Erica D. finds the right environment to thrive

Though options and choices are great for many people, Erica D., a client at Merrick since 2000 is someone who benefits from a smaller more structured environment. A place where choices still exist, but are limited to what people can comfortably handle. For Erica, that place is in Enhanced Services (ES) which she joined in April of 2011. After some difficulties in adjusting to an offsite environment placement, Erica transitioned to ES. As it turns out, an offsite environment was simply too big and too stressful for her. Once her environment became smaller, so did her level of anxiety and stress.

In ES, there is a neutral reward system. It is not based on tangible rewards but on basic human behavioral principles. Instead of giving her tangible rewards, Erica has learned that when she is polite and respectful to others, she receives the same treatment in return. Erica has also learned that if she wants to buy items such as candy or pop, she can focus on the value of work and use her own earnings to buy them. Over the past year, with limited distractions, variety in jobs and activities and consistent expectations, her ability to focus on work has increased and her social skills continue to thrive in the smaller environment. Her wages are on the upswing, and her negative behaviors have seen an 80% decrease. Most importantly, Erica has earned genuine friendship with those around her.  They have found out that she loves to talk about the weather, watch the Twins and Vikings, spend time on the computer, attend her nephew’s hockey games, and shop with her mother. She loves to laugh and feel good about who she is and wanting to help others. Sometimes a change in environment is all it takes to bring out the best in us. ❖