LEARNING EXPERIENCES – INSTRUCTIONS

Enabling the client to take control of his life, his decisions, his choices, his health care, his role in society, his integration in to society, how he is treated by others, and how others look at him is an important part of any provider of supported living. Every client should be empowered, to whatever degree he is able, to take an active part in his life, to be responsible for his choices and decisions and the consequences of those choices and decisions, and to know how to cope with conflicts and other areas of concern in his life.

There are a variety of ways the provider can provide learning experiences to assist the client with being empowered:

- exposure to new things (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching something new, discussion)

- knowledge and education (discussion, reading, watching a video)

- activities and experiences (trying things out, participation)

- skill improvement (increasing a skill)

The Learning Experiences Form will assist the provider with documenting how the client is learning to be empowered and what the client is learning and what he feels empowered about. The provider will complete this form once a month to document all discussions or activities with the client regarding any of the topics. You will need to have your form with you whenever you meet with the client. You will document on the form:

- any formal pre-planned learning experience that you or the client initiate, including discussion or activity, related to any of the topics

- any unexpected learning experience, including discussion or activity, related to any of the topics

A pre-planned learning experience can start one day and be finished or continued another day. If something unexpected happens that relates to one of the topics, you will document that on the form. Each learning experience will assist the client with being empowered to take responsibility for his life.

Select a Topic area and then select a specific Sub-Topic from those provided here to provide a learning experience to the client:

TOPIC	SUB-TOPIC

General	decision-making, health care, safety, etc

Interests & Expectations	what the client is interested in, what the client expects from you, from himself, and from others, etc

Rights & Responsibilities	rights as a citizen, as an individual with a developmental disability, as a supported living client, etc

Unless you have a laptop with you when you meet with the client or type them up later, your notes should be hand-written. Write the date, the specific topic, and write the client's perspective on the topic (using quotation marks when possible), and your comments, if needed.

Your Learning Experiences documentation is due at the end of the month with your end of month service log.

EXPOSURE, EDUCATION, & EXPERIENCE

Each provider of supported living services is to make every effort to provide each client with the opportunity to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste (EXPOSURE) new things, the opportunity to learn (EDUCATION) about new things, and the opportunity to try new things out (EXPERIENCE).

Any of these can occur at any time BY CHANCE or with pre-planning ON PURPOSE. Each can enrich the client's life and perhaps even provide the client with a new way to look at the world and himself, and empower him to take control of his own life.

Exposure can occur at any time – seeing something, hearing something, smelling, touching, tasting something that peaks the interest of the client. Going to a fair and tasting cotton candy for the first time, seeing something never seen before or that brings back memories, hearing a musical instrument. Staff can also provide exposure on purpose – talking about a new recipe, talking about the news, asking the client to describe something, bringing a picture of something to the client to talk about.

Education goes a step further. While walking in a mall together, you and your client may see some musical instruments for sale, or you may overhear someone talking about politics or you may taste something new at a restaurant. Staff can take that opportunity to teach the client about those subjects or ask if the client is interested in learning about a subject. Staff can assist the client in learning about a particular subject by providing opportunities for education – providing information about the topic, taking the client to the library, learning about a new recipe, watching a video or reading a book about the topic, etc.

Experience means that the client actually participates in the "topic". Again this can be by chance or on purpose. Planning a trip to a concert, to a homeless shelter, to watch a sport, to a museum or planning to take a class to learn to play an instrument, or playing a game of croquet or preparing a new recipe will all provide the client with opportunities to experience new things.

For example, you are riding in the car with a client and see a dead animal in the road. This can provide a basis for talking about death with the client. Or it might provide an opportunity for talking about safety in the car.

For example, you go to a concert with your client. This can provide the basis for reading a book about music, going to different kinds of concerts, or even taking a class to learn to play a musical instrument.

For example, your client goes to see the movie A Winter's Tale. He asks you questions about the dolphin and her prosthetic tail and you take the client to the Clearwater Aquarium where he learns more about the dolphin and maybe even gets to touch Winter.

GENERAL TOPICS

What does the client know about these topics. What does the client say to show he understands the topic? What does the client actually do to show he understands these topics? How does the client make decisions about these topics? How do you help the client take control of his own health, safety, problems, decisions, etc. How do you provide Exposure, Education, and Experience to assist the client with understanding these topics?

HIPAA

Making Choices

Decision-Making

Social Inclusion

Security

Social Roles

Dignity

Respect

Health Care

Safety

Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation

Conflicts

INTERESTS & EXPECTATIONS TOPICS

The provider of supported living services will listen to each client to understand what his interests are, what his expectations are, and to empower the individual to take charge of his life, to express his rights, and to understand his responsibilities.

Have the client describe what is important to him. What things does he say are important to him? How do you empower the client to be responsible for himself, his choices, and his decisions. Describe choices and alternatives provided to the client. What are the client's expectations of himself, of the provider, his family, etc? How does the client make his own choices for his health care, for his decisions, for his safety, for being part of his community, for his role in society, for how he deals with conflicts, etc.

RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES TOPICS

Each provider of supported living will ensure that each client understands his RIGHTS — both his Constitutional rights as well as his rights as an individual with developmental disabilities. Along with understanding these rights, the provider should also help the client understand his RESPONSIBILITIES as a citizen of the United States and as an individual with a developmental disability.

Does the client understand his rights? What rights are important to the client? Does the client express his rights? Does the client understand his responsibilities? What do you do to empower the client to exercise his rights?

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION BILL OF RIGHTS

* First Amendment: addresses the rights of freedom of religion (prohibiting Congress from making a law "respecting an establishment" of religion and protecting the right to free exercise of religion), freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition.

* Second Amendment: guarantees the right of individuals to possess weapons. The most recent Supreme Court decision interpreting the Second Amendment is McDonald v. Chicago.

* Third Amendment: prohibits the government from using private homes as quarters for soldiers during peacetime without the consent of the owners. The only existing case law directly regarding this amendment is a decision of the Court of Appeals (the appellate level between the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court) in the case of Engblom v. Carey.[59] However, it is also cited in the landmark case, Griswold v. Connecticut, in support of the Supreme Court's holding that the constitution protects the right to personal privacy.

* Fourth Amendment: guards against searches, arrests, and seizures of property without a specific warrant or a "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed. Some rights to privacy have been inferred from this amendment and others by the Supreme Court.

* Fifth Amendment: forbids trial for a major crime except after indictment by a grand jury; prohibits double jeopardy (repeated trials), except in certain very limited circumstances; forbids punishment without due process of law; and provides that an accused person may not be compelled to testify against himself (this is also known as "Taking the Fifth" or "Pleading the Fifth"). This is regarded as the "rights of the accused" amendment, otherwise known as the Miranda rights after the Supreme Court case. It also prohibits government from taking private property for public use without "just compensation", the basis of eminent domain in the United States.

* Sixth Amendment: guarantees a speedy public trial for criminal offenses. It requires trial by a jury, guarantees the right to legal counsel for the accused, and guarantees that the accused may require witnesses to attend the trial and testify in the presence of the accused. It also guarantees the accused a right to know the charges against him. The Sixth Amendment has several court cases associated with it, including Powell v. Alabama, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, Gideon v. Wainwright, and Crawford v. Washington. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled that the fifth amendment prohibition on forced self-incrimination and the sixth amendment clause on right to counsel were to be made known to all persons placed under arrest, and these clauses have become known as the Miranda rights.

* Seventh Amendment: assures trial by jury in civil cases.

* Eighth Amendment: forbids excessive bail or fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

* Ninth Amendment: declares that the listing of individual rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights is not meant to be comprehensive; and that the other rights not specifically mentioned are retained by the people.

* Tenth Amendment: reserves to the states respectively, or to the people, any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.

RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES Title XXIX, Chapter 393.13

These rights apply to all persons with developmental disabilities whether or not such persons are clients.

(a)	right to dignity, privacy, and humane care

(b)	right to religious freedom and practice

(c)	right to receive services, within available sources, which protect the personal liberty of the individual

(d)	right to participate in an appropriate program of quality education and training services, within available resources, regardless of chronological age or degree of disability

(e)	right to social interaction and to participate in community activities

(f)	right to physical exercise and recreational opportunities

(g)	right to be free from harm, including unnecessary physical, chemical, or mechanical restraint, isolation, excessive medication, abuse, or neglect

(h)	right to consent to or refuse treatment

(i)	No otherwise qualified person shall, by reason of having a developmental disability, be excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity which receives public funds, and all prohibitions set forth under any other statute shall be actionable under this statute

(j)	No otherwise qualified person shall be denied the right to vote in public elections

CLIENT RIGHTS Title XXIX, Chapter 393.13

(a)	Clients shall have an unrestricted right to communication:

1.	allowed to receive, send, and mail sealed, unopened correspondence

2.	afforded reasonable opportunities for telephone communication

3.	unrestricted right to visitation without infringement upon other clients' rights to privacy

(b)	Each client has the right to the possession and use of his or her own clothing and personal effects

(c)	Each client shall receive prompt and appropriate medical treatment and care

(d)	Each client shall have access to individual storage space for his or her private use

(e)	Each client shall be provided with appropriate physical exercise

(f)	Each client shall receive humane discipline

(g)	No client shall be subjected to a treatment program to eliminate problematic or unusual behaviors without first being examined by a physician who in his or her best judgment determines that such behaviors are not organically caused

(h)	Clients shall have the right to be free from the use of restraint or seclusion.

(i)	Each client shall have a central, confidential record.

(j)	Each client eligible to vote has the right to vote.

LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS Title XXIX, Chapter 393.13

Any person who violates or abuses any rights or privileges of persons who are developmentally disabled provided by this act shall be liable for damages as determined by law.

NOTICE OF RIGHTS Title XXIX, Chapter 393.13

Each client shall promptly receive from the Department of Children and Family Services or the Department of Education a written copy of this act and informed of his rights.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The client should understand that living in his own household in the community involves responsibilities and possible risks.

The client must actively participate in the services provided.

The client must attend scheduled service activities and meetings.

The client must work with staff at mutually agreeable times and places.

The client must allow the provider to collect funding for the services provided.

The client must maintain the confidentiality of other people in the program at all times.

The client cannot use or possess weapons, illegal drugs, or alcohol in the presence of his provider.

You must not act in a violent or abusive manner toward other people.

You must follow rules, laws, and regulations of the city, county, state, and federal government.

The client should express personal choices and preferences as he is able.

The client should exercise choice and control over his life as he is able.

The client should form or renew connections with other people in the community and with family.

The client should participate at whatever level possible in the home and community

PROVIDER RESPONSIBILITIES

Provider responsibilities are found in the Core Assurances.

The Provider will comply with all applicable state statutes and rules of the agency, which is APD, and with all regulations, policies, procedures and directives pertaining to the implementation of the waiver, including all rates and fee schedules developed under such laws, rules, and regulations.

The Provider will uphold the rights and privileges of Individuals with developmental disabilities as specified in s. 393.13, F.S., "The Bill of Rights of Persons Who are Developmentally Disabled."

The Provider will comply with all federal, state and local laws and ordinances pertaining to the operation and requirements of the Provider's business.

1.	The Provider will prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.

2.	The Provider will prohibit the exclusion or denial of individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services.

3.	The Provider will prohibit discrimination on the basis of age.

4.	The Provider will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and religion.

5.	The Provider will prohibit discrimination based on disability.

The Provider will ensure each individual is afforded freedom of choice within the scope of available funding levels. Freedom of choice includes, but is not limited to:

1.	Opportunities for the Individual to select non-funded supports available to the general community

2.	Opportunities for the Individual to select vendors of supports and services

3.	Opportunities for the Individual to change Providers of supports and services

4.	Opportunities for the Individual to work with a Provider to identify mutually agreeable times and settings for the provision of supports or services

5.	The opportunity for the Individual to end participation in the waiver.