Writing on the Wall: Spring 2022

<strong>Writing</strong>
on the
Wall
Spring 2022
Listen with Your Heart:
Life is better with choices. Page 7
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New! ABA Center Opens
Wall Residences expands to offer
ABA Therapy at new Salem Center
5 6
New! My Care Passport & Tip Sheets
The Nursing team and other advocates work
to improve hospital care & outcomes
New! Trauma-Informed Training
Wall Residences debuts new Crisis
Management and Response Training (CMRT)

Director’s Corner
John Weatherspoon
The DD Rescue Plan developed by
the ARC of Virginia and vaACCSES,
which we supported, did not make it
through the Senate Finance Committee.
I want to thank Senator Hanger
and Delegate Sickles for putting this
forward and their ongoing support
for our services. In a conversation
with a provider regarding this failure
from our legislature they made the
statement, “If not now, when?” It is a
valid question. The State was/is flush
with funding and there appeared to be
support the likes of which we had not
seen for something this comprehensive
in support of Waiver Services. It
would have made our services more
competitive in the hiring market for
Direct Support Professionals and recognized
the importance of those DSPs
in the provision of Waiver Services.
Now we find ourselves in a situation
where advocates are attempting to
prevent a large portion of Waiver
Services taking a significant cut, back
to the funding rate of June 2021.
At this time Sponsored Residential
Services and Small Group Homes
along with Community Engagement,
Community Coaching, In-Home,
and a handful of other services appear
safe and to be in the budget with
rates recommended from the Rate
Study. Even though the rate model
for Sponsored Residential failed
to recognize Direct Support
Professionals correctly within the
model there was still a small increase
recommended within it. We hope to
be able to share the outcome at our
All Provider Meeting scheduled for
April 29 in Roanoke.
We are excited to once again see
providers in person on April 29! It
has been too long since we have been
together in person. We have an amazing
agenda planned with time worked
in for reconnecting and enjoying the
snacks from Hotel Roanoke. I look
forward to seeing you there!
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!
BJ proudly waves the flag of his favorite
country: Australia!
BJ has a passion for all things
Australian and a dream of moving
there someday. Recently, he met
with Senior Program Manager Becky
Weaver. During their conversation,
he clearly stated his rights (and gave
permission to share here):
(I have the right) “To be treated like
a human being, not to be harmed or
abused. I have a right to be safe. I
have a right to go to both colleges
after my delayed graduation is done
at 2023, and I have a right to date a
curvy African American girl either at
Virginia or the University of Oregon
so I can take her with my Aunt Cookie
and Aunt Paulina and the rest of
my groupies to Australia, including
Francesca in the capital of New South
Wales in Sydney, Australia. I have
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the right to receive mails, to have my
own luxury apt. condo/complex with
a rooftop terrace that I might need on
my bucket list. I have a right to have
visitors from Australia and North
America like Ms. Karen so they can
teach me how to cook baked ziti Australia
style... it’s like American baked
ziti but with kangaroo meat. I have a
right to believe in LGBTQ and human
rights and gay rights.”
Empowering for self advocacy is a
key value for our agency. Quotes like
these show the excellent work our
program management staff does to
be sure every individual understands
their rights and has the opportunity to
express them fully. BJ is clear about
what he wants and we can’t wait to
try that baked ziti!

Making an Impact in Lexington
A small group in Lexington is making
a big impact. Recently, Luke and
Phillip discovered they had a mutual
goal. “We were wanting to bring
diverse people together… this has
always been a dream of mine because
I put a lot of heart into learning how
to reach out,” said Phillip. The first
step was to name their new WRAP
team. Phillip suggested, “Let’s call
ourselves the Community Connections
Dream Team (CCDT)!” The
name stuck!
Grace Episcopal Church welcomed
CCDT with open arms when they
needed a place to eat lunch once it
got cold outside. The team partnered
with the church on a fundraiser
for Hope House, a residence
for South Sudanese children going
to school in Kenya. They sold
rubberband bracelets in South
Sudanese flag colors. The sale was
a success, raising $73 for Hope
House. The relationship with Grace
Episcopal grew, and Phillip started
working with the chairperson of the
church’s Sudanese Mission Group, MJ
Mayerchak, to learn new crocheting
techniques. Phillip decided he wanted
to donate proceeds from sales of his
crocheted koozies to the cause. He
was asked to speak about God’s Love
at a church luncheon in February. The
WRAP team got permission from the
church vestry to sell crafts again to
benefit Hope House. This time, bracelets
and koozies in Valentine’s colors
raised over $134.00!
CCDT wanted to expand relationships
beyond occasional special events, so
they created Community Connection
Mondays, held weekly in the parish
hall. They participate in a Zoom exercise
class with folks from Florida, Virginia,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania,
have informal discussion and a brown
bag lunch, and share an educational/
recreational program time. Activities
have included writing workshops, origami
and puzzles, holiday and history
programs, and individual craft projects.
Luke reflects, “I like it because
I get to hang out with people that
are funny, kind-hearted, and free-
Above: Phillip (back left) and Luke
(front right) with friends from Grace.
Right: Luke and Cindy Hughes
spirited.” Phillip adds, “Bringing
people together as a community…
for unity… is a very important
thing within our world today.”
Their connections grew to include
the shops on Main Street in
downtown Lexington. Luke, quite
the entrepreneur, often sold his handmade
rubberband bracelets to downtown
acquaintances. One afternoon,
we noticed a store had local crafts for
sale, so Luke asked the shop owner
if she would sell his bracelets. The
shopkeeper thought the fun, colorful
wristbands would have a better market
around the corner at Sugar Maple
Trading Company. Luke headed off
immediately and found the perfect fit!
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Owner Cindy Hughes said “Yes!” to
three different holiday color schemes.
She bought them outright and packaged
them beautifully, but that wasn’t
the last of it! Luke returned in February
with new colors for the spring,
and Cindy purchased more! Recently,
Luke reflected on what is meaningful
about this endeavor: “It makes me
proud and expanding my horizons
helps me to meet new people.”
Phillip was so inspired by Luke’s
success he wanted to find a downtown
home for his crafts, too. He
was drawn to House Mountain Yarn
Company and found the perfect
partner in its owner, Ellie Boylan.
Ellie was so enthusiastic about his
work she offered to put Phillip’s
crocheted koozies on display, front
and center for the holidays, through
a consignment agreement. Phillip
recently suggested that Ellie put Starburst
candies in the glassware she uses
to display his multi-colored yarn creations.
Ellie is awaiting Phillip’s new
craft ideas to put on consignment this
spring. Phillip expressed his delight,
“I enjoy selling my crocheted items to
raise money for charities, meeting others’
needs and building relationships
with people in the community.”
~Susan Virginia Mead

ABA Center Opens
This winter, Wall Residences
opened it’s doors to a brand
new ABA Center. The center is
part of our Clinical and Therapeutic
Services department,
providing Applied Behavior
Analysis (ABA) to children
and teens with autism and other
developmental disabilities.
Located in Salem, Virginia,
the center includes multiple
treatment rooms, a sensory
room, a group therapy space,
and an observation suite with
two-way window/mirror. The
center currently serves 11
clients and continues to grow.
Some of these clients come
to the center Monday through
Friday from 9:00am until
3:00pm, while others come 2-3 times
per week for therapy sessions and receive
the rest of their services within
their home.
At the center, Licensed Behavior
Analysts assess both the client’s and
the family’s needs, develop treatment
plans, and oversee implementation.
Behavior Technicians support clients
one-on-one to meet their treatment
goals. The ABA team works on a variety
of skills ranging from reductions
in interfering behaviors and/or repetitive
patterns of behavior to increasing
functional communication and
social skills. Parents and caregivers
receive on-site training so that they
can actively participate in their child’s
treatment and planning.
Parents John and Kate shared, “We
cannot say enough good things about
Wall Residences ABA program. Our
son began attending Wall Residences
ABA program after a terrible experience
with another ABA provider.
The ABA Team at Wall Residences is
kind, friendly, professional, and they
genuinely care for the children and
families they serve. In the short time
that we have been working with Wall
Residences ABA Therapy Team, we
have seen so much growth in our son
and we know it is, in part, because of
the amazing team at Wall Residences
ABA Therapy.”
~Heather Cromer
www.wallresidences.com
ABA Therapy can look a lot like play, but Behavior Analysts and Technicians use these
interactions to work with the child and to collect data to help with their treatment plan.
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Better Care Through Communication
Since 2020, our nursing team has
been involved with a project to improve
hospital care for people with
developmental disabilities in partnership
with Augusta Health hospital in
Fishersville, VA. A local coalition of
six agencies who serve this population
was formed to do a comprehensive
assessment of needs and collaborate
with the hospital for better care
and communication. I had the opportunity
to meet the MD leader of the
Vulnerable Populations Committee of
Augusta Health at a COVID vaccine
clinic and introduced the coalition’s
concerns. He immediately responded
positively and assured he would pave
the way for contacts in the hospital.
The collaboration was born!
The DBHDS/Office of
Integrated Health (OIH)
Registered Nurse Care
Consultants team was asked
for their support with the
hospital project. We discussed
how their office
plans to better support providers to
advocate for the best care and clinical
outcomes for the people we all
serve within the current broken health
system. All recognize that regulations
often do not match the reality of the
difficulties providers face when trying
to get proper care and treatment.
OIH had already begun the process of
considering supports, so the Augusta
Health project fueled their intentions!
The OIH team, local coalition, and
Augusta Health staff began working
together to develop meaningful dialog
and determine the first best steps to
meet the most significant needs.Our
meetings brought to light the hospital
staff’s desire to provide the best care,
but that many had not been trained in
medical or nursing school curricula to
provide care to this population. They
were eager to improve their knowledge
and be more aware of an individual’s
true needs.
The outcome of this group exploration
work is a set of advocacy documents,
which also serve as teaching
tools to start the journey to improved
care. Deanna Rennon, Wall Residences
QA Director, and I, Lead RN Care
Manager, had the privilege to join
with experts from OIH and the hospital
MD to develop:
• My Care Passport
• Consent Tip Sheet
• Medicaid Waiver Tip Sheet
• Discharge Tip Sheet
For more information about My Care Passport
and the Tip Sheets, please contact Kevyn Burn,
Lead RN Care Manager at 540-250-7832
or kburn@wallresidences.com.
My Care Passport is the central document.
Designed to be easy for the
Provider to fill out, it describes the
needs of the individual for medical
staff in an easy to reference format. It
covers who they need at bedside, who
can speak for them, feeding needs,
how they show pain, what comforts
them, and more. At Augusta Health
it is now posted at bedside and part
of the record. It is encouraged that it
be shared widely with all health care
providers caring for the individual.
The Consent Tip Sheet was specifically
requested by hospital medical staff
so they could know clearly who could
give consent, with whom they can
discuss care, and who they need to
listen to... the Provider, of course!
The Discharge Tip Sheet clearly tells
hospital medical staff what DBHDS
requires at discharge. It is an attempt
to solve the problem of Providers
trying to describe what is needed and
being challenged about the validity of
their requests by equipping them with
a document that shows, “DBHDS
says so!”
The Medicaid Waiver Tip Sheet gives
a short explanation of what the waiver
is and how it impacts the individuals.
Likely it will mostly be used with
Social Workers or Discharge Planners
and Case Managers to assist understanding
the support needs and how
those needs are funded.
The pilot at Augusta Health
began in January 2022 after
training the medical and nursing
staff on the new documents. The
grand plan includes assessing
the effectiveness of the pilot at
Augusta Health, then utilizing
the assistance of our Augusta
Health MD colleague to encourage
other hospitals to adopt these tools.
The four documents are now being
distributed, talked up, trained on, and
utilized throughout the State. The
OIH February Health Alert is about
the documents. Trainings are available
through our agency, the OIH site,
and other coalition agencies.
We request you obtain and use the
documents far and wide to teach our
health care providers about the needs
of people with developmental disabilities
and the systems that serve them.
Together, we can advocate for improved
care outcomes for the individuals
we serve.
~Kevyn Burn
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First CMRT Instructor Training Held
In February, Wall Residences held our
first instructor training for the Crisis
Management and Response Training
(CMRT) program in Floyd. Developed
by Wall Residences experts, CMRT is
a trauma-informed, culturally competent
program that stresses prevention
as well as physical skills. It is replacing
Therapeutic Options (TOVA). This
instructor training brought people with
a broad variety of experiences together
to learn from each other, including
Providers, staff with experience in
other training programs, program
managers past and present, group
home leaders, representatives from the
Therapeutic Consultation and WRAP
teams, and administrators!
We spent the first day reviewing
Trauma-Informed Care, Mindfulness,
Self-Care, and a variety of other topics
to provide a comprehensive
picture of
how self-awareness
and quality of life
(for the individuals in
our services and the
people who support
them) can result in
best practices and outcomes.
On the second
day, we delved into
“hot topics” such as
human rights, cultural
competency, advocacy,
and navigating
systems in crisis. We
shared real-life experiences
as we practiced preventative
measures and physical intervention
skills. The Training Team is excited
to have so many new members and to
have a new curriculum more applica-
Rebecca Ledingham, Danielle Hiatt, Amanda Cox, Laura
Beth Parnell, Kevin Hieatt, Staci Formica, Erin Justis and
Robin Hurst gathered for the first CMRT Instructor training.
ble to the societal momentum toward
trauma-informed care. We hope it
will be interesting and refreshing for
everyone who takes the course!
~Rebecca Ledingham
Training Team
Update
I’m excited to introduce myself as the new first point of contact for the training
department! I’ve met many of you in my role as receptionist at the Floyd main
office. After helping the training team for the past two years, I am now moving
to that team full time as part of the agency’s work to ensure training systems
and documents flow smoothly. I’m happy to assist you with any training questions.
You can reach me at training@wallresidences.com or (540) 745-4216.
~Ashlyn McDaniel
Know Someone Who Could Benefit from Our Services?
The Wall Residences Admissions team has staff in all parts of the state to respond to your referral needs and
answer questions about the services we offer. We work quickly to find the right match for longterm success
while striving for the quickest placement in services possible. The Admissions Team is here to serve you.
Alex Jackson
Admissions
Director
(434) 610-7578
Emily Eagle
Central Virginia, Danville,
Charlottesville, Staunton/
Waynesboro/Lexington
(434) 907-5067
Ashea Green
Northern
Region
(202) 760-6411
Brooke Keen
Roanoke, NRV,
SWVA
(540) 541-8563
Lisa Schalasny
Eastern
Region
(804) 380-4309
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Listen With Your Heart
Communication is important in any
relationship. For Mackenzie and Provider
Jeanette Perry, it is the center of
their life together and takes multiple
forms. When conversation fails them,
they have found writing down what
they are trying to express for the other
to read helps clarify meaning. Working
to understand each other goes beyond
words. Jeanette describes when
they met. “I bonded with her immediately.
I told her mom I would not just
listen to her with my ears, but with
my heart.” The two were a match and
have lived together for nearly two
years. “Mackenzie is a funny young
lady. Kind. Considerate. Helpful.
Energetic. She keeps me going! She’s
just really fun to be with.”
That heart bond goes both ways. Of
“Ms. J,” Mackenzie says, “She’s
a nice person. I like her. She’s my
friend.” Mackenzie also notes what
a good cook Jeanette is, with chicken
pot pie and “mac ‘n cheese in the
oven” particular favorites. Jeanette
believes in providing Mackenzie with
as many opportunities to make her
own choices as possible. This extends
from meals to activities and beyond.
Those choices have created a life that
is full and busy! Mackenzie loves
spending several days a week at
Momentum 180 where she has many
friends. “I love my job!” she enthusiastically
shares, listing people she interacts
with there. They claim Fridays
and weekends as their days together
for chores and to just relax. They purposely
set no schedule on these days,
leaving them free to choose. Striving
for balance is key with eating out and
going to the gym to swim both named
as potential choices. Often they love
just getting in Jeanette’s red truck and
driving. Sometimes they have a destination
in mind, other times they decide
as they drive what local spot they’d
like to see that day. Nearby beaches,
local restaurants, and parks offer many
options, as does one of Mackenzie’s
favorite outings: shopping! She’s an
avid collector of all types of bags,
backpacks, and purses. Not only does
she purchase ones that catch her eye,
she also makes them! She creatively
combines plastic bags, paper, and other
materials to fashion each, sometimes
even including a handwritten note as
part of the design when making
one as a gift.
The tight twosome becomes a
trio to their shared delight when
Jeanette’s granddaughter Nyah
visits in the summer. Family
is important to both women.
Mackenzie is a proud aunt to
an adorable niece and shows
off pictures. She’s looking forward
to a return trip to Alaska
this summer to visit with her
brother and his family again. Closer to
home, Mackenzie and Jeanette enjoy
friendships with neighbors, church
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members, and others. “People are
drawn to her,” says Jeanette. She also
lifts up the unexpected joy of gaining
a relationship with Mackenzie’s
family and her own family gaining a
relationship with Mackenzie as one
of the benefits of being a Sponsored
Residential Provider.
Jeanette has spent her career working
with people with intellectual disabilities
and mental health diagnoses, with
over 40 years experience including
working at Eastern State Hospital and
for local community service boards.
About two years ago, she decided to
become a provider because she was
“at a point where I didn’t want to
show up 9-5!” With her only child
grown, the house felt too big for one.
She knew she had room in her home
and heart for someone looking for
support she could provide. “It was
time to just enjoy life with someone
else. Enhance their life, as well as my
own.” As the stories continue to flow,
it is clear heart listening has indeed
led to an enhanced life for both Mackenzie
and Jeanette.
~Angie Covington
Center: Mackenzie with just a few of the
bags in her collection.
Above: Jeanette Perry & Mackenzie

Spring Provider Meeting
Hotel Roanoke | Friday, April 29, 2022
Join us for an exciting day as we revel in the chance to be together again! This time of networking and
strengthening relationships within the agency will include opportunities for knowledge building, updates
from the agency, and a celebration of provider milestone anniversaries at the beautiful Hotel Roanoke.
We’ve missed you... you won’t want to miss this!
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Karyn Harvey, expert and author of Trauma-Informed Behavioral Interventions
State Updates: Karen Tefelski, Executive Director, vaACCSES
Registration 8:30 - 9:30am | Program 9am - 4pm | Lunch & Paid Parking Provided
Safety Precautions: Vaccinated Guests Only
If you have a COVID exposure or symptoms as you prepare to travel, please test and/or send your regrets.
We’ve Missed You!
Digital Bonus: Look Beyond the Label
March was Developmental
Disabilities Awareness Month
and we celebrated with a series
of social media features of some
of the many talented, unique
individuals receiving support
from Wall Residences. Along
the way, we introduced you to
master crochet artists, a soda
fountain expert, a horse lover,
an animator, a cook, an avid
outdoorsman, and many, many
more. The series finale featured
a compilation video celebrating
all the featured individuals. In
this special digital bonus section
of our spring newsletter,
we invite you to enjoy the video
if you missed it on our social
media channels. Follow us on
Facebook and Instagram to see
the full series and new content
weekly.