Allegro Residential Services

Allegro currently maintains five group homes in Morris County, New Jersey. A major focus of the program is participation in the various activities offered by the community as well as making use of other resources.

The homes operates in such a way as to ensure the health and safety of the participants. There is twenty-four hour supervision. They maintain structure, routines, and order while reflecting the individual needs, desires, and personalities of the participants. Activities within the home meet the skill development needs of the participants as well as their social and recreational needs.. It is most important that our residents are encouraged to participate in the home's maintenance since it is involvement in these things which will allow the individual to feel he is truly a member of his home and community.

Maintaining the relationship between the participants and their families is encouraged. Activities outside of the home are an integral part of the social lives of the residents. Residents are encouraged to attend clubs and other special interest activities with non-disabled members of the community sharing similar interests.

Critical Issues In The Residential Care of People With Autism/PDD:

- The encouragement of family involvement

- Total emphasis on health, safety, and happiness of participants

- Focus of interdependence of group home participants as in any family

- Staff training on all aspects of health and safety, administration of medication etc

- Staff training emphasizing respect for the individual, his dignity and right to privacy

- Staff training in a variety of communication methods to enable all participants to communicate

- Staff training in applied behavior analysis emphasizing positive behavioral programming

- Teaching things that make sense (a functional curriculum)

- The development of self-help and domestic skills

- The development of social and leisure skills

- The development of an effective communication system

- The development of skills leading to greater independence

- Structured teaching strategies to achieve the above skills

- Small staff to participant ratio