Stop Calling

A developmentally delayed man would ask for a staff member's phone number, and call that staff member repeatedly. Admittedly, any staff member that would give a group home consumer their own number needs to re-define their priorities. It would also be helpful to teach such consumers that repeatedly calling a person is not a good idea.

There are some useful phone numbers to give in such instances. Some phone numbers provide the time when you call, some phone numbers provide the weather, others give sports scores. Most of these numbers are easily distinguished from the 911 number that is used for an emergency.

One controversy that might arise when using commercial recording is the possible loss of trust between the consumer and staff. However, the technique provides an important boundary between consumers and personal involvement with staff.