Day activity center for special needs adults now open
Fri, 2016-05-06 05:00
News Staff
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
When a special needs child “ages out” of the public school systems, parents and caregivers are often faced with the dilemma of how to maintain their child’s skills and also where that young adult can stay while a parent is working.
Jeffrey and Tina Crawford have found a solution to the very dilemma they faced with special needs children in their care.
The Crawfords, who lived in the Pidcoke area, recently opened Step By Step Dayhab in 212 Cove Terrace Shopping Center to provide a setting where adults with special needs can flourish, along with maintain and possibly grow their skills after leaving high school.
Tina is a registered nurse with a BSN and was previously a mental health nurse for four years, and has taught in the LVN program at Central Texas College. Nearly finished with her Master’s degree in Nursing Education, she has learned firsthand of the skills that Step By Step seeks to develop in their clients.
Crawford has been a foster parent for more than 20 years, with five of her foster children finding their “forever home” with the Crawfords. All five have special needs. Two daughters, age 21 and 22, have autism and intellectual and developmental disorder; a son, 16, has Asperger’s disorder; and two sons ages 21 and 25 have dyslexia, learning disabilities and ADHD.
After the Crawfords’ daughters became too old for high school, the couple searched for local day centers but were unsuccessful because of waiting lists, or their girls didn’t qualify due to the level of need.
Lisa, age 21, said her favorite part of being at Step By Step is helping with the animals. She keeps busy cleaning the guinea pig cage. She also has a tied quilt wall hanging in the works and has made several jewelery pieces she would like to sell.
Brittany, age 22, said her favorite thing to do at Step By Step is clean. She particularly enjoys using the vacuum cleaner and cleaning the bathroom. She also likes sensory bottles, which are water bottles that are not only filled with water, but with colorful water beads that mimic the soothing motion of a lava lamp.
Tina said Step By Step is prepared to receive clients with disorders, and they have a capacity of 30 with a ratio of one attendant to five clients. Currently the center has three clients, two of whom are the Crawfords’ daughters, with three more clients who will be on board with the center this summer. The center also currently has three volunteers.
Inside Step by Step, there is a main room which has areas for reading and audio books, video games, an animal corner which currently has a guinea pig and a hermit crab. In addition to that area, the facility has an autism sensory room, as well as separate areas for exercise to include a treadmill, a sensory swing, and more. The kitchen and laundry centers have a full washer and dryer, where clients can practice and develop skills they could potentially use in a job.
“With Goodwill, they’ve suggested we have (clients) practice not only hanging up clothing and folding it, but sorting by color and size,” Crawford said. Those kinds of life skills will help their clients, should any of them apply for a job. The same goes for the utensils section, where they can practice rolling silverware inside napkins, a valuable entry-level skill for some restaurants, as is loading and unloading a dishwasher.
Having the center inside Cove Terrace is also a plus, as Crawford said they can make “field trips” to stores in the area as well as restaurants to practice their skills.
Crawford said their clients are served by programs such as Central Counties MHMR, as well as Texas D.A.D.S, programs such as HCS, CLASS, TXHML and MDCP, and potential clients’ families in any of those families should contact their program provider case manager to make arrangements for funding to participate at Step By Step. Crawford said they also accept private pay clients.
Step By Step is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.