I blink my eyes, and thirty-six years have gone by. Einstein famously said “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl [or any attractive other] for an hour, and it seems like a minute”. There’s also the adage “Time flies when you’re having fun”. While we have had our share of challenges along the way, the overwhelming message of our thirty-six years is one of accomplishment, and, yes, fun (AKA fulfillment). SD is my attractive other.
As we step into our thirty-seventh year, a moment to reflect on that accomplishment. We are a learning organization. Our learning sustains us and our stability rests upon a three-legged stool of competence. Those three legs are:
- Clinical excellence and vision. Our licensed professional staff are continuously exploring the possible and the probable. With a solid foundation of behavior analytic and teaching/learning competence, we collaborate, delve into function, and design paths to increasing agency for our learners.
- Operational savvy. Nobody gets to where they’re going if the car won’t start and the trains won’t run. Our operations professionals expertly fuel the car, and pave, plow, and sand the roads so everyone gets to where they are going. Dealing with the unexpected? Child’s play to these wizards.
- Warm, competent supporting hands. Our direct service professionals make progressive change (i.e., learning) happen day-to-day with grace and compassion. I never fail to be touched by the affection that shines through staff communications about the humans they support.
Each of these legs is indispensable…. and “the sum is greater than its parts” (props to Aristotle), sublime synergy. Thirty-seven, here we come!
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