Author: Las Trampas

Exploring Worlds with Las Trampas

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The day program is always looking for new worlds to explore. We regularly use local libraries to seek out new sites and organizations we can partner with to help our program participants become more and more engaged in and with their community.

Our memberships at the Lawrence Hall of Science, Chabot Space and Science Center, Blackhawk Museum and Fitness 19 open up worlds of knowledge and experience while teaching us the importance of staying healthy and fit.

Our partnerships with Diablo Valley Bowl, Clayton Valley Bowl, and Danville Bowl give us the opportunity to participate in friendly competition while working on our social skills (e.g., Show a Good Attitude, Follow Directions, Give Positive Feedback). With ramps and bumpers, bowling is an activity open to almost every program participant. It is the first programming choice of many in the community groups.

On a daily basis, there are more than 40 day program participants exploring and engaging with their community. You will find us on the regional trails, at local parks and historical sites, in the shops and fitness centers, in classes and service centers. We volunteer, shop, compete, play sports and games, read, plant and grow, make friends, and, most important of all, we learn from our experiences.

We’re an awful lot like you.

SLS Chilling with the Fish in Monterey

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Rebecca watched the big shark swim past the thick glass of the tank. “Whoa!” she said, laughing. Each time the shark circled by, Rebecca reacted with the same joyful “Whoa!”

Rebecca visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time on a recent trip organized by the Supported Living team for program participants. The visit was a first for many other program participants, too.

Highlights of the day included petting the rays in the touch tank, watching the water flow in and out of the kelp tank and seeing how the different animals reacted to it, observing all the different kinds of fish, and of course, the sharks.

Special outings like day trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium provide unique opportunities for community integration. New situations and changes in routine can be challenging for some program participants, but provide important breaks from the everyday. Sabrina, an SLS facilitator, remarked that “this was a fantastic way for some of our clients to interact with each other in a setting that is different and interesting for them.” We will definitely be trying to set up more outings like these to help enrich our clients lives and to show them different and new things.

Most participants in the SLS program have very limited resources for activities like day trips. This past year, we were fortunate enough to receive a grant from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation to underwrite community integration outings like the trip to Monterey. Financial support from partners like the Gellert Foundation makes it possible for our program participants to lead truly full lives in the community!

Las Trampas Cooks: Ingredients for Success!

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What could be better than sharing a home-cooked meal, chosen and prepared with care by a friend or colleague? Each month, the 10 students participating in the Day Program “Las Trampas Cooks” program choose a meal based on a theme, and work with staff throughout the month to make that meal a reality for each other, as well as other Day Program participants and staff members.

In 2018, the monthly themes are based on countries of the world, often chosen based on where a student’s family is from, so participants learn about food and culture they may not otherwise get to experience.

Shopping: Once “Las Trampas Cooks” chefs have chosen their meal for the month, they help staff research recipes, compile a shopping list, and hit the stores! Participants go to multiple stores in the area (Safeway, Costco, Sam’s Club, Smart & Final, Trader Joe’s) and compare prices on the ingredients they will need for the month’s recipe.

Meal Preparation:
Participants are involved in all aspects of creating the meal. As much as possible, they use fresh ingredients rather than packaged. Participants work with program staff to learn about the textures, smells, properties, and uses of the ingredients they are using, as well as learning about kitchen safety, and food service.

Enjoying a meal together:
On “Las Trampas Cooks” days, Day Program participants and any Las Trampas staff who are on campus are invited to share the results of the group’s hard work. Spending time together eating a delicious meal prepared by friends is a great way to spend lunchtime!

Clean Up:
You’re not done cooking until you’ve cleaned up! Participants learn that leaving the cooking area cleaner than you found it? is as important as all of the other aspects of planning and cooking a meal. When the kitchen is clean and supplies are put away, we are ready to start planning for next month.

Las Trampas Cooks is a fun and delicious way to gain life skills, explore new foods, and learn more about the world. Here are some of the meals we’ve shared so far this year. We’ve included some of the recipes we’ve used, and we invite you to cook along with Las Trampas Cooks!

March: (Italy) Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread, Strawberry Shortcake
April: (Japan) Teriyaki Bowls, Gyoza, Cherry Parfait
May: (Mexico) Mexican Chili, Sweet Corn Cakes, (Unfried)Fried Ice Cream
June: (U.S.A.) Sloppy Toms (Turkey Sloppy Joes), Potato Salad, Baked Peach Crumble
July: (Greece) Gyros, Greek Salad, Sparkling Santorini Jello

SLS/ILS–Celebrating Independence

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Do you remember moving out of your parent’s home for the first time? So many mixed emotions– a little apprehensive and scared, but excited and overwhelmed with joy when all your belongings were in place. When she moved out of her parents’ house at the age of 33, Ariel felt the same way.

In July we celebrate independence. Moving into a place of your own, being responsible for yourself, is one of the most fundamental kinds of independence a person can experience. Unfortunately, for many of Las Trampas program participants the road to independence is littered with challenges. Finding affordable housing is a struggle for many people in the Bay Area, but can be especially difficult for people with developmental disabilities.

  • For most Las Trampas participants, rent is higher than their monthly income.
  • The Housing Authority of Contra Costa waiting list for Section 8 housing is closed and has been closed for years. Even the waiting list for the waiting list is closed!
  • Project based low income housing units are rare in this area. The wait can be years and getting a unit is really the luck of the draw.
  • Did you know that there are minimum income requirements for Low Income and Low Low Income housing.  Sometimes our program participants receive a fixed income that is too low to even be considered Low Low Income!
  • As rents in the area increase, more and more landlords are transitioning their properties away from the Section 8 program when they become eligible to do so, resulting in even fewer options available to a person on a fixed income.

Ariel has been very fortunate that her family is able to subsidize her rent. Otherwise she would not have been able to move out of her parent’s home.  Since moving out on her own, Ariel has discovered the joys and challenges of living independently. She is really enjoying being responsible for choosing and preparing her own meals and selecting her own clothes and household items. She no longer needs her parents’ permission to go out into her community and she loves having a dog to take care of and a roommate of her choice. She is living her dream in a home of her own, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!

From the Executive Director–A Year in Advocacy

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My name is Daniel Hogue, Executive Director of Las Trampas. I have worked in the Intellectual and Developmental Disability (I/DD) service industry since 1993, starting as a direct care worker. Now, in my role as a leader, I am constantly asked about the state and future of our field.  Now, more than ever, this is an important topic that should be addressed. It’s my hope to address concerns, successes, and opportunities for action that will help people with developmental disabilities and the I/DD community.

In the human services field, we as care takers, social workers, and people who work from the heart tend to speak lightly, politely, and focus on the work to be done. Leaders in the I/DD service industry understand that there are many competing interests within the state. We are not used to taking a hard stands. This has to change. While it sounds alarming, the viability of the I/DD service system is on the brink of collapse and it’s time for us to find our voice.

Yet another year has gone by without increases to I/DD funding. The state budget approved by the legislature and the governor at the end of June again neglects to fully fund programs and services for this vulnerable population. So, what are the impacts! Well, to put it frankly, if you have a child or family member with I/DD who receives services, they may be at risk.

Since 2003, state funding for I/DD services has essentially been a downhill spiral with minimal increases offsetting serious cuts during the 2008 financial crisis. So what does this mean.  It means that providers, and more importantly the people served, have to make do with extremely limited resources, and often times, to simply do without. Full-time professional positions like speech language pathologists, a full program staff with clinical training and experience, budgets for transportation and community integration, and more, all of these program components have been cut or seriously reduced over the past decade. Meanwhile, mandates continue to come down from the state level to do more do more, with less, all while the state holds record surpluses.

Each month, I will be discussing the ramifications of the current state including the impacts on providers and the people served as well as how the system is coping, advocacy efforts, progress and setbacks, stories of success in the midst of tough times, and things that you can do to support people with developmental disabilities. I hope you’ll join me!

Terri’s Story

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“Shopping!” is one of Terri’s favorite words and one of her favorite pastimes. Since coming to Sheila House last February, she gets to do a lot more of it!

For 25 years, Terri lived at Sonoma Developmental Center. She had tried community-based residential programs in the past, but the impacts of Terri’s disabilities meant that she really needed around the clock care that existing programs weren’t able to provide. Though she was content at SDC, the staff weren’t able to give her the personalized attention she needs to thrive, and her medication made it difficult for her to express herself. With Sonoma slated to close in 2018, Terri’s needed another option and she found it with Las Trampas. The high staff to resident ratios, specialized programming, and extra staff training at Sheila House all contribute an environment where Terri can really shine. She is an outgoing and engaged member of her community and she’s enjoying living in the house with three other women.

Recently, Terri was selected by the Share the Spirit program to be featured in a story in the East Bay Times. Congratulations, Terri and welcome to Las Trampas!

Johnathan’s Story

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Johnathan is a total care client who has used a wheelchair for his entire life. He is nonverbal, has poor vision, and needs assistance to change clothes and a tube to be fed. It has always been assumed that he is unable to comprehend or communicate. That is, until Speech Language Therapist Pam Chapman devised a plan to determine if he can express more than we realize.

She gave him the simple instruction to arch his head back to the left if he wants to say no and to the right if he wants to say yes. Can you do that she asked him. He arched right. Was that real Johnathan did you just understand that and again, he nodded to the right, all the while sporting a huge grin because, for the first time in his life, he was heard.

Johnathan’s parents have always had the inclination to explore possible vehicles of communication for their son, who has always exhibited signs of emotional and intellectual capacity beyond his ability to convey. However, they did not have the tools and resources to begin. This is why Las Trampas offers communication classes as part of its Adult Day Program: to bring families closer together by bridging the gap of communication that exists between them and their non-verbal loved ones.

Chapman and the rest of the Las Trampas staff continue to work with Johnathan, and have been enjoying the vibrant personality and sense of humor that is finally beginning to surface. Johnathan loves to make jokes and he laughs often and always. He loves Mango Tango smoothies from Jamba Juice and absolutely adores his mother, who he lives with.

We are thrilled at the progress that Johnathan has already made in our communication program and we are so grateful for the chance to continue helping him discover his capabilities in order to lead a full life at home and in his community.

Confessions of an ILS Client

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I am a young guy who lives in the East Bay. During most of my adult life I have faced the challenges of noise sensitivity and social anxiety. According to a doctor in San Ramon, the root of some of my problems is largely a vertebral disc in my neck that pinches a nerve to the degree that my body is in the fight or flight mode at times. I am taking medication and emphasizing relaxation techniques to overcome this issue, which I believe is improving quickly.

Noise sensitivity has always been a struggle for me.

I experience sudden responses to unexpected sounds and lose in focus on activities or objectives. I could be walking on a sidewalk toward a grocery store, or just making my way over to my car in a parking lot when I hear an engine revving, leading me to stop, look at the source of the noise, and shift my body in the direction most comfortable for the situation. Generally, a noisy social situation is likely to move me away from the area because I do not want to interfere in a conversation and have the police called on me (it’s happened), or be remembered as an odd member of the community.

Despite the fact that such responses seem ordinary to me, I’ve noticed that no one else reacts similarly to excessive noise. I am continuing to work on being calm while walking in public.

Social anxiety has been my main obstacle since young adulthood. I have a history of obsessive-compulsive-repetitive-movement habits. On occasion, while walking toward a destination I step on uneven walking ground and back up to start over. When strolling through a busy area, I perceive myself to be overwhelmed by all the activity around me and become unsure how to make a turn towards something I want without being influenced by someone nearby. As a result, after turning, I turn back to try again, which makes me look indecisive and peculiar.

During my late teens to early twenties I maintained a medication routine that led to complications. I had the dosages lowered, and I eventually stopped taking both. My sensitivities went back up.

I figured I would rather live with them than depend on any other pharmaceutical.

I am in the process of learning how to manage my learning disability, or Asperger’s Syndrome diagnosis, and my body’s high sensitivity to a variety of stimuli. Importantly, I have learned the social significance and common sense of public activities closest to home. My experiences define a young adult aiming to improve a psychological disability, manage a physical condition, and relate with others in the communities where he works and lives.

Thank you for spending your time reading about a young adult striving to fix his sensitivities for the sake of himself and others. My hope is that people everywhere will begin to understand that this alert bodily state exists, and that a community member with nervous system sensitivities can function in the community. My hope is that as awareness spreads so will tolerance, understanding and acceptance.

The Amazing Adventures of Amy and Jeff

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Las Trampas client Jeff and his sister Amy overcame their obstacles to enjoy the summer trip of a lifetime together. Any recounts their trip and reveals how she makes every minute count for both her and her brother.

Just this past summer, my brother Jeff and I went on a couple of great trips. Jeff slept most of the way through our flight, after figuring out how to use the fold down tray for his favorite drink in the world wait for it, COFFEE!

At the beginning of our journey in the Hudson Valley, my brother, Cliff, picked up our tents at REI. From that point on, we began our camping adventure which lasted the entire 3-day, 3-night festival – something Jeff had never experienced before. The nights were dark and it was hard to find the porta potties, but Jeff and I did pretty well. He slipped and fell once though which prompted me to ask myself: would he do better with a wheel chair?

On our way to the Falcon Ridge Festival, my brother Cliff picked up his tent at REI which was at the beginning of the Hudson Valley. Jeff and I camped all through the festival for 3 days and 3 nights, something we had never had before. You can tell from the photos that he really embraced the hot days filled with trekking back and forth to camp. He was a real champ.

Public transport can be a challenge. For instance, you always have to take the stairs to the subway. Moving down the aisle of an airplane can be a challenge as well. It is getting more and more difficult to get a “handicapped” seat on a plane, so I always get a seat at the back, closest to the bathroom. Another challenge, Bathroom accidents. I always carry diaper wipes and extra underwear and pants. New York City in general is tough as it is an older city with uneven sidewalks (I’m always on the look-out for “trip factors”, stairs, doorways that have awkward steps, etc.)

I think Jeff really enjoys the fact that he doesn’t have to be in a wheelchair however, now I always request a wheelchair at the airport. When we go to Disneyland or Universal Studios we always rent a wheelchair. I have noticed that as Jeff gets older, he moves slower, so we always allow a lot of extra time. Lighter shoes help (crocs are great), easier for his paralyzed side.

We played and swam in the Atlantic Ocean on Long Beach Island and on the bay side of Cape Cod, in the Lakes in Vermont and the hotel pool. I see my brother in the water and it hits me, he can glide through the water weightlessly. What a wonderful feeling for my brother who has Cerebral Palsy.

We visited friends, drank beer together, and picked raspberries. We managed to have a family vacation, after which we all loved one other even more than before.

My advice to other families traveling with a loved one with special needs is to plan ahead. Check in often with your loved ones as new environments can be intimidating. Jeff’s social skills are lacking, he often gets very shy, looks down, that sort of thing. So, we practice “greetings, saying his name, etc.” We make sure to rest well.

Jeff was most impressed with the fact we had camped in a cow field. He said now I can check that off my bucket list.” Me too, now that I think about it.

Independence and the Special Needs Child

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As my son grows older (he’ll be 12 in March) we are grappling more and more with the challenge of developing his independence.

For most 11 year old kids, catching the bus home from school, walking around the corner to a friend’s house and having sleepovers are no big deal. They are age appropriate activities and what most kids that age are able, and willing, to do.  However for kids with special needs, engaging in age appropriate activities is not always possible.

There are no checklists you can consult. No peers to check off against.

You have to trust your instincts, and your child’s, to work together to reach milestones of independence in their own time. And hope you get it right!
Gilbert’s autism and his vision impairment mean that he does not do many of the things that his peers do. He does not catch the bus. He doesn’t walk the streets alone and he has never slept over at a friend’s house.  This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to do those things or that we don’t want him to.

It just means that we have not yet developed the skills we all need for him to do those things successfully and without undue anxiety.  However we can’t wrap him up in cotton wool forever so we are actively trying to break one of those barriers down  catching the bus home from school.

As he is halfway through year 5, we have just under a year and a half before he moves to high school. Our plan is to have him in a position where he can independently get himself to and from school by the time he begins year 7. It’s important for us to get him used to this change well before high school so he has one less change/stress to worry about when the time comes.

We already know how hard that transition will be, no need to throw any further stress or challenges into the mix.  To get things moving, we set this as a short-term goal in his NDIS plan for the year, lining up with our overall long term goal to develop his independence. With the help of the NDIA we included funding for Guide Dogs Australia to accompany Gilbert and basically train him to catch the bus independently. And we are finally getting to a position where he might just achieve that goal. 

Last week we had our first session where two representatives from Guide Dogs Australia accompanied him on a public bus.  The decision was made not to immediately put him on the school bus as it is crowded and noisy. We wanted to introduce him to bus travel in a less challenging setting.

Gilbert was shown how to look for landmarks so he would be in a position to alert the driver when it was time to get off at his stop. He was also guided as to how to get on/off the bus safely, shown the basic of public transport etiquette (as much for his autism as for his vision) and was helped to safely cross the two quiet streets that separate the bus stop from our house.  It was a successful trial.

Despite the windows being foggy from rain, making it harder to see, Gilbert was able to make out the local Aldi which is located just before his bus stop. He managed to safely cross the streets home and seemed to enjoy the novelty of coming home on public transport (he has been on buses before but never without us.)

So this week we are taking it up notch, he will be coming home on the school bus, again with his mentors from Guide Dogs Australia. I’ll be interested to see how he deals with the noise, the movement and the crowd of students that are sure to be on board.  My biggest fear is that something will happen to him on the bus which will upset him and see him lash out.

I’m hoping having his mentors there will help defuse any such situation and will provide him with guidance on how to deal with such situations, should they arise in future.

I also hope that the bus driver is understanding and can keep a look out for him. I’ve advised Gilbert (and his Guide Dog Australia mentors) to try to grab a seat at the front, near the driver, to reduce the chances of upset and to make it easier for him to get on and off the bus safely.  Fingers crossed it’s another successful trip for him ? and for us.

Letting go is never easy but I know we need to start loosening the reins, ever so slightly, so he has the same chances as his peers to develop independence.

This blog is brought to you by Kirsty. Check out her blog @MyHomeTruths