Health Happenings
Recreational Respite for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
By Becky Lane
Zia Therapy Center, Inc
Zia Therapy Center is in the process of completing collaboration efforts with Tresco, Inc. out of Las Cruces, to develop recreational respite opportunities in the Alamogordo community. This exciting new program is geared toward recreational (fun activities) respite for children ages 5 to 22 years that are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This is a new program being offered by the State of New Mexico, and we hope to eventually expand the program.
The idea is to provide one recreational opportunity per month, six times a year, for three different age groups. The age groups will be 1) 5-10 years old - elementary school, 2) 11-13 years old - middle school and 3) 14-22 years old - high school. The child must be 5 by their sign up date.
The program will include meaningful leisure activities in the community such as arts and crafts, hiking, music, dance, swimming, spectator sports, learning activities with animals and community exploration. This is an opportunity for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder to increase their self-esteem and enhance their social skills. Principles of the recreational respite program will be skill building, new relationships and friendships, safety, fun, inclusion and community exploration. Opportunities will be designed for a maximum of six participants per age group. The groups will be staffed at a one staff to two children level for the activities. Community sites and activities will be chosen based on children's age group, interests, availability, opportunities for multiple activities and inclusion with typically developing children. Entry fees and supplies needed will be covered in the proposed budget. However, depending on the activity and the nature of the event, parents may need to provide money for a snack or drink.
The recreational respite program is geared toward individuals currently on State General Funds respite that are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or any individual that is not receiving DD waiver funding. This includes individuals that are diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorders or Asperger's Disorder.
Family Living Services is another new program Zia has recently added. This program provides 24 hour care for individuals on the Developmental Disability waiver. This program helps enable people in our community to have support and care in a family setting.
Zia will provide all the training for the family so they can provide the best care to the individual. The family can be relatives of the individual or the family can be a surrogate provider.
Zia Therapy Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1960 by 9 mothers of children with developmental delays. Zia has grown to become an umbrella organization providing services to children and adults with developmental delays and disabilities, early intervention services for children birth to thirty-six months old, child care for children six weeks to five years old and transportation services.
Zia operates the local public transit system, Z-Trans Public Transportation Service. Z-Trans is transportation service for the general public. Three routes, Stealth, Cottonwood and Mescalero, provide service to Holloman, Alamogordo, La Luz, Alamorosa, Tularosa and Mescalero Monday through Saturday.
We are always looking for new ways to assist and support the people of Otero County and Zia's wide variety of programs offers numerous employment opportunities.
For more information on Zia's new recreational respite service, family living service, or any of our other service offerings or employment opportunities, please call 439-4900 or visit www.ziatherapy.org
Otero County Community Health Council
700 E. 1st St.
Suite 720
Alamogordo, NM
88310
(575) 443-8100
Fax (575) 437-2949
oterochc@tularosa.net
oteromch@netmdc.com