Elevated Support Services’ mission is to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to reach their highest potential through active partnership, advocacy, and engaging in person-centered planning which increases autonomy and fosters inclusion, stability, and successes on their life’s journey.

Elevated Support Services’ vision is to provide innovative, quality supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that promote individuality, personal choice, and relationships of all kinds and lead to true belonging and achieving the most fulfilling life possible.

Elevated Support Services is devoted to providing services with the tenants of the Positive Approaches, Everyday Lives, Person-Centered Thinking, and Trauma-Informed Care philosophies in mind. These values frame the way in which Elevated Support Services operates as an agency, develops policies, and makes decisions. These values include:

Person-Centered Practices: We believe in consistency in language, values and actions—that reveals respect, views the person and their loved ones as experts in their own lives, and equally emphasizes quality of life, wellbeing, and informed choice. The driving force behind the way we support people is what matters most to the person receiving services above all. We assert that everyone has value and deserves engagement that is dignified and respectful, no matter what their diagnosis. We believe that language has power. Language is a tool that reflects our attitudes and beliefs. We believe that thoughtful language choices have the power to support meaningful partnerships with people who receive services and ultimately bolster their success.

Trauma-Informed Support: We assume that a person is more likely than not to have a history of trauma. We recognize the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledge the role trauma may play in person’s life. We understand and consider the pervasive nature of trauma and promote environments of healing and recovery, rather than practices and services that may inadvertently re-traumatize the person.

All Behavior Has Meaning: We strongly believe that all behavior has meaning and that a person’s behavior can be a method to communicate needs and wants, or the manifestation of some clinical issues. We believe that problem behavior may best be viewed as evidence of skill deficits (i.e., people exhibit challenging behavior because they lack other skills for effectively dealing with situations). Given this perspective, we are committed to build competencies that are critical to producing broad, durable behavior change and that provide appropriate ways to meet a person’s needs, promote self-sufficiency, and enhance access to people and activities.

Relationship Building: We believe that relationship building between staff and participants is essential. Developing a good rapport with the people we support, allowing them to get to know their supporters, and ensuring that staff are people the participants can look to, trust, and respect are key in developing a healthy and strong relationship. We believe that when a strong relationship has been formed and staff are able to focus on the positive aspects of the participant, challenging behaviors are less likely to occur. We believe that supporting healthy sexuality is imperative in ensuring that participants experience a quality of life that is consistent with an everyday life. We believe that people with disabilities have the right to experience a life that is no different than that of people without disabilities – including the ability to pursue relationships and explore their sexuality – without being neglected, exploited, or abused.

Empowerment: We strongly support the individuality and personal choices of each person who receives services. We believe in getting to know each person, his or her unique qualities, as well as his or her personal history. We believe in creating an atmosphere in which all are comfortable enough to speak freely, that we all listen carefully and respectfully, that we take each person seriously, and finally, that we honor what we hear. We strive to assist participants to grow and develop, to make their own decisions, to achieve their personal goals, to develop relationships, and enjoy life as full members of the community. We strive to create an atmosphere that assists participants and families of all abilities develop a vision for a good life, think about what they need to know and do, identify how to find or develop supports, and discover what it takes to live the lives they want to live.

Elimination of Restrictive Procedures: We believe that restrictive procedures should only be used as a last resort and only if the person is a risk to the health and safety of themselves or others. We believe that the use of restrictive procedures negatively impacts a person’s sense of control, which ultimately leads to frustration and a lesser quality of life. We believe that prevention is critical to any plan to support the person when reducing and eliminating restraints and other restrictive procedures. We believe that restraint is not treatment or a substitute for treatment.

Everyday Lives: We value what is important to people with disabilities and their families, who are striving for an everyday life. An everyday life is about opportunities, relationships, rights, and responsibilities. It is about being a member of the community, having a valued role, making a contribution to society, and having one’s rights as a citizen fully respected. It is a vision that we should all be working toward together. We believe that people with disabilities have a right to an everyday life; a life that is no different than that of all other citizens.