Project P.R.I.D.E.

This project directly meets the needs of parents of adult children with severe mental retardation who are medically fragile. P.R.I.D.E. provides day services for the children who age out of Clark County School District.

Their families have told us that this program allows them to keep their disabled adult children at home with them and continue to work and have their own lives. This population was (and, in some cases, still is) served by nursing homes and adult day care centers.

Criteria for P.R.I.D.E. Client

• Primary diagnosis of mental retardation
• Requires professional medical intervention during the normal course of the day for feeding, breathing, or other primary life functions.
• Requires assistive technology and intensive support in order to communicate choice.

Program Goals

• Through assistive technology and training, increase communication skills so that individuals can exercise their right to choose.
• Decrease or minimize the tendency for deformities for the individual and increase function through range of motion exercises, proper positioning, and stimulating activity.
• Enhance communication opportunities and the ability to express choice through the use of assistive technology, augmentative communication, and a sensory, enriched environment.
• Utilize adaptive equipment and the expertise of consultant, physical, and occupational therapists to expand positioning possibilities, which may allow for greater individual function.
• Decrease or minimize the tendency toward respiratory infections of the individual through passive exercise, prescribed cardiovascular activities, and frequent repositioning.

OV is working on the opportunity to utilize university occupational therapists and physical therapists interns. When this comes to fruition, a professor of UNLV or a licensed professional contracted by OV will supervise them.