LIVE
2501 W. 26th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57105-2498
A Quarterly Publication for Families & Guardians of Those Supported by LifeScape March 2015
A Message from Anne Dear LifeScape Families and Guardians, We did it! LifeScape has accomplished our first year, and we are ready to celebrate! It’s amazing how much has happened in the last year…….we have come a long way and have many reasons to celebrate!
Upcoming Events In This Issue: Message from Anne
April 10, 2015• ArtAbilities Artist Reception
Join us from 6-8pm. Over 20 artists from LifeScape are represented in the current show at the Museum of Visual Materials.
April 11, 2015 • Polar Plunge
Missing Child Voluntary Registration Program
Support Special Olympics by “Freezin’ for a Reason” 2:00pm Sioux Falls Canaries Stadium
Advisory Groups Formed
April 12, 2015 • Pancake Benefit
Meet our Staff Allene Flora, Teacher Charlie Broberg, PA Kathryn Sigford, MD
Enjoy yummy pancakes at this fun event in its 23rd year. To buy tickets, visit www.LifeScapeSD.org — $5 in advance, $6 at the door. Sioux Falls Convention Center.
April 30,2015 • Battle of the Birthdays McNally’s Pub presents The Battle of the Birthdays, 3:00-6:00 p.m. Kim Burma, Liz Lloyd, and Nicki Ellerbroek are throwing their birthday party as a charity fundraiser for LifeScape.
May 8-9, 2015 • Miss Amazing Pageant
The Miss Amazing Pageant is a program that gives girls and young women with disabilities the opportunity to build self-confidence in a supportive environment. Visit www.missamazingpageant.com for more information
June 6, 2015 • Tablescapes
Sponsored by the LifeScape Ambassadors, this is a friendly table decorating competition with brunch, entertainment, a silent auction of art created by people supported at LifeScape, and more. The Downtown Hilton Garden Inn.
September 15, 2015 • Big Cup Golf Challenge Willow Run Golf Course.
Get details at www.LifeScapeSD.org/events
March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and we are raising awareness of People First Language and urging people to end the use of the ‘R’ word. In fact, one of our slogans is “Respect is the new ‘R’ Word”! Staff, adults and children that we support all wore LifeScape navy t-shirts with this positive slogan written on the back on March 4th – which is the national day for the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign. We signed banners pledging to do our part in this very important campaign. Our media campaign, if you haven’t seen it, tells the stories of four people that we support and the importance of people first language – which embraces and promotes seeing people with disabilities as people first. These individuals shared
who they are by telling us “I am…..” – a brother, a wife, a student, and an employee. I’m grateful that they were willing to share their stories and help us raise awareness throughout our communities. We will celebrate our first anniversary on April 1st with birthday cake at all of our daytime locations. Staff and people supported will be encouraged to wear their new LifeScape t-shirts and have some fun. We know there’s a lot of work ahead, and we are excited that you will be right along-side us as we develop our first Strategic Plan – the roadmap for the future of LifeScape. You are all important in developing this roadmap – and we thank you for the input and feedback that you provide in a variety of ways – surveys, advisory groups, and good old-fashioned 1:1 communication! Your thoughts are always welcome! My door is always open, so feel free to stop by at any time. You can also reach me at anne.mcfarland@lifescapesd.org or by calling (605) 444-9514.
Anne Rieck McFarland, LifeScape CEO
Mission Statement
LifeScape is committed to promoting independence for children and adults with disabilities by providing specialized services, healthcare, community connections, and lifelong learning.
Values
Integrity • Compassion • Fiscal Responsibility • Collaborative Relationships • Excellence
MEET OUR STAFF
Allene Flora, MA Transition to Adult Services Teacher As a special educator and behavior consultant for 25 years and a foster mom to 109 children over two decades, Allene Flora believes everyone can achieve the skills to be a contributing member of their community. Since 2008 she has taught vocational and independent living skills to older students at LifeScape. In January, Allene moved to a new position as a certified special education teacher in adult services.
She helps people who have transitioned to adult services, but still have Individual Education Plans, meet the goals of those plans. (Students can receive public education services until June 30 of the year they turn 21.) She works as a teacher consultant with other staff in adult services--Beth Sutton in Capitol Room East, Heather Maas at Inspirations and the Louise Avenue Day Services Program, and Cindy Glaser in Rushmore and Palisades. “The IEP goals are very functional,” says Allene. “Goals might be for good hygiene or knowing how to keep their living space clean. The reading skills might be correctly understanding traffic and building signs, or reading cooking directions. The math skills often involve counting money, or paying for things and waiting for the change and the receipt. These skills all promote independence and safety.” Allene has educational oversight of 24 students in Adult Services. They attend IEP meetings with their families and multidisciplinary teams, just as students in the Specialty School do. She’s a believer that we are all lifelong learners, and was pleased to help a young man make adaptations recently to get a paying job. “It’s never too late to have new dreams and goals,” says Allene. “I like changing mindsets.”
Missing Child Voluntary Registration Program The Sioux Falls Police Department recently announced a new program for local families who have children with special needs. Parents can voluntarily submit information about their child to the Police Department. If the event that the child goes missing, that information will be readily available to all officers. The goal is to find children with special needs as quickly and safely as possible if they go missing. Once the child turns 18, any information or photos are removed from the system. The voluntary registration form for parents and more information on the program is available at www. siouxfalls.org/police/special-needs-database. For families living outside of Sioux Falls, this could be a model to present to your local police department for consideration in your home town.
Advisory Groups Formed
LifeScape has created two advisory groups that will help provide input on policy and planning, give feedback on agency performance, and give guidance on staff training and program development. The advisory groups will: • Promote improved communication and relationships with people, families and staff • Provide an opportunity for people and families to provide input into policy and program development • Provides an opportunity for people and families to directly provide feedback regarding satisfaction/dissatisfaction with current services/programs • Increase understanding and cooperation between people, families and staff The Adult Advocate Advisory group (who represent themselves as well as other adults that we support) have met a few times already. They provided significant input on the topic of transportation, utilizing the “What’s Working/What’s Not Working” person-centered thinking tool as well as input on a Rights tool. Some important questions came up related to transportation that we were able to follow up on. This group will meet at least quarterly to provide input for strategic planning as well as other topics important to them and to LifeScape. The Family Advisory group representing families of children served in our Specialty Hospital, Residential program, and Specialty School met for the first time this last month, and will meet quarterly ongoing. A large amount of input was provided on a wide range of topics, including some great ideas to be considered during the upcoming Strategic Planning process. Other topics discussed include: LifeScape Bulldog lettering on LifeScape school buses, communication, parking, HIPAA, spirit wear, and community recreational activities. For more information about LifeScape Advisory groups, contact Tisha DeGross, Director of Service Coordination and Personal Outcomes, at tisha.degross@lifescapesd.org or (605) 444-9534.
Charlie Broberg, PA
Physician Assistant at LifeScape Rehabilitation Center In December, LifeScape welcomed Sanford Children’s physician assistant Charlie Broberg, PA-C to its team. Charlie is assisting Julie Johnson, MD, in her practice of physical medicine and rehabilitation at LifeScape. Prior to completing his medical training at the University of North Dakota, Broberg practiced chiropractic for 16 years, most recently in Britton, South Dakota. He credits his career change to his daughter, five-year-old Daphne, who he and his wife Melissa adopted from Haiti as an infant with multiple special needs. In 2010, one-year-old Daphne had a rare type of major brain surgery in Phoenix, which involved multiple physicians. She went from having 100 seizures per day to zero. The experience convinced Charlie to pursue his lifelong interest in medicine. With three young children, he opted to train as a physician assistant rather than as a physician. He enrolled in a program at the University of North Dakota so he wouldn’t have to move. Near the end of his PA training, Dr. Johnson reached out to Charlie about a position in Sioux Falls. With her caseload increasing and her desire to turn more toward teaching, additional physician support was needed. Daphne was a patient of Dr. Johnson, and Charlie was impressed with the care she had received. He was excited to join the staff. “The team atmosphere and expertise here is amazing,” says Charlie. “I really love making a difference for our patients. In chiropractic, you treat typical patients with pain and minor injuries. Here, patients have significant physical challenges. These are some of the most challenging cases out there.” His wife, Melissa and their children, including Daphne, ten-year-old Moses, and eight-yearold Jonah, will move from Britton to Sioux Falls at the end of the school year.
In September, Kathryn Sigford, MD, will also join the rehabilitation team that practices at LifeScape. Like Dr. Johnson, she is a physiatrist, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She is now completing her Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Fellowship through the University of Minnesota, at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in the Twin Cities.