Ray Graham Association empowers people with disabilities through a wide range of services and programs designed around the needs, desires and goals of each individual we serve. No two people are alike.
Ray Graham Association provides innovative services that are in alignment with the most promising practices. As a result, our programs and services have grown, expanded and evolved over the years. The people we support are empowered to live the highest quality of life possible, which not only benefits them but it also benefits our communities and society as a whole.
Following are brief overviews of our programs and services.
If you’d like more detailed information about any of these programs or services, please contact, Neel Patel, Family Support Administrator, at HomeAndCommunity@Raygraham.org.
Early Intervention
Early Intervention is a program specifically designed for children from birth to three years-old who have developmental delays or disabilities. Services are designed to meet the needs of each child and family, while building upon strengths and preferences. The primary goal of Early Intervention is to help children reach their optimal potential by providing the most appropriate services at the earliest possible opportunity. This program offers developmental screenings, evaluations and individual therapy services.
Children’s Group Home
For children between the ages of 3 to 21 who have been diagnosed with a developmental disability or mental illness and are placed by and under the supervision of a licensed child welfare agency, this facility provides care for no more than 10 children/young adults.
Our Children’s Group Homes are designed to promote safety, increase independence in daily living, offer opportunities for the development of social relationships, the acquisition of skills for economic self sufficiency and integration into the community.
Respite Voucher Program
This program provides short-term, temporary care for children and adults with developmental disabilities who are living at home.
Since family members tend to also function as primary care givers, our respite care program gives these families a break from the daily demands of caring for the member with a developmental disability.
This “gift of time” can be funded through our In-Home Respite Voucher Program, which reimburses families for the provision of care to persons with developmental disabilities. The trained caregiver is also selected and instructed by the family.
Bednorz Children’s Respite Home
Parents of children and young adults with developmental disabilities deserve rich and fulfilling lives beyond the care of their special children. However, securing quality care for their family members is often challenging.
Bednorz Children’s Respite Home provides temporary, overnight respite care to allow parents the opportunity to enjoy a weekend away, night out on the town, or time alone with family and friends.
Community Learning Centers
Ray Graham Association’s Community Learning Centers (CLCs) are designed to offer people a variety of daily life enrichment options.
Ray Graham Association has six program locations in DuPage County to support people in the communities in which they reside.
More than 400 people receive services in these various locations. A monthly theme topic drives the development of engaging options for people in the following core areas: Language Arts and Communication Enhancement, Health and Fitness, Personal Enrichment, Leisure Education and Recreation, Creative Arts, Community Life Experiences, and Economic Growth Experiences.
Home and Community Based Individualized Support Services
These services are designed to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities choose those services and supports that enhance the quality of their lives within their communities. Optional services include personal support, developmental training, supported employment, adult day care, behavioral and occupational therapy, and transportation.
More about Home Based Services
Residential Services
With more than twenty Ray Graham-owned and trained staffed residences in the community, people with all levels and types of disabilities are provided supported living services.
Residents receive assistance and support in a wide variety of areas, including community access, skills training, personal care assistance, money management and socialization; all aimed at enabling individuals to maximize their own independence and quality of life.
Monarch: Supporting Young Adults with
Disabilities to Learn, Achieve and Grow.
Monarch Living
This residential program provides housing and support services to young adults with mild developmental disabilities. Participants enroll for a one-year term and reside in a 4-unit apartment building while receiving customized skills development plans, training and support from professional life coaches and a one-to-four staff-to-participant ratio.
The residence’s convenient Elmhurst location puts an array of resources, recreational sites, and employment opportunities at participant’s fingertips, allowing them to actively use their newly acquired skills.
Monarch Academy
This post-transition community based program for young adults with disabilities uses the community as a classroom.
Monarch Academy is designed for those who are eager to learn, enjoy an active schedule and a wide variety of social interaction with peers. It fosters the development of a wide range of meaningful skills that facilitate social relationships, self esteem, employment and recreation.
Monarch Life Coaching
These customized, feature-focused services are provided on a one-to-one basis in the participant’s home, and are aimed at supporting people wanting to identify and achieve skills and capabilities which will result in increased independence, self esteem and confidence.
Real World 101
This set of courses, taught in an interactive, small group learning environment, are offered by professional Life Skills instructors and designed to promote lifelong learning and continued skills enhancement through hands-on participation and relevant activities.
Employment Services
Ray Graham Association’s Community Employment Services provides customized supports that promote the success of people with disabilities in community employment.
Ray Graham Association offers an innovative menu of options so that supports can be tailored to meet each individual’s needs, including vocational evaluation, career counseling, job development, placement, transportation training, job coaching, and includes supporting those who want to start their own small businesses.
Our staff also provides consultation to employers regarding disability awareness, job modifications and the implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Gateway
The Gateway Special Recreation Association promotes the full participation of people with disabilities in meaningful recreational and cultural activities and sports programs, camps and services that maximize their health, well-being and quality of life.
Formed through an intergovernmental agreement, Gateway is an extension of the park districts of Burr Ridge, Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Pleasant Dale, Westchester and York Center, the City of Countryside and the Villages of Hinsdale and Willowbrook.
Hanson Center
As one of Ray Graham Association’s seven community learning centers, the Hanson Center offers a range of programs for adults with disabilities and recreational programs for children and adults with and without disabilities.
The 12-acre facility located in Burr Ridge includes a great hall, a preschool Montessori building, indoor riding arena and stable, horse pastures, a small animal farm, the Funk Memorial Garden, and an 11,000 square-foot, fully accessible playground.
Some of the Hanson Center programs include:
Therapeutic Horsemanship Program
This program provides an opportunity for children and adults with and without disabilities to experience the enjoyment and therapeutic benefits of horseback riding. The program provides individual and small group lessons led by experienced instructors with the assistance of trained volunteers.
Morris Service Dog Program
This program provides children and adults with disabilities with specially trained dogs to help each person function more independently at home, in school, at work and in the community. Check out the Morris Service Dog Program blog for an inside look at the program.
