Benefits Of Group Homes For Developmentally Disabled Adults

| Saturday, June 27, 2015
By Edna Booker


There are a significant number of persons in the general population living with developmental disability. Illnesses commonly associated with these disabilities include cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and autism among others. A personal with mental disability finds it difficult to live comfortably with the general population because of the special needs that they need. Cases of stigmatisation are common. There are many group homes for developmentally disabled adults that may help with these cases.

One of the biggest challenges that persons with the developmental disability is the fact that they cannot take care of simple tasks relating to personal care. This includes grooming, feeding, using the toilet and other survival skills. There is a heavy dependence on other family members which may result in inconveniences and friction among the family members.

How long can one stay in a group home? There are no hard and fast rules regarding the duration of stay in the facilities. This stay is determined by the severity of limitation and how fast they gain survival skills. There should be no hurry to have them come back home until they are fit.

One of the biggest determinants of success is the maintenance of a healthy family relationship and to ensure that the affected individual gets as much family support as possible. A significant proportion of families tend to use the programs as a way of getting rid of a disabled person. This should not be the case. There should be regular visits to the home so as to show support for the family member.

Many different types of homes exist and choosing the best may be a bit difficult. There is need to compare several of them before settling on your final decision. All group homes needed to be licenced to operate. The authority that issues this licence is the Department of Human Services. If the affected individual has a coexisting medical condition as is the case at times, ensure that they are enrolled in a facility where treatment will take place.

The residential homes are required by law to have day activity centres that engage the occupants and help with mental training. They should also have opportunities for vocational job trainings or job placement services. This is aimed at achieving the main objective of integrating the individual into the community once they live the home. Ensure that the home that you chose has these services.

One of the advantages of the homes is that the individuals are given an opportunity to explore their talents which would not otherwise be discovered. When properly trained some of these people may be empowered to work alongside able bodied colleagues. Since each person has a unique problem different from the other, specially trained instructors are allocated to each of the adults. It is this instructor that is best placed to identify the skills of the individuals and to sharpen them so that they can be useful to society.

There is no doubt that a person with disability requires a lot of attention. This is because they have very little in survival skill. By taking them to a group home, you are not getting rid of them. It is simply an opportunity to train them so that they can take care of themselves. The fact that they live together with other people dealing with the same challenges, is advantageous.




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