Crazy Hat Day
SEPTEMBER 2022
Crazy Hat Day
We love to get a little crazy here at Universal (some would say it’s more than a little crazy). Whenever there’s no official holiday to observe we find a way to design our own celebrations. One of our silliest and most creatives days is Crazy Hat Day – it’s a Fun Friday event that is all about ridiculous, over-the-top hats.
One of the major differences as these Fun Friday events have evolved over the past few years is the participation of the staff, specialists and therapists – and this is not by accident. The formation of our Enrichment Department during the early months of the pandemic was a distinct turning point for the way we run our Day Program. The goal of the Enrichment Department is exactly as it sounds – to enrich the lives of our clients outside of their scheduled therapy sessions.
For Crazy Hat Day, all of the hats were handcrafted in our TRU vocational facility, handmade by the clients and therapists themselves. There were contests for both the staff and the clients, with the top three winners of each group receiving Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards as their prizes. (We’ve had many debates but it seems that people here prefer Dunkin’ to Starbucks).
You’re mad. Bonkers. Off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret…all of the best people are.
Alice in Wonderland
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!
The Queen of Hearts
The other major factor is the changing population. As Universal has continued to welcome more DDD clients over the years, we have adjusted accordingly: What does it mean to enrich the lives of our clients? How can we keep them engaged and fill the empty time slots on their schedule? What do we do with clients who don’t receive any scheduled therapies? The TBI clients have also benefitted greatly from these questions and the solutions they’ve inspired.
While a write-up about the Enrichment Department would require it’s own page, for now we will say that the impact has been dramatic and tangible. We have weekly groups, Fun Friday events, community outings, weekend activities and much more. The Enrichment Department has created an atmosphere of unity, consistency, and structure to the events and outings that were already taking place at Universal; they have greatly encouraged interdisciplinary communication and participation from everyone as a whole.
Obviously, there is tremendous benefit and necessity to scheduled therapy for our clients – things such as Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech, Cog, and so on; that’s why individuals and families come to Universal in the first place. But we wanted something more for the clients – something to fill their hours when they weren’t receiving therapy.
These events are one of many positive changes that bring variety and creativity to the day, something beyond the daily notes and treatments; it brings purpose to each week, even if that purpose is a little crazy.
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