Parental Work and Co-work at the Farm

The parents' organization, "Bremen Help for the Autistic Child," founded the farm, purchased the property and the buildings, did the remodeling, and developed the farm's overall program in cooperation with autism therapists and the Autism Therapy Center. The parents' organization is the farm's sponsor, and the residents' parents are an integral part of the farm's conceptual structure.

The whole thing started when, after the children had finished school, the parents' organization wanted to create a living situation for their grown children in the Groups of School Children with Autistic Behavior (formerly the Bremen Project -- Special Class for Autistic Children), in which the work with these children that had been so successful up to that point could be continued along similar lines. Since many parents had been trained in the Special Class of the Bremen Project, they had developed clear ideas of how their children could best be worked with from that point on. With the professional support of the therapists of the Autism Therapy Center they developed the following concept, which as a whole has proved to be an adequate and successful carrier of the program for the past twelve years.

Since the farm's first co-workers had no specific training in autism therapy, they were advised by therapists of the Autism Therapy Center, instructed in the methods of the Bremen Project, and at first worked closely with the parents of the first residents and the teachers of the Autistic Class.

This initial situation was also reflected in the management structure: the external director was also the first chairperson of the parents' organization. The board of the parents' organization was responsible for the overall concept of the institution, its therapeutic direction, the organization of the types of work offered, and the employment and direction of the co-workers. There was thus originally no provision for a house director. Not until four years later was a qualified teacher found for this task who then worked closely with the board (= parents in the parent organization) and actually implemented the overall concept that had been developed for the Meyerwiede Farm.

From the beginning the board members have been assigned to the various branches of the farm work and have thus been working along with the therapists. All parents take part as equal partners in the resident conferences for their own children which are held about once a year. Every four weeks visitation weekends are scheduled for the parents, as well as vacation weekends, on which the residents spend the entire weekend in their parents' homes, so that the contact between parents (= those in charge) and their autistic children is not broken off. The parents thus do not give their children over to the farm, but remain structurally integrated into their children's new living situation.

In this way the weaning of the children away from the parents can take place step by step. The parents continue to provide a stable emotional orientation for the residents. Parents belong to the "resident's world," communication is maintained, and alienation between farm and the parents' home should not occur. Parents who find this weaning process difficult have many possibilities of maintaining contact. They especially know whether their child feels comfortable at the farm, what he or she is doing there, what problems and behavioral difficulties he or she is having, and how they can be dealt with therapeutically.

Since the residents spend regular times in their parents' home during vacations (Easter, summer, Christmas) and on the vacation weekends, it is necessary for the parents and the farm's co-workers to work according to the same concepts and to agree on them.

Areas of Activity of the Farm's Co-workers

In most such homes, certain co-workers work exclusively in the shop and other work areas outside the house, while others work only in the house itself. On the Meyerwiede Farm, the therapists work in both areas. The same co-worker who is with the residents while they are washing up first thing in the morning, getting dressed, and eating breakfast goes to the workplace with them later on and works together with them there in a particular area of work. In this way, the co-workers get to know "their" residents in all life situations; they are able to appreciate their needs better and notice sooner whenever the residents are having difficulties.

On the other hand, problems can also arise as a result of this structure. Conflicts in the living or leisure-time situations can have their effect -- because of personal differences -- on the resident's cooperation with the co-worker at the workplace, since the clear distinction between living and working has largely been obliterated on the Meyerwiede Farm.

Another consequence of this concept could be even more serious. The usual everyday work situation of co-workers in traditional homes consists of activities that are always the same, few movements, and similar communicative processes with handicapped people who are also always the same. Over the years, this can lead to tiring and becoming dulled. Since progress and "success" can only be achieved over a long period of time and the meaning of the work is not immediately clear, it is especially easy in homes for the handicapped for a burnout syndrome to develop.

In community living, however, the co-workers get to know their charges in many life situations and to see them from all sides. They can understand them better and perceive their personalities in an all-embracing way.

Therapists in the house only -- specializing in education, nursing, and therapy -- and co-workers in the workplace only -- specializing in one or another kind of work -- only get to know certain aspects of the resident's personality.

It is possible that this concept of living together with autistic people in an agriculturally oriented community contributes to the fact that many co-workers of the Meyerwiede Farm have already been working there for a long time (between six and twelve years).

Continue: Structure and Concept of the Farm