Spotlight Series: 2017 Direct Support Professional Recognition Week, Day 5
As we come to the end of our five days of recognizing outstanding Direct Support Professionals at ASN, we cannot say “Thank You” enough to all of the exceptional support staff who make a difference for the people we support every day. Arkansas Support Network and the mission of our organization would not exist without these wonderful people, and, more importantly, hundreds of individuals with disabilities would not be able to live active lives in their communities without the support of this incredible group.
Here are a few more examples of the exceptional group of direct support professionals at ASN. Make sure to read all of this week’s posts to meet other ASN DSPs.
Maria Newgent has worked for ASN for approximately seven years. She has provided supports to the same person throughout her entire tenure at ASN. The individual Maria supports had a significant reputation for being difficult to support. The person is non-verbal and relied primarily on negative behavior to communicate her wants, needs, and emotions. The individual also was not able to tend to the basic daily living tasks of maintaining her health, hygiene, and living environment. Maria committed to providing consistency, stability, care, and compassion to this person from the very first day she worked with her. Maria worked hard to establish a functional communication method to alleviate the individual’s need to rely on negative behavior, and Maria has worked tirelessly to assist the individual she supports to increase her independence and take control of her personal routines. Today, the person Maria supports lives a comfortable, stable life in her own home. Many people never believed this life was possible for this young lady. Maria not only believed, she went above and beyond to do whatever was necessary to support the person to get here. Maria has truly made a life-changing difference for this individual, and we are so grateful for her dedication.
Felicitas Vega has provided supports through ASN for over nine years. During that time she has provided supports to a number of individuals and has developed respectful and endearing relationships with every person she supports. Felicitas is always willing to go above and behavior and is flexible in meeting the needs of the individuals she supports. She works hard to include the individuals she supports in their communities and supports their participation in the activities that bring them joy.
Gordon Ochieng has worked for ASN for over nine years as well, and in that time he’s benefited many individuals receiving services from ASN and their support teams with his patient and comforting support. He works well with every, including a wide variety of individuals receiving services, families, professionals, his support team, and any other players involved in the lives of the people he supports. Gordon is great and assisting individuals to access their communities and is always willing to put in extra time, effort, and energy to support individuals and teams. He not only improves the quality of life for the people he supports, he makes ASN and his teams better.
We have thoroughly enjoyed introducing you to a small sampling of some of the great people who work at ASN to recognize Direct Support Professionals Week. Thank you for reading and learning about these important employees. We can never recognize and appreciate these folks enough for the valuable roles they play in individuals’ lives.
If you have an opportunity, please make sure to thank the DSPs you come across and let you political representatives know how important Direct Support Professionals are for individuals with disabilities, their families, and all of our communities.