Meaningful Day Services
December 2015/Issue 16
MAIN OFFICE:
225 South School Street
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 858-8630 Fax: (317) 858-8715
SOUTHERN INDIANA TEENAGE AND
ADOLESCENTS THERAPY CENTER:
700 Missouri Avenue
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
(812) 288-4688
SOUTHERN INDIANA CHILDREN’S
THERAPY CENTER:
590 Missouri Avenue, Suite 201
Jeffersonville, IN 47130 (812) 288-4688
NORTHERN INDIANA OFFICE:
7525 Maplecrest Road #171
Fort Wayne, IN 46835 (260) 517-3811
INDIANAPOLIS DAY SERVICES:
2346 South Lynhurst, Suite 303
Indianapolis, IN 46241
(317) 248-0016 Fax: (317) 248-0013
www.meaningfuldays.com
newsleer
A the best wishes to you and yours!
IN THIS ISSUE:
Meaningful Moments in 2015 pg 7
What is Recreation Therapy pg 10
[ F RO M THE C E O
Funny Holiday Memories
When I was a child, my parents were terrible about
keeping presents secret and would put things under
the tree early. My brothers and I simply waited for
a moment when both were gone and then unwrapped
all the presents. We never knew for sure whose gift was
whose, but since I was the only girl, it was prey easy to
know what I was geing. Occasionally, we screwed up,
which led to some interesting fights on Christmas Day!
My father, though, had the best Christmas ritual.
About the first of December, he would bring home a huge
box (like 10 lbs.) of mixed chocolates and announce
loudly, “I am puing these in the freezer and no one is to
touch them until Christmas!” Well, the freezer was in the far back of the laundry room and you are
talking about five kids who rarely got candy. Invariably, Christmas Eve, my Dad would pull the box
of candy out of the freezer all excited only to find less then 2–3 pieces left (all with holes dug in
the boom and left because they were cherry or raspberry). One year, a table knife actually fell
out of the box. Each year, he would be flabbergasted, running to the store at the last minute to
buy another box, swearing next year there would be no candy!
The next year, he would forget and repeat the process, forgeing how naughty his children were
the year before.
Hopefully, my Dad is eating a box of chocolates in Heaven right now (leaving the cherry and
raspberry, because who really eats those?)
To all of you, have an amazing holiday!
—Sandi Miller
Providing quality,
hands-on services that
enhance and improve
the independence
of each unique
individual.
MDS Newsletter – 2 – December 2015
Tips for Keeping the Holidays Happy
BY AMANDA HILL, M.ED, LPCA-BEHAVIOR AND ASSESSMENT COORDINATOR
The holidays can be an exciting time of non-stop activity: family get-togethers, parties with friends, and
time off from work and school to celebrate with loved ones. It is a time of year looked forward to by many,
but to a child with a developmental disability, all of the extra activities and extra people can be overwhelming
and stressful. Here are a few tips to hopefully make everyone’s holiday season merry and bright:
1) Be prepared… and make sure your child is, too. Everyone likes to know what is going to happen next.
It gives us comfort and allows us to prepare mentally for what the upcoming situation might be like, who will
be there, what you want to wear, etc. The same can go for your child. Talk to your child in advance and let
him or her know what day Aunt Sally’s dinner gathering will be and who might be there or what time you’ll
be headed to Grandma’s.
2) Know your child’s frustration tolerance and be mindful of it. If you know a one-hour wait in line for a
photo op with Santa will surely bring on an epic meltdown, try to go during a time when the wait might not
be so long. If being at someone else’s house for two hours triggers tears and repeated requests to go home,
start preparing to leave for home and say your goodbyes after an hour to hopefully keep the tears at bay
and keep your exit (and ride home) peaceful.
3) Let others know the best way to greet your child. If your child doesn’t like hugs, simply say, “Oh, she
prefers handshakes,” or fist bumps, or even a wave and “hi,” or whatever it may be. You don’t have to
apologize for your child or make him or her hug people they don’t want to. We all have our preferred ways
of physically interacting with others.
MDS Newsletter – 3 – December 2015
[ A BA SE R V I C E S
structured into 30-minute “rotations”—group lessons, activities, or structured play times. As preschoolers build skills in
the one-to-one setting, they then practice and generalize
these skills during the rotations, which mimic situations they
will encounter in school and the community. Effective treatment outcomes help our clients enjoy a full and independent
life. We have seen tremendous gains from our preschoolers
this past year and we are so excited for 2016. Our preschool
program is currently accepting new students. Call to
schedule a tour today!
Welcome Lauren Tinker to the Pod
Lauren has five years’ experience in Applied Behavior
Analysis and she spent two years as a classroom teacher at a
school for children with autism before joining our Pea Pod
Team in September as our new Preschool Coordinator.
Welcome to the team!
Elaine and Rebecca
Peas in a Pod: An Empowering
Approach to Early Intervention
The Most Wonderful Time of
the Year. . . to be a Trailblazer
BY HANNAH SAUBER, M.S, BCBA
BY COOPER PASS, B.S.-ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ABA
The Preschool program at MDS provides early intensive
intervention for children diagnosed with autism. This
treatment uses Applied Behavior Analysis to address the
behavioral deficits and excesses associated with an autism
diagnosis. We start with basic “learning-to-learn” skills, such
as imitation, attending, play, and language. Our kiddos
work one-to-one with trained behavior technicians, speech
language pathologists, and occupational therapists. The goal
is not to simply teach all the skills they lack, but to empower
them with the pivotal skills needed to learn from their
environment, allowing them to continually access new
reinforcers and learning opportunities. A day at preschool is
December is going to be a busy month for the Trailblazers!
We will be volunteering at all five of our different volunteer
locations: Savoy Fitness, Meals on Wheels, Orange Clover
Kitchen and More, Providence Nursing Home, Ronald
McDonald House, and St. Joseph’s Children’s Home. Our
volunteer responsibilities can include anything from light
cleaning to rolling silverware, basic office duties, making
boxes of canned goods and other items for needy families,
baking goodies for families who are staying at the Ronald
McDonald House, and working in the ice cream parlor at
Providence Nursing Home. Our big opportunity this month is
to pair-up with the Salvation Army to be bell ringers on two
Tuesdays this holiday season. While
volunteering is an exciting and
important part of Trailblazers, our
clients are are also working on
functional living skills, independent
living skills, social skills, and other
adaptive skills while at the center in
Jeffersonville. We hope to grow the
program even more and include
more volunteer opportunities for our
clients for the upcoming year, as well
as continue to enrich their current
essential skill programming. Now
accepting Trailblazers, call and schedule an information session today!
ABA’s newly registered behavior technicians.
MDS Newsletter – 4 – December 2015
ABA South: Recapping Our Fun and
Festive Fall and Other Happenings
ABA South held its annual Fall Break Program November 5
through 16. There are always a lot of activities in the community going on this time of year, and it’s fun to get the kids
involved in new things. This year, we were pleased to have
performers from StageOne Storytellers come to Meaningful
Day and do a performance of The Lorax. The performers
bring popular children’s books to life by encouraging the
audience to help tell the story through music, interaction,
and lots of imagination. We also visited Beckley Creek Park
and participated in a guided creek walk; and we visited
Good Garbage: Center for Creative Reuse, where we made
a craft from recycled, upcycled, and donated materials.
House of Boom Extreme Air Sports, a facility that houses
over 10,000 feet of connected trampolines, was a huge hit
StageOne Storytellers perform The Lorax for Pea Pods kids.
(continued on page 6)
ABOVE: Everyone enjoys
making art at the Good
Garbage Center for
Creative Reuse.
LEFT: John enjoys a day
at the House of Boom.
MDS Newsletter – 5 – December 2015
[ A BA SE R V I C E S
Karly Sciortino-Poulter from Arc of Indiana presents at our
ASK-sponsored event.
with everyone, staff included. For the grand finale, a fall
festival was held at MDS complete with games, a professional
face painter and balloon animal artist. We are now getting
prepared for our Winter Break Program which is just around
the corner. We are currently accepting clients so call us for
more information on how to get in on the fun!
Along with all the fun, we have also had several opportunities in the past quarter to partner with other organizations
and host information sessions for parents of clients, as well as
the whole community. In September, we conducted a training called, “Next Steps,” to highlight what services were
available to children once they transitioned from First Steps
at age 3. We also opened our doors to ASK (About Special
Kids), an organization staffed and led by parents of children
with special needs that helps other families of children with
developmental disabilities understand the various systems
of support, and the Arc of Indiana, who, together, held a
Medicaid waiver information session. On October 27,
Gordon Holmes, a financial planner with MetLife, who has a
son with special needs, presented to parents on how to plan
financially for the future of loved ones with disabilities. In
addition, we have also been busy planning with STRIDES
(Strengthening Transitional Resources for Individuals by
Discussing Gaps in Everyday Services), a community think
tank that strives to bring together all area service providers
to identify barriers to treatment for individuals with disabilities
across the lifespan and seek solutions to decrease and
eradicate those barriers. Finally, we are very excited about
our work with the AFC in Louisville. The AFC (Autism
Friendly Community) is an initiative of Louisville’s mayor,
Greg Fischer, to make Louisville the first city identified as
“autism friendly” in the country. As you can see, we have big
plans for 2016 and we look forward to bringing you updates
in the New Year. Have a safe and wonderful holiday season!
TOP: Amber enjoys a guided creek tour at Beckley
Creek Park. ABOVE: Shane and Phillip take a selfie.
MDS Newsletter – 6 – December 2015
A BA SER VICES
Meaningful Moment
]
Nick Neal, who has been a Trailblazer for the past year, volunteers
weekly at Orange Clover Kitchen and More, a popular lunch and breakfast spot in Jeffersonville. He takes his job seriously and even wears a
company shirt. His main job is rolling silverware for the restaurant in the
morning just before their busy lunch shift. “Working with Nick is a great
opportunity for us. It adds a new dynamic to what we do and improves
the lives of all involved,” says Rachel Smallwood, owner and chef at
Orange Clover. Rachel goes on to say that she has seen great improvement in Nick’s skill over the time he has volunteered there. “The first
couple of times, (his therapist) would re-roll a couple of bundles, but now
he’s able to do it all on his own. We love seeing him learn and grow and
it really helps us out, because rolling silverware is now something we
don’t have to do.” And Nick loves the opportunity and has really become
part of the team. “I love rolling silverware and I like to make food; I even
got a t-shirt and I work really hard,” he says. Nick’s mom, Leslie, says that
volunteering at Orange Clover is good for his self-esteem. “Like Nick
said, he’s a hard worker, like Katie (Nick’s sister). He wants to be like
everyone else and it’s important that he feels valued.” We are all very
proud of Nick and grateful to have the community support for our
mission.
MDS Newsletter – 7 – December 2015
[ ABA THERAPY/SUPPORT SERVICES
Occupational Therapy gets messy!
It has been exciting celebrating fall in occupational therapy
over the past few weeks! This time of year offers many opportunities to practice fine motor skills by getting hands messy.
Carving and painting pumpkins offered an opportunity for our
preschoolers to progress from using a spoon to scoop the
slimy pulp, to cleaning up the pulp with their fingertips. As you
are celebrating this time of year with your family, there are
many ways to include kids who might initially turn away from
these messy activities. Begin by offering a tool, such as a
spoon, to scoop or tongs to pick things up. Make sure to
provide frequent breaks or split the activity into several small
steps if it is stressful or difficult. Sometimes, kids aren’t ready to
explore these sensory-rich activities with touch, but you can
encourage them to participate by using other senses, such as
smelling dough as you roll it out or watching paint splatter
onto paper as you work on a craft. Participating can mean
more than touching the materials you are using.
Jennifer Wagner, our speech-language pathologist,
frequently utilizes augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) during speech therapy sessions for clients who have
minimal oral speech. AAC is used to express thoughts, needs,
wants, and ideas. These tools can be used to supplement
existing speech or replace speech that is not functional. If your
child utilizes an electronic AAC device such as an iPad or iPod,
please make sure that it is fully charged each time your child
comes to MDS. Once skills are mastered in speech therapy
sessions, our goal is to generalize skills to other settings,
including ABA, occupational, music, and recreational therapy
sessions, as well as to home and community.
Trinity decorates her pumpkin.
Melissa and Taylor dressed up for ZooBoo
MDS Newsletter – 8 – December 2015
B EHAVIO R MAN A GEM EN T S ER VI CES
Welcome to Kait!
Behavior Management Counties
We are excited to welcome a new behavior
consultant to our team. Kait Carlos has been
working in the field of Applied Behavior
Analysis for several years and has a passion
for helping individuals with developmental
disabilities reach their goals. Kait is working
toward sitting for her exam as a Board
Certified Behavior Analyst. Kait is accepting
new referrals in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.
http://meaningfuldays.com/about/kait-carlos-ma/
FOCUSING ON STRENGTHS
When working with individuals who are experiencing
challenging behavioral issues, we often times get so wrapped
up in all the problems that it’s easy to ignore the positives.
When this occurs, it’s easy for these individuals to begin to see
themselves as someone who behaves inappropriately and to
lose sight of all the wonderful things that make them unique
individuals. When someone sees him or herself as having
“behavior problems,” they are more likely to continue these
problematic behaviors.
When things are particularly challenging with your loved
one or client, take a moment to remember the positives. Think
of the things that make you smile, or the things this individual
excels at. Try to catch your client or loved one doing something positive and make a huge deal about it. Use positive
language in front of others about this individual. Try to ignore
some of the problematic behaviors, while rewarding the
desired behaviors.
This change of focus isn’t always easy to do (especially
during very challenging times), but it can go a long way
toward facilitating more desirable behaviors.
We are now on Instagram at:
Meaningful_Day_Services.
Find us on Twier: @MDSIndiana
or follow us on Facebook!
Providing quality, hands-on services that
enhance and improve the independence of each
unique individual.
MDS Newsletter – 9 – December 2015
]
[ R EC R E AT IO N A L TH ER A P Y
Recreation and Leisure Time
Why is recreation and leisure an integral part of our
everyday lives and why is it so important…let’s look at the
statistics:
According to Money Watch from data they derived from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2014, “people who aren’t
employed have a lot of leisure time—6.97 hours per day.
But even full-time workers have 4.09 hours per day” on
average. There were also some variances in the amount of
leisure time based on age, gender, and adults with and
without children.
There is limited data on what the statistics look like,
specifically for people with developmental disabilities, but
information from a study in the Disability and Health
Journal concluded, “Individuals who are limited in their
daily activities are more likely to allocate their time to
passive leisure (e.g., reading, television, video, and radio)
and less likely to spend their time in social entertainment
(e.g., theater, culture, and social events) as compared to
non-disabled individuals. In addition, we find significant
differences in minutes per day spent on leisure activities by
gender, age, marital status and number of children.”
Think about the amount of free time you have each day
and how you spend that time. Now, imagine if you had a
physical or intellectual disability…what barriers would you
face? Would you have the same opportunities? Would
you be reliant on others for support to engage in those
activities? It’s important to keep these things in
perspective when caring for someone with a disability.
It’s also important not to downplay the importance of just
relaxing!!! If you (or your loved one) wants to nestle in and
spend an entire Saturday watching movies or a favorite
Netflix series…go for it! If you find yourself doing the
same thing on Sunday, well…maybe it’s time to get
moving. It’s about finding a good balance of leisure time
(reading a book, listening to music, watching TV), coupled
with meaningful recreational activities (social activities,
community, exercise) built into your everyday lives for the
physical and mental health benefits you’ll gain and quality
of life.
If you need help finding recreational opportunities and
resources in your area, reach out to your Recreational
Therapist for help.
Recreational Therapy Services Can:
•
•
•
•
Improve quality of life
Increase independence
Focus on health promotion
Promote valued healthcare outcomes
MDS Newsletter – 10 – December 2015
REC REATI O NA L TH ERA P Y SER VICE S
Welcome New Therapists!
Service Areas for Rec Therapy
We are excited to introduce a new therapist to
our team, Rio James. Rio earned her Bachelor
of Science degree in Recreational Therapy from
the University of Toledo in Ohio
and she did her internship in
Colorado, where she worked
with individuals with developmental disabilities. Rio is
serving clients in Hamilton,
Hendricks, and Marion
counties.
We are also excited to
introduce our new therapist,
Ohlashia Aminy. Ohlashia
earned her Bachelor of
Science degree in Recreational
Therapy from the University of
Eastern Michigan. Ohlashia will
join our great group of therapists in the
Fort Wayne area.
You might also see this face
around! Janessa Faris joined
MDS in August for her
Recreational Therapy internship and just wrapped up in
early December. Janessa plans
to return to MDS next month
to serve clients in Central
Indiana. Good luck to Janessa on her board
exam in January!
John and Samantha play pickleball.
MDS Newsletter – 11 – December 2015
]
[ MU SI C TH E R AP Y S E R V I C E S
We Welcome New Therapists!
Music Therapy Counties
As always, our Music Therapy Department has been busy recently, as we
continue to grow statewide. We are very
pleased to introduce Liz Krickhahn, who
is serving clients in the Kokomo/Peru
area.
Liz Krickhahn
http://meaningfuldays.com/about/liz-krickhahn-mt-bc/
Our therapists in Jeffersonville hosted a client concert in
November, and other areas of the state will be having
holiday concerts this month, including a sing-along in
Fort Wayne on December 4, two concerts in Kokomo on
December 12, a client concert in Albion on December 8,
and another sing-along in Brownsburg on December 18.
Be on the lookout for many individual performances in
nursing homes and community centers in the upcoming
month as our therapists and clients help to spread holiday
cheer in our communities!
Upcoming Drum Circles
Fort Wayne Drum Circle
Drum Circle: January 8, 2016 (6:00–7:00 pm)
Valentine’s Dance: February 12, 2016 (6:00–7:00 pm)
Epiphany Lutheran Church
6606 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne, IN
North/Central Indianapolis Drum Circle
January 8, 2016 6:15pm–7:15pm
February 12, 2016 6:15pm–7:15pm
Carmel Lutheran Church
4850 E Main Street, Carmel, IN
Henry County Drum Circle
January 20, 2016 4:00pm–5:00pm
February 17, 2016 4:00 pm–5:00pm
DSI, 1510 Washington Street
New Castle, IN
Brownsburg/West Indy Drum Circle
Holiday Sing-a-long December 18, 2015 5:00pm–6:00pm
January 15, 2016 5:00pm–6:00pm
Cornerstone Christian Church
8930 N State Road 267, Brownsburg, IN
Read more about our staff at
meaningfuldays.com/about/
Jeffersonville Drum Circle
January 16, 2016 10:30am –11:30am
February 20, 2016 10:30am–11:30am
Meaningful Day Services Center
700 Missouri Avenue, Jeffersonville, IN
MDS Newsletter – 12 – December 2015
MUSI C T HERA PY S ER VICES
Ben performs with Meghan
at the Brownsburg concert.
Taylor performs with Kate at the
Brownsburg concert.
Ali performs with Meghan at the Brownsburg concert.
MDS Newsletter – 13 – December 2015
]
[ A DU LT D AY S E R V I C E S
The Trailblazer group from ADS would like to thank everyone who
purchased a meal for the lunch sale that was held in October at the
Adult Day service location. We were able to raise money by selling
meals that included hot dogs, chili, and cheese cake. With our
earnings, we plan to go on outings that we normally could not
afford. Once again, we thank you for all your support!
MDS Newsletter – 14 – December 2015