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The MediSked Blog

3 Things the I/DD Community Should Be Thankful for This Year

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Wed, Nov 25, 2015 @ 11:16 AM

There's no question that we (society and this industry) still have a long way to go when it comes to how we support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But with tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a few moments to be grateful for some of the positive things.

This has been a big year for us here at MediSked and it’s been a big year and in the I/DD world overall. Being grateful only seems right.  

While there’s still much work to be done, we can't sell ourselves short. Our hearts are in the right place and we’re heading in the right direction – and those are both big things that we can all be thankful for.

Here are a couple more:

1. Progress
We’re not where we need to be just yet – but we should all be ridiculously thankful that we’re not where we used to be (because that was an embarrassingly bad place to be!) State transition plans have been submitted, revisions are being made, and everyone is thinking about how to get better and do better. Final Rule changes are being implemented, technology is being introduced, and all eyes (and brains) are focused on the future. That in itself is a beautiful thing. Shifts of this magnitude aren’t easy – and any forward movement is worthy of our recognition.

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Tags: Person-Centered Services, ID/DD News

Washington State has spent $1 million on research telling them to close institutions, and legislators are ignoring it all

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Mon, Nov 16, 2015 @ 11:00 AM

King 5 News in Seattle, Washington recently ran a story claiming that Washington legislators routinely ignore the advice of experts hired to weigh in on the best approach to caring for hundreds of developmentally disabled people living in state-run institutions.

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Tags: Person-Centered Services, Advocacy, 2015

The Word Every Person Working in IDD Needs to Eliminate From Their Vocabulary

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Fri, Oct 16, 2015 @ 09:20 AM

At MediSked, we are carefully designing every page and choosing every word to make sure that our software is as person-centered and people-first as it can possibly be.

Why? Because what we say and how we present things really does matter. It sets the tone. It says something about us - and how we view people with disabilities. And it can help shift the mindset of the people who log in and use our systems everyday. 

One of the words you'll see used fairly frequently is "Services" - because people with IDD do receive various services. 

When you type "Services definition" into Google, the very first entry reads "

noun
1. the action of helping or doing work for someone.
"millions are involved in voluntary service"
synonyms: favor, kindness, good turn, helping hand;
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Tags: Person-Centered Services, ID/DD News

4 Life-Changing Messages from Care Manager Training 

Posted by Elizabeth Chatterton on Tue, Sep 22, 2015 @ 05:20 PM

Yesterday I attended a training session for Care Managers and it changed my life and the way I look at the work that we're doing.

I know that I've written about Dr. Tom Pomeranz (and how amazing he is) before - but after yesterday's training I feel even more fortunate to have him on our MediSked Advisory Council. 

A true visionary, Dr. Pomeranz spent the day talking to us about the past, present, and future of the IDD industry and while it's somewhat horrifying to see where we've been, it's reassuring to remember how far we've come, and most importantly - I've never been more hopeful and excited about the future. 

The training was a full day, I took tons of notes, and I honestly wish that I could share them all with you. However,  in the interest of time and your attention span - I've narrowed it down to the four messages that impacted me most. 

1.An institution is not a place - it's a state of mind. 

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Tags: Person-Centered Services, Inspirational Individuals, Advocacy