Obtaining Services for the Developmental Disabilities in the Community

Obtaining Services for the Developmental Disabilities in the Community

Resources available in the community of Florida, there are many available resources that help people with developmental disabilities and their families so that they can be able to manage themselves and support their daily lives (Beresford, 1994).  These resources include access to oral health care, DD screening, short-term service planning to help individuals develop a plan of care, applications for public benefits, access to Waivers, alternative care and MA home care services. The developmentally disabled are also provided with information on specialized housing and funding that includes living options. Local and regional resources include children’s medical services, catholic charity bureau that that is concerned with providing services to those in need without discriminating on basis of race or religion. They also advocate for justice, human dignity and quality of life. This charity is supported by people joining efforts together so as to ensure quality living for everyone. The other resource available is the counseling support for those affected by developmental disorders. There is also the Community Rehabilitation Programs that provides rehabilitation services to those who are visually impaired (Beresford, 1994).

Other resources include person centered services in areas of case management, independent living/life skills training, employment training and coaching, and behavioral health management. Senior citizens and disabled adults are provided with a comfortable home-like setting care. There is also the Act Corporation that provides health services to the mentally ill. They also serve people with addictions and criminal involvement and services whore at risk of developing delinquency and those who have serious emotional disturbances (Beresford, 1994).

The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) assists the people who are developmentally disabled and their parents to obtain services and support based on individual preference, capabilities, and needs and promote in making their daily activities easy.

These services are made available because people with disabilities and their families are faced with challenges that the normal people do not experience. In community living, people with disabilities have limited access to social services available and the housing provided for them is mostly inadequate and does not accommodate their disabilities. This challenge comes about due to the restricted communication as a result of disability; mobility is another issue and the ability to take care of their selves without relying on assistance from others. Because of this, the federal or state government and local agencies provide help to the disabled and their families through services like health care, vocational training and service coordination (Park, et al 2003).  The Developmental Disabilities Program Office under the Department of Children and Families ensures that social services and housing are provided to people with disabilities and their care takers.

Unavailability of convenient transportation makes it difficult for people with disabilities and therefore they are not able to access the needed services. Lack of the ability to learn in the normal education setup can make it challenging for the developmentally challenged to acquire education. Mostly, special education is provided and individuals are able to secure employment and be able to purchase oral health care from community practitioners (Park, et al 2003). It is also difficult for people with development disabilities to get employment because of the special facilities that they may require at the work place. Some of these people depend on others to feed, bath, dress them, and use the toilet and therefore it maybe tasking to hire such a person. However, some people get employed despite their disability because disability does not mean that they are lesser humans.

Health care is made available to these people by the government and local agencies. The health practitioners are also trained on how to take care of people with disabilities and ensure that their medical needs are taken care of (Park, et al 2003).

Provision of these services

Most of the special services that are offered to the developmentally disabled and their family are offered by the state agencies, community-based private health care, and volunteers such as charity organizations. However, provision of health services such as the oral health care is not available in every community because the number of inadequate number of trained professional (Koren, DeChillo, & Friesen, 1992).  Actually, oral healthcare provision has become a big problem in Florida. Dental care which is also not easily accessible is reported to be one of the most wanted services is dental care among children with disabilities.

How these services help in developing the competencies and talents of the disabled

These services help in supporting good health in the developmentally disabled and therefore providing quality life for these people. These services also helped the disabled to participate productively in the community through employment, education and career goal attainment. Through these services, a positive relationship is built in the society, the safety of the disabled is ensured, they are provided with a comfortable home and they are also made to feel equal to others in the society and therefore they actively participate in building the society (Koren, DeChillo, & Friesen, 1992).

These services enable them to take care of themselves where possible for example providing for their families when they get employed and also be able to relate well with people in the society and also to feel that they are equally important just like the others. Taking them to schools and facilities that enable them to develop their talents makes them to be useful people in the society. Even though these people cannot do everything that a normal person can do, they have unique abilities that can be used to develop the society. Education helps them to realize their potentials despite their disabilities (Koren, DeChillo, & Friesen, 1992). These services also make things easier for their care taker when they are provided with funds for their upkeep. Provision of houses and other housing services such as house care ensures that the developmentally stable have quality life.

The visually disabled

In the community, many services and resources have been put into place to help the visually disabled or the blind. Education through brail is offered to these people so that they can develop their potentials. This education shows that these people are just like the others and they have the potential of performing well independently. Education ensures that the visually blind play a role in the development of the society and also proves that these people should not be mistreated for their disability (Cohen, & Volkmar, 1997). Other services offered in the society include extracurricular activities that enable the blind to develop their talents. Many blind people are able to take part in many sporting activities and do excellently well. We can also see some musicians who are blind and through music they are able to market their talents. Free medical checkups for the blind have helped in the treatment of blindness and some people have been able to recover their sight after a long period of time. The counseling services offered to the blind and their families have helped them to accept themselves in the society and cope with blindness. Any disability is accompanied by emotional difficulties and they must be addressed in order for the person to continue with their life normally. The public has also been treated on how to interact with these people and address them without seeing them as abnormal people. This has led to the acceptance of blindness as a condition and not as an abnormality (Cohen, & Volkmar, 1997).

Some facilities have been developed and ran by people who are visually impaired to show that they are not lesser humans. Florida outreach center for the blind was begun in 2003 and it is purely led by blind people. This center provides education, that is, reading through Braille, computers and adaptive equipments. They are also taught basic life skills such as cooking, personal and home management. The services offered here are free and they are aimed at building confidence, live an independent life and pursue a career. These services help the visually blind to live a quality life accepting themselves and being confidence in themselves. Through this, it become easier also for their care givers because the visually blind and able to do a good number of things for themselves (Freedman, & Boyer, 2000).

Importance of these services to the family as a whole and how they aid in the care for these individuals

These services help families to accept the condition of one of their member and also have a good relationship with one another as a family (Freedman, & Boyer, 2000). These services also provide financial help to families that help in taking care of the disabled thus ensuring quality life for these people. Empowering the disabled also helps them to make constructive contributions to the development of the family.

Conclusion

Lives of the developmentally disabled can be made better by providing services that better their lives. The developmentally disabled have potentials that should be nurtured to develop, these potentials are the ones that prove that they are equal to other people and they should be respected. Provision of the services discussed contributes to a better quality of life for the disabled in the long run.

 

References

Beresford, B. A. (1994). Resources and strategies: How parents cope with the care of a disabled child. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35(1), 171-209.

Cohen, D., & Volkmar, F. (1997). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York.

Freedman, R. I., & Boyer, N. C. (2000). The power to choose: Supports for families caring for individuals with developmental disabilities. Health & Social Work, 25(1), 59-68.

Koren, P. E., DeChillo, N., & Friesen, B. J. (1992). Measuring empowerment in families whose children have emotional disabilities: A brief questionnaire. Rehabilitation Psychology, 37(4), 305.

Park, J., Hoffman, L., Marquis, J., Turnbull, A. P., Poston, D., Mannan, H., … & Nelson, L. L. (2003). Toward assessing family outcomes of service delivery: Validation of a family quality of life survey. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 47(4‐5), 367-384.

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