As portion of her capstone task astatine Touro University of Nevada, Sara Gudiel crafted a program to beforehand self-advocacy successful individuals with Down syndrome.
The programme was designed successful collaboration with Gigi’s Playhouse Las Vegas, which offers escaped therapeutic and acquisition programs to individuals of each ages with Down syndrome, and volition present beryllium expanded to the playhouse’s 62 locations astir the U.S. and Mexico.
For Gudiel, who graduated this month, this result exemplified wherefore she decided to prosecute occupational therapy successful the archetypal place.
“It felt similar what I was doing was really making an impact,” Gudiel said. “In the abbreviated magnitude of clip you walk with individuals, you commencement to spot specified a large growth, and that’s truthful rewarding.”
Gudiel’s Empower programme focuses connected transitional readiness to code what she described arsenic deficiency of enactment for individuals with Down syndrome erstwhile they are progressing from their teenage years into adulthood.
Throughout the six-week program, participants met erstwhile a week for hour-long sessions that were divided evenly betwixt a lecture and activity. Each week focused connected a antithetic topic, from self-care and idiosyncratic hygiene to leisure and self-advocacy.
Justine Chevalier, the tract manager astatine Gigi’s Playhouse Las Vegas, said the enactment often relies connected capstone projects from occupational therapy students to make caller curriculum.
“The programs that capstone students travel successful and make are making our adults go highly palmy successful a satellite wherever they mightiness request a small much assistance,” Chevalier said.
The Empower programme was a departure from what Gudiel initially imagined. When archetypal brainstorming for her project, Gudiel wanted to absorption connected wellness literacy for immigrants and refugees. But erstwhile she was placed with Gigi’s Playhouse, Gudiel pivoted.
Gudiel said that moving with Gigi’s Playhouse was the archetypal clip she had ever met an idiosyncratic with Down syndrome, but she welcomed the accidental to prosecute with the community.
In a presurvey of parents with Playhouse attendees, Gudiel learned galore of them interest astir a spread successful acquisition relating to self-advocacy and wellness management.
While she said the program she developed is difficult, she hopes that participants inactive get thing retired of the program.
“I anticipation that they conscionable summation a small bit,” Gudiel said. “I consciousness similar you’re not gonna larn it each successful the six weeks that I gave, but I decidedly consciousness similar it’s a start.”
For her part, Chevalier said it was invaluable to ticker programme participants astatine Gigi’s Playhouse much broadly consciousness empowered to physique palmy and “meaningful” lives.
Chevalier, whose girl has Down syndrome, joined the enactment successful 2021 portion they were moving to unfastened the determination successful Las Vegas. She added that she was instantly drawn to the enactment erstwhile she initially met the startup team.
“It was the archetypal clip that I walked successful determination and everyone said, ‘Congratulations,’” Chevalier said. “No 1 said they were sorry. No 1 looked astatine maine and my household similar they felt atrocious for us.”
Contact Sophie Baker astatine sbaker@reviewjournal.com.
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