Alden Village, which offers long-term care for the intellectually disabled in Bloomingdale, launched an in-house day training program in partnership with Individual Advocacy Group (IAG) for ventilator dependent residents.
Alden Village is one of two long-term care vent units in a developmentally disabled facility in the state of Illinois and is now the only in-house day training program for individuals with a developmental disability on a ventilator in a long-term care setting.
Community Day Service, also referred to as Developmental Training, is a program specifically unique for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It's centered around activities of daily living (ADLs), and developing individual gifts and abilities through a curriculum based on their personal goals and interests.
"We have a schedule, but we adapt it based on what they want to do because it's their program at the end of the day," said Adam Harker, IAG Instructor. "Our primary focus is socialization, communication, memory retention, skill retention, and skill development, things that are customizable."