Applewood Lane - Lebanon ISL

Applewood Lane - Lebanon ISL Offering options and resources for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Applewood helps our clients live full and rewarding lives by providing a variety of residential services within a caring atmosphere.

Good evening my fellow DSPs!! On day 5 of DSP recognition week, I would like to take the time to give tribute to my frie...
09/12/2024

Good evening my fellow DSPs!! On day 5 of DSP recognition week, I would like to take the time to give tribute to my friends and other DSPs around the world, past, present and future. 🥰

In the Summer of 1979, I was a young teenager working my 1st official summer job as a DSP at a summer camp for the disabled. Of course, we didn't have the distinguished title back then. LOL I didn't have a clue where my life was headed or what kind of work I wanted to do as an adult. As a young teenager, I was still exploring the world. Little did I know how much influence that 1st day of work and the subsequent following years of working those summers would play such a vital role in my life. I didn't PLAN on being a DSP all my life but my HEART chose being a DSP.💓

Thinking back over the past years, I realize that at the same time I began MY 1st official day of work, 45yrs ago, other DSPs around the world were continuing thiers...starting and/or finishing their shifts. Some were on day infinity and burned out. Some were just starting their career paths as DSPs. Some were dreaming of the coming weekend where they could start an autumn vacation.
People around the world were being supported by DSPs. They depended on supports anywhere from waking up for work, ADL, or full supports. They had aspirations of "having a meaningful day" or "making new friends".

Throughout the years, DSPs around the world have continued to serve through countless local and national emergencies and tragedies (9/11, fires, earthquakes, tornados, active shooters, COVID, etc). And DSPs went above and beyond. Everyone at some point, scared for their lives and livelihood, yet DSPs continued to provide support to those who needed it, sometimes RISKING their own lives. While tragedies would bring whole communities to a shocked standstill, DSPs were still doing their thing.

At the beginning of that 1st day of work, I had no idea what a DSP was, but I know there were people stepping up. Because I am in the field continuing the work of those before me. As DSPs we can look at the history of supports, starting with the exodus from institution life and realize this field has come a LONG way.

Since the genesis of DSP work, people have been there come hell or high water. Come plagues or political warfare, DSPs have been there.

DSPs yesterday, today, tomorrow, and two weeks from now.....
You are SEEN. YOU MATTER! 😍👏 Ruth

Good Afternoon, my fellow DSPs! Here we are, Day 4 of DSP Recognition Week! I have a pretty simple message for everyon...
09/11/2024

Good Afternoon, my fellow DSPs! Here we are, Day 4 of DSP Recognition Week! I have a pretty simple message for everyone today: I see you and I hear you. OUR struggles are real.
We're ALL in this 'playground' together. Some days you might feel like it's 'purgatory' for lack of a better word.🧟 We're expected to carry a candle lit at both ends. On one end, Administrative expectations. Staying current on training requirements, Data Collection, FORMS for everything you can imagine and let's not forget DOCUMENTATION! 🤪🥴 On the other hand, the people we support.....Meds, Hygiene, Meals, Community support, etc barely scratch the surface of the things we are expected to do. Shift hours; sometimes we choose, sometimes we don't. Neverending changes, LOL....We just NEVER seem to be done. But WE DO IT🤩💪👏, sometimes even with a smile on our faces. 😁 But as the old adage goes - It's a tough job. Somebody's gotta do it and YOU ALL ROCK!🦸
I see you. I hear you. Your struggles are my struggles and they are REAL. You're doing a GREAT job! Even when you don't feel like it, NEVER forget that. You are ENOUGH, just as you are. You're not alone. Your voice matters. YOU MATTER! RUTH❣️

Good afternoon again, my fellow DSPs! Rolling through day 3 of DSP Recognition Week 2024. I was thinking about some of m...
09/10/2024

Good afternoon again, my fellow DSPs! Rolling through day 3 of DSP Recognition Week 2024. I was thinking about some of my earlier experiences as a DSP.🤔

I was getting to know the two ladies I supported as a host home provider (eventually for over 20yrs) while out on our 1st grocery shopping expedition. I was quickly learning one of the ladies was not a fan of being told "no" (despite the dr. orders) based on her loud aggressive reaction. 😲 Being new to the experience where reasoning was obviously NOT working and uncomfortable with everyone staring wide-eyed at her spectacular display of emotion, I began to see the humor in my predicament (an infant in one arm and an individual who could not see on the other arm and an unskilled DSP. 🙂‍↔️😄) and began laughing at myself and my lack of knowledge. (What else is a person to do 🤷?) For whatever reason it worked and she got up off the floor stating "Oh, Heck!", with a disgusted tone of voice and to my amazement, we got through the rest of the shopping experience (with minimal outbursts) by using laughter and being silly to redirect away from the "no" items. Therefore we avoided injuries to herself as well as others. We turned that into a routine of sorts, for a while, so we both had something to make us comfortable during an uncomfortable part of daily living. It wasn't about having a dignified, orderly, quick, checklist approach while shopping or even worse, scheduling shopping time without her for convenience or sparing my own discomfort, it was about having compassion for someone who ate sweet snacks and candy for 60yrs of her life and did not understand why she was being told "no". As a DSP, I had to learn how to support her and teach her coping skills. Laughter and being silly gave her something else to focus on besides the pain of losing her comfort food. And later, we developed skills on learning how to make substitutions and offer better choices so that her shopping experiences were not dreaded or horrible. It's amazing how patience, compassion, persistence, fun and laughter can turn many of these situations around. 😁🤣😂

So what am I getting at? I think it's pretty amazing how we can have a job, some of us even a CAREER, where we are encouraging people to find out ways they can adapt and overcome life's curveballs so they too can have a purposeful and meaningful life. We get to watch them grow and blossom as we encourage people to learn new life skills, teach them how to adapt and support them in finding out things they enjoy. Music, hobbies, jobs, advocacy, favorite and least favorite foods, cooking, self care, interdependence, belonging to a community, etc. And that's the tip of the iceberg. They PAY us for that. This isn't for everyone of course, but it could be. Never forget that we don't have to be a "hero," we just have to be HUMAN. We are the best role models when we are being ourselves. We're teaching self confidence and comfort. Even if being ourselves is laughing and being a little "weird" or silly.

So I am telling you today, you are not alone in your experiences. You ARE doing great things, no matter how big or small they feel. You are MAKING A DIFFERENCE. Your feelings are valid. Your opinion matters. YOU MATTER! 🥰🥳🙂‍↕️❣️

Thank You for ALL that you do! RUTH

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18811 HWY 32
Lebanon, MO
65536

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