Social Work with Ambulatory Clients: The Wayfinding Domain

Abstract

Wayfinding services help ambulatory clients develop skills to travel independently to health care facilities. The authors review social work's contribution to ambulatory clients through wayfinding training. They assert that wayfinding services promote client compliance with ambulatory services and discuss wayfinding guidelines for travel between health facility and home.

A wayfinding perspective in mental health: Generating a sense of community among people with multiple handicapping conditions.

“…Senior citizens with multiple physical problems and people with sensory deficits represent the majority of this population. Extension of social work practice to the transport disabled was found to be consistent with the profession's historical mission and the mission of Healthy People 2000 (Taylor & Taylor, 1994; Taylor & Taylor, 1995; U.S. Congress, 1993).…”

“…The wayfinding factors associated with generating a sense of community among people with multiple handicapping conditions are diverse and idiosyncratic. Beyond the factors discussed earlier, a decade of training this population for travel suggests that the following recommendations generate a sense of community among people with multiple handicaps: A Fountain House model program that includes wayfinding crisis intervention will further facilitate clients' compliance with community-based psychosocial rehabilitation services.Bus drivers with ongoing sensitivity training relevant to accessibility standard of the Americans With Disabilities Act will make wayfinding training easier for clients.Clinicians must assess their own wayfinding skill or ability prior to implementing the training on a client's behalfAssessment of clients' environmental cognition for wayfinding training on the campus of mental institutions is a prerequisite to community travel.Seating clients in the optimal (center) section of the bus next to the window on the side closest to the sidewalk in the direction of the community mental health program maximizes learning of the route.Clients must demonstrate mastery of the primary route of travel prior to linking up with other clients navigating the same route.Action-oriented therapies are effective group interventions that support wayfinding training and building a sense of community (Arthur & Passini, 1992; Mosher & Burtiti, 1994; Taylor, Taylor, 1993b; 1995). …”

“…Action-oriented therapies are effective group interventions that support wayfinding training and building a sense of community (Arthur & Passini, 1992; Mosher & Burtiti, 1994; Taylor, Taylor, 1993b; 1995).…”