This article appeared in the Oconomowoc Residential Program (ORP) home page newsletter.
Paragon Community Services-A Parent’s Perspective
Written by Wanda Mango – Mother of the first client at Paragon in Sturgeon Bay
Children are very special to parents and we want the best for them. All children have needs and we try to find the most appropriate options. As parents we have to teach them to make the best choices. If our child is disabled, we need to make many choices and decisions for them.
A young disabled child often has many programs offered as preschoolers. We as parents choose the ones that we feel will benefit them the most. The school years offer options until the child is 18-21 years old. Some of these options are appropriate and some are not. It’s very difficult in a small community to have all the things for all people,
Once they are out of the school system the whole story changes. We as parents have to find the correct placement for them. This depends on their condition – what medical or physical involvements have to be considered? We plan how they will spend their day, how we can still keep our jobs, how we spend meaningful family time with them and other members of the family, and what will benefit them the most. Then the decision is made to either keep them in our homes, consider placing them in a group home, or an adult foster setting. No program will answer all the needs for all disabilities.
In our case, our son has a rare condition that affects him physically, visually, and developmentally. With this condition these factors vary from slight to severe. Our son is totally blind, is developmentally delayed, and has several medical issues that are under control, but take routine monitoring. He doesn’t fit into any of the usual special needs categories. He is often labeled with what appears to be the closest one and that “box” does not begin to match his needs.
We choose to keep him in our home and have him go to a facility during the day where he could have interaction with other people in varying environments and situations. This was not easy to find. We struggled for about nine years to find the appropriate situation for him during the day. We had caregivers come into the home, tried two different workshop programs, kept him at home and did things with him. These proved not to be successful in his situation. His needs were not being met, and left us tired and discouraged with 24/7 care for him.
On our 40th anniversary we needed somewhere to place him for about 10 days. After research, we found a group home that provided excellent temporary care for him. It was Homes for Independent Living – HIL – in New Franken (these homes are located throughout Wisconsin). The program Coordinators came to our home to see if he would fit into the program. They welcomed him and did a great job with him. We felt he was well cared for and had an enjoyable time.
We still needed some weekly daytime relief and care for him. The Paragon Program gave a presentation here in Sturgeon Bay and we found out that they were associated with HIL. To us, this gave a sense of credibility to them. Paragon also has several more of these successful programs along the lakeshore area of the state. They also had the Area Director and Program Coordinator come into our home to meet our son and talk to us about his needs and care requirements. They responded well to the information we gave them about his condition and were willing to learn more about it with that information. Paragon’s goal is to treat each person as his/her needs require and to train the staff to handle each one as individuals. The staff has great respect and a caring attitude toward the clients that are enrolled at their facility.
The local program coordinator has been a group home manager for HIL in the past and now oversees the program here in Sturgeon Bay. The regional director and program coordinator are included in the family interviews and getting the correct program plan for each individual client. This is a much needed type of facility in this community. It is not a workshop. Paragon is a program where our disabled adults can learn, exercise, and interact in a meaningful way. These are experiences that will help them cope with everyday life.
We are thankful they have come to Door County and have set up a beautiful, functional, and convenient facility that will serve our community well. We hope you will support their efforts by your interest, visits, and referrals.
We welcome PARAGON COMMUNITY SERVICES to Door County!
To learn more about Paragon go to www.paragon-wi.com.