Our Community Day Services (formerly known as Developmental Training Center) is housed in a converted industrial building – imagine lots of daylight, with large, airy open spaces in a building sizeable enough to house several classrooms, a movie theater, a café, and a cafeteria (and our administrative offices!).
Welcoming colors are on the walls. Chairs and tables are arranged classroom-style. The café has real booths like a restaurant. There is even a room that houses several treadmills to help promote physical wellness.
In a stimulating, yet not overwhelming environment, our DTC addresses several long-term goals:
- Increased behavioral control
- Appropriate social interactions and communication
- Optimum pre-vocational skills
- Maximum functional academic knowledge
- Improved health
Rimland’s commitment is and will always be to specialized, focused care. Working within each resident’s Individual Service Plan (ISP), each of the goals listed above is set appropriately and independently worked towards. Whether an individual needs special attention to develop or enhance speech, or various work tasks – assembling, sorting, etc. – can be accomplished, understanding each person’s needs are met by the DSP assigned to their care.
Some of our more specialized learning opportunities include:
- Café & In-House Cafeteria. Simulating real-world experience, our residents can practice what it’s like to go to a restaurant or coffee shop and learn (or practice) acceptable table manners and behaviors before actually going out to eat with the general public. The cafeteria will have many of the features and amenities you might find in the seating portion of an actual restaurant, making the client’s “dining” experience as authentic as possible.
- Music Therapy. Once a week, for over five years, a wonderful volunteer has come to Rimland and engages our residents in an afternoon of music. Tom Sexton, an accomplished musician, plays the guitar and sings songs. Typically he plays classic rock hits, like the Beatles, yet sometimes a resident is inspired enough to share their own songs. The latest inspiration and hit includes an ode to a squirrel who just can’t stay out of the garbage!
- Movie Theater. We have renovated this large room to fit an impressive sized screen, projector, and seating that simulates a movie theater experience. Multiple times a week, our residents come here to practice going to the movies. Like the cafe, they learn acceptable manners while enjoying their favorite films. This practice is then put into play during monthly outings where our residents go to local cinemas to see newly released films!