TIP of the WEEK: Change is Hard

January 11, 2013

Change is hard. When we have a plan or an expectation and it changes we feel frustrated, anxious, irritated and uncertain. These feelings are experienced with greater intensity for the person diagnosed with PWS.

We recently went through a major change at Latham. We moved 2 groups of students to different dorms in order to better serve the group as a whole. This is no easy task because we know that kids with PWS have a difficult time when even small things in their environment need to change. We also know that not giving them any opportunity to experience and live through change does not prepare them well for adult living. So how do you do the balance? You prepare, you explain ad nauseam what to expect and stick to that. You distract and get back into a familiar routine as soon as possible. And that is exactly what we did. We involved the kids in packing, planning and once the move was over we got back into our routine. We survived with few, if any incidents and the kids learned a very valuable lesson- change may be hard but it won’t kill you and the other side is that sometimes it’s as good if not better than where you were before.

Submitted by:
Patrice Carroll
Manager of PWS Services