Day #7 What I do

I work for Downeast Horizons.  www.dehi.org   it is an agency that supports adults and children with developmental disabilities. i work in the adult program.  ten hours a week i work with a young man who has autism and lives on his own.  i help him with meal planning/shopping, keeping his apartment under control, transporting to appointments and recreation.  basically my job is to make sure that he has what he needs to live safely in the community. it can be stressful at times and then other times its just like hanging out with someone for the day.  it is satisfying and you never feel like you wasted time or were doing something useless.  i used to feel like that when i worked in the supermarket.

15 hours a week i work in an evening program.  the group varies in size from 8-16 adults with 3 staff.  their ages vary from 25 to 60.  we work with the program participants on meal planning/prep, healthy habits, exercise, safety, in addition to community inclusion activities and recreational activities.  we also do arts and crafts, bingo, karaoke (my absolute favorite) and movies.  this is a fun group and i enjoy it a lot.

The company i work for is always hiring.  we are continually growing and it is hard to find good, dedicated employees.  it's not just a job.  you have to really want to do this type of work or you won't last long.  the majority of the adults have downs syndrome.  in the younger generations it is autism.  there are very few young people with downs due to abortion.  so sad.  the children's programs are growing quickly because autism has become so prevalent.  its a bit scary when you think about it.  we need to find out what it is in our environment that is causing this!

There is a huge wave of young people growing out of the children's program and needing services as adults. these young people need support staff in order to live in and be safe in the community.  this field is set to grow tremendously.  the agency i work for provides the training you need and has very flexible schedules.  No matter what part of the country you live in it must be a similar situation.  I would highly recommend this field of employment to anyone who is looking to not only earn a living but do it in a rewarding and fulfilling way.