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Program Type:

Eldridge Community Services

Description of Program:

Provide a wide and varied array of services that are beyond the resources of individual residential programs. These include opportunities for people to make independent life choices in areas that include recreation, self-advocacy, religious services, and companionship through the Foster Grandparent/Senior Companion Program. Personal expression is supported through library and computer activities, access to supplies for individual activities, as well as individual grooming choices through the Barber/Beauty Shop. Also included is access to the most up-to-date therapeutic and educational innovations through the Special Rehabilitation Services, Educational Services, and clinic-based assessment services. Lives are enriched with special recreational events that include participation by residents and staff.

Education Services:

Services are provided to all adolescents residing at Sonoma. Services range from individual, to classroom, to community classroom instruction, provided by either credentialed Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) staff or credentialed Sonoma educational staff. Services include, but are not limited to, the development of communication, cognition, social, computer, leisure, and other life skills; the use of adaptive technology; and sensory integration and stimulation. All services are provided in accordance with the Individual Education Plan.

Specialized Rehabilitation Services:

Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy provide assessment, treatment, care planning, and staff training in order to improve or restore the functional capacity of individuals affected by developmental disabilities, illness, or injury. In addition to providing traditional therapeutic services, the Physical Therapy department has developed a therapeutic horse riding program that incorporates the movement of the horse as a therapeutic agent to enhance individuals' lives. The therapist directs the horse's movements, which in turn promotes active responses in the individual, thus leading to improved functional abilities in daily living.

The Occupational Therapists administer physician-ordered treatments to recover physical function and develop individualized plans for accessing and manipulating the environment. Their primary areas include physical development, dysphagia management, adaptive strategies, and use of assistive technology. In the area of assistive technology, Occupational Therapists assess for and assign equipment based on an individual's need. They direct the purchase, design, fabrication, and modification of specialized equipment, such as custom seating systems, orthotics, wheelchairs, adaptive dining equipment, and other types of assistive devices.

Adaptive Technology Services:

Adaptive Engineering Services (AES) has responsibility for the design, fabrication, and delivery of custom-made seating systems, helmets, orthotics, and other items of adaptive equipment and assistive devices which either cannot be purchased or which, when purchased, need modification to meet consumer needs.

Assistive Technology Resources Service (ATRS) has responsibility for other assistive devices used to increase independence in accessing and interacting with the environment. In addition to providing these assistive devices, they also fabricate special adaptations, and develop individual strategies for using the devices. Some of the environments they address are education, activities of daily living, recreation, and communication.

The Shoe Department provides a variety of customized footwear, ranging from shoes fabricated in the shop to modifications of commercially available shoes. The department also obtains specialized shoes from specific vendors.

Other Centralized Services:

Activities are provided center-wide and include: Animal Assisted Therapy, Audiological Services, Barber/Beautician Services, Chaplaincy Services, Client Libraries , the Donation Center, FUNdamentals (which provides activity supplies to all programs), Foster Grandparent/Senior Companion Services , Interpreter Services, and Volunteer Services. Central Program Services also provides the MOVE program (Mobility Opportunities Via Education); using a specially designed curriculum, movement techniques taught by MOVE staff increase individuals’ abilities to sit, stand, or walk - often using specialized equipment specifically designed for the program. In addition, Central Program Services provides the REACH program (Recreation experiences, Exercise and movement, Arts, Computer access, Holiday awareness); REACH offers a multi-use recreational center that offers a wide variety of meaningful activities to the individuals residing at Sonoma. Recreation Services are provided through Camp Via, the Fitness Center, Special Recreational Events, the Equestrian Program, the Eldridge Farm, the swimming pool, gymnasium, and athletic fields.