MG&A
Discovery Profile
Profile Part II
Participant’s Name: Marsha Shaw
Date: 9/29/2014
Facilitator: Lisa Schenker
1. Participant and Family
a. Brief summary based on Intake Interview:
Marsha Shaw is a 44 year old woman who lives in State College, Pa. in an Arc of Central Pa.
group home with 3 housemates. State College, Pa. is located centrally in the state of Pa. and is
the home of Penn State University’s main campus. Marsha has lived in her current home for 2
years and 1 month. Marsha currently works at a Skill’s workshop.
b. Description of typical routines:
Marsha is awakened each day by 7:30 am by her residential staff persons. Upon waking, Marsha
takes her prescribed medications. She then gets herself dressed and gets her work bag ready,
prepares a lunch to take to the Skill’s workshop then eats her breakfast. At approximately 8:15
am, a staff person drives her to the workshop. Upon entering the workshop, Marsha stores her
belongings and puts her lunch bag in the refrigerator. She then goes to her assigned work station
and is given a task to perform. At 11:45 am, Marsha joins her coworkers for lunch. After lunch,
she resumes her duties and cleans up her work station at approximately 2:50 pm to end her shift
at 3:00 pm. Staff then picks Marsha up from work and drives her back to her home. Once home,
Marsha generally takes a nap from 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm. After her nap, she eats dinner with her
housemates and then retires to her room to watch television. On some occasions, she will join
housemates in the living room area of her home for TV viewing or other activities. Marsha will
then take a shower and perform other night time hygiene rituals. She then will pick out her
clothing for the next day and is typically in bed by 9:00 pm.
c. Family (or staff, as appropriate) supports:
Marsha’s residential staff persons keep her abreast of her daily schedule. A detailed log is kept
that lists Marsha’s scheduled appointments and other needs of daily living. Marsha’s staff
persons typically cook the main entrée of their dinners with houseguests assisting with setting
the table and other small tasks associated with preparing a meal. Residential staff provide all of
Marsha’s transportation needs and assist her with detailed shopping as well as accompanying
her to doctor’s visits. Staff also aid Marsha in reminders of doing laundry and other household
tasks that need done each week.
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d. Family (Staff) and Personal Responsibilities:
Marsha’s residential staff persons assist Marsha with keeping her detailed daily log organized
and up to date. Also, they assist with taking Marsha shopping weekly for food, household items,
doctor’s visits and prescription re-fills when needed. Staff persons provide all transportation
needs for Marsha as well as transportation to and from the Skill’s Workshop.
e. Physical and health related issues:
Marsha has regular check-ups with her doctor and does take medication for Depressive
Disorder, Anxiety, Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes. Residential staff persons assist Marsha
with making healthy food choices as well as ensure that she takes her medicine on time and the
correct dosage.
2. Educational Experiences
a. Overall Educational Experiences: Marsha attended the Philipsburg Osceola and West
Decatur School Districts. Marsh participated in the Life Skills curriculum where she learned
independent living skills. Marsha obtained a diploma for successfully completing the
curriculum.
b. Academic Programming: Marsha participated in the Life Skills curriculum. There, she was
taught the fundamentals of handling money, making bank deposits and withdrawals in
addition to preparing a healthy menu, grocery shopping, personal care and other areas
associated with a healthy life style.
c. Community/Recreation Programming: Marsha chose not to participate in extra-curricular
activities while in high school. While many options were presented to her, she preferred to
not participate and stated that she ‘didn’t like any of them’.
d. Vocational Experiences and Programming:
Marsha participated in a vocational experience while attending the Life Skills program. She
worked in a flower shop and assisted with trimming plants, watering plants, stocking floral
display cases and cleaning duties as assigned.
3. Employment and Related Activity
a. Informal work performed at home and for others: Marsha washes, dries, folds and puts
away her own laundry, including her bedding. She keeps her own bedroom clean and assists
with feeding the home’s cat, Moony. Marsha prefers to perform duties outside and will rake
leaves, weed and shovel snow.
b. Formal chores and responsibilities: Marsha is responsible for fixing her own breakfast and
lunch as well as cleaning up any utensils and dishes she may have used. At dinner, she is
responsible to clearing her own place setting, rinsing off her dishes and loading them into
the dishwasher. Marsha is responsible for taking out the trash in the common areas of the
home as well as taking the collected trash to the curb for refuse pick up once per week.
c. Entrepreneurial activities: Marsha does not engage in any entrepreneurial activities at this
time.
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d. Internships, structured work experiences, sheltered work, volunteering: Marsha
participated in a structured work experience through her Life Skills program in high school
as mentioned earlier in report. Until she began competitive employment at a local Giant
Food store on 10/2/2014, Marsha worked at a Skill’s Workshop. There, she sorted items,
folded cardboard boxes and other duties as assigned.
e. Wage employment: Marsha worked at Peebles store from July 1991 through January 1992.
There, she was responsible for simple cleaning duties and greeting guests. Marsha then
worked as a Busboy at Harbor Inn from May 1995 –June 1995. There, Marsha was
responsible for clearing dirty dishes from tables and resetting them for the next guests.
Marsha did not like this duty and left after being there for a few weeks. Next, Marsha
worked as a Housekeeper at the Philipsburg Motel. Although Marsha liked the tasks that she
performed, she noted that she had trouble keeping up and could not seem to master making
square corners when making the hotel’s beds. As mentioned above, Marsha began working
at Giant Food store on 10/2/2014. Marsha is responsible for cleaning common areas of the
store. When the store is busy, it is understood that Marsha may be asked to assist cashiers
with bagging customer’s groceries.
f. General areas of previous work interest: Marsha has noted several times that she would
like to bag groceries for a job. Since obtaining her employment at Giant Food, Marsha has
said that she is happy to know that although she will have other duties, she will also get to
perform a task that she is very interested in.
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4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102
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4. Life Activities and Experiences
a. Friends and social group(s): Marsha considers her housemates and her
residential staff as her friends. Of her housemates, she will on occasion go to
lunch with Charlene and one of her residential staff members. When at home,
Marsha will spend time with all of her housemates. During this time, they will
watch television or joke around with one another. At one time, Marsha and a
housemate were joking back and forth that they ‘were going to throw each other
in the garbage’.
b. Personal activities, including hobbies, performed at home:
When at home, Marsha likes to do paint by number, foam art and coloring with
crayons. Her preferred activity is to be alone in her bedroom watching television.
She says that she does not have a favorite show, but that she enjoys watching soap
operas. Marsha also says she enjoys working on word searches and other puzzle
books.
c. Family/friend activities, including hobbies, performed at home:
Marsha goes on luncheons with one of her housemates and a group home staff
member. She will at times watch television with her housemates in the living
room of her home. Her and her housemates eat dinner together each evening in
the dining room of her home. She plays board games when she can get a
housemate to play with her.
d. Personal activities, including hobbies, performed in the community:
Marsha goes on shopping outings with her housemates and a group home staff
member. She particularly likes going to Walmart and to Weis Market to buy
groceries. As noted prior, Marsha goes to lunch sometimes alone with a staff
member and at times with a housemate accompanying her. Her favorite lunch
jaunts are CC Peppers and Pizza Hut.
e. Family/friend activities, including hobbies, performed in the community:
When able, Marsha loves going fishing! It has been quite a while since Marsha
has been able to go fishing, but she is hopeful that she will be able to go spring
2015. She obtains her fishing license each year and loves to read through the Pa.
Hunting and Fishing guide. When the weather is nice, Marsha loves going on car
rides with no specific destination in mind but likes to stop at yard sales that she
sees along the way!
f. Specific events and activities that are of critical importance:
It is important to Marsha that she continue going on her luncheons and trips to
Walmart. She shops for her personal care items as well as groceries. She hopes to
be able to go fishing more in the future.
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4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102
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5. Description of Skills, Interests and Conditions in Life Activities
a. Domestic/Home skills:
Each morning, Marsha prepares herself a microwave breakfast and at times a
bowl of cereal. Marsha eats her breakfast at the dining room table and when
finished, takes her dishes to the sink, rinses them and places them in the
dishwasher. If Marsha is working, she will then prepare her lunch for work. She
will make a sandwich or choose a microwave meal, snacks and a soda and place
them in her lunch bag. When not working, Marsha will collect her dirty laundry
and put it in the washing machine. Periodically, Marsha will return to the laundry
room to see if the laundry is either finished drying or is ready to be switched from
the washer to the dryer. If completed, she will put the clean laundry in a basket,
take it to her room where she then folds and puts it away independently. Marsha
fixes a lunch either making a sandwich or heating a meal in the microwave. When
completed eating, Marsha wipes all surfaces, rinses any dishes and loads them
into the dishwasher. At times, Marsha will go to each room in the house and
collect the trash. After collecting, she will place it in a large garbage can that will
go to the curb on a designated trash pick-up day. Marsha is responsible for
keeping her room clean but admits that she does not like making her bed. Marsha
feeds the house cat and takes pride in being the one that typically performs this
task. During the fall and winter months, Marsha will rake leaves and shovel snow.
b. Community participation skills:
When at a restaurant, Marsha reads the menu and gives her order to the server.
When paying her check, Marsha obtains her wallet and hands the cashier the
correct domination of currency if she has it. If not, she will give the closest
domination she has. She will then retrieve her change (if any) and tuck her receipt
in her wallet to give to her staff at a later time. Also, Marsha chooses her own
food and personal care items paying for them at the check-out of each store.
c. Recreation/leisure skills:
Marsha prefers to lay on her bed and watch television. One of her favorite things
to do is to take a nap two times a day. Marsha would like to go fishing more but
has not yet had the opportunity to partake in the activity very often.
d. Academic skills:
Marsha reads and looks at and reading the Pa. Hunting and Fishing guide. She has
no problem with doing word search puzzles and reads each word aloud before
searching for it in the puzzle. She makes bank deposits, and withdrawals and
counts accurate amounts of currency when making payment on purchases in the
community.
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e. Physical fitness skills:
Marsha has no physical restrictions and prefers to do activities that are outdoors,
particularly, raking leaves and shoveling snow. She will walk around stores
browsing at merchandise for as long as time permits with her staff.
f. Arts and Talents:
Marsha loves doing paint by number, foam art and coloring in coloring books.
With foam art, she will make elaborate designs and likes to hang her finished art
work on her bedroom walls.
g. Communication skills:
Marsha communicates through verbal speech. She doesn’t often have a lot to say,
but communicates each want and need to obtain her desires very clearly.
h. Social interaction skills:
Marsha has a ready smile and a giggle that makes people want to get to know her.
Her aunt, uncle, residential staff and support’s coordinators all report that Marsha
has few demands, has a wonderful smile, sweet nature and a great sense of humor.
When Marsha was at facilitator’s home, she kept joking that she was going to take
the cat to her house with her, saying that he ‘was a cool cat’.
i. Mobility skills:
Marsha moves with ease and bends, stretches, reaches and stoops for 4 hour shifts
at her place of employment. She walks without supports and prefers to walk at a
slow, steady pace.
j. Sensory skills: (sight, hearing, smell, touch)
Marsha has excellent hearing, smell, sight and touch.
k. Vocational skills:
Marsha experienced a vocational experience at a flower shop. There, she trimmed
flowers, watered flowers, stocked floral display cases and performed cleaning
duties such as sweeping, cleaning windows and dusting merchandise for sale.
6. Connections for Employment
a. Potential connectors in family (or staff, as appropriate):
Marsha’s group home staff know Marsha very well and can be instrumental in
future job placement.
b. Potential connectors among friends/neighbors and work colleagues:
Marsha only has her group home housemates and does not socialize with her
neighbors. Since she is new at her current place of employment she will need time to
establish herself in her current position. Once established, she will be able to utilize
colleague referrals to move to other areas within store that she shows interest in
working.
Marc Gold & Associates©2014
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4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102
Gautier, MS 39553
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c. Potential connection sites in community relationships:
Marsha has had job development services through a provider agency. Said
agency’s Employment Coordinator has over a decade of experience and professional
relationships within the Centre Region. This agency helped Marsha obtain her current
employment at Giant Food.
d. Potential connections through clubs, organizations, or groups (such as
church or school):
Marsha does not attend any organizations or belong to any clubs.
e. List of local employers (determined by proximity, relationships, interest
areas, etc.):
On indeed.com, a popular web page that lists all job openings, there are currently 2,178
job openings in the Centre Region. However, given that Marsha notes that her desire is to bag
groceries and her love of being outdoors, there are 2 grocery stores in the area that hire
specifically for Grocery Baggers as well as Cart Pushers. There are 8 different types of stores in
the area that hire specifically for Cart Pushers.
Marc Gold & Associates©2014
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4101 Gautier-Vancleave Rd. Ste. 102
Gautier, MS 39553
228-497-6999, fax 228-497-6966
www.marcgold.com