Easter Seals: Solutions For Independence ... All Ages! All Abilities!
Wed, Jun 13, 2012 | Health, Soul, Caregivers Corner, Lifestyle, Technology Tips, Social Security, Medicare & Insurance, Disability
Easter Seals serves seniors who are living with all types of short term or long term disabilities, including orthopedic and neurological conditions, Alzheimer’s, brain injury, paralysis, and many other conditions.
Easter Seals: You’ve likely heard the name for many years and probably have positive feelings associated with it, but you may not be aware of exactly what the organization does. For those persons who have achieved senior status, perceptions of Easter Seals may involve the poster children of the 1940’s and 50’s who dealt with the effects of polio with leg braces and arm crutches. Those are yesterday’s images.
Easter Seals was founded in 1919 as the Ohio Society for Crippled Children” but soon became the “National” society in 1921 as the organization quickly spread across the country. The mission in the early days was to help children with disabilities maximize their independence through physical rehabilitation. In the early days the organization was closely associated with providing services for children with Polio. Fortunately, Polio has been largely eradicated in most of the world, and with the name change to Easter Seals in 1967, the organization has evolved to provide disability services to persons of all ages.
The expansion of the Easter Seals mission to serve all ages is never more evident than today. Life expectancy has increased dramatically in our country, but with increased age also comes increased chances for acquiring a disability. Easter Seals now routinely provides healthcare and disability services for adults of all ages, including seniors. In Delaware, services for seniors include adult day care, in home care, and other respite ( or rest) services that provide temporary relief to caregivers. Easter Seals also provides help with identifying assistive devices to help alleviate the effects of a disability and promote independence at home or work. For those adults in the adult day care program, therapy services are also provided as prescribed by a physician ( i.e physical, occupational, and speech therapy).
Easter Seals serves seniors who are living with all types of short term or long term disabilities, including orthopedic and neurological conditions, Alzheimer’s, brain injury, paralysis, and many other conditions. Last year, Easter Seals Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore provided these services to approximately 400 persons aged 65 or older. Realizing the median age in Delaware is continuing to increase, the organization has continued to expand its service offerings to seniors in the past few years.
Easter Seals can best be summed up in its tagline: Solutions For Independence ... All Ages! All Abilities!
