This week we evaluate Miguel’s progress since he became a resident of our home mid-May.
We have observed Miguel for a period of six weeks and based on that we will make an action plan to encourage Miguel to develop certain activities. The evaluation report will be discussed with Miguel’s legal representative and this formally closes the period of introduction and observation.
Family expansion
Before Miguel joined us he lived with his 80-year old mother. She felt she could no longer cope with caring for him, but no one in the family wanted or was able to give her a helping hand. She was delighted when she indirectly heard about the existence of our home. We are the only home in Juigalpa, but also in in Nicaragua, that takes in intellectually disabled adults who for whatever reason can no longer live in their original family.
We work with a standard admission protocol to assess the motivation of the family, to get to know the potential new resident and to make sure that we have enough opportunities to address the needs of the candidate and whether he/she fits within the existing group. It is crucial that we accept our own limits.
Usually the family of candidate residents do not have an elaborate diagnosis for their family member or detailed information about what he or she is able to do. So we need to learn a lot about the applicant by seeing them in their home context and from visits of the applicants to our home during an introductory period.
Who is Miguel?
Miguel is a quiet man in his late forties with Down syndrom. At first sight 
he seems more able than he really is . He speaks some sentences, but there is lots he cannot communicate, and whatever he says we struggle to understand. Probably his mother will understand him better, but she is normally not around and does not visit him often because she has problems walking. Miguel is fairly passive. He likes sitting outside, and enjoys our daily 30 minute singing session, and the song we sing in our closing of the day reflection in the evening. We have not been able to captivate his attention by drawing on paper or on the white board, working with clay, or playing with building blocks. He is a little attracted to transferring dried beans from one jar into another and back again after a while. He enjoys his food and a cup of coffee with his breakfast.
Miguel’s family
Miguel has got three sisters with whom we have had little contact so far. A brother-in-law has been appointed as Miguel’s legal representative. He regularly visits Miguel and is our focal point if we need something for Miguel. His mother loves Miguel and is well intentioned, but sadly is not able to visit Miguel on her own. She must miss him terribly after so many years of having cared for him with love and dedication to his needs. One of Miguel’s sisters owns a car and is relatively well off, which should make it easy for her to drive her mother to our home for a visit to Miguel, but that has never happened so far. People are all different, and what seems quite obvious to one person, is clearly not obvious to another.
Fortunately Miguel seems to be enjoy being at our home. He often uses the word ‘mama’, but so far it is not clear to us what emotional content the word has for Miguel. He appreciates the help and attention that our staff give him and loves getting a cuddle. He does not seek contact with Loyda, Daniel or Jonathan, but enjoys being in the group for joint activities. The others do not seek contact with Miguel either, but who knows, that might change over time.
We are really happy that Miguel came our way and that we are able to offer him a loving home. We will keep you posted about his well-being.