Ability Connection Launches New ‘Meaningful Day Program’

Ability Connection has a new partnership with Building Bridges Therapy Programs to improve members’ skills through speech and occupational therapy.

The partnership is known as the “Meaningful Day Program” and was debuted in mid-August. Ability Connection is a Dallas-based nonprofit focused on care for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“As an organization, we’ve found when we collaborate with other organizations that align with our mission, magic happens,” said Jim Hanophy, president and CEO of Ability Connection. “Improvement happens and lives change for the better.”

Some of Meaningful Day’s programming includes service opportunities, recreational enrichment, community engagement, and improved social and self-advocacy skills. The program’s pilot included speech therapy and occupational therapy in small group settings, giving members an opportunity for more peer-to-peer interaction resulting in modeling life skills for each other.

Members of the pilot program demonstrated higher proficiency in using augmentative communication devices and their voices within the group. Therapists also reported that some members learned to participate in group activities and independent living skills.

“What we are doing every single day is making an impact, and small milestones, one after another, turn out to be huge triumphs,” said Alyssa Hibbard, a Building Bridges speech therapist. “We have family members who simply don’t believe their eyes when they see the leaps of improvement our members are taking each week. It’s truly remarkable to witness.”

To learn more about Ability Connection and its programs, visit the organization’s website.