started reading to him and he enjoyed it so much that he requested that we do it every week! I asked him what he would like me to read, and he replied, “animals”.
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Right now we are reading The Best of James Herriot: Favorite Memories of a Country Vet. All of the stories speak of his love of animals, family, home, and friends. The stories are heartwarming and illustrate that the love and care for animals can help their owners as well. Particularly amusing and touching are the stories of dogs and cats (his favorites) that are interesting and engaging. We have read many more of Mr. Herriot’s books.
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Reading can be an activity that is quiet and restful depending on the story type and tone. Being read to activates the listener’s verbal, virtual-visual information in the brain as well as memory and feelings. So much of memory induces feelings. You are actually allowing your listener to have virtual movies, so to speak, in their mind.
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A lot of great stimulation is going on when reading whether you are the reader or the listener! The best part is the validation to the listener of the caring and special time they are experiencing.
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Rights Come with Responsibilities
Judy Belrose, QI/Incident Management Coordinator
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Everyone has rights: the right to an education, the right to be included in the community, the right to a safe, clean home, and the right to work to name a few. We think often about these types of things as we go about our day-to-day lives. Something we don’t always think about is the responsibilities that come along with our rights.
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The right to an education requires that all of us complete the requirements of that education. That might mean attending classes, doing homework, studying. We need to interact respectfully with our teachers and classmates and follow any rules of the educational institution we are attending. Certainly, it is our responsibility to do the best we can with our school work.
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The right to be included in our community comes with its own responsibilities. Things like being courteous to people in stores, restaurants, and public events. We have to follow the laws of our community and be respectful to others around us. We need to be sure not to litter and to use garbage cans, keeping our community clean for all to enjoy.
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The right to a safe, clean home means we have the responsibility to take care of household chores. Tasks like taking out the trash, cleaning the bathroom, keeping the yard mowed and picked up all are important in keeping your home clean and safe. Clutter on the floor or stairs can be a tripping hazard so it is important to keep up with home maintenance. If this is something that we have trouble doing it is our responsibility to ask for help to complete these tasks.
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The right to work also comes with responsibilities. We are responsible to follow the instructions from our employer. We need to be at work during the assigned hours. We have to complete the tasks required for the job even if they aren’t fun tasks – it’s part of the job. We are responsible for our behavior on the job and must be respectful and courteous to our coworkers and the customers.
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Having rights is important to all of us. We just need to remember that having a right to do or have something comes with responsibilities that help us maintain that right. I guess we could say we also have the right to responsibilities.
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Send us your questions, comments, or suggestions. We'd love to hear from you!
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TRUST - RESPECT - QUALITY - TRUTH / HONESTY - CREATIVITY - EMPOWERMENT - DIVERSITY
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