Wind Dancer Retreat program is a weeklong (5 days-4 nights) therapeutic recreational experience for people at the late middle to early end stages a progressive neurological disease. There will be three separate programs one for person’s with; Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.

Wind Dancer Retreat will employ a senior staff which is comprised of a Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Pathologist, Nurses, Social Workers, Music Therapists and Physicians, who will serve as trainers, instructors and supervisors. Students volunteering to serve in Wind Dancer Retreat must be graduates of an accredited certified nursing assistant (CNA) program.

The CNA students who complete the training provided in this program will receive a certification in progressive neurological diseases from the Michigan Dementia Coalition and a secondary degree as a restorative aide from an accredited community college. A restorative aide is a healthcare provider in a nursing home who is responsible to implement all health care programs to the residents of the facility. Typically restorative aides have been trained by rehabilitation nurses who may or may not have adequate training in all aspects of rehabilitation (i.e. physical therapy technique, occupational techniques for dressing and bathing, and speech and language pathology interventions for communication and eating).

ASCEND through Wind Dancer Retreat seeks to create a paradigm shift within the long term care community to improve the level of care being provided by restorative aides in long term care, by assuring that they are trained in a uniform and consistent manner.

ASCEND will provide a weeklong education program designed to teach the student about the pathophysiology of each of the primary progressive neurological diseases (Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Multiple Sclerosis), as well as how to implement therapy programs in an appropriate manner. Then the students will have the opportunity to engage in a 5 day 4 night hands on experience program, so that they can put what they learned didactically into practice.

The students are responsible to assure that every member with the progressive neurological disease participates safely in all activities, and maximizes their potential.

Within the 5 days each group will attend an assistive exercise group, a speech and language pathology group a social work group and a occupational therapy group. In addition the retreat attendees will go to relaxation group and music therapy sessions. Retreat Attendees will also participate in a daily aquatic therapy and a therapeutic horseback riding program.

People attending the retreat will be given pre and post assessments to evaluate the effective of the various interventions. Instruction to family members will be provided to facilitate more functional behavior in their home environments.