Sorry for the letdown ...

Hey Andriko and everyone else ... I must apologize for letting you down and not fulfilling my attempt to show you how my thesis is going. However, I am not sure I can add anymore until I do a bit more thinking and researching about my new ideas. Maybe I'll post again in the middle of August to let you know how the next stage of my research is going!!

Andriko asked about my practicum and wanted more information. Again ... I was just teasing you with the tip of a carrot so I'll give you a bit more information on my practicum because it's a huge issue in society today and one that is often hidden.

As of 2009 all provincially funded institutions that currently house people with developmental disabilities (often people with multiple disabilities) will be closed. A few have been closed but three are still open and slowly placing people in other locations. There are approximately 1000 people that need to be relocated. The Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and the Ministry of Social and Community Services have joined forces (which sometimes run opposite of each other) to provide a protocol of how to place people being relocated from the large institutions. The primary goal is to place the residents in a group home. Society has now changed opinions and believes that the best care is provided in the community and not being stored away in a large institution. The three women that I focus my attention on come from Huronia Regional Centre. The closures are both widely accepted and greatly feared. I will include a few websites that you can look at if you want more information. I did a project for a class that involved assessing the protocol used to place individuals and found it to be very flawed. I believe the governments are aware of these flaws as it is being redeveloped right now!! The problem (or a benefit depending on how you look at it) for the women is that they have all lived in an institution for most of their adult life and as they are in their 80s (a new phenomenon since most people with developmental impairments were not expected to live past 40) the best location for them was a long-term care home. Basically these women were replacing one institution for another. On the other hand, there is a man placed at the same long-term care home who is in his 40s. His family made the decision for him to be placed at this home because it was close to them and seemed like a nice place (it is a nice place ... one of the few nice nursing homes I have seen). This man is not adjusting well and his family is regretting this placement (or so I have heard). It is difficult to adjust to an environment where everyone around you is twice your age. There is also a concern that the current residents (who do not have developmental impairments) are not very accepting of the new residents - many of whom are non-verbal.

The purpose of my research will be to determine what makes a successful transition from one institution to the next. So far the women have adapted quite well. I have heard stories about people who visited the provincially funded institutions and would call them horror stories. The places were often filled with half naked people who just walked around like zombies. There are stories about little children playing in a room with only tiny windows near the tall ceiling and only have one ball for a roomful of children. One woman told me that she has a strong stomach but she almost vomited when she saw some of the images in these institutions (I am not sure which one she was in). I also heard that many of the adults lived in a large room with small cots and one bathroom to be shared. This would not even be acceptable as a dorm at a university.
The three women now have 1-1 care basically ALL day (whenever they are awake). They get taken on extra outings and have all their needs met by people working for a developmental services agency. They are warming up to the women who provide care to them and often hug and kiss them. Apparently affection was not something found in their previous home.
I am working on incorporating the long-term care home's policies with the developmental services agency's policies so that workers only have to look at one book (more daunting than it seems and not very enjoyable but someone has to do it I guess!!)
Here are a few links:
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/developmental/what/closing_facilities.htm

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Mandel_Michele/2005/09/18/1221836.html

http://www.oadd.org/publications/journal/issues/vol11no2/editorial.htm

I hope this gives you some insight into the issues that are facing people aging with developmental impairments. It's a scary world out there ... especially when you are unable to make your own decisions and voice your concerns. I believe that the closures are a good thing but society as a whole is not ready for this transition and I think it could be a difficult and bumpy road for the people being relocated.

I hope everyone is having a good summer and I'll quit boring you now with my summer events :) I want to hear what everyone else is doing!!
Cheers, Becks