1 Week

You will spend approximately five hours per day working directly with the PACE professionals.  Video cameras are located in the kitchen, family room, and playroom allowing the successes and discussions to be captured on DVD for you to take home.  Your family can have lunch on your own or you may ask for assistance with mealtime.  You are on your own for the later afternoon and evening to explore Portland or enjoy some time at home.

The home environment of PACE Place allows everyone to feel comfortable.  The full days help families immerse themselves in the therapeutic lifestyle without feeling rushed.  All family members are encouraged to contribute ideas to help the treatment team determine how best to use your time at PACE Place.

If your family life typically involves grocery shopping with the kids and trips to the park, the PACE professional will participate in those activities, guiding you to make those regular activities more engaging and successful for your family.  Or, if your family typically spends much of your daily life at home, baking, doing chores, and playing games, your treatment team will join you in those activities and help you determine unique ways to incorporate your child’s objectives into the things you already love to do.  If, like many families, you are at a loss for what to do with your child, we will help in the creation of activities that can be easily replicated when you return home.  Whatever your needs, the PACE professionals will support you to expand on successful activities, explore new activities, and discover new approaches to activities your family has struggled with in the past.

One strength of the PACE Place Immersion Model lies in the absence of familiar routines and structures for everyone in your family.  PACE Place is free of TVs, VCRs, computers, and video games and you are asked to not bring any of these items with you.  Instead, we provide a variety of toys, games, and activity ideas interesting to all ages (including adults).  We provide a new environment, surrounded by new people and new opportunities.  PACE Place provides you with the unique opportunity to step away from the world of self-absorbed high-tech devices and obsessive interests and enter the path of true, reciprocal relationships.  Your week at PACE Place is a rare opportunity to jump out of the high-tech environment and engage in relationship-enhancing fun for the whole family.  This establishes the foundation for more socially-based interaction within your family.  Then, even when you return home to a life that is not free of electronics, you will have a renewed focus on emotion-sharing experiences that your family enjoys.