Wholistic Day Programs
Life in general throws us curveballs. Barriers are presented to us along the way. Obstacles stand in the way of you and your dreams. When you are living with a brain injury, the hurdles can be overwhelming. Re-entering a community can be daunting. Everyday actions we take for granted can be complicated and demanding in the world of a brain injured person.
The rehabilitation process offers hope. Hope for independence and a belief that personal empowerment and quality of life will be possible once again. The rehabilitation process is also as unique and elaborate as the individual personalities they serve.
URSA's Brain Injury Services offers quality services to individuals living with a brain injury. This program moves beyond traditional therapy and supports each person in maximizing their abilities. The program is unique in that it concentrates on the person as a whole. URSA focuses on not just one part that requires fixing, but rather an entire person, based on evaluations and assessments to determine the specific needs of that person.
Because the program is customized to accommodate each individual, it is broken down into four major phases. Each phase is designed to assess, develop and implement the program best suited to the individual to help them fully reach their goals and live life to the fullest .
Phase 1 – The Assessment Phase
This phase works collectively with the individual and their family to determine a starting point of reference. A comprehensive, integrated assessment is established and the findings are used to develop a rehabilitation service plan to meet the individual needs of the client.
Phase 2 – The Rehabilitation Phase
This second phase of the program focuses on the development and execution of the plan. The plan is created together with the individual and their guardian and/or family members. Key factors in this phase look at:
- The individual's current goals and their level of functioning
- Recommendations from the initial assessment and subsequent progress reports
- An account of the client's strengths, challenges and environmental factors
Phase 3 – The Intervention/Implementation Phase
The implementation of an individualized service plan is the goal of this third phase. Clients need to learn or re-learn skills through the completion of certain strategies and activities.
This performance phase is tailored to the client's specifications and must take into consideration many factors. The individual's learning style, their unique brain injury, their specific goals and the rehab team's recommendations all play a role in developing the foundation.
A Wholistic Therapist sets up the training in either a one-on-one environment or in a small group setting. This training is intended to assist the individual with learning new skills or new compensatory strategies to improve their overall function.
The specifics of the intervention program involve:
- The development of learning strategies which are modified to each client
- Teaching new skills or compensatory strategies. This is achieved through consistency and repetition
- Assessment of the client – have the new skills been learned?
- Reinforcing the client through the process of modeling and participation
- Re-visiting and revising strategies as needed
Phase 4 – Service Planning and Evaluation
This final phase of the Day Program includes service planning and evaluation. This ensures all the other phases of the rehabilitation plan are meeting the individual's objectives. To ensure all goals are achieved, the following are in place:
- A formal annual conference is held to review and discuss the ongoing Rehabilitation Service Plan
- Regular progress checks with the individual are completed
- Meetings are held to determine if service is being completed, therapeutic interventions are being reviewed and the needs of the clients are being met
- Client and family feedback and satisfaction is crucial. As a result, open communication is encouraged between the client, their family members and the URSA rehab team
Our clients are actively involved in choosing what supports they require. The goals of our Day Program include the following:
- To provide individuals with opportunities for self determination and empowerment
- To help individuals achieve self sufficiency by gaining skills of independence
- To foster self-confidence in an environment which provides therapeutic intervention
- To promote community integration
- To facilitate adaptation of the skills of the individual through support and education
Community involvement grows along with independence
As individuals grow and gain skills relating to their independence, their interests in becoming more involved with the community also increases. Unfortunately due to various medical conditions and the need for support, traditional forms of employment and certain Day Programs are not ideal for some individuals.
URSA's desire to help these individuals had led to the operation of our current Day program. This particular program is:
- A community based program where participants experience a variety of social situations on a daily basis, both within their community and the outlying areas.
- Flexible in programming times, allowing participants to attend when it's best for them
- Recreation oriented, allowing for learning and development of new skills, through play and fun
- Staffed with individuals that are experienced with assisting individuals, facing a wide variety of challenges.