Computer art by Samantha Shockey. Sorry for the glare. These, I believe are either Disney princesses or Sam's rendition of various Disney performers. It's been awhile and I can't remember. I'm hoping to help my guys at work discover other interests and explore their talents, too.
Partnerships in Community Living is my new employer. They do an extensive orientation/ training period, for which I am very grateful. This past weekend, eight hours each day, was devoted to O.I.S. ( Oregon Intervention System). This is all about how to avoid "situations" and what to do when people get "out of hand" or you suddenly find yourself in a "situation".
Of course, the point is to do everything one can to avoid someone having a melt-down or exhibiting challenging behaviors. The happier people are, the fewer challenging behaviors are exhibited. Different people display different behaviors when they are upset. First, let me state, not all the people served by PCL have a behavior plan to deal with challenging behaviors because most people don't need one. However...
Some people, due to the challenges they face, the glitches in their systems, have trouble with communication and it's usually frustration that leads to problems. This can be anything from being over-tired, to wanting something they aren't allowed, to being ignored...the possibilities are endless, but I believe that boredom and loneliness may be the biggest culprits. Some people will destroy property, some will lash out at others, and other people will hurt themselves. Some just display inappropriate behavior like sneaking off ( safety issues--thanks to Sam I'm very aware of this problem) or disrobing ( again, thank you, Sam, my little nudist). So I'm not easily shocked.
I thought, initially, that having a bar might better prepare me for these instances. And I must say, that in some ways it does. I'm very aware of people's triggers and am very good at reading body language and can read the energy in a room. I actually do this a lot better than a lot of people. Therefore, I'm very hopeful and determined, that the people I work with and for will be content, and that I can help them achieve that.
Because if not, I'm in a world of hurt--literally. Unlike drunks in a bar (and this situation never happened in real life for me) if cornered and someone swings at me, I'm not allowed to move out of the way. That could hurt the person trying to hit me. Or kick me or bite me. Good luck with that. We're NEVER supposed to cause harm to the individuals we serve. And I certainly don't want to. I fully understand that if one of the people attacks me, they probably don't really want to hurt me, but are frustrated and can't express their needs. But if fist is flying toward my face, I don't know if I will remember what I was taught this weekend about personal physical intervention, including deflection. Evasion I grasp well. That's pretty instinctive. Deflection and closing a strike (?) is more difficult. It means we have to over-ride our instincts. If a drunk in a bar throws a punch at me and I evade contact, quite frankly I really do hope that "challenging person ( or ass-hole, whatever term you prefer) DOES have contact with the wall. In fact, I hope that person breaks his or her hand. I really do.
But in contrast, there have been a few isolated incidents when Samantha has become frustrated beyond her control and has pushed me. The last time she did this I had scissors in my hand and fell down into our horrible, sunken tub and guess what? IT HURT! But I didn't feel like beating her or punishing her or anything like that. I did feel a little bit pitiful and sorry for myself, but I actually felt more sorry for her. I was sorry because I realized at that moment just how much she'd been wanting to grow out her beautiful red hair. I felt bad because I felt like I didn't have a choice but to cut it (thanks to her getting "fart in a jar" stuck in her hair and that she'd butched one side of her head already) and I also felt stupid. I felt stupid because I should have looked at the physical environment and recognized immediately the inherent danger. After Miranda helped extricate my carcass from that hated bathtub, I finished the emergency hair cut in the relative safety of the kitchen.
Did I get angry with Sam? Not at all.
Some people, in fact many people, might look at the gentlemen I'll be working with with distaste. They are mostly non-verbal and they seem to have a tendency to drool while eating. And not wipe their chins. They sometimes display inappropriate behaviors, like public nudity or peeing in a corner or a drawer or something like that. But they are less likely to do so when they are happy and busy and have contact with other people. That's a good part of what I will be there for. And once again, thanks to my daughter, inappropriate nudity and peeing don't shake me up. At all. I'm pretty immune. One of the men, when first introduced to me, shook my hand and asked me for a bath. Kind of like being at the bar again. I didn't give him one, by the way. He has to get to know me a little better.
So the training this weekend...this is what I intended to talk about, my own feelings of incompetency. I discovered a couple of things about myself this weekend. One, my hamstring still isn't 100% and I'd be a lot better (faster and coordinated) if it was fully healed. Two, being fat sucks. It really does because it certainly interferes with speed and coordination. Plus I think all the sugar and toxic white flour contained in the delicious doughnuts that were provided, messes with my brain's abilities to do anything and everything--like think, learn, retain, and move the body properly. Could I resist the doughnuts? It appears that I couldn't because I would eat one, feel gross, and a couple of hours later I'd eat another one. Then feel gross and mentally slow.
Toys were provided. I'm so glad that PCL is so evolved an organization that they can recognize how people learn. The toys that were handed out in little baskets to each table were things like stencils (boring-we ignored those), tops, slinkies, and gyro-scopes (the best). These little aids helped keep us all awake and I think just about everyone in class was playing with the slinkies and gyro-scopes. I highly recommend these for long lectures.
The long lectures were broken up with sessions of practicing "the moves"--body positioning, deflection, and restraints. For the most part, I felt clumsy. Occasionally I felt middle-aged, but that I mostly blame on the doughnut O.D. and excess weight.
I came home and told Mick that if there ever is a physical incident at work involving me, expect me to come home bruised. I don't have "the moves" down yet. If attacked, I plan on requesting that my attacker slow down so that I can practice what I was taught. If I'm lucky, the shock of such a stupid request may gain me enough time to dodge out of the way. Hopefully, I won't be getting any practice with on-the-job training, unless it's a co-worker who is sincerely trying to teach me the moves and isn't just beating me up.
Am I worried? To be honest, no. I'm really not. If anything were to happen, I wouldn't be shocked, but I really don't foresee any problems. This better not be famous last words, but I don't think so. These men are so much more than just a diagnosis or a list of possible challenging behaviors. While their medical and cognitive problems are much more severe than Sam's, I can't help but look at them and wonder what would happen to Sam if she ever ended up in a group home. Would she appear as bright and funny and happy as she is now? Could she remain the way she is if everyone she had contact with was someone who was paid to be with her? Probably not. So, while it would be unprofessional (not to mention phony) to try to be these men's friend, I feel compelled to be as helpful as possible. Friendly. Understanding. Compassionate. Involved.
These men (and all the other people with disabilities) could be any of us. Any of us could suffer a traumatic brain injury. Any of us can give birth to a child with a disability. How would you want to be treated? How would you want your child treated? I think the guys and I are going to get along just fine.
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