Report of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Volume 2, Number 3, March 1970 Page: ATTACHMENT
4 p. : ill.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
4p~
MEXIA SCHOOL residents assemble thousands of items daily using step-by-
step methods.1~ '1 ~
RETARDATES and factory representatives work
assembly lines.MEXIA RESIDENTS EARN SALARIES
Workshop Teaches Self-Esteem
The popping inside the big metal
building sounds like hundreds of people
stepping on crickets, but it is the sound
of pride for dozens of residents of Mexia
State School.
It means that they are earning
money for the first time in their lives.
The sound is really the snapping
shut of plastic capsules containing prizes
that will fill vending machines. The work
is being done by the school's students at
the Cen-Tex On-Campus Workshop
through a contract with the Graff Vend-
ing Machine Co. of Dallas.
Filling up plastic capsules with toy
Amarillo Group Builds
Playhouse at Center
A new playhouse means new fun
for young students at the Amarillo State
Center for Human Development.
The playhouse was financed and
built by the Texas Panhandle Builders'
Auxiliary, an Amarillo women's group.
The women spent six months and
$1,000 building the full-size playhouse,
which is on the children's playground at
the center.
When the project was begun, the
women's group consulted with Larry
Sava, the center's physical education and
recreation director. Sava's suggestions for
furnishing the playhouse resulted in a
decor of varied wall paneling, furniture
decorated with storybook classics, a mir-
ror, and toy animals made from rug
material.prizes all day might not sound like a
desirable job to most people. But for a
retardate, perhaps confined to a wheel
chair, who has never had a job before, it
is one of pride. The workers range from
teen-agers to the elderly. TherE are no
loafers. On a good day, 40 men and
women will fill more than 500,000 cap-
suIes.
Nearby, other student workers put
together pieces of electronic gear, one
simple step at a time. They are working
on a project subcontracted from Varo,
Inc.
In another room of the 60 by
160-foot building, several women do iron-
ing on a piece basis. It is all methodical
work. It is work that someone must do.
The Mexia State School residerts do it
well.
The on-campus workshop began
operations in the new $72,000 building
three months ago. Don Johanson directs
the operation, partially financed by a
grant from the Texas Rehabilitation Com-
mission. Johanson has a staff of seven
instructors. It will be expanded as re-
quired.
The workshop program is designed
to provide a constructive wage-earning
activity for Mexia State School residents,
to give them a purpose in life. It is the
first step for many toward beginning life
outside the school as productive citizens .
Currently, 172 residents work full or part
time in the workshop.
Workers are paid on an hourly
basis. Some work all day. Others work
only a few hours. They get some of theirpay in cash. The rest goes into a trust
fund for them. Those who gain confi-
dence and skill can be transferred to jobs
in town, either at tie Cen-Tex Workshop
for boys or the C3n-Tex Rehabilitation
Center for girls.
Many may never leave the school.
Still, they will have a job and the self-
esteem that goes with it.
"The sheltered wcrkshop program
is one of the most beneficial ever added
to Mexia State School," said Supt.
Malcolm Lauderdale. "When you see the
faces of the people work ng here, you see
pride and purpose. When you see that,
what more can you ask?"
State Hospital
Patients Have
Clothing Shop
The Fashion Shoa is "open for
business" at Wichita Falls State Hospital.
Patients stafi the shop on indus-
trial therapy assignments. Any patient
may browse in the shop and select cloth-
ing which is free of charge.
The clothing is contributed to the
hospital. It is then sized and displayed in
the traditional department store manner.
The shop's racks. shelving, and
cases were given to the hospital by Sears
when the firm moved from its old build-
ing into new quarters in downtown
Wichita Falls.
Mrs. Pauline Johnson and her assist-
ant, Mrs. Dora Chaddick, supervise the
Fashion Shop.together on workshop's
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas. Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Report of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Volume 2, Number 3, March 1970, periodical, March 1970; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1588651/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.