Pat began attending The Arc’s Day Habilitation program last year and has since made great strides in his social and emotional development. Coming from a place of isolation, Pat has been able to make many new friends in the Day Habilitation program. He is an advocate for his peers and has built a great rapport with the staff in the program allowing him to feel safe and supported.
Pat has blossomed since he began attending the Day Habilitation program. One area that Pat has shown incredible skill in is his ability to connect with all of his peers. Pat is kind and gentle with those who may be non-verbal, or that have social or communication barriers. He treats all of his peers with respect and dignity – a fundamental that The Arc requires its staff to uphold every day, and which comes so naturally to Pat.
Pat has also taken a liking to participating in art therapy. At home, Pat builds intricate car models in his spare time. He now brings his car models to program and with the help of our art therapist Krista he puts them together and spraypaints them outside. He even agreed to help run a group that will focus on building car models. Pat has been able to use this passion of his to connect with other peers and staff.
When the weather got colder in late fall, and Pat could no longer spray paint outside, he brought the model car home to work on. Around that same time, Pat began coming to additional art therapy groups and became a key participant in the large group mosaic project often seeking out opportunities to help. Pat has come a long way from when he started and typically kept to himself. Now he is flourishing and expanding his love for art into other projects that a year ago he would have never tried.