“To improve the living and working conditions and opportunities for persons with severe disabilities.”
EEO/AA/M/F/D/V

Director’s Corner
By: Phil. L Taylor

During our last Board meeting I was really charged up because our Board appeared to be very excited about some of the things we have got going.  We are putting more emphasis on analyzing some of our employees’ retention and discharge data over the next several months.  Director D.B. Price will be working with our HR department in several different areas.  This type of involvement and focus will help us continue to develop better employment opportunities for our staff.  We hope to be able to retain good employees and determine areas in which we as supervisors and as an organization need to address.

I was also very encouraged to get the support and understanding of the Board regarding our involvement in the Americas-Group and Work-Abilities International.  Over the last two years I have worked with both groups in international meetings that have helped two of our U.S. members generate several hundred thousand dollars of new business.  This has meant more jobs and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.  A member in New York and one in Arkansas are the initial members working with an international member in the U.K.  In future meetings this year I hope to further our efforts to create more of these opportunities for our organization and other Arkansas Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs as well as Americas-Group members.  I anticipate  that the new B2B action committees in the international group will be one of the driving forces for this effort.

The most exciting support came with a concept I have played with for the last several months.  Over the last few years I have kept before our Board thru my monthly reports and our Strategic Business Plans the idea of developing more opportunities for people with disabilities in the Delta region.  One way to do that is to develop small business initiatives that are self-supporting in the various small rural communities.  In these Delta areas there are little or no employment opportunities for people with disabilities.  Naturally, the hard part is coming up with viable small business ideas that require very little investments that our clients could do with minimal business supports.  My idea is to develop a grant program for these business ideas.   I believe I can get some great ideas and business plans we can use for our clients by promoting an RFP (Request For Proposals) through the various Business Departments in the colleges and universities in Arkansas.   The request would outline the proposal addressing specific criteria including the rural areas of the Delta as the target business locations, require market surveys to support the concept and a business plan that could be easily used for the sustainable business start-ups for under a $5,000 investment.  The four top applications would receive scholarships for their efforts of $1,000, $750, $500, and $250.  The next 10 finalists would receive plaques of special recognition.  My goal for this project is to get, at least, fourteen good varied business proposals that could be used by some of our clients to develop self-employment opportunities in these rural areas.  In many cases the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services can assist their clients in these opportunities with up to $5,000 for start-ups that have a viable business idea and business plan.  This should give us a unique opportunity to help clients become self-employed.  This type of approach is one viable way to create jobs in the Delta area for our clients.

I plan to send out these RFPs in the early part of summer and again in the early September to get as many business students interested as possible.  I would look for a mid November deadline, so there would be enough time to judge and make the awards prior to their Christmas breaks.  This would also give us some ideas beginning early the next year to really start a viable effort to engage these business options for our clients.  Our Board will be the primary judges for these grants.  I am really looking forward to seeing what this process will bring.

Well, I have to close for now.  I believe these are exciting times and I just want to continue to encourage you that what you do on behalf of your consumers is extremely important.  Thanks and keep up the good work.

Happy Birthday

Tonya Ferguson 5th
Beth Clem  7th
Bridget Buhrmester 8th
Tammy Trantham 9th
Sabrenia Parker 20th
Harriet Beaugard 21st
Jessica Germano 24th
Paul Gunter  25th
Deborah Hufsteder 26th
Rhiannon Morgan 30th
Tanika Truitt  30th
 
 

Welcome to Abilities Unlimited
Donna Bocanegra ACS Implementor
Olene Cope  Flex
Bart Crawford Flex
Shirley Donnerson ACS Implementor
Delinda Glover Flex
Mary Greer  ACS Implementor
Michael Hart  Blytheville Site Manager
Diane Henderson Flex
Tracy Howard Flex
Justin Humphrey Flex
Jason Lewis  ACS Implementor
Patricia Pulliam ACS Implementor
Lisa Rogers  ACS Implementor
Miriam Rolfe  ACS Implementor
Tammy Trantham Flex
Diane Trice  ACS Implementor
 

April Service Awards
Several employees celebrated their one year anniversary with A.U. this month. They are: Micah Ballard, Deborah Hufsteder, Will Howard and Stephanie Martin. They each received a pin and certificate for their hard work and dedication. Thank you for all you do! Insurance Reminder
Insurance applications should have been turned in by April 30th. If you have not yet turned yours in, take care of this as soon as possible.

A.U.  Logo  T-shirts
Those of you interested in purchasing A.U. logo T-shirts should see Darren May. There are a variety of colors and the cost is just $8.00 for S,M,L,XL and an additional $1 for larger sizes.   Long sleeve T-shirts are also available at an additional cost.
 

May is Licensure Month
By Cheryl Heskett, Director of Consumer Services

I wanted to review with everyone what DDS Licensure is and the areas they focus on annually. Licensure visits us annually to review the following areas in compliance and this year they come in May: ACS Waiver Certification; Board of Directors; Personnel Procedures; Staff Training; Individual/Parent/Guardian Rights and Procedures; Case Management; Program Plan Development; Transportation; Physical Plan; and Safety. All of the listed areas above have a long list of sections that identify the different standards that will be reviewed by Licensure. Generally, three DDS Licensure staff members come for a two day period to review and talk to consumers. Unfortunately, paperwork is a huge part of our Program Manager’s responsibility and often it is an unmanageable nightmare. Your supervisor will request a variety of items weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually and your full cooperation is essential in order to process everything in a timely manner. Thank you for being dedicated and providing the core services that assist our consumers in achieving their identified outcomes.
 


Chronic Mental Illness Brief
by Christy Wyatt, L.S.W.

This is the third in a series of articles regarding diagnosis of chronic mental illness (CMI). Its purpose is not to teach staff to diagnose consumers, but rather to help staff see the difference between symptoms of mental illness and learned behaviors. The characters in the articles do not depict anyone known to the writer.

INTERMITTENT EXPLOSIVE DISORDER

Maurice has a long history of assaultive and destructive behaviors, such that he has been expelled from public school, and is currently attending classes at the local Community Mental Health program. As long as things are going alright, he seems to function well, but when he is stressed, or something pushes his buttons, he is liable to do just about anything. At your appointment with him, he politely asks you to help him get back to public school. You tell him that you will not be able to assist him in this, and his response is to call you a filthy name and smash some pictures in your office.

Maurice acts normally most of the time and gets along with others. When upset, he acts out by assaulting someone, breaking something, or screaming filthy language. Incidents that cause the upsets are not considered provocative enough to cause such an outburst in other people. Maurice feels tension before the “episode” and relief afterwards.

Maurice is diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Intermittent Explosive Disorder is one of the impulse control disorders. It is distinguished from Anti-Social Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Manic  Episodes, Psychotic Episodes, and ADHD because no symptoms are present if the person is not stressed. The disorder is also distinguished from organic causes such as drugs, general medical conditions, or head injury.The consumer may describe the episode as an attack or a spell and may or may not feel remorse afterward.  New Site Manager in Blytheville
by Christy Wyatt, L.S.W.
We welcome our new Site Manager, Michael Hart, who comes to us from Corning, Arkansas. His experience includes supervision of production operations, both large and small, and retail management. He has also done some Human Resources which will come in handy. Michael has an Associate of Arts from Crowley’s Ridge College, and a Bachelor of Science from Troy State University in Alabama. He also brings us two Associates of Applied Science in Material Management and in Technology Instruction.
The Blytheville Production Department continues to grow strong under the very capable hand of April Rinkines, the Production Supervisor. A month after she took over the department, Milwaukee Tools management told her that they would keep her busy if she kept things coming back to them the way that she had been thus far, and they have held to their word. Christy Wyatt is doing consumer recruitment just to provide her with the extra hands that she needs to keep up!      Consumers in the Spotlight
by Stephen Posey
Carla Blythe attended the Business Expo held at the ASU Convocation Center on April 20th, 2004. She volunteered her time to help us with operating the booth by greeting people as they passed  and offering assistance when they stopped to look at the display of jewelry. Carla was very well dressed and looked radiant with her big bright smile. She also took advantage of her time by looking at what all the other booths had to offer. Also, Lyn Clements’ artwork was displayed at the Forum on April 27th, 2004. The display consisted of jewelry, paintings and design plates she has completed over the past few months. We presented her with a community achievement award due to her excellence and commitment to the community.
There will be an upcoming event at the Forum on Tuesday, May 18th, 2004. The Monroe WAC/AD Center will be presenting a performance of “Irish Jiggin’ at the Forum” along with a display of artwork. Showtime is 11:30a.m. We invite everyone to come out and support the consumers during this exciting time! 
Consumer Services   - Jonesboro

The following was taken from a brochure produced by Arkansas Governors’ Developmental Disabilities Council.  Their website is www.ddcouncil.org.

WATCH YOUR WORDS, THEY AFFECT OTHERS

Words are the only things that last forever.  People with disabilities know all to well that words create opportunities or build barriers.  Man or woman, adult or child, it’s something they’ve all dealt with every day of their lives.
For too long words have been used to separate and isolate people with disabilities.  They’ve heard them all - idiot, retard, handicapped, fragile, mentally weak, weird, deformed, moron, dumbbell, brain dead, imbecile, cripple, mongoloid, spastic, feebleminded, brain damaged, drip, stupid - and on and on and on.
Watch your thoughts for they become words.  Choose your words for they become actions.  Time after time people with disabilities have been identified not as a person but as problem.  They’ve heard terms like afflicted with, cripple by, suffers from, and a victim of.  They’ve been pitied and praised because of their “battle” to overcome their handicap.
To paraphrase writer George Orvell, it thought corrupts language then language can corrupt thought.  Put another way, the words we choose reflect our attitudes.
That’s why people with disabilities prefer “people first language”.  What, exactly, is people first language?  Simply put, people first language uses words in a way that identifies the person before their so-called problem.
The formula is simple - put the person before the problem and you get a positive perception.  This, people with disabilities will you, is the first step toward full acceptance as contributing members of society.  It is one of the ways they can let heir fellow citizens know that they are not broken - that for them being disabled is a natural, not a selected way of life.
People first language also prevents the tendency to reduce the person to the disability.  When words alone define a person, the result is a label ... a label that almost always reinforces the barriers created by negative and stereotypical attitudes.
As the nation’s last minority, people with disabilities know something most of us fail to recognize - what you see is not necessarily what you get.  While people with disabilities and their advocates are working hard to end the very real discrimination and segregation in education, employment and participation in community activities, all of us must strive to eliminate the prejudicial language that creates barriers to inclusion in the mainstream of society.
We cannot always control our thoughts but we can control our words.  Like paint on a canvas, words create a powerful image.  The question is whether we want that image to be a straightforward, positive view of people with disabilities or an insensitive portrayal that reinforces common myths and is a form of discrimination.
And one more thing - let’s not talk about “special needs” anymore.  The needs of a person with a disability aren’t special to him or her.
A final word: the following are examples of the do’s and don’ts in the use of people first language.  One more time, put the person first when writing or speaking about people with disabilities!  Stay away from labels like the blind, the deaf or the disabled.  They do not reflect the individuality, equality or dignity of people with disabilities.  So, with all this in mind, when referring to a person with a disability ....
Say or write this....   Instead of this!
She is a person with a disability.               She is handicapped or disabled.
He is an individual without a disability.      He is able bodied.
They are kids without disabilities.              They are normal kids.
He is a person with a cognitive disability    He’s retarded.
She is an individual with Autism                She’s autistic
He needs behavior supports.                     He has behavior problems.                                                               She is a person with a learning             She’s learning disabled.
disability
He uses a wheelchair                              He’s confined to a wheelchair.
She has a physical disability.           She’s a quadriplegic or a cripple.
He has a brain injury                              He’s brain damaged
She has a congenital disability.                She suffers from a birth defect.
He is a person with mental retardation.    He’s retarded or mentally defective.
She is a person who is blind or visually     The blind.
impaired.
He is a person who is deaf or hearing.       He suffers from an impaired hearing loss or is deaf
He is a person with cerebral palsy.            He is a victim of CP.
She is a person with epilepsy.                   She is epileptic.