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KWC supports NHR through
continuing partnership
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For the past year, the Kennedy Willis Center on Down Syndrome has consulted with New Horizons Resources (NHR), a community-based service provider that delivers day- and residential services for people with intellectual disabilities throughout Dutchess and Ulster counties in the Hudson Valley.
The consultative package in aging services includes recorded webinar trainings, environmental facilities reviews, baseline early detection screenings for individuals, and site-specific support. This fall, Center Director Brittany Goodrich and Pathfinder Village Program Specialist Michelle Banks led a two-day aging and dementia training for administrators and direct support professionals at NHR’s Pleasant Valley campus.
“There was tremendous positive feedback after the training in November,” said NHR’s Behavior Intervention Specialist Nicholas Malcuit. “The information session and training opened a real dialogue about the individuals we serve and how we can better support them moving forward. The training helps me as a behavior specialist, as staff become more aware of how dementia affects behavior.”
As part of the NHR workshop, 20 staff experienced the Virtual Dementia Tour®, an immersion exercise that offers insights into how people with mid-stage dementia experience their daily surroundings and social interactions. Both Ms. Banks and Director Goodrich are certified facilitators for the VDT® course, which has been used to train Pathfinder staff since 2019.*
The KWC-NHR partnership began late in 2022 when Mr. Malcuit and Staff Development Coordinator John McPhee visited the Center and Pathfinder to learn more about the Village Aging Initiative, a proactive strategy that includes enhanced staff training focused in best practices for aging, specific person-centered supports, enrichment programs, and environmental modifications that benefit individuals experiencing memory loss. The relationship took root after NHR family members participated in the Center's 2022 webinars on aging and dementia.
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* The Virtual Dementia Tour® is a scientifically proven method of building a greater understanding of dementia through the use of patented sensory tools and instruction. The VDT® was created by P.K. Beville, Ph.D., an award-winning geriatric psychologist, dementia expert, and founder of Second Wind Dreams, Inc. For more information about Second Wind Dreams and the Virtual Dementia Tour, please call the office at (678) 624-0500 or visit online at www.secondwind.org. | |
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Webinars highlight enrichment program benefits
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The benefits of enrichment programs for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities were highlighted during the Kennedy Willis Center's 2023 webinar series, Nurturing Your Best Self through Art, Movement, Music, and Mindfulness.
The four-part series was hosted by Center Director Goodrich and KWC Board Member Dr. Adel E. Herge, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA, professor of occupational therapy at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, whose clinical practice is focused in best practices for people with disabilities who are aging. Sessions featured Anne Dudley-Smith, the gallery director of The Arc Otsego; trainer Zoe Curtis of Fitness with Zoe; drum healer Jimbo Talbot of DrumQuest; and spiritual counselors Rev. Douglas Burleigh of Pathfinder Village, and Sisters Mary Veasy and Susan Lindinger of Divine Providence Village, Springfield, Pa.
"Some of the major takeaways of the series were to work with individuals to determine the art, music, fitness, and spiritual options they enjoy and to try these activities in different social settings so that they may become comfortable both in the activity and the setting," said Dr. Herge. "All our speakers have extensive experience with people with disabilities—they also emphasized how important it is to be flexible, to listen to the person, to encourage their creativity, and to expect that interests and abilities may change, especially as people experience physical aging or symptoms of cognitive decline or memory loss."
Over 60 viewers participated in the series; registrants were provided with webinar recordings and a web-based toolkit of additional enrichment resources that families, direct care staff, and program administrators may draw upon as they support adults with disabilities.
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Council Rock receives
Community Foundation grant
Pathfinder Village’s adult self-advocacy group, Council Rock, has been awarded a $5,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Otsego County to expand its outreach programs.
Center Director Brittany Goodrich serves as an advisor to Council Rock, which provides a forum for self-advocating adults with intellectual disabilities and develops activities that highlight members’ roles in the greater community. The group’s slogan is “We speak up for ourselves and our friends.”
Specifically, the grant will cover Council Rock’s marketing, travel, and outreach expenses so group members can present to area businesses and civic organizations to generate support and showcase examples of how the members themselves have found success and fulfillment in Otsego County, while creating more opportunities for new families to do the same.
CFOC’s Strategic Plan focuses on three initiatives: strengthening community, boosting Otsego’s non-profit sector, and assisting individuals in need of support. In response to a declining and aging county population, CFOC sought to fund programs to attract and welcome new families to the area. Through its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion grants, CFOC supports measures that promote a welcoming environment for all, including people of different identities/sexual orientations and those representing diverse social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.
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Lending a helping hand
Over 50 pounds of non-perishable foods were collected by Council Rock members through an agency-wide collection drive this November.
Most of the donations were Thanksgiving items—canned goods, broths, stuffing, and desserts—to help offset families’ dinner costs. Council Rock member Todd W. helped gather and deliver the donations to the Edmeston Community Cupboard.
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Thanks to our
area co-eds!
Council Rock’s second annual Halloween Party was spooktacular! A scary-catchy playlist, games, costume contest, take-home crafts, and themed refreshments were a huge hit for everyone at the Village.
A special thanks goes to the Colgate Buddies from Colgate University (@colgatebuddies), a student group that works to spread inclusion on campus and in the area. The co-eds assisted with setting up and donated all the crafts.
We also thank the undergrads from the Center for Social Responsibility and Community, a group of inspired SUNY Oneonta students who make a difference through volunteerism. Dressed in their best costumes, the students helped Council Rock members host area families at Pathfinder Village’s famous Haunted Hall.
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This photo was taken soon after the Center opened in 1996. Since then, the Center has touched countless lives through its services that support people with Down syndrome. It's an accomplishment we're proud of.
Best wishes to all our families, friends, and colleagues. We look forward to an exciting year of service and engagement in 2024.
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3 Chenango Road | Edmeston, NY 13335-2314
email: kwc@pathfindervillage.org | www.kwcdownsyndrome.org
Established in 1996, the Kennedy Willis Center at Pathfinder Village has
a three-fold mission: to provide continuing education for families and
the community at large regarding best practices in supporting individuals
with developmental disabilities, to serve as an information and life
planning resource for families who have a family member with a
developmental disability, and to host and conduct research
related to Down syndrome and developmental disabilities.
Copyright © 2023 Kennedy Willis Center on Down Syndrome. All rights reserved.
Please add kwc@pathfindervillage.org to your trusted senders list.
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