Genesis Developmental Services

Gail is a petite 13 year old who lives in one of our group homes. She has Kabuki Syndrome which resulted in developmental delays and self-care needs as well as subsequent behavioral issues. The staff at this Genesis Developmental Services (GDS) home have worked hard to help her acquire new life skills and bring behavioral issues into control. Her first six months at GDS showed a dramatic turnaround for her.

Coming to GDS from another group home setting, Gail left her family home at age 9 ½ when they were no longer able to care for her.

By the time she arrived in our home, Gail had constant self-injurious behavior that resulted in bloody spots on her head, face, and chest, as well as a lack of hair on her head. Her food had to be ground to baby food consistency and she was served with a spoon. She had very little communication skills, and Gail constantly removed all her clothes while in common areas of the house. Often she would just lie on a blanket on the floor and thrash around. When frustrated, Gail frequently attempted to AWOL. One member of the transportation service that has served her for years indicates that this is the best that Gail has ever done. She enjoys her staff and housemates, and eagerly participates in activities and outings. The GDS staff finds it very rewarding to see the great strides Gail has made in response to their love and support.

Brian is a teenager with moderate Mental Retardation, ADHD and Fragile X syndrome. He has been with Genesis Developmental Services (GDS) since early 2002. This is the first home away from his family. Prior to coming to GDS, Brian's aggression was so bad that he had to be home schooled for months, and he only spoke three words which were all obscene. At 7½ years of age, Brian still needed to be diapered.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the GDS staff, Brian has overcome many of his obstacles. He now speaks in complete sentences with prompting and is almost fully toilet-trained. He has excelled rapidly in school and made several friends. Brian has not only been exposed to a whole new world since moving to a GDS home but has also been given the tools to enjoy and participate in it. According to Melissa, his house manager, Brian makes the world a better place!

At age 49, Susan was discharged from a nursing home in the summer of 2002 to become a member of one of the small GDS residential Intermediate Care Facilities. Although the case worker and nursing staff assured our Regional Administrator that she was an "absolute angel" and good fit for our facility, the clandestine pharmacy that was packed to accompany her raised concern.

His suspicions were quickly confirmed. Right away, Susan refused to eat, refused to take her medications, and refused to go to her day program. She began a series of hospitalizations due to seizures resulting from her resistance to taking medication and eating. Susan was aggressive toward staff, hoarded everything she could get her hands on, and began making false allegations.

Thanks to her dedicated House Manager, this behavior has changed. Adopting Susan as a "sister," this dedicated staff member became a very positive influence in her life. Susan has regained her ability to walk without assistive devices, eats on a consistent basis, and happily goes to her day program and participate in other activities. Her House Manager takes her out into the community often and has encouraged her to be more independent every day.

Now that Susan is able to walk, her life has changed dramatically. The benefits from walking have extended into many areas of her life. She enjoys walking to the store to choose what kind of nail polish she would like to wear. Susan also walks to Taco Bell, which is her favorite restaurant, as a positive reinforcement for participating in activities or for taking her medication. Susan is happier and healthier than she has been in years as a result of the loving support of her House Manager and dedicated efforts of the GDS staff.

At forty years of age, Hunter enjoys his life at Genesis. Although his speech is slow from mild mental retardation and the affects of brain surgery to remove a tumor, Hunter's personality definitely comes out as he communicates. He enjoys outings in the community, especially a trip to Starbucks for coffee. He has even had the opportunity to ride a horse which is quite an undertaking considering he normally gets about in a wheelchair.

Life was not always so positive for Hunter. Before coming to live in the GDS Intermediate Care Facility on the Central Coast, Hunter lived in a 120-bed facility where he typically stayed in bed until mid-morning. Just the process of waking sparked behaviors, and he often missed his day program as a result. Not so today. Thanks to medication adjustments and behavioral management achieved through lots of staff attention, Hunter now participates at the local GDS day program and rarely misses a day. He wouldn't dream of missing the opportunities he has to socialize and do fun activities.

His health has also improved along with his self-care skills. A previous problem with boils is well in control. He is also able to shave himself with assistance and feed himself once his food has been dished. These are significant skills for him. After all, Hunter is a charmer who likes to think of himself as a "lady's man."

It is not possible to overstate how pleased we are about the wonderful job Genesis is doing for our son, Chuck. Chuck has autism which causes some challenging behaviors. Finding a placement with the ability to keep him safe and happy was not easy. But Genesis, with their supported living plan and their caring capable staff, is a dream-come-true.

Chuck moved into a Genesis home about 4 months ago and already we are seeing so much progress! He is happier and calmer than he has been in years, blossoming like the little flower he has always been. With Genesis, Chuck is a real person, in charge of as much of his own life as possible, given the fact of his autism. For example, Chuck got carried away while shaving and shaved odd patches of baldness on his scalp. He has always liked to do this and was thrilled with the result, and as startling as it looked, Genesis' philosophy was: He's 24 years old; it's his hair; he can wear his hair any way he likes. When I questioned Chuck about it, he said he wanted to make people laugh. (He succeeded.)

Another example of Chuck's autonomy is the way he now gets to choose his own food, just like people without autism take for granted. He loves to cook and has a penchant for making pumpkin pies, sushi, deviled eggs and many other favorites. Last weekend when we visited him, Chuck checked out the food brought in from the week's shopping to make sure his requests had been fulfilled. Sure enough, his “real cherries” were there. What a delight it was to see his little secret smile of pleasure because his wishes had been respected. Respecting Chuck's dear personhood, supporting his living in his own home – this is what it's all about with Genesis. Imagine the joy this gives us, Chuck's parents!

Xavier has lived in his own apartment with staff support for several years. In January 2004, Genesis Developmental Services took over his supported living services providing supervision and personal care for him when he was not at his day program. Mentally sharp and eager to be involved with decision-making, Xavier's non-ambulatory status creates his greatest challenges but with staff support even this does not stop this enthusiastic man in his late fifties!

Following the death of his former roommate, Xavier's normally upbeat personality was challenged by the empty spot in his life. In order to fill that void, Xavier sought the help of GDS staff in making it possible for his special friend Nikki to come and share his apartment. After several months of coordination, the supported living staff was able to move Nikki in with Xavier, and they began the awesome experience of sharing each other's daily life.

The GDS staff keeps busy assisting with daily living activities. In addition to personal care, they also help Xavier and Nikki with meals, household chores, shopping and going to the laundromat. Additionally, they are helping Nikki become comfortable with navigating her new wheelchair which is further complicated by adjusting to her new surroundings. Although life is never simple for any roommates, these two find it worth the effort when they are able to snuggle up together at the end of the day.

Jaclyn, who has autism was committed to Fairview Developmental Center at age 20 because she was aggressive, had put her hand through a plate glass window and was considered a danger to herself and others. After 10 months at Fairview, Genesis agreed to serve Jaclyn in a supported living setting. My husband and I signed a lease for a home in Santa Maria, and Tri-Counties Regional Center, Genesis, Don & I agreed on what services were needed to support Jaclyn in her home.

Jaclyn's home is set up so that one of the bedrooms is a "quiet room" - a room with low stimulation so that when Jaclyn is having a hard time she can go in there and calm herself down. When Jaclyn first moved to her home, she spent quite a bit of time in the quiet room, but with each day as she feels more and more comfortable, she spends less time by herself in the quiet room. She wants to be with her staff now even requesting to do "work" such as helping to do laundry and loading the dishwasher. Other skills she has learned since being with Genesis are picking out her own clothes and showering with minimal assistance.

When Jaclyn first moved into her home, she often expressed her needs by being aggressive. Now she uses words to express her needs. She is also becoming much more conversational and social. She talks about what she did at day program, is interested in what the staff has been doing and even talks to people in her neighborhood. The staff consider Jaclyn their "friend," not just someone they're hired to care for. Now when my husband and I visit her she wants to be in the room with us. On Mother's day she laid down next to me on the couch and put her head on my lap - it was a wonderful Mother's day because Jaclyn was relaxed and affectionate.

Jaclyn is going into the community more often because the staff helps her stay calm when she is out and about. Last week she ate inside Carl's Jr. This was the first time in almost a year that she's been able to eat inside a restaurant.

Genesis hires competent and caring staff, employs an excellent behavior specialist, and found a good psychiatrist for medication management. And when Jaclyn has challenging behaviors, Genesis never gives up - they find ways to make things work for Jaclyn in her home. They have enabled Jaclyn to have a good quality of life and we are very grateful.