Success Stories
Amego has made a conscious effort to give our students the skills they need to live in a less restrictive setting. To this end, we have successfully reunited students with their families, transitioned students into less restrictive educational settings, and moved students closer to their area of meaningful tie.
Rick's Story
Rick has been with Amego since October of 1978. He is diagnosed with autism. He came at the age of 14 and has been with us for 32 years. He is currently 46 years old. At the age of 14, he was placed at Amego by the Boston School Department. He had many medical issues which were of great concern to his personal safety and well-being.
At the time of his arrival, he came to Amego in 4 point restraint, due to the seriousness and risk of injury to himself and others. He was unable to attend school or participate in any programming. He was medicated and his quality of life was poor. He was unable to access the community and enjoy activities that other young men enjoy. He required intense staffing, as well as restrictive programming. He initially attended Amego’s program in Hingham, MA upon intake. He had to be watched 24 hours a day. His bedroom door had to be a screen door so staff could monitor him throughout the night.
Throughout the past 32 years, Rick, with the support of his staff and individualized programming, has learned to control his dangerous behavior. We learned that when Rick engaged in these dangerous behaviors, we would often find that he had some kind of medical issue. Amego worked really hard in establishing procedures that were proactive to catch the medical issue before it turned into negative behavior. Communication was a struggle, since Rick cannot communicate verbally, but receptively he is all over it. Staff reinforced him verbally for maintaining control. Proactive procedures were outlined in his behavior support plan that detailed what to watch for, subtle changes in behavior or certain facial expressions that indicated something may be wrong and to try to address it immediately, whether it was medical or anything else, before Rick would reach the point where he engaged in negative behaviors. It was a slow process, but Rick and Amego never gave up.
For example: The screen door to his bedroom is now a regular door. It may have taken years, but he now has complete privacy because he has shown that he will not hurt himself like he used to. The screen door was systematically changed, contingent on his ability to keep himself safe. The screen door became a half door/half screen. Then the screen/observation part was made smaller and smaller until it became a small peep/observation hole and then eventually the door was replaced with a brand new complete door.
At one point in the old days, Rick was somehow reinforced by looking in the mirror when he hurt himself, so it was necessary to cover all the mirrors when he was injured. Rick’s staff always let him know how proud they are of him. He no longer requires Level II programming. He can walk throughout his house without staff being within arms reach. He attends Amego’s Adult Day Program Monday – Friday. He accesses the community all the time, he goes to restaurants (one of his most favorite things to do), and ball games at Fenway or the Pawtucket Red Sox. He likes to go for walks or get his hair cut. He goes to church or other community events like local fairs. He and his housemates go to the movies, apple picking, and grocery shopping anywhere.
Rick is now the go to guy, he will go anywhere and staff can always take him everywhere. A few years ago, he and his housemates went to Disney World for a week and had a great time. His staff worked very hard preparing him for the plane ride, since his last plane ride involved his transport from Puerto Rico in 1977 in restraint when he came to the United States. We didn’t know if he would have bad memories of that plane ride when he got on the plane to Florida. He did great on the plane ride and there were no problems. His medications were reduced dramatically. He is such a bright and wonderful man who really does enjoy every day. He loves to do things with his housemates. The money he has earned from paid work has allowed him to buy desired items or participate in fun activities. He is now independent in so many things at the residence. He can shower and dress himself. He helps with the grocery shopping and cooking. He helps to clean the house and he keeps his room neat.
Staff are still there to support him, but he has come so far. It has been years since his last significant injury. At one point, only certain staff could work with Rick, but now all staff can work with him. Everyone is trained on his individualized behavior support plan. He really has come so far, he has learned to maintain control and he has learned to replace the dangerous negative behaviors with positive behaviors like working or going out with his housemates and staff. The quality of his life has improved dramatically from that man in crisis and he really seems to enjoy his life now. It has taken time over these years, but he never gave up and neither did Amego staff. His journey was difficult, and it may sound corny, but it truly is a wonderful and happy ending, actually a continued beginning for Rick because there are so many more wonderful years ahead.
