November 2019 Newsletter
A Message from the President
There is no time more fitting to say Thank You!
We are grateful for you.
PHILLIPS Programs is honored to provide special education day schools, community and home based counseling and career and technical education services to children, youth and their families throughout the DMV. We are grateful for the trust placed in our programs and staff to ensure the youth and our families have the resources they need to thrive.
As we gather with friends and family to give thanks, we wish to thank you for your support.
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!
Piper Phillips Caswell
President & CEO
703.941.8810
piper.phillips@phillipsprograms.org
Basic Communications Skills are Essential for Basic Survival: Unlocking the Code
Assertiveness is a healthy way of communicating. It's the ability to speak up for ourselves in a way that is honest and respectful. When a student learns assertive communication skills they achieve better relationships because everyone’s needs are met and trust and relationships can begin to grow.
Three years ago, Damon was referred to PHILLIPS School ~ Fairfax. Prior to attending our program this young man was bullied and never felt like he "fit in". When he first started with us he had a difficult time controlling him impulses. Damon also had a difficult time with his assertive communication skills and would often let others "walk" all over him. With a supportive classroom environment and targeted social-emotional counseling sessions he has made immense progress. He is now taking classes at his base school and plans to attend full time second semester. While at times he continues to struggle with his assertive communication he is self-aware that this is something that he needs to work on. Sometimes peer assessment is a good gauge of success. Last year Damon’s classmates elected him student council president! Damon shared with his counselor that PHILLIPS staff helped him to get his "confidence" back. He now has a friend group both at PHILLIPS and his base school and is excited to be transitioning back full time in the Spring of 2020.
You have the power to ensure more youth in our communities receive the support they need!
Additive Manufacturing: A Game Changer for People with Neurodiversity and Differing Abilities
Three years ago, PHILLIPS Programs launched a new Career and Technical Education program called Designing Futures. The goals are to foster creativity and innovative thinking in our students, while exposing them to career options that utilized additive manufacturing skills. Learn how this program transformed Robert who is well on his way to becoming a tech guru!
For the past three years, when asked “how do you want people to think of you?”, Robert responded “a Tech Guru”. While that was the long term vision, he had a long way to go to get there. He often spent a lot of his school time with his head down on his desk, and had to be coaxed to engage in his coursework. He lacked friends and didn’t understand the many social contexts of the world around him.
Robert came to PHILLIPS Programs with the talents and ability to perform however he did not fully access his gifts. He was placed in PHILLIPS Programs’ Designing Futures program, and he was off and running. Instead of sleeping and tuning out of school, the ignition switch for his internal drive was turned on.
While engaged in learning the skills required for Additive Manufacturing, Robert learned that mistakes are not final, they are part of the design, problem solving process. His first design was missing a major component. In those early days, he was embarrassed and thought it was a reflection of his lack of skills. He ran out of tech class and hid under a desk needing several hours of coaxing to re-engage. Now he understands a core lesson in our curriculum, “failure is not final” and laughs at what he first created as he shares this story with others.
As his competence in technology grew, so did his self-confidence. Robert began to socialize with others. He improved communication skills when a topic was not of interest. When a peer shared about a movie they recently saw, Robert has learned that instead of interrupting and blurting out “I don’t care”, he listens and responds with “I don’t think that movie is for me”.
As he continued to increase his skills in 3D Design and Print, the leadership skills began to emerge. As a senior class representative last year, Robert was very interactive with the other seniors, provided enthusiasm to the group and during the last meeting gave an inspirational toast.
The Designing Futures program has provided opportunities and experiences for Robert to feel and believe that he has talents and skills. Now Robert not only states his dream is to become a “tech guru” but he believes that his dream is in the process to becoming a reality.
You have the power to ensure more programs like Designing Futures assist youth in our communities!
Align Your Brand with the PHILLIPS Programs’ Imperative for Equity and Excellence in Career and Technical Education
The PHILLIPS 25th Annual Gala is raising funds for and awareness of our New Horizons Fund to expand our school to work services to assist young adults transitioning from high school to employment opportunities. We are grateful to our inaugural sponsors who are providing leadership for our most successful year ever: EY, CrossCountry Consulting, L & E Meridian and The Washington Business Journal.
PHILLIPS Programs mission is focused on doing all we can to offer our youth a future where they experience economic success, have a voice in their outcomes and the dignity in belonging to a community. The path to a better life is available to people with economic parity. From Jim Collins’s Good to Great he states, “And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.”
We all know the importance of a job to bring stability, the dignity of work and the life each of us wants for ourselves and our families. Those who are not able to obtain employment are more susceptible to negative outcomes. Consider the reality for the young adults in our community who are exiting high school. According to Pam Leconte and Carie Rothenbacher, “Outcomes for students with disabilities regarding … obtaining satisfying employment that leads to high wages and gratifying quality of life are, at best, disappointing and discouraging, and at worst dismal and unconscionable.”
THE FACTS
Within Fairfax County, people with differing abilities make up 6.7% (75,000 individuals) of the population and have an employment rate of 41.1%, whereas people without disabilities have an 83.4% employment rate.
People with disabilities are almost twice as likely to live in poverty as people without disabilities: 7.8% versus 4.1% in Fairfax County.
This lack of employment leads to a lower quality of life as a result of being less independent, not having a sense of purpose and decreased cognitive performance.
40% of people incarcerated in Fairfax County’s Adult Detention Center had a behavioral health issue, including mental health.
Eighty-one percent of single individuals who were experiencing homelessness suffered from serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder, and many had chronic health problems or physical disabilities.
Two-thirds of unemployed respondents with disabilities said they would like to work but could not find jobs.
The lifetime cost due to lost productivity for an average individual with neurodiversity is $1.3M.
Go “all in” and partner with PHILLIPS Programs to achieve an exponential impact. This initiative is creating vital social transformation. Become a branding partner and align with PHILLIPS Programs as we stand for equity and excellence as a social imperative.
INVEST in our young adults and become a sponsor today.
PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families is a private, non-profit organization serving the complex needs of children and youth living with cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral challenges in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Through excellence in specialized education, community programs and individualized support services, we provide our children and families every advantage to ensure they develop to achieve their greatest individual success. Their potential is our commitment.