Over the last year Tahoe Ability Program has grown exponentially both in the services we are able to offer, and the amount of individuals we are serving. In this short period of time we have almost doubled our participant base, growing from twelve to twenty-three clients. With this new expansion comes a wide range of ability levels and varying ways we can best support our participants. For some, this support is in the form of learning a new skill such as reading a recipe, for others support is a quiet room to avoid overstimulation. In recent years we have found a considerable need to implement a quiet room into our program. With Martis Camp Foundation’s support we have been able to transform a need into a reality.
Our program space featured various open concept rooms for group activities and a small open storage area for our recreation equipment. With the relocation of this equipment, this small room in the middle of our program was the perfect placement for a quiet room. Thanks to our property manager and an excellent construction team, we were able to enclose this space and add a door to aid in creating a sound proof and private environment.
After building out a space, we have had the pleasure of furnishing it with sturdy and comfortable furniture, soft lighting to eliminate overstimulation, a sound machine to drown out other program noise, and tactile comfort items such as stress balls and textured objects that can redirect stimulation.
In just a few short months we have seen our program participants regularly utilize "The Galaxy" ,notably named for its constellation mood lighting. Having the ability to step away and return to a goal oriented activity with a renewed sense of calm has greatly improved the advances Tahoe Ability Program staff has been able to make with each participant. This has been especially beneficial during our winter months, when we tend to spend more time indoors.
We want to thank Martis Camp Foundation for recognizing this need for our community members and making this addition to our program possible.