Everyone wants to do a little self-improvement. But it’s difficult. If it was simple, there wouldn’t be an $11 billion industry dedicated to helping Americans achieve results in personal growth.
Like all people, the individuals we serve at ADEC and their families seek self-improvement. Sometimes it’s to eliminate a negative behavior, such as aggression, and sometimes it’s to reinforce positive behaviors, such as politeness.
ADEC is now able to offer more help to families and individuals who want to work on their own behavior self-improvement. Seeing a need in the community, we have created a new behavior therapy program aimed at offering services for targeted behaviors.
Our staff begin by working with individuals and their families to choose the behavior that is being targeted for improvement. Once the behavior is chosen to focus on, our therapists will visit with an individual at home (or wherever that person spends their day) and establish a baseline for the behavior.
“Just like ADEC’s music and recreation therapy, behavior therapist’s assess the individual,” says Michelle McGuin, ADEC’s vice president of nonresidential operations. “The targeted issue (that the team identifies) is base lined to establish frequency and duration.”
After a behavior baseline is created, our therapists will create a proactive plan and a reactive plan based on the needs of the individual.
“Proactive measures are ones that help that individual person from displaying the behavior, and reactive measures are what that person’s staff can do to redirect the behavior,” McGuin adds. “The plans add consistency to an individual person’s behavior.”
Once the targeted behavior has been successfully improved upon, our therapists will work with individuals to identify and improve any other behaviors — there may be none— they choose.
“Behavior plans shape acceptable behaviors and gradually eliminates unacceptable behaviors,” McGuin says. “Families and providers hope for this result so that the individual can focus on growing, positive-type goals both at home and at other establishments such as church, school, and restaurants.”
Our behavior therapy program is a waiver service, so Medicare and Medicaid financial aid is available to help pay for the service. Families will be able to choose ADEC from a pick list of multiple providers, meaning you’ll be able to choose the behavior therapist that’s right for you and your loved one. ADEC’s behavior therapy program will work as part of our Family Services program and is open to individuals of all ages.
All behavior plans will be supervised by a Health Service Provider in Psychology, whom will be contracted by ADEC to ensure we constantly meet the highest standards with our plans.
If you’re interested in participating in the behavior therapy program, email Katie Kessler, ADEC’s director of family services and therapies, at [email protected].
