Four Ways to Facilitate Problem-solving Skills
Solving problems can sometimes be difficult for someone with developmental disabilities. Seeing the possibilities and following through to what might seem like the proper conclusion takes a lot of practice. Behavior support management through habilitation services can give your family member the practice that she needs with solving problems.
Adjust Expectations for Everyone Involved
It’s really easy to have expectations that are far and away outside of what reality is right now. This is true for you and it can also be true for your family member as she learns how to solve problems on her own. She may feel frustrated that she’s not able to be more effective at solving problems right after one or two examples. Which is a perfect time to let her know that no one gets this right the first or even the hundred and first time they try it. It takes practice.
Aim for Successful Encounters from the Start
One way for you to adjust expectations in solving problems is to present situations that are going to be more likely to have successful results for your family member. Success in early attempts helps to build confidence levels, and that plays into a willingness to keep trying more difficult situations. Success is different from making the situation too easy, too. There’s a delicate balance that builds results.
Brainstorm Solutions Together
If your family member is having a difficult time seeing the possible solutions, as many people with developmental disabilities can, then solving problems is infinitely more difficult. Building in a step that involves brainstorming possible solutions helps your family member to learn that there are answers, even if you have to hunt for them a little bit. Don’t stop at just one solution, either. Make sure that there are at least two in order to avoid getting stuck on just one possible answer.
Guide the Situation without Directing It
Once your family member has multiple solutions, it’s time to put those solutions to work solving the problem. Ask open-ended questions to help guide the process without pointing neon signs at the “right” answer. “What might happen if you do that?” is an example of one type of open-ended question that might be helpful. Ask a few more to help resolve the particular problem you’re helping her to solve.
Having help from experts in behavior support management gives you a way to practice this routine over and over again. Kids and young adults with developmental disabilities benefit from repetition and being able to use this same pattern in multiple situations with other people can help to cement the process a little more effectively.
If you are considering behavior support management in Speedway, IN, please call the caring staff at RSI Cares. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: 317-471-0750.
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where shewasthe In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
Etelka was honored as a “Health Care Hero” by the Indianapolis Business Journal. The issue can be read online here:
http://mags.ibj.com/activemagazine/welcome/html/ibjhch.html.
After clicking on the link, then click on the image of the issue’s front page. After that, you can browse through the issue or click in a box near the top of your internet browser to adjust the page to 17, which is where Etelka’s article appears.
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