Chapel Haven

Project SEARCH has just begun its second year! Community Members from various Chapel Haven programs independently travel to Yale New Haven Hospital five days a week where they participate in vocationally-oriented classroom instruction followed by a 5-hour-a-day internship in one of many hospital departments. Interns are becoming essential parts of hospital departments such as Chemistry Lab, Pharmacy, Interpreter Services, Patient Transport, and Central Sterile Supply, just to name a few. In conjunction with Project SEARCH job coaches, hospital employees are taking leadership roles as they work with the Project SEARCH interns to develop skills necessary to complete a number of tasks within their assigned department.

Chapel Haven is delighted to be the first Connecticut site.

Project SEARCH interns have been preparing for the 2013-2014 term since July when they first attended a welcome session held by Project SEARCH staff. Since then, they underwent travel training led by Job Coach, Andrew Chhom and prepared for two weeks of orientation classes.

Maria R., a graduate of ASAT and current community member, is working in the Interpreter services department and she is inputting data into the computer. She inputs SNET reports, which are patient interpreter documents that need to be recorded, and she records what language the interpretation is how much the cost is.

Marcus H., also of ASAT, is working the Chemistry Lab and he is checking lab requisition forms for errors that might have been inputted into the computer wrong. He has to make sure the hard copy and the electronic copy match perfectly.

Jarrod A., an ASAT community member, is working the Pharmacy department and he is working on the return of medications. He is using the computer to input medication counts back into the inventory so they can be properly sorted and put away back into the Pharmacy stock.

Tim H., an ASAT student, is working in the Pharmacy department and he is sending medications to specific patient floors by using the tubing system.  Before being placed in hospital departments, the Project SEARCH interns were guided through various vocational assessments by Program Coordinator, Kristine Fornaby, which yielded very exciting results. Interns excitedly discussed their work personality profiles, strengths, and environmental preferences as they pertain to the various hospital departments and were given the opportunity to make choices about their own placements; it was a great exercise in self determination! As the program progresses through the year, the interns are delving into some self reflective and goal setting activities led by Special Education Teacher, Kim Freeman. The five hours a week of vocationally oriented classroom instruction is designed to focus on building the “soft skills” each individual will need to be successful in the workplace as well as developing a strong cover letter, resume and interviewing skills for each Project SEARCH participant.

Interns have already begun to build the hard skills necessary to contribute in their departments, gained self esteem and are on their way towards achieving great and attainable goals for future employment!  See more photos here: Project Search 2014

The Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition (ASAT) Program at Chapel Haven provides an array of services to support individuals with Asperger’s and related diagnoses to live increasingly independent and productive lives. One component is our adult education program, which offers a range of courses to develop social and independent living skills, as well as for personal enrichment.

The Course Catalog for Winter 2014 is now available. Courses range in topic and focus and include selections such as: stress management, personal finance, animation appreciation, recognizing and reading nonverbal clues, perspective taking and healthy lifestyles. Continue reading →

Chapel Haven enjoyed a fun time skiing in beautiful Crested Butte, CO last year.

For the second consecutive year, Chapel Haven’s Recreation Program is organizing a skip trip for students and community members to beautiful Crested Butte, CO.

Chapel Haven’s community is invited to spend March 8-13, 2014 hitting the slopes. Each participant will have their own personal “guide” through the trip. One-to-one ski instruction will be provided by the Adaptive Sports Center at Crested Butte.

This trip is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Questions? Contact Michael Verzella, supervisor of recreation and operations, at (203) 397-1714, ext. 129, or mverzella@chapelhaven.org.

Tina Menchetti offered a drumming class this fall and she had many eager takers.

Students had the chance to travel to a drumming studio in the Amity section of Woodbridge, run by a program called Animal Assisted Therapy Programs, where Chapel Haven’s group learned to use drums as a way to reduce stress, enhance creativity, share self expression and have fun in a supportive environment.

Tina notes that sound “is comprised of vibrations and the root of vibrations is energy. Sound is a powerful intervention used to rebalance the body. Our students had a great time expressing themselves in this inaugural class.”

On hand at the culminating concert, held in Chapel Haven’s Outreach Center, was Chris Patella, founder and director of Animal Assisted Therapy Services, and Lydia Smith, a Certified Therapeutic Drumming Instructor & Early Childhood Music Specialist. Lydia is a life-long Connecticut resident who has been drumming all her life. She is a graduate of the Creative Arts Therapy Program at The New School in New York City. She holds a B.S. Degree in Liberal Studies (Music, Education, Psychology) from Southern Connecticut State University and an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education from Post University. Lydia is a certified Remo’s HealthRHYTHMS Drum Circle Facilitator serving all populations, and conducts drum circles all over the state.

To see a photo album from the event, click here: Therapeutic Drumming Class

Several female students and graduates of Chapel Haven’s Asperger Syndrome Adult Transition Program were busy last fall writing their own songs through an innovative “class” offered by the Neighborhood Music School.

Entitled, “NoteAble Women,” the program gave each individual the chance to create an original song with help from the school’s renowned music faculty.

David Mills at the Neighborhood Music School put together a video of the culminating concert.

For two hours every Friday, the students, accompanied by ASAT Student Advisor Gina Apicella, went to the Neighborhood Music School to study songs they liked, to write lyrics and then to try out their creations with the help of faculty assisting on keyboards, a loog guitar and drums. Their songs were performed in a special concert during the ASAT family weekend April 27 at the Neighborhood Music School. They were assisted by NMS faculty members.

“The idea was to bring these women together to write an original song that reflects on their collaboration with our faculty members – Sarah Lamieux and David Mills – and to reflect on their own lives – to get in touch with feelings they might otherwise not share,” said Gretchen Hary, Director of Special Needs at the school and on the percussion faculty.

“Not being a big songwriter myself I wondered how we would take these women with no songwriting experience and come away with a song. I was a little skeptical at first. But I was just amazed, and the women were too, at the songs they created with the help of these facilitators.’

Among the topics of the songs? First love, what else?

Gina, who is a point staffer for Chapel Haven’s ASAT program, likewise said the program helped the students “enjoy music as a universal language. There were no constraints.”

“The sense of accomplishment is awesome,” Gina said. “They are proud of what they’ve worked on.”

NoteAble Women was made possible after Alice Ann Harwood, development director at the Neighborhood Music School, applied for and received a grant from the Community Foundation’s Women and Girls Foundation. The school already offers a drum circle class for ASAT students and the grant was another way for the school to further one of its goals: to serve youngsters and adults on the spectrum through the medium of music. Continue reading →