Rob has been referred to a work therapy program for disabled people through the Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Services for People with Disabilities. I was very interested in seeing how this program worked, especially because Dr. Speed had recommended work therapy for Rob during our visit on Thursday.

Friday afternoon, after Pamela Hart and I had lunch together at Applebee's, she and I decided to drive down to the South Valley Trading Company, and take a first hand look at the program. Our plan originally was to take Rob out for a ride, and bring him along to the facility, but he was asleep, and we decided not to wake him.

When we got to the facility, a very nice young lady named Melanie Godfrey showed us around, and showed us the various jobs people are given to perform. In addition to putting stickers and labels on DVD packages and Video Tapes, workers assemble small parts for a water sprinkler system. The job consists of putting a black screw cap and a white o-ring on a little green nozzle. It is harder to do than it looks!

According to Melanie, some people can only snap the green nozzles out of the plastic moulds, while others can only screw on the caps or slide on the o-ring. And, naturally, some of the workers can do all three. A fully assembled nozzle with cap and ring is worth a penny to the workers. Top record for one day is 1100 nozzles. At a penny apiece, that means the worker who managed that earned $11.00.

But the real goal here is not the money earned, although that is a tangible reward for the workers. The real goal is to perform a meaningful function, earn job satisfaction, be with other people in a stable and supportive environment, and get a little directed therapy in manual dexterity.

On Thursday, Dr. Speed recommended such a program for Rob, since he needs something useful to do to focus as well as prevent boredom in the nursing home. So Pamela and I were excited to see how well the program is run, and what a supportive environment it is for people with disabilities.

We brought samples of the nozzles back to Granite Hills to show Social Director Carma Nelson. She immediately dug in and started putting the things together. It became a compulsive manual dexterity challenge for her. We all laughed, but Carma was impressed with the program, and wants to have the residents at Granite Hills get involved. She feels that if she can convince South Valley Trading Company to allow her to get the parts and assemble them at the nursing home, she would not have to find a way to solve a transportation problem of getting workers back and forth to work each day.

The work therapy program through South Valley Trading Company is a fully funded non-profit activity, designed especially to provide work for people with disabilities. The program Coordinator, Don and Cindy, have a goal of getting as many disabled people into their program as possible, and thereby take people off the waiting lists that the Division for People for Disabilities has set up, at the same time providing meaningful jobs for their clients.

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