Personal Management
Personal Management instructs individuals in adaptive techniques for use in daily living. The Personal Management area at Bosma Rehabilitation Center is incredible. It includes a full-size, ADA accessible kitchen complete with both a gas and electric stove. The Personal Management area also includes a small living room, bedroom, bathroom, and laundry, which are all used as teaching labs.
Subjects taught in the area of Personal Management include:
- Money Identification
- Telling Time
- Telephone Dialing
- Medication Management
- Labeling/Organization
- Pouring And Measuring
- Kitchen Safety
- Slicing/Peeling/Cutting
- Microwave Operation
- Stove Top Cooking and Baking
- Housekeeping and Cleaning
- Laundry
- Grooming
- Hand and Machine Sewing
Family Participation Day
An extremely important component of a client’s program is the Family Participation Day. The Family Participation Day is customized to individual needs. Typically, clients prepare a luncheon for their guests. This gives family, friends, or caregivers an opportunity to witness what the client is capable of doing in the kitchen. Depending on the individual’s abilities, the luncheon may involve lunchmeat sandwiches, hamburgers or a full course, elaborate meal. The key factor is that the luncheon is independently prepared by the client. The client grocery shops, prepares the food, sets a table, follows recipes, serves a meal and cleans up.
Individuals who are learning to live with vision loss best succeed when they have the support of those close to them. Encouragement, understanding, and cooperation from the client’s support systems are critical. Thus, staff members at Bosma want to assist wherever needed to foster these qualities. Family, friends, and caregivers are invited to consult with staff members about areas of concern. For example, they may speak with the Adjustment Counselor about role reversals resulting from vision loss; consult with an Orientation & Mobility Specialist about proper sighted guide techniques; or speak with the Personal Management Instructor about safety techniques used to prevent injury in the kitchen and other areas of the home. Videos and publications about various topics are available. Occluders and low vision simulators are available for those who would like to experience blindness or loss of vision in practical settings (e.g. eating, walking, typing, handwriting or using a computer, etc).
