Next Right Steps™ is a program that solely focuses on working with people who have disabilities by helping them to transition into adulthood and achieve their goals; what makes us so unique from other occupational therapy programs is that we work together with you and your family to bring out the abilities one might have in spite of their disability. We offer services that benefit both the parent and the child while covering all the stages of an individual's life journey.
Last week, I gave only a glimpse of what we as coaches, mentors, and consultants do at Next Right Steps™. Moving forward, I hope to go into a little more detail about a particular few services we offer, with each week being focused on a different cluster of services; this week, I have chosen to write about our shared interests groups for children, our caregiver/parent coaching and support system, and the teaching of social emotional coping skills that a person of any age who faces the real world with a disability will need in order to function in society.
I chose to write about these services first because I feel that they are the most crucial ones; developing a sense of belonging, self worth, and determination at an early age is the foundation of being fulfilled in all parts of life. The biggest obstacle for the parents is having to accept that their child is different, and having to change parts of their life to accommodate the needs of their child. The biggest obstacle for the child is trying to learn how to fit in, how to belong, and figuring out how they might one day contribute to society.
Our shared interest groups are something that I am really excited about because it's something that I wish I had growing up. We offer many activity groups for clients including rock climbing, fencing, technology, fine arts, yoga, botanical horticulture, etc. The biggest way to combat anxiety, depression, and the emotional issues that come along with being labeled "different" is to get involved in something you love. As a teenager, I was involved in theater and getting to play different roles. I loved acting. I loved performing period; one of my favorite shows to this very day is Glee. Nowadays, my love is being a writer because it is something I can identify myself with. I have a purpose; some of my best work is done on days when I am full of feelings. Our shared interest groups will also give clients the chance to learn to socialize and to have a place of support for each other and I like that; having a friend who knows exactly what you might be going through can be the biggest source of comfort.
In my life, another obstacle that I have faced is having to grow up constantly being ridiculed for my cerebral palsy. I kept a smile but never truly new how to defend myself. I just took the punches. I ended up going to college not knowing a thing about how to properly socialize and when someone got close to me, my lack of self esteem took over and I stuck with those people in any way I could. Social skills and emotional coping skills are crucial to successful, positive peer relationship development during any stage of life and the teaching of these said skills is something Next Right Steps™ offers as a part of the process. I think this service in particular is one of the main reasons I am happy to be a part of something like this; I've learned a lot in life just by both my successes and my failures. I am looking forward to sharing my story with clients and being their tour guide of life. I'm just one. We're all here to be listening ears!!!
The last service I want to touch to today is probably the most helpful in building a solid life foundation for a child, and that is the coaching and supports that our consultants provide for parents. I wrote of this in a previous post, but the parents' lives are the lives that are changed forever; their normal is gone and so they have to adapt to what we call a "new normal"; having a disability is all that child knows, but the coaching and counseling that is provided is meant to help the parent realize that even though their child is different, they can still be productive; it is also meant to help the parent cope emotionally with the specific needs and/or demands of the disability their family may face. Learning how to deal with all of it can be very beneficial to the child in that it will make them see that the parent does believe in them and it will affect their life in such a positive way. The best thing a parent can do is be the strong one; my mom always has been and I've picked up a lot from watching her in situations over the years. All of the things I mentioned in this post work together to form the foundation of a healthy, happy life, this is just the beginning...stay tuned to read more about Next Right Steps™.
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