Staff turnover rate at group homes

by Beth Finke

Our 23-year-old son lives in a group home. Gus is healthy and well taken care of. His life doesn’t change much, and stability is good for him. And for us, too.

When friends ask how Gus is doing, I give them my pat answer, tell them he’s fine. Really, the only thing we can imagine changing in Gus’ life from here on out is the staff at his group home. Working at a group home is such hard work, usually the turnover is high. “So at least there’s one good thing about the recession,” I say. “There aren’t many other jobs available, so for a long time now no one on staff has quit.”

Funny, the things we say sometimes without really knowing they’re true. I mean, I know the staff at the group home hasn’t turned over much the past two years. But is the turnover rate genearlly high in group homes? Or has that just been our experience where Gus lives?

Turns out hard statistics on this are difficult to come by. From a web site called SparkAction:

Though little studied and rarely acknowledged publicly, high staff turnover plagues the entire children and youth out-of-home care industry — and much of the developmental services field as well. The reasons vary from locale to locale, but experts in the field say the primary ones are: low pay, long hours, absence of career ladders and lack of pre-service and in-service training and skills to deal with sometimes difficult young people.

An article I found in the Salem Statesman Journal said the staff turnover rates in Oregon group homes average about 85 percent a year.

Studies in other states have found annual turnover rates ranging from 57 percent to more than 100 percent.

Unfortunately, the story did not quote a source for those numbers. The most definitive study I could find comes from Cheryl A. Larson, the co-author of a book called Staff Recruitment, Retention, & Training Strategies For Community Human Services Organizations. Larson’s dissertation looked at turnover in small group home settings and revealed an annual turnover rate of almost 50%. The SparkAction web site quotes Dr. Larson:

“Even more challenging, of direct support workers who left during the previous 12 months, 41 percent had left before finishing six months on the job, and another 25 percent left before finishing 12 months on the job,” she said.

So I guess it’s not just Gus’ group home that had always experienced a high turnover rate. I wonder, though, if the recession is having the same effect on other group homes that it seems to be having where Gus lives. Whatever the reason, we are grateful for the hardworking an dedicated staff there. A Godsend.

Not always the teacher, at times the student

by Bob Glowacki

I am pleased to introduce Damaris Williams as a guest blogger. Damaris is an Assistant at our Kenosha Adult Day Center, and will share his experiences supporting adults who have disabilities.

“Not always the teacher, at times the student”
by Damaris Williams

Every day at the Kenosha Adult Day Center is unique, and every individual is unique. Most days are full of fun, laughter, and joy. Other days may be more of a struggle. You have to be creative and come up with ways to make something fun, or to try and get them to laugh.

You need to be patient and understanding of how each person may be feeling or what challenges they may be facing. The techniques that I try to use one day in certain situations may not work the next day. I find that while I’m trying to figure out who they are and what I can do to make their experiences the best they can be, they are trying to figure out ways they can communicate their needs to me.

My goal is to build strong relationships and trust with each person. I have found that whether they are verbal or nonverbal my approach is always the same: I am always friendly and smiling. I speak with an inviting tone and I always offer choices so that they can make their own decisions.

One participant in particular is nonverbal and her primary way of communicating is through sign language. I started working at the Kenosha Adult Day Service Program in May of 2010 and I didn’t know any sign language, which created a communication barrier for us. However, after two months of working with her, she has taught me several signs and other ways to communicate with her, such as reading, writing, and gesturing. Since I have been working at Easter Seals I have learned that I am not always going to be the teacher, but at times the student.

Easters Seals Adult Day Service Program allows individuals to socialize and express themselves creatively. Because the program is located in the Kenosha YMCA it also provides individuals with community interactions and ample ways to be active. While the participants are here with us, their families and caregivers have an opportunity to care for themselves. This program allows both participants and caregivers the opportunity to enjoy and make the most out of each day.

Lemonade stand raises money for (and inspires!) Easter Seals Crossroads

by Scott Fogo

An 8-year-old girl from Greenfield, IN put up a lemonade stand to sell drinks during her family garage sale last month and raised hundreds of dollars to donate to our Easter Seals Crossroads Autism Resource Center. Anna Scott’s goal is $2,000, and she’s already raised about $1,400 at the garage sale stand.

A story about Anna Scott’s philanthropy aired on WTHR-13 News.

The fourth grader plans to split the money between Easter Seals Crossroads Autism Resource Center and her uncle recently diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

The news story says Anna got her inspiration from a book called Lemonade for Sale by Stuart J. Murphy. In the book, children decide to sell lemonade to make money to fix their clubhouse and keep a bar graph to track their sales.

More from the TV news story:

One of her best customers didn’t even get to quench his thirst.

“He didn’t buy any lemonade and handed me a $50 bill and said, ‘Use this for your cause’ and then left,” said Anna.

The entire staff at Easter Seals Crossroads was humbled by the generosity of this young lady. She worked hard and gave from her heart because she became close friends with a young lady with autism. Her kindness helps us all remember why were doing the work we do! Thanks Anna!

Thanks for your Friendly-ness

by Beth Finke

Remember my Friendly’s blog post back in February? The one where I asked you to put down your shovels and head over to Friendly’s before it started snowing again?!

Support Easter Seals Camp Friendly’s programs for kids at any Friendly’s Restaurant and be rewarded with a sheet of Valentine Cards. The Valentine Cards can be redeemed at Friendly’s for 5 free Kids Cones and $5 off any $25 purchase.

Well, five months and 100 degrees later, I’m here to thank you for your generosity during that very harsh winter season — Friendly Ice Cream Corporation recently announced that its company-wide Cones for Kids campaign raised nearly $750,000 for Easter Seals Camp Friendly’s! Funds raised through Friendly’s successful 2010 Cones for Kids campaign help kids with autism and other disabilities enjoy a total of 30 Easter Seals Camp Friendly’s programs and 3 camperships. Easter Seals Camp Friendly’s makes it possible for kids with autism and other disabilities to participate in regular camp activities like boating, canoeing, swimming, archery, ropes courses, horseback riding, hiking, basketball and fishing.

Friendly’s is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month as well as marking the 29th year of supporting Easter Seals through Cones for Kids. Happy anniversary, Friendly’s! And happy anniversary, Cones for Kids!

Employing people with autism — are we there yet?

by Beth Finke

An article called Hiring Employees with Autism (subscription only) in the June issue of Society for Human Resource Management’s HR Magazine mentioned Easter Seals and our corporate partner CVS Caremark.

Easter Seals national director of autism services Patricia Wright is quoted in the article, explaining how popular culture and wider diagnostic tools have led to an increased awareness of autism. In terms of hiring people who have autism, Dr. Wright said, “despite the Americans with Disabilities Act, we’re not quite there yet.” She pointed out that even when a person with a disability has the same qualifications as someone without a disability, it can be more difficult for the one with a disability to get the job.

The one consistent message Easter Seals hears from families — after the initial apprehension and anxiety of learning their child has autism – is an overwhelming concern about the life-long supports their child with autism may need to be independent. Our Living with Autism Study results revealed that parents raising children with autism are very concerned about the future independence of their children. In fact, they’re far more concerned than parents of typically developing children — nearly 80 percent say they’re extremely or very concerned about their children’s independence as an adult, compared to only 32 percent of other parents. This is especially true when it comes to their financial independence, quality of life, social and inter-personal connections, and employment and housing opportunities.

Easter Seals is using the study results to raise awareness of and advocate for the life-long services millions of families living with autism desperately need — including school-to-work transitions, employment support, residential and community support, and financial planning.

We’ve also taken action to address this need through participation in Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA). AFAA is a national consortium seeking to create meaningful futures for adults with autism that include homes, jobs, recreation, friends and supportive communities. This unique national consortium has united to set national priorities for adults on the autism spectrum and to transform public policy and programming for teens and adults with autism spectrum disorders.

In January, AAFA held a think tank. Nationally recognized experts in a variety of fields (e.g., individuals with autism, program operators, university professors, public policy authorities and specialists from both the public and private sectors) met to begin addressing the issue of autism and adulthood. The summary report from that think tank is available at the AFAA web site.

Few challenges are easy, and as Patricia said, we certainly have a long way to go. But to end on a positive note check out these stories of hope — six of them are about adults with autism.

Bike therapy helps build self esteem

by Beth Finke

Seems like each summer around this time, we hear another story about how a bike therapy program called Lose the Training Wheels is helping people who have autism or other disabilities gain confidence and self esteem.

In 2008 we published a post here about the bike therapy program at Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region, and last year Scott Fogo wrote about the Lose The Training Wheels camp at Easter Seals Crossroads.

This year, its Easter Seals Southwestern Indiana’s turn. An article in the Evansville Courier & Press describes their bike camp like this:

This annual program serves youngsters who otherwise might never ride a bicycle. They learn to ride modified bikes and graduate to standard bikes. They gain an immediate boost in confidence and a potential lifetime of rewarding rides.

The Lose the Training Wheels program in Evansville started Tuesday, July 5 and will roll for five days at the National Guard Armory at 3300 Division Street. The program is a joy to behold.

Autism voice on the National Council on Disability … confirmed!

by Patricia Wright

I came home from China to some good news: on June 20th, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Ari Ne’eman to serve on the National Council on Disability (NCD) alongside President Obama’s seven other nominees.

Founder and President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN), Ne’eman is the first person with autism to serve on the NCD. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement in the world of autism, and Ne’eman is a good fit for the council.

You might recall from my post last March that his appointment had provoked a bit of controversy. His confirmation has been eagerly anticipated by the self-advocacy community since his nomination last December, and I join them in congratulating Ari and all the new members of NCD for their appointments to such an important post.

Adults with autism are behind the success of Harry’s Buttons

by Wendy Murphy

When Harry Engnell Jr. graduated from high school in 1998, his parents found few supports available to help a young person with autism find work and make other transitions to adulthood.

Harry’s dad knew his son liked repetitive tasks, So he bought him equipment to start making buttons as a hobby. Harry Jr. loved making buttons, and so did many of his friends with autism. And thus, a business was born. From the HarrysButtons.com Web site:

Our buttons are “hand-made” primarily by people with Autism at Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago Adult Vocational Programs.

Together we make beautiful 1 1/4″, 2 1/4″ and 3″ round buttons for any occasion, campaign, or promotion. Tell us what you’re looking for and we will custom make it for you, with pride.

Easter Seals micro-enterprise coordinator Kelly Anne Ohde oversees HarrysButtons.com and can’t say enough about what Harry’s parents did to make this all happen for their son. “When they couldn’t find work that suited him, they created a solution,” Kelly says. “Now that solution is changing many lives.”

Learn more by visiting HarrysButtons.com.

Read Wendy Murphy’s biography.

Horse Power

by Beth Finke

In addition to my job here moderating the Easter Seals and Autism blog, I keep a personal blog about my writing life and the childrens book I wrote. A few weeks ago I sat on a panel about blogging at the Southeast Wisconsin Festival of books. During the panel I mostly talked about my personal blog, since the festival was about books and all. I did manage to bring up the Easter Seals and Autism blog at least once, though. Okay, twice. Maybe three times! All I know is that I brought up autism enough to draw the interest of a librarian in the audience.

Alli Chase is the Library Director of a small rural public library in Eagle, Wisconsin. She also volunteers with Horse Power Healing Center at Jericho Farms, in Eagle. Horse Power is a pending non-profit that works with kids and adults with autism and other disabilities. “Maybe you know folks who would be interested in knowing about this kind of program?” she asked. I said I did.

I contacted Ali when I got back home and she directed me to this wonderful story on the Jericho Creek Farms site written by the mother of a boy with autism.

Brindley, who is now 10, has severe autism and limited speech. It was my hope that riding a horse would motivate Brindley to speak more, learn new responsibilities, and practice some social skills. I had no doubt in my mind that this would be an awesome experience for him, given the fact that the few times he had been on a horse, his smile was always lit with a special joy.

In preparing for our first trip to Jericho Creek Farm, Liz (Brindley’s home therapist) wrote a social story for Brindley that we read to him a few times, so that he knew what to expect from the experience. This helped reduce Brindley’s anxiety, which often accompanies his excitement.

On Brindley’s first trip to the farm he was introduced to Chaheetah, a white and speckled Morab horse with a gentle disposition. He was taught how to brush the horse, and after his dad helped him on to Chaheetah, the horse was led around the arena.

Brindley was taught the commands,wWalk on!” and “whoa!” so he could learn how to make the horse go and stop. His face was filled with happiness and pride.

Brindley has completed four lessons now and has learned to brush his horse and thank Chaheetah when the lessons are done. He puts the helmet and saddle away at the end of each lesson and always gives Chaheetah a treat before he leaves. His mother reports Brindley has retained the new vocabulary he’s learned, and that spontaneous language has occurred at the farm, not only concerning Chaheetah, but also about the kittens who live in the barn.

One day Brindley indicated we should take one of the kittens home when he spontaneously said, “Orange cat, Mama home.” Brindley has initiated conversations at school and on the bus about the “white horse,” and how it is the day to “ride Chaheetah.” He has taken an interest in sharing his new world with others and I can’t be more thrilled.

Gee, you never know who you might meet at a book festival. I’m sure glad I ran into Alli the librarian!

Selfless moms on Facebook

by Beth Finke

Remember that post I wrote about a month ago? The one that questioned whether mothers of kids who have autism and other disabilities are more selfless than other moms? Well, it got tons of comments on Facebook.

You may already know that Easter Seals has a fan page on Facebook, but did you know that Easter Seals and Autism blog posts shows up on our Facebook wall too? They do! And they spark great conversations.

Check out this sampling of comments from Facebook fans in response to that selfless mom post, for example:

MAGUI: Well … I do not think I am better than any other mom, but my child with Autism does not sleep … my days usually run in between 17 to sometimes 24 hours a day. I’m most definitely not a better mom because I have a child with special needs, but I definitely do a lot more than an average mom … I love my daughter with all my heart so the extra work, the meltdowns, the tantrums, the aggressivity, the sleepless nights, the therapies, the ARD meetings, the learning of Special Ed class, special ed laws, nutrition, doctors, so on and so forth are for her … I might not be better, but I do more than the average mom.

MERCEDES: I don’t think we are better, but I do think we have more challenges actually, we deal with the normal challenges and the special needs ones

BEK: Magui, you put it beautifully: “I might not be better, but I do more than the average mom.” I’m guessing that’s what the original article/list was trying to say but they couldn’t figure out a way to do it without a million footnotes and explanations …

ELIZABETH: I’m seeing a lot of “normal” mom and “average” mom/kids in the comments here. I agree that parenting a child with special needs has unique challenges, I don’t particularly like be labeled as an “average” or “normal” mom because my child does not have special needs. We each face our own set of unique challenges as parents, whether those challenges are brought about by our children themselves or other circumstances within our families and communities is irrelevant.

In addition to featuring our autism blog posts on Facebook, Easter Seals shares the latest news and posts disability etiquette and facts there too. It’s enlightening to visit the Facebook page and find such great conversations taking place. It’s quite a community. People are sharing their own experiences and thoughts.

If you’re already a member of Facebook, visit our wall and click the “like” button at the top of our page. Our posts will be included in your wall feed. Not on Facebook? That’s OK. You can still see our posts. If you want to comment or join the conversation though, you’ll need to sign up for your own account. Whichever way you find us, thanks for reading and responding to our blog!