This document provides an overview of a day in the life at PEP (Personal Effectiveness Program), which is a work program for adults with disabilities at Misericordia. Residents arrive at 9am and participate in a variety of activities throughout the day, including preparing meals, participating in classes, sensory activities, art therapy, swimming, and life skills tasks. Social justice interns also intern at PEP once a month to discuss their work promoting justice and inclusion. The document then describes the types of learning supports and materials created by one social justice intern for PEP residents, including matching activities, break cards, newsletters, schedules, social stories, and scavenger hunts.

1. PEP Ponderings: Exploring Leadership, Social Justice, and
Engagement in Adults with Disabilities
A Day in the life…
…of a resident at PEP: Residents in PEP arrive to work M-F at 9am, and are
ready to engage in a variety of activities. Residents could help prepare a hot
lunch for all to enjoy, learn in the classroom about current events utilizing the
Smartboard, or go to Zumba class. After a hot lunch selected and chosen by
residents, residents can relax in the Sensory Room, or create art in the Art
Therapy room. The Sensory room has soft lighting, relaxing music, and helped
residents focus on their sensory systems. The Sensory room was also used for
yoga class, another afternoon activity. Other afternoon activities included
swimming, life skills tasks, and picking up trash around Misericordia’s campus,
a sponsored job. When the afternoon session ends mid-afternoon, residents
either stay for fun, relationship-focused groups (the baking group made
cookies every Monday!), or go back to their homes for residential sessions.
…of a Social Justice Intern: Social Justice Interns met once a month to discuss
their internship positions, current events, and different philosophies of social
justice. The SJ Interns began the year with a retreat defining justice, and
throughout the year we evaluated and worked for social justice at our
respective sites.
…of a Social Justice Intern at PEP: To me, Social Justice is a resident reaching
their full potential while fulfilling their needs in a supportive community. With
this definition in mind, my day at PEP always begins with greeting and talking
to residents in the morning. This contributes to the friendly environment of
PEP and is how I built and strengthened relationships. From there, I spend the
day with residents in the classroom to facilitate the lesson plan, in the kitchen
developing life skills, and in various other activities. I spent a significant portion
of my time creating learning supports, teaching materials, and behavioral aids
for PEP. My favorite activity was going to the gym for Zumba class; there I got
to see the residents relax, interact with others, and fully be themselves.
Growth as a Social Justice Intern in PEP
At the beginning of my internship, I was intimidated by the amount of freedom I had
in this position, and was unsure of what I could contribute. I began learning about
developmental disabilities through interactions with residents, and talking to and
observing PEP staff. As the year went on, ideas turned into helpful materials and
support in the classroom. I was most surprised by the residents’ friendliness, and I
am continually surprised and impressed by welcoming attitudes. Now, at the
termination of my internship, I comfortably support residents in all activities and
create aids that have an immediate impact on residents’ learning and behavior.
By Grace Christian
Moving Forward
I will continue to integrate Social Justice values into my professional and
personal life, specifically by:
• evaluating institutions and interactions to see where justice is needed
• engaging in conversation with unfamiliar populations
• Advocating and working with disadvantaged populations
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisors, Ally Drake and Andrew Miller for their
guidance and support. Thanks also to the instructors and staff at PEP for all that
they taught me. Lastly, thanks to the residents of PEP and my fellow Social Justice
Interns, I have learned so much from all of you, and I am continually inspired by
the work you do.
Misericordia is a home for adults with developmental disabilities, and PEP (Personal Effectiveness Program) is a work
program tailored to the residents’ abilities. PEP’s focus on behavior helps residents succeed personally and
professionally.
The People
The Residents: PEP consists of approximately 20 residents. Their abilities vary
widely, as did their personalities and interests. All residents live on Misericordia’s
campus, some as long as 30 years! Each resident has a caseworker who
identifies goals, abilities, and strengths. Multiple residents I worked with had
multiple disabilities, never just one diagnosis. The residents’ schedules were
varied and were often changed to adjust to their needs and will. In PEP, only a
few residents were in PEP 5 days a week, and most others spent a couple days
in PEP and a couple days at another work site in Misericordia. Throughout the
day, if residents began to lose interest, instructors would take song breaks, and
residents would have a few moments to sing and dance. Some of their favorite
songs were Footloose, Cheerleader, all Halloween themed songs, and anything
by John Denver. Talking with residents it quickly became apparent what they
were interested in. On younger resident loved cars, and would wave at every
car that drove by. Another woman loved her best friend, and every day talked
about the last time they hang out- which was most often a pizza and movie
night. Another resident had a brilliant imagination, and conversations with him
turned into hilarious role play in his cartoons. Overall, the residents’ beautiful
personalities make PEP the great community that it is, and I am honored to
have helped create an environment where they can flourish.
Learning Supports, Teaching Material, Visual aids, and other
Behavioral Supports
Throughout the year I created a variety of material for residents and instructors in PEP.
Some activities were made for the group as a whole, others were tailed to the residents’
specific cognitive and behavioral needs. Other projects were fun for all, and some were
educational for staff.
• Matching activities: matching activities helped residents categorize colors, animals,
Chicago teams and landmarks. These learning supports were available for all residents,
and required fine motor skills and pattern recognition
• Break cards (pictured left): break cards were physical signals the residents would give
staff to indicate they need a break from the given activity. The physical cards showed the
residents how often they had left the activity, and the importance of telling staff their
emotions.
• News2You: News2You had daily newsletters with correlating activities. I helped guide
residents through the daily readings and activities. One of the residents’ favorite letters
was about the movie Moana that had just come out, they needed little prompting to talk
about how much they loved it!
• Morning schedules: In the morning, residents would review their schedules with staff. I
created simplified schedules for residents to review. Knowing their schedules in the
morning organized the day for residents, giving them structure and expectations
• Social Stories: Social stories are written models of behavior. Written from the resident’s
point of the view, the positive stories clearly defined the appropriate behavior for specific
situations. The social stories focused on the residents’ target behaviors, and were read to
residents on a daily basis.
• Scavenger hunts: the scavenger hunts covered the campus, and were fun activities for
the whole group! In the fall, residents had to follow clues to find letters to spell out
“Halloween”. Another hunt helped residents work towards their learning goal of
recognizing community signs (safety signs, stop lights, danger, wet floor, etc). As a
group, the defined and located signs across Misericordia’s campus.