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A
Statement of Mission | Accomplishments
| Continuing Directions | The
Future
A Statement of Mission
Alternatives for People with Autism, Inc. ("Alternatives") is governed
by a Board of members who, because we despised and feared an otherwise
hopeless future for Minnesotans with autism, banded together with a covenant
to create the first real living options in Minnesota for people severely
afflicted with the devastating developmental disability known as "autism."
Beginning informally in 1978 as a serious study group, Alternatives was
formally incorporated in 1980 as a non-profit, tax-exempt (501{c}{3})
educational and charitable organization.
Emerging as an effective task force, our mission has been joined and enhanced
by other community citizens of dedication and skill, many of whom have
generously participated in various critical activities of our organization.
Our imperative, we feel, is that of demonstrating to all the feasibility
of making real, for the first time, the options necessary for people severely
disabled by autism to realize the dignity of opportunity and growth.
A Statement of Mission | Accomplishments
| Continuing Directions | The
Future
Accomplishments
SHINGLE CREEK OPTION
The first dream of creating a residential service was realized in September
of 1982, with the name of SHINGLE CREEK OPTION. It serves 14 men and women
with habilitational programming, family and community participation, and
gentle living in a place to call home. Staff of extraordinary skill and
commitment have been acquired. Alternatives takes great pride in the quality
of life provided throughout Shingle Creek Option.
LITTLE HOUSE WAIVER SITE
In 1987, we began providing short term residential services to children
in our "Little House" site. Over several years, children came for short
"respite" or "crisis" stays and were unable to find suitable long term
residential services. Our children's program has evolved into a long-term,
foster home/waiver site for 3 young men. We are pleased with the high
quality services provided in this site, which evolved in response to individual
needs.
CONSULTATIVE SERVICES
In response to the many requests for information and consultation services
from our now well-recognized organization, in 1988 we began providing
workshops, mailings, information and referral, and consultation services
to other service organizations, providers, schools, and families. Presentations
concerning autism, and issues related to the needs of persons disabled
by autism, have been made by our staff members at many locations; copies
of printed materials and video training tapes have been requested by families
and organizations throughout the United States.
CappsDATA
As service providers, we quickly realized that competent human services
planning and delivery requires the management of vast amounts of data
- a job much too large for the industry-standard hard-copy data collection
and documentation methods. In recent years, Alternatives has developed
the CappsDATA computer-aided process to support its direct-care services
and program management, dramatically altering and enhancing the way in
which our services are designed, administered, tracked and analyzed.
A Statement of Mission | Accomplishments
| Continuing Directions | The
Future
Continuing Directions
Attending to our mission to work to improve the options and opportunities
for persons with autism, we take pride in the innovative programmatic
practices we have developed and implemented in the areas of program services
data management, effective hiring and supervision of program services
staff members, innovative and ongoing training of staff members, relating
selection of programmatic interventions to resident affect, monitoring
of psychoactive medications, supporting direct-care and programmatic services
effectively through CappsDATA.
A
Statement of Mission | Accomplishments
| Continuing Directions | The
Future
The Future
The strength of Alternatives for People with Autism, Inc. lies, we believe,
in operating with corporate responsibility without compromise with the
human ideals that underpin our motivation for existence. Though committed
as advocates to radical change, our strategy is not radical in that we
seek to use existing mechanisms, both governmental and private, to accomplish
our goals. We intend to remain strong because the work thus far accomplished
is very little of that which must yet be done.
Our future plans are, at the level of detail, as uncertain as the system
of services for people with developmental disabilities. There will remain,
however, the basic invariants of social and human principle to which we
have become irrevocably committed. Our era has potential for dignity for
all people. We have shown that it need not, as in the past, offer people
who are severely disabled by autism only the opportunity to miserable
and abbreviated lives.
In this continuing effort, our voices have joined the great chorus of
collective humanity in the ancient and most vital of human struggles.
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