April 26, 2025 • 14 mins
Since the late 1980's, the team at Marshfield's "Road to Responsibility" has had one mission: assist those with intellectual and physical disabilities with living their lives to the fullest. They do so by providing essential services in day programs and community living, along with promoting inclusivity and understanding in the community at large. One of their new tools is a virtual reality program that's already become a major success. President and CEO Christopher White joins clinician Rebecca Ellis to talk about how they're introducing this technology into their programming.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week we come together right here, we talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. I hope you're having a good weekend, except
for the pollen, of course. I'm Nicole Davis. For many
years now on the South Shore, Road to Responsibility has
been making it their mission to provide essential services to
(00:28):
people who are disabled. The work they do in education, employment,
many other areas helps these people lead fulfilling and productive
lives and also promotes empowerment and a sense of confidence
and individuality. They also do a lot of work in
the community to promote understanding and inclusivity. One of the
tools they now have in their toolbox as of pretty
recently actually is a new virtual reality program. And you
(00:52):
might think when you hear VR something at the arcade
with a sword, this is nothing like that. This is
actually making a huge difference. President and CEO Chris White
is here along with a clinician at Road to Responsibility,
Rebecca Ellis. Thank you both for your time, and you know, Chris,
you've been around for decades. At this point, fill us
in before we get started with a bit more about
(01:12):
your history and how you got to where you are.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We were founded in nineteen eighty eight and we have
grown dramatically over the last over those years. We're here
to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including folks
with autism and acquired brain injuries. And the core services
that we provide our residential services a full array of
(01:39):
those from staff departments where a person is living pretty
independently and just have check ins to specialize, twenty four
hour group homes that are focused on either intense behavioral, clinical,
or medical needs, and then sort of run of the mill,
(02:01):
sort of our group homes that have twenty four hour
staffing but the people's needs are not dramatic, and the
focus in all of those homes is to get people
living as inclusively in the community as they can. On
the day services side, we offer employment services where we
(02:23):
get people individual jobs or regular companies doing doing all
the things that all of us do every day. And
then what we call community based day support services. In
the CBDs programs are work oriented, but therefore people who
need to work on developing further skills in order to
(02:46):
be successful in work, or they haven't been exposed too much,
and so our CBDs programs expose people through our group
employment where small groups of four five people go out
with an artis staff present regular jobs out in the
(03:06):
community and they get to see how businesses run different
kinds of jobs and all that. And then are other
services called dehabilitation, and that's focused on generally speaking, older
folks with more medical needs, and the whole point of
that service is to provide the therapeutic supports needed so
(03:29):
that they don't need higher levels of care like nursing
homes or repeated hospitalizations.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, and Rebecca, on your side of things, a day
for you as a behavioral clinician, tell me about what
your day entails.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
That is a really difficulty answer, actually, because it changes
every day. During my day to day, I will focus
on observation and helping on the floor a lot, because
a lot of it does involve direct work and helping
(04:06):
staff in how to appropriately respond to behaviors and interact
with individuals with different clinical needs. And then I do
a lot of treatment planning and writing data analysis all
the more administrative administrative side of that.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Okay, Now, Chris, obviously, road to responsibility has been around
for quite some time. How has the approach changed in
the past fifteen years or so.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Well, we're constantly evolving and trying trying to keep up
with all the latest breakthroughs and best approaches, best practices,
whether it's clinical, administrative, technological, and so I think what
probably the biggest change has been the introduction, the massive
(04:58):
introduction of of various pieces of technology in both our
service delivery as well as administrative functions.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Okay, let's talk then about this development which I find
to be really cool, virtual reality. And you know, when
you hear virtual reality, you think of like the big
headset that you put on you're playing video games and
using swords and stuff like that. This is so not that.
So I guess Rebecca, we'll talk with you in a
second about the ins and the outs of this. But Chris,
(05:27):
what made you think about bringing in virtual reality at
road to responsibility?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, I had been actually in the Netherlands. They've been
doing some amazing work with VR over the last few years,
and so I've been reading some of that in the
psychological literature, and then a grant opportunity came up and
I got into conversations with people down the University of
(05:55):
Florida who were really excited about this possibility. And for me,
I think one of the best services we provide is employment,
because there's there's no better community inclusion thing that a
(06:15):
person can do then get a job. You know, what's
the first thing someone asks you when you meet them,
So what do you do? Well? For most of our clients,
you know, their their answer has been either a little vague,
you know, it can be a little vague in their lives,
or or it can be well, I work at road
(06:35):
responsibility and so we want them to get to give
them more than that. And folks with autism, you know,
they're saying, if you've met one person with autism, you've
met one person with autism. Because it's such a heterogeneous
group of people, and so that it really is amazing
(06:58):
that how skilled some of the people are yet still
struggle so mightily with getting and keeping a job. Were
working with someone anow that has two master's degrees. Wow,
but they can't keep a job. They do great at school,
but they find it really hard to work. And so
(07:21):
when we looked at closely at what was going wrong
for them, it usually boiled down to a couple of
different points. Either they couldn't control how much they were
paying attention to something. So folks with autism tend to
either be super hyper focused on something and they just
(07:42):
can't let it go, or they get so overwhelmed that
they're sort of bouncing from thing to thing and they
can't focus on anything. And so I got the idea
of what if we did a mindfulness basedrtual reality scenario.
So that was the first That was the first scenario
(08:07):
that we developed, and my wife Triva helped out with that.
Altchi and I have both trained clinicians in mindfulness and
so and the good people down University of Florida and
AIS Technologies worked with us on taking our ideas and
(08:29):
then making them into the VA scenario and so so anyway,
so because if they can do that, they can become mindful,
then that will help them focus their attention appropriately. It
also helps a lot with the motion regulation. The second scenario.
(08:49):
And the second thing that people struggle with is they
don't know when to approach a supervisor or a colleague
to ask a question. And so, I don't know if
you've ever worked with someone who does a job and
then immediately, Hey, Nicole, what do I do next? You
know what's next on the list. That gets super annoying
(09:13):
for supervisors really fast, and so and so. The other part,
the other scenario we developed was a social and interpersonal
effectiveness scenario designed for on the job. When is the
right time to ask, when it's the right time to
(09:35):
approach the supervisor, how to ask them a question, and
how to ask them at different points in depending on
what the supervisor is doing or or saying back to them.
And so that's in some ways a higher order, very
specific skill. But the one we've been using primarily has
(10:00):
been the mindfulness based scenario.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, because Rebecca, people just want to do a good job, right,
They just want to get out there. They might have
all the desire to help and do everything correctly, but
sometimes again it's just the communication gets a little confused.
Tell us a little bit about how you're using the
VR and in your day to day, how you're seeing
it being I guess not just accepted by people, but
(10:26):
how it's making a difference in your field.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah, it's super interesting because everyone has responded really differently
to it. So we identified a couple of individuals that
do have really impulsive responding and we wanted to try
them on the VR, and people do get a little
bit uneasy around the VR because it's something totally new.
(10:51):
So we usually approach it like, hey, do you want
to play a video game that's also a mindfulness activity
and get by in that way. But people really do
respond totally differently to it. It can be a little
bit disarming at first because you can't see anything. So yeah,
(11:14):
so when you put the headset on, it's really immersive
and that can be a little bit vulnerable for people.
So people have to get used to that, and you
have to talk to them and say like, hey, I'm
right here, I'm just gonna be sitting here, let me
know if you want me to take the device off,
and that usually puts people at ease, and other people
(11:36):
when they put it on, they are kind of just
totally immersed and completely comfortable with it. I work with
one individual who is autistic and he typically will verbally
stim all the time, and once he put on the
(11:56):
VR device, he completely stopped stimming and it was super interesting.
I was like blown away when I saw it. So yeah,
everyone kind of responds to it differently. It is early
days with our implementation, so we're kind of just having
people give it a try for now and see who
takes to it.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Basically, okay, well, if people want to find out more
about not just your services, but also specifically about how
you're using this technology, because the sky is the limit,
if you ask me, with it, you can put people
in all sorts of situations to help them better respond
or help them feel more comfortable. Is there anything else
that you wanted to get out there about what's happening
(12:36):
at Road to Responsibility? I know that you have an
endowment push that you're working on, right.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Correct, Well, we have just launched a public phase of
an endowment campaign, and the endowments really to build a
fund where we can do things like this that state
contracts allow people to survive, but they but it takes
private philanthropy to help them thrive. And in our state
(13:05):
contracts don't cover a lot of things, most notably technology,
and so we're hoping folks will help us out with that.
Because I agree with you, I think the sky is
the limit for this. As a psychologist, I get really
fired up about this and the potential for people to
(13:27):
learn new skills in an entirely safe setting where they
don't have to worry about how someone else is going
to view them, judge them, or respond to them. They
can develop new skills and really change their lives. And so,
you know, I fantasize about a day where where maybe
we don't need so many behavioral interventions for folks because
(13:51):
they're they're learning everything in this really safe situation.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
That's the most important part is making sure people are sick,
even healthy and happy, and you're doing your part in
doing that. So Roads Responsibility dot Org, Chris and Rebecca,
thank you for all your efforts and good luck as
you continue to roll this out. This is really cool technology.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Thank you so much, Nicole, we appreciating getting us time.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week we come together right here, we talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. I hope you're having a good weekend, except
for the pollen, of course. I'm Nicole Davis. For many
years now on the South Shore, Road to Responsibility has
been making it their mission to provide essential services to
(00:28):
people who are disabled. The work they do in education, employment,
many other areas helps these people lead fulfilling and productive
lives and also promotes empowerment and a sense of confidence
and individuality. They also do a lot of work in
the community to promote understanding and inclusivity. One of the
tools they now have in their toolbox as of pretty
recently actually is a new virtual reality program. And you
(00:52):
might think when you hear VR something at the arcade
with a sword, this is nothing like that. This is
actually making a huge difference. President and CEO Chris White
is here along with a clinician at Road to Responsibility,
Rebecca Ellis. Thank you both for your time, and you know, Chris,
you've been around for decades. At this point, fill us
in before we get started with a bit more about
(01:12):
your history and how you got to where you are.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We were founded in nineteen eighty eight and we have
grown dramatically over the last over those years. We're here
to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including folks
with autism and acquired brain injuries. And the core services
that we provide our residential services a full array of
(01:39):
those from staff departments where a person is living pretty
independently and just have check ins to specialize, twenty four
hour group homes that are focused on either intense behavioral, clinical,
or medical needs, and then sort of run of the mill,
(02:01):
sort of our group homes that have twenty four hour
staffing but the people's needs are not dramatic, and the
focus in all of those homes is to get people
living as inclusively in the community as they can. On
the day services side, we offer employment services where we
(02:23):
get people individual jobs or regular companies doing doing all
the things that all of us do every day. And
then what we call community based day support services. In
the CBDs programs are work oriented, but therefore people who
need to work on developing further skills in order to
(02:46):
be successful in work, or they haven't been exposed too much,
and so our CBDs programs expose people through our group
employment where small groups of four five people go out
with an artis staff present regular jobs out in the
(03:06):
community and they get to see how businesses run different
kinds of jobs and all that. And then are other
services called dehabilitation, and that's focused on generally speaking, older
folks with more medical needs, and the whole point of
that service is to provide the therapeutic supports needed so
(03:29):
that they don't need higher levels of care like nursing
homes or repeated hospitalizations.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Okay, and Rebecca, on your side of things, a day
for you as a behavioral clinician, tell me about what
your day entails.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
That is a really difficulty answer, actually, because it changes
every day. During my day to day, I will focus
on observation and helping on the floor a lot, because
a lot of it does involve direct work and helping
(04:06):
staff in how to appropriately respond to behaviors and interact
with individuals with different clinical needs. And then I do
a lot of treatment planning and writing data analysis all
the more administrative administrative side of that.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Okay, Now, Chris, obviously, road to responsibility has been around
for quite some time. How has the approach changed in
the past fifteen years or so.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Well, we're constantly evolving and trying trying to keep up
with all the latest breakthroughs and best approaches, best practices,
whether it's clinical, administrative, technological, and so I think what
probably the biggest change has been the introduction, the massive
(04:58):
introduction of of various pieces of technology in both our
service delivery as well as administrative functions.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Okay, let's talk then about this development which I find
to be really cool, virtual reality. And you know, when
you hear virtual reality, you think of like the big
headset that you put on you're playing video games and
using swords and stuff like that. This is so not that.
So I guess Rebecca, we'll talk with you in a
second about the ins and the outs of this. But Chris,
(05:27):
what made you think about bringing in virtual reality at
road to responsibility?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, I had been actually in the Netherlands. They've been
doing some amazing work with VR over the last few years,
and so I've been reading some of that in the
psychological literature, and then a grant opportunity came up and
I got into conversations with people down the University of
(05:55):
Florida who were really excited about this possibility. And for me,
I think one of the best services we provide is employment,
because there's there's no better community inclusion thing that a
(06:15):
person can do then get a job. You know, what's
the first thing someone asks you when you meet them,
So what do you do? Well? For most of our clients,
you know, their their answer has been either a little vague,
you know, it can be a little vague in their lives,
or or it can be well, I work at road
(06:35):
responsibility and so we want them to get to give
them more than that. And folks with autism, you know,
they're saying, if you've met one person with autism, you've
met one person with autism. Because it's such a heterogeneous
group of people, and so that it really is amazing
(06:58):
that how skilled some of the people are yet still
struggle so mightily with getting and keeping a job. Were
working with someone anow that has two master's degrees. Wow,
but they can't keep a job. They do great at school,
but they find it really hard to work. And so
(07:21):
when we looked at closely at what was going wrong
for them, it usually boiled down to a couple of
different points. Either they couldn't control how much they were
paying attention to something. So folks with autism tend to
either be super hyper focused on something and they just
(07:42):
can't let it go, or they get so overwhelmed that
they're sort of bouncing from thing to thing and they
can't focus on anything. And so I got the idea
of what if we did a mindfulness basedrtual reality scenario.
So that was the first That was the first scenario
(08:07):
that we developed, and my wife Triva helped out with that.
Altchi and I have both trained clinicians in mindfulness and
so and the good people down University of Florida and
AIS Technologies worked with us on taking our ideas and
(08:29):
then making them into the VA scenario and so so anyway,
so because if they can do that, they can become mindful,
then that will help them focus their attention appropriately. It
also helps a lot with the motion regulation. The second scenario.
(08:49):
And the second thing that people struggle with is they
don't know when to approach a supervisor or a colleague
to ask a question. And so, I don't know if
you've ever worked with someone who does a job and
then immediately, Hey, Nicole, what do I do next? You
know what's next on the list. That gets super annoying
(09:13):
for supervisors really fast, and so and so. The other part,
the other scenario we developed was a social and interpersonal
effectiveness scenario designed for on the job. When is the
right time to ask, when it's the right time to
(09:35):
approach the supervisor, how to ask them a question, and
how to ask them at different points in depending on
what the supervisor is doing or or saying back to them.
And so that's in some ways a higher order, very
specific skill. But the one we've been using primarily has
(10:00):
been the mindfulness based scenario.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, because Rebecca, people just want to do a good job, right,
They just want to get out there. They might have
all the desire to help and do everything correctly, but
sometimes again it's just the communication gets a little confused.
Tell us a little bit about how you're using the
VR and in your day to day, how you're seeing
it being I guess not just accepted by people, but
(10:26):
how it's making a difference in your field.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Yeah, it's super interesting because everyone has responded really differently
to it. So we identified a couple of individuals that
do have really impulsive responding and we wanted to try
them on the VR, and people do get a little
bit uneasy around the VR because it's something totally new.
(10:51):
So we usually approach it like, hey, do you want
to play a video game that's also a mindfulness activity
and get by in that way. But people really do
respond totally differently to it. It can be a little
bit disarming at first because you can't see anything. So yeah,
(11:14):
so when you put the headset on, it's really immersive
and that can be a little bit vulnerable for people.
So people have to get used to that, and you
have to talk to them and say like, hey, I'm
right here, I'm just gonna be sitting here, let me
know if you want me to take the device off,
and that usually puts people at ease, and other people
(11:36):
when they put it on, they are kind of just
totally immersed and completely comfortable with it. I work with
one individual who is autistic and he typically will verbally
stim all the time, and once he put on the
(11:56):
VR device, he completely stopped stimming and it was super interesting.
I was like blown away when I saw it. So yeah,
everyone kind of responds to it differently. It is early
days with our implementation, so we're kind of just having
people give it a try for now and see who
takes to it.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Basically, okay, well, if people want to find out more
about not just your services, but also specifically about how
you're using this technology, because the sky is the limit,
if you ask me, with it, you can put people
in all sorts of situations to help them better respond
or help them feel more comfortable. Is there anything else
that you wanted to get out there about what's happening
(12:36):
at Road to Responsibility? I know that you have an
endowment push that you're working on, right.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Correct, Well, we have just launched a public phase of
an endowment campaign, and the endowments really to build a
fund where we can do things like this that state
contracts allow people to survive, but they but it takes
private philanthropy to help them thrive. And in our state
(13:05):
contracts don't cover a lot of things, most notably technology,
and so we're hoping folks will help us out with that.
Because I agree with you, I think the sky is
the limit for this. As a psychologist, I get really
fired up about this and the potential for people to
(13:27):
learn new skills in an entirely safe setting where they
don't have to worry about how someone else is going
to view them, judge them, or respond to them. They
can develop new skills and really change their lives. And so,
you know, I fantasize about a day where where maybe
we don't need so many behavioral interventions for folks because
(13:51):
they're they're learning everything in this really safe situation.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
That's the most important part is making sure people are sick,
even healthy and happy, and you're doing your part in
doing that. So Roads Responsibility dot Org, Chris and Rebecca,
thank you for all your efforts and good luck as
you continue to roll this out. This is really cool technology.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Thank you so much, Nicole, we appreciating getting us time.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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