Three Common Forms of Therapy Offered by Disability Services

A disability services office can help with a wide range of technologies and services that help to improve a person's quality of life. Disabilities can cause limitations in regard to motor function, mobility, and even cognitive abilities. Fortunately, any one of these challenges can be overcome with the support and resources available through the right specialists. Here are just a few of the key training and therapy areas that you might find through a disability services provider.

Occupational Therapy

Many people need help adapting to a particular type of job. Some patients can work successfully in their field for decades and still need occupational therapy after an injury. Often, this type of therapist works to help patients confront their biggest challenges. Some employers will be able to make accommodations for certain physical limitations. Unfortunately, not all worksites are wheelchair accessible, and many careers demand certain minimum levels of physical or mental ability. Over the course of several meetings, it should be possible to identify realistic goals and address any areas of conflict.

Therapeutic Music

The healing power of music can be a real phenomenon for those challenged by emotions or coordination. Playing a relatively simple instrument can be an opportunity to practice timing and muscle control. Learning about the instrument and music can be an avenue for developing communication skills. The impactful nature of music is evident in many movie soundtracks, and participation in the production of music can make a patient more engaged. Cooperation with other musicians allows for even more experience with communication, and it involves more pressure than simply playing solo or with a recording.

Physical Therapy

After a debilitating injury or illness, many patients require assistance in regaining control and use of their bodies. Some self-motivated workaholics might be overly zealous and do more harm than good through exercise. After surgery, for example, the recommended rest period can be a vital step in the recovery process. Jumping right back into exercise could cause injuries that lead to infections or otherwise limit the positive results. Conversely, many people need the added motivation of physical therapists encouraging and coaching them through the exercises. In either case, it's incredibly helpful to have a licensed professional make sure that activities and their intensities are appropriate.

In all of their forms, disability services help people reach toward and maximize their potential. Depending on individual circumstances, it helps to start by talking extensively about the challenges associated with one's medical history. It's also important to identify goals and priorities. Many pathways may offer an improved quality of life, but one person's priority may be different than others. If a particular job or form of independence is most important, then it's a good idea to discuss these values with a therapist.

Professional disability are meant to support the physically and mentally challenged individuals to live independently as much as possible with assistance in integrating them in their environment for good social interaction. This approach helps to allow these individuals to enjoy their lives just like any normal individual; only a little professional guidance and encouragement is required.

It is encouraging to the learning services trainers and volunteers when they witness the successful outcomes of their efforts on these special individuals who can communicate with others satisfactorily as well as have a comfortable lifestyle of their own in their own homes.

A Faster Disability Evaluation System For Disabled Service Members

It is no secret that there needs to quite a bit of reform in the disability rating system for the Department of Defense and Veterans' Affairs (VA). At present, there is no transparency in the process. The Department of Defense (DoD) conducts their own disability evaluations, the VA conducts their own disability evaluations, separate systems cause confusion, and the process is extremely timely and divided.

To help remedy this situation, there is a new pilot being tested called the disability evaluation system (DES) that consists of a single disability evaluation that is used to diagnose, rate, and compensate disabled members by both the DoD and the VA. The pilot was developed jointly between the DoD and VA to help ill or injured service members obtain higher disability ratings, move along quickly in the process, and start receiving their payments faster. The pilot programmers also aimed at providing more transparency in the process, which helps service members get taken care of more quickly and leaves them feeling fairly treated.

The pilot is currently in five military bases and is set to open in 17 more bases by May 2009. Nearly 900 service members who are disabled have been through the DES pilot, and it is estimated that nearly 700 disabled service members a month will be able to go through the system when it reaches 22 military bases.

While nearly everything about the pilot seems wonderful and successful, some are worried about expanding the disability evaluation program too quickly without hiring and training additional staff for advocacy counseling. The pilot will also create a very heavy workload on Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers (PEBLOs) and case managers. It has been said that PEBLO is not an advocate of this pilot being pushed into the system so quickly, without the necessary new hires and trainings needed, especially at the larger military bases.

In the end, the consensus is that 'you have to start somewhere'. Putting the new DES pilot into place and moving ill and injured service members through the system at a quicker rate (with less work) will eventually show results and the initial reviews of the pilot are encouraging.

Person-Centred Learning Disability Services

Learning disabilities (LD) is a broad expression referring to a cluster of disorders including difficulty in understanding new information, learning new skills, handling day to day affairs independently etc. People with LD may have trouble in oral and written expression, listening comprehension and mathematical calculation. They may also suffer from lack of sustained attention and, time and social skills. Difficulty in any one of these mentioned areas makes a person rightful to avail of special social care services and learning disability services. Since learning disability is a lifelong condition, people with LD need continuous support and regular counseling.

Person-centred Approach - The Need of the Hour

Lack of communication and understanding of people's ordinary and special needs, which normally characterizes normal learning services settings, have to be wiped out. These services should attend to the overall well-being of people by understanding, enlightening, connecting, counseling and admiring them. These overall well-being elements should be attended along with meeting the many special health care needs. Person-centred disability services are the best way to fulfill these requirements.

The heart of person-centred approach in learning services implies that the services are individual to, and owned by, the person being supported. The current social service settings show that people with learning are still not given participation and independence in making choices about their care. It is high time that learning services should be made more accountable. It has been widely observed that most of the care homes and hospitals lag behind in offering patient-centred care.

Placing people with disabilities at the heart of the planning process can do wonders in the path of LD services. According to certain studies, an improved quality of life for about 70% of people can be achieved by embracing this radical approach. There is a common misconception that people with LD fail to articulate preferences and decisions. Studies have proved that people with deep and manifold disabilities possess the skill to convey preferences and decisions on matters that have a direct influence on them.

Another aspect that should be given major priority is the inclusion of persons' families in the decision making process. There is a tendency in many service settings to treat family members as outsiders. This attitude should be changed and they should be given a key role in the decision making process.

Aging and Disability Services

As adults grow older they often require greater care in order to accomplish daily tasks and to maintain and regulate their health. For children of elderly parents, finding dignified and quality care can be a daunting task. While some adult children are unable to care for their aging parents in the home, many are still reluctant to admit their parents to nursing home facilities. Fortunately, a variety of other options are available for the elderly that can provide the assistance they need to stay healthy and maintain a sense of independence.

Homecare

As its name suggests, homecare, or in-home care, involves specialists who provide seniors with the care they require within their own home. A certified nurse or in-home care personnel will come to the home from one day to seven days a week and help the resident with remembering to take medication, preparing meals, dressing, washing, and sometimes light cleaning of the home. In this way the senior resident can enjoy living in the comfort of their own home without having to be alone and not being able to provide for themselves. Homecare services can also be enlisted for those who are not elderly but who are recovering from surgery and those experiencing pregnancy.

Assisted Living Facilities

These are elderly residential living areas that allow seniors to live on their own while also providing basic necessities such as meals, laundry and cleaning services, medication reminders and extracurricular activities. Often elders in these settings live in their own private apartments while the staff makes the rounds throughout the week to assist them with day to day chores. Residents receiving these services have the opportunity to participate in the assisted living community's events, such as mixers, fitness classes, trips and other social engagements.

Hospice Care

When a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness, their prime objective, as well as the objective of their loved ones, is to provide them with the best care possible in their final days. Hospital care workers strive to help those with terminal illnesses enjoy the last few weeks or months of their lives in a loving, supporting environment. They provide medication, emotional and spiritual support and help their patients maintain their dignity in their last days. Hospice care can be provided in the patient's home, at a long-term living facility or in a hospital.

So whether your loved one needs around the clock or occasional care, these aging and disability services are a perfect way to enable someone to enjoy independence as well as receive the medical and home care they need in order to live a safe and healthy life.

Disability Services Are Working to Build a Better Community

There are a number of citizens in this country who have handicaps, whether they be psychiatric, physical, sensory, or neurological, and they can often have a more difficult time performing everyday tasks that most people take for granted. Disability services work with the handicapped and their families to foster a community where the disabled can fully participate in all of life's daily activities with equal opportunities as the rest of society. In addition to providing help with day-to-day tasks, these groups also act as advocates for the handicapped and fight to make sure their civil liberties and human rights are protected. They often work tirelessly to ensure that laws are put in place to protect those in a less fortunate situation are enforced.

Disability services can also include support groups for a number of different issues. If you are interested in going to group meetings, look into ones that are held in your area. Groups are a great way for those who suffer from any number of impliments to get together and socialize. Whether it is talking about a specific condition that is shared among the group or simply for meeting others facing similar challenges, it is good to get out and come together as a community. Everyone can benefit from having a strong peer support group, and it is one of the cores of independent living.

Independent living resources are also provided for those who require them. Independence is another one of those things that most of us take for granted, but it is a very important aspect of life. These resources are designed to facilitate the disabled, and give them the control over such basic things such as transportation, medical care, and housing. These programs are designed to give the handicapped control over the barriers that could possibly prevent them from living independently.

Another large part of independence is employment. Community works programs are in place to help and assist those with conditions that would otherwise make finding a job difficult, gain and maintain employment. A community works incentive coordinator is also often part of disability services to aid in the job hunt, as well as provide assistance in financial planning. By helping them to build a more financially secure future, organizations that help the disabled can help ensure a person's independence for years to come.

In so many ways, disability services are working for a better community for all of its citizens. If you suffer from an impediment, find out about all the resources in your locale that are designed for your benefit. If you are blessed with your health, seriously consider lending these wonderful programs a bit of your time. Be a part of the greater good and work to create a better community for future generations. 

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