Lacy Landers Skills Training Center

The Lacy Landers Skills Training Center provides meaningful work opportunities and activities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Center provides pre-vocational and skills training through performing a variety of tasks. We contract with various businesses to perform tasks including assembly, packaging, and manufacturing. These tasks provides an opportunity for individuals to develop basic work skills and experience a real work environment, while actually earning wages. Individuals are paid competitive wages dependent upon their specific ability to produce. When not working on assigned tasks, individual’s work habits are reviewed and daily life skills are taught in a classroom setting. Businesses that have labor intensive, repetitive tasks that slow down highly-paid employees can contract with the Landers Center to reduce costs.

Upon entering the Center, each individual is given a comprehensive evaluation. A team comprised of the individual, AEDD staff, professionals from various disciplines, and family members (if appropriate) review the evaluation and arrive at an individualized plan of care. This plan identifies strengths and needs in four basic areas: social skills, cognitive skills, communication skills, and sensorimotor skills. After goals are set, the plan is implemented and monitored.

The basic areas of an individualized plan are met through the opportunity to enjoy a large arts and crafts room to work on daily projects, a sensory room designed to meet needs of adults with autism, a game/computer room to improve academic and social skills, and a senior room which is designed to meet the needs of older adults who receive services geared toward improving skills to keep their body and mind active as they age. Activities in the senior room include arts, crafts, exercise for the elderly, book club meetings, games for seniors, and relaxation time.

These special rooms offer the opportunity to provide extra services, while increasing independence, enhancing interests, and helping maintain current functioning levels. Services offered assist in maximizing social, vocational, emotional, and educational functioning.

ACTS in the Rock

 

Consumers attending the Landers Center also have a unique opportunity to participate in ACTS in the Rock. ACTS stands for Acting Creates Therapeutic Participation in the dramatic arts enhances physical, cognitive, and psychosocial behaviors. ACTS participants are encouraged to contribute in every area of the creative process.

ACTS in the Rock is directed by University of Central Arkansas Occupational Therapist, Brittany Saviers, who also serves on the AEDD volunteer auxiliary. Performers have participated in Christmas plays held at the AEDD Multipurpose Center, and annually at Curtain Call, an event held each spring at the Argenta Community Theater in North Little Rock. ACTS is a community based program for individuals with disabilities designed to provide opportunities for participation in the performing arts.

Behavioral Health Services

AEDD offers mental health services for its consumers. Individuals dealing with developmental disabilities, as well as emotional and behavioral disorders, now have on-site resources to help manage their day-to-day lives. Licensed Mental Health Professionals provide individual therapy, group therapy, and psychiatric services. With these services, our consumers are able to learn coping skills to deal with anger, anxiety and depression. Learning to communicate openly and honestly is also emphasized in the program in order to improve peer relationships and family life. The main objective of these services is to improve the functioning level and quality of life for those we serve.

Individual therapy provides intensive counseling and the opportunity to work through specific issues and establish goals. Group therapy allows consumers to interact with each other in a positive social environment, as well as learn about specific coping skills for day-to-day problems.  Treatment is monitored by an attending psychiatrist who can prescribe and manage medication for serious emotional and behavioral disorders.

With therapy and psychiatric services provided on-site, we have the opportunity to deal with problems as they arise and deal with the challenges of having developmental disabilities and mental illness. The constant support of mental health professionals allows our consumers to make the necessary changes and decisions to improve their overall quality of life.

Other Therapy Services

Speech Language Pathologist/Therapy

Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) are trained health care professionals who provide examinations and treatment in the areas of language (expression and understanding), articulation, fluency (stuttering), voice disorders, swallowing problems, oral motor skills and augmentative communication methods. SLPs also provide hearing screenings and work with patients who need assistance using hearing aids. Speech therapy addresses understanding of spoken and written language, using spoken language to express thoughts and feelings, memory skills, ability to follow directions, sequencing and organizational skills, strengthening oral musculature to improve articulation and eating skills, teaching safe swallowing guidelines, and improving fluency of speech. SLPs focus on assisting the patient to attain the highest level of communicative abilities so that they may be able to express wants and needs required for daily functioning.

Occupational Therapist/Therapy

Occupational Therapists (OT’s) are health professionals that provide services to people whose lives have been disrupted by physical injury or illness, developmental disabilities, the aging process, or social and psychological difficulties. The goal of occupational therapy is to assist individuals in achieving independent, productive and satisfying lives.  Occupational therapists address a person’s abilities to:

  • Attend work
  • Reduce distractions
  • Use adaptive equipment at work and home
  • Tolerate and endure activities
  • Development fine motor skills
  • Reduce sensory defensiveness
  • Develop personal, planning, and organizational skills
  • Perform various activities of daily life
Physical Therapist/Therapy

Physical Therapists (PT’s) are experts in the examination and treatment of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular problems that affect people’s ability to move and function as well as they want in their daily lives. Physical therapy addresses a variety of health problems resulting from injury, disease or developmental disabilities. PT’s are trained to assess muscle strength, flexibility, endurance, joint motion, performance of activities of daily living (ADLs), and many other aspects of physical movement and motion. Physical therapy treatment involves therapeutic exercise, endurance training and training in ADLs. ADL training includes walking, climbing stairs and getting in and out of chairs and vehicles