VISTA BLOG

As everyone grows as an independent adult there are many different tasks, chores, and routines that we develop to take care of our mental and physical well-being. This week we want to shine a light on one of these often-overlooked aspects of our students’ and members’ personal development, the Medication Management Program.

Vista’s curriculum philosophy is centered on training and teaching programs and services, so when it comes to self-administering medication we strive to train and teach our students and members to be independent. Over time, and with a lot of guidance and education, our students progress through four levels of medication management. As an individual becomes consistent with medication management and mindful of its importance, they rise through the levels all the way to Level Four. Students and members at level four Medication Management review their self-administration routine with a Program Counselor once a month. Otherwise, they are in control of their medication. Discover student Catherine has achieved Level Four management, so we sat down with her to learn more about the program.

Vista Discover student Catherine

“I’m at Level Four!” Catherine said proudly when asked about the Medication Management Program. She explained how she feels like she has more agency and nodded enthusiastically when asked if it was nice to have more control over her routine. When asked how difficult her experience has been with medication management, Catherine said “It’s been easy! Well… and also hard. Hard when I first started but now it’s easy.”

There are many more exciting aspects of personal development at Vista, like taking the bus alone, moving into your first apartment, being successful at work, or even getting your driver’s license. Even when talking to Catherine it seems like she now considers medication management to be no big deal, akin to brushing your teeth every morning. In everyone’s life there are hundreds of chores and routines that are “no big deal” to us now, but we wanted to celebrate the achievements of students like Catherine who have checked one more box on their path to independence. It’s the hundreds of little things that we all look back on at a student’s graduation that bring tears to our eyes and gives us confidence that they are equipped with the skills they need to live independently.

More to come…

Find this series on Vista's Blog Page