A local state legislator received an opportunity to shadow Direct Support Professionals (DSP) this week, embracing the opportunity to speak one on one with Oklahomans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
State Sen. Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, took Think Ability staff up on their request for an opportunity to shadow a DSP member this week.
Think Ability Executive Director Robin Arter, said they feel honored to have legislators come and visit their campus, seeing how they operate, as well as their needs.
Garvin’s passion for representing individuals with disabilities shined through her words and actions on Wednesday afternoon.
Garvin said working in long-term care gives her the familiarity the operations in this field.
“A lot of the things are very similar,” Garvin said.
According to Garvin, she has several pieces of legislation that she is carrying this year and continuously working on.
“To help provide a better quality of care and better quality of life to individuals with disabilities,” Garvin said. “It’s defiantly a huge opportunity to be in the care setting and try to help understand it better.”
From the Federal Government to the State Government there are many laws created everyday.
According to Garvin, it’s important to understand the impact of the laws on the industry and fields as well.
Garvin said she was in the middle of putting several pieces of legislation together when she received the call to shadow the event.
“It makes so much sense for me to go talk to individuals with disabilities and the caregivers that take care of them,” Garvin said. “I want to make sure that the legislation that we’re passing and looking at for this next session — that will directly impact how they serve and who they serve — that it makes sense.”
With an impactful experience, Garvin said she wants to work to make active treatment a priority.
“For certain businesses that kind of dabble in or work in the care type of individuals with disabilities — were not really focused on providing active treatment to individuals with disabilities in every single care setting,” Garvin said. “That’s not something that every single care setting focuses on.”
With a priority to have trained staff, Garvin shared how well Think Ability works with active treatment.
“My priority is to really make sure that we have staff who are trained and have active treatment,” Garvin said. “Taking care of people who need that type of treatment and that type of care.”
According to Garvin, active treatment embodies what Think Ability does.
“Think Ability — thinks of the abilities of the individuals that they serve have to be productive citizens and community members and volunteers,” Garvin said. “That’s really what active treatment is about — ensuring that people have the training and the services and the access to participate in activities of daily living.”
This would include the ability and the opportunity to have jobs and earn money.
Some individuals are also extremely interested in politics.
Garvin said for those individuals who want to have that interaction, “it’s extremely important that the care type that they are in, provides the care type that meets their needs and their want for their personal lives.”
This session, according to Garvin, her main focus is making sure those working in care settings are trained and certified.
“Making sure in every single care setting type, that the appropriate people are working in those care settings who are certified and trained to focus specifically on the needs of the individuals with disabilities,” Garvin said.
Making a change is one of Garvin’s top priorities.
“I’d really like to focus on public policy,” Garvin said. “I think it’s something that outlasts parties.”
Garvin said this is an area she is extremely passionate about, as she serves regularly in the area.
“When you do something good that benefits Oklahoman’s as a whole, not just one political party or another, to me that’s public policy and so these bills that we’re looking at — they drastically change the lives of people with disabilities.”
The event was coordinated by The Arc of Oklahoma and providers across the state.
A release states, “DSPs work directly with thousands of Oklahomans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) every day providing support to them to participate in their community.”
Arter said they just want people to know that they are here.
“It’s an exciting time because the legislator is concentrating on Oklahomans with disabilities,” Arter said. “That’s good for the people we serve and potential people in our community.”
Arter said they get a few calls throughout the week from community members in the area asking for services.
“If I had the vacancies,” Arter said. “We’d have to wait for them to have the funding assigned to them.”
Arter said it’s an exciting time as they have addressed the waiting list and have prioritized Oklahoman’s with disabilities.
“It just helps us grow,” Arter said. “We give people in our community priority and the surrounding area priority.”
Think Ability is located at 2109 West Beech Ave in Duncan and the Think Ability Market is located at 2113 West Beech Ave. For more information about Think Ability, visit http://thinkabilityfirst.com or find Think Ability on Facebook.