In 2018, Koleczek connected with Sonoran UCEDD Assistant Director Jacy Farkas for information about ensuring all who participate in educational programs and interact with volunteers have a positive experience.  

Farkas brought on Lynne Oland, a retired University of Arizona professor and member of the center’s Community Advisory Council, to co-lead and mentor some of the students who participated in the project.

Over the past two years, students conducted trainings about accommodating for different behaviors and conducted research about inclusion in zoos, aquariums and museums.

“When Oland and the other interns presented to us, they gave us a lot of concrete advice and practical strategies that helped us create a more welcoming environment for everyone who comes to the zoo,” Koleczek says. 

The trainings drew attention from the volunteer program that was looking to have outreach for people with developmental and physical disabilities.

“We continued looking at what could be more helpful,” Farkas says. “Our students did observations at events around access and there was an interest in wanting to make educational and volunteer programs more inclusive.”

COVID-19 ADAPTATION

Originally, Tilicki, Winsten and Hughes were going to create videos of different interactions zoo staff and volunteers may have with people with a disability. But because of COVID-19, they couldn’t physically create the recordings.

Instead, they adapted the scripts into scenarios that they would present in a virtual format.

“We thought about the most common interactions at the zoo and the most common ways a disability might present itself to somebody,” Hughes says.

One of the four scenarios was about a guest with Down syndrome asking a staff member a question as part of a group. The guest speaks slowly and is difficult to understand, and before finishing the question, the staff member speaks to the other guests.

Based on the scenario, the staff and volunteers answered questions such as, “What stood out to you about the staff’s response?” and “How might this interaction affect the person who approached the staff member?

“Their answers to our different scenarios were very thoughtful so that makes me feel very confident that they’re going to apply some of the things we talked about in the training,” Winsten says.

BENEFITTING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

The partnership between the Sonoran UCEDD and Reid Park Zoo will continue as restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic lessen. Additionally, Reid Park Zoo is one of the locations for the center’s Work Based Learning Experience, a program for high school youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities to gain valuable work experience.

“We will continue to partner with Reid Park Zoo and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to expand the work we’re doing with them in the future,” Farkas says.

Hughes says she’s glad Reid Park Zoo took a proactive approach to inclusion and hopeful for other community organizations and institutions to do the same.

“I think when others see how well everyone is responding to the Reid Park Zoo and their projects, it will encourage them to take some of the same steps the zoo is taking,” Hughes says.

If you would like to learn more or are interested in supporting this project, please contact Jacy Farkas at jkbell@arizona.edu

Sonoran UCEDD Transition Specialist Lorie Sandaine provides Lavier with employment support and guidance on job tasks. But instead of sitting beside him on a computer going over specific work tasks, Sandaine is 75 miles away in Tucson and guiding Lavier virtually through communication platforms like Zoom and Google Meets. 

“The pandemic has forced us to be creative and innovative with how students receive work experience,” Sandaine says. “Students need the work experience now and doing it virtually will only prepare them for whatever the new workplace looks like post-COVID.” 

TAKING THE INITIATIVE  

Lavier has not only learned technical skills related to using Microsoft Excel, but also important soft skills like replying promptly to emails from supervisors, communicating virtually with an employer and taking the initiative on how tasks could be done more efficiently.   

Recently, he asked Sandaine if he could be notified of any inventory changes so that he didn’t have to manually look up an item on the store to see if the quantity had changed due to a purchase.  

“He asked a great question and I encouraged him to ask his employer about it,” Sandaine said.  

Lavier is among 28 other students in the Tucson area currently in the program and efforts are underway to expand into Phoenix.  

Sonoran UCEDD Transition Specialist Allison Salari is based in Phoenix and working to expand the program to local schools in the area. One of the partnering schools so far is Lexington Life Academy. One of their students, Kyle Ellis, is working at Hello Merch Warehouse in downtown Phoenix. He works five hours a week and goes in person to the job site where he folds, bags and labels clothing for shipping. His work responsibilities have since grown to where he uses a machine to fold clothes and serves as quality control for the clothing as it comes through.    

Lexington Life Academy student Kyle Ellis operating a clothing machine at Hello Merch in Phoenix.

Though Kyle’s experience is in-person, Salari is prepared to implement a hybrid model of having employers communicate tasks virtually using Zoom and an employment specialist providing in-person support.  

“We are so excited to bring more employment opportunities to these students,” Salari said. “Seeing Kyle talk like a leader and share his excitement is so encouraging and makes me even more excited for the project’s expansion into Phoenix.”  

If you’re a Phoenix area school or business interested in participating, please contact Allison Salari at 602-513-1561 or allisonsalari@arizona.edu.  

We are reaching out to creative organizations across the states that support people with IDD, and asking about their experiences with technology use, including hi-low tech (contemporary technology application to manual adjustments)  to promote access, inclusion, visibility, and connection. Especially during the time of COVID-19 crisis, we are gathering information on how they adapted or expanded these practices, what are the obstacles and surprised benefits, and how they plan to reestablish their post pandemic practices. Our hope is that this gathered information can be broadly shared among and beyond creative organizations for providing key information to advanced creative practices for people with IDD. 

Q: In what ways is creative expression beneficial for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? 

Yumi: There are so many benefits of creative expression. When I think of people who have communication difficulties, it expands their ability to express, process and share thoughts, ideas, and feelings. These are essential components for people to develop self-identity and confidence, to have equal access to services and membership, and to develop and practice leadership skills. Regardless of disability status, all people need these opportunities throughout their lifespan. I also like the aspects of connection between creative activities and group membership. Group creative activities and projects on a common life theme, provide opportunities for people with different background and abilities to connect, share their experiences, discover commonality and differences, and form new ideas—mutual learning. The best part of being a member or facilitator of an art studio is that we can experience and witness joy of creation which can be a pretty novel thing.    

Q: You have other ongoing projects as well, what can you tell us about the NH ECHO Project? 

Yumi: Sonoran UCEDD Project I-AADAPT (Identify and Address Alzheimer's and Dementia in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities through Prevention and Training) is joining the Arizona Center on Aging for ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network project (AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). The project is funded by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and led by the ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. This one-year program, in collaboration with local and national experts, provides training and support to nursing home staff in Arizona on best practices for protecting patients, staff and visitors from COVID-19 infection and spread. In Arizona about 10 % of nursing home residents are younger than 65 years old, a majority of which are individuals with IDD. To ensure appropriate and equitable support is addressed for the unique needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who are residing in nursing homes, Dr. Yumi Shirai is joining the weekly virtual learning and resource sharing sessions with other content experts from a wide range of clinical and health education fields (infectious disease control, geriatric, palliative care, quality improvement specialist). 

Q: The ongoing pandemic has affected all of us physically and emotionally, how do you approach self-care in your daily life and what are some approaches that you recommend? 

Yumi: Without the UCEDD, FCM, and Artworks family as well as my social network, it would be impossible to get through the Pandemic. I try to be honest about where I am at the moment: grateful, unsure, overwhelmed, exhausted, worried, relieved…and to share this with whom I trust. I try to do something totally different from work: walking, hiking, watching our son’s baseball, soccer...I walk daily with a very talkative husband, so we now know most people in our extended neighborhood. 

A LOOK 'AHEAD' 

Conducted in partnership with funding from the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (ADDPC), the program will continue for a second year beginning April 1 and will focus on further development of the model and expansion to diverse populations and regions through a telehealth approach. 

A smiling young man wearing glasses with medium length hair stands in front of a wall with photos representing his Strengths and Weaknesses. 

Dr. Parent-Johnson and the project team expects to conduct 20 Roundtable events with youth with disabilities and their families. She says recruitment efforts will ensure representation of youth with disabilities who are Native  American and Hispanic, are in foster care, have hearing impairments and other severe disabilities, and range in age from 14 to 22. 

Further along in the project, train the trainer methods will be created to increase access for others through an expanded telehealth Roundtable conducted remotely.

For more information, please contact Wendy Parent-Johnson at wparentjohnson@arizona.edu.

Photo: A student in the Transition AHEAD Roundtable with his strengths and interests represented as photos and graphics on a wall behind him.