direct support professional

program director

group manager

behavioral specialist

residential coordinator

Spectrum for Living

What is the best part of working at the company?
Love working with the the clients

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Program director always  think that they  are right ,  upper management is very territorial  and therefore there is a level of bullying  , they constantly threatened you about been fired for the smallest things , it, either their way or the high way , they don't  think they can learn anything from you  because what you have to say don't  count .

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is somewhat tense  , it doesn't feel good going to work anymore , the company is a wonderful  company to work with, I just think they should choose wisely who they give certain  positions not everyone can handle power , some abuse it and therefore the company loose a lot of great staff because of this .

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
taking care of my clients , make sure they r happy , do what I have to do to keep them entertained, do chores feed them and other things it's  time for me to go home

If you have a passion for helping people with developmental disabilities,  Spectrum offers very good experience, valuable trainings, and benefits.   I have worked at Spectrum for many years, on and off since the 90's.  Your experience varies depending on where you work, ie group home, supervised apartments, or closter care faciility (ICF).  The ICF is very challenging because the clients are more medically and physically involved.  Employees are very nice and work together as a team.  The clients are beautiful and appreciate your help. The directors and supporting staff are helpful and available.  The biggest problem is the pay which could only be afforded by those with a second income.  This is may main reason for leaving.  I would never be able to support myself with this job unless I worked an additional full-time job.  Not happening! So I went back to school,

At its heart, Spectrum for Living is a nonprofit organization that serves adults with disabilities. Most people that work at Spectrum don’t come to work here for the money, they come out of a desire to help others. Over the years, the place had become bloated with upper level management that seemed out of touch with the agency’s direct care staff. Spectrum brought in a new CEO in early 2018 and a lot of long overdue changes started happening. There was a restructuring at the corporate offices and a lot of people that had gotten comfortable were let go. More caring and competent employees were promoted to senior management positions. Spectrum’s direct care staff were given a pay increase, and a new employee recognition program was started too. Things are definitely getting better at Spectrum. If you love helping people you will love working at Spectrum.

The most common working schedule is a 9am – 5pm.  Get my hot chocolate,  get my work ready and start the day.

One challenge for many people is establishing a good relationship with their manager. You may feel that your manager has a lot of power over you and this can distort your normal behavior on a personal level. Listen closely to your manager and watch how they interact with others to learn the best way to communicate. For example, don't be surprised if you meet with your manager prepared to discuss work and they want to discuss sports. In this case you can hope they trust your work is good and the meeting is more of a social interaction. A good manager will mix social and business so be prepared for both.

My manager is a Continuous Learner.



Spectrum for Living is a great place to work if you want to help adults with disabilities. Because the organization is so large, there is no shortage of opportunities for advancement or to expose yourself to the challenge of working in a different capacity from what you were initially hired to do. The organization has made great strides in the past few years to advance wages for all employees. Everyone has received annual wage increases, and Direct Service Professionals now start at $19.75/hour, which is higher than many other disability service providers. The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the clients. The only downside is that some staff are less than professional, but then every workplace has a few bad apples. 

This job makes you more aware and sensitive to the everyday things that I take for granted. A typical day is fast paced, always on high alert environment. I've learned to be patient and emotionally supportive. Management is very knowledgeable and dependable. Very understanding and stern. The hardest part about my job is leaving your clients and the end of your shift. You get attached to them and want to take them home with you. The most enjoyable part of the job is being able to transport the clients to outings in the community such as malls, museums, plays, etc etc. Knowing that they can go out and be a part of the community just like any other human being. To know that they feel a part of something bigger then themselves and not look frowned upon due to their disability.

I am on call 24 hrs
The first thing i review are the critical logs from the previous shift
I Check and respond to all emails.
I ensure all the scheduled medical appointment for the residents for that day are setup up and conducted.
I do finance and pay bills for residents.
I ensure any evening recreation events posted for residents are attended.
Each resident has an IHP goal and i help them reach it, as well as complete all monthly report on their progress.
I make sure i have the required staff on shift for all the residents..
The nicest part of my job is my interaction with residents and the feeling i get from helping them.
The hardest part of my job is juggling meeting, staff coverage and maintaining all costs within budget

A typical work day for me would be coming in to check my call out book to ensure proper shift coverage. Created a zone map to make sure clients are taken care of. Interviewing canidatee and entering payrol for the pryor day. One thing I learned was hook to hold I.M meeting and create ADL goals for cle=ients. Mangament is always looking to help the growth of other staff.
to endevour core values to staff ie. Learn from challenge and change , and show passion.

The hardest part of the job , I would say is finding coverage for hospital and 1:1 clients. The most enjoyable part is working with diffrent personalities.

Spectrum for Living has a beautiful mission and is focused on serving those with Developmental Disabilities.  It is rewarding to feel as if you are making a difference in the lives of an extremely vulnerable population.

You will find that many employees at Spectrum for Living are afraid of change.

One of the biggest challenges faced at Spectrum for Living is the fact that the Board of Trustees contains mostly family members and very few professionals, causing some decisions made to be unrealistic.

Clients served by Spectrum for Living make the job worthwhile.

Typical day starts with sitting in a room for hours just doing notes and dealing with behaviors since the other staff do not want to be bothered. Management with literally put their hands on you, for example I was waiting to clock out and my assistant supervisor literally shoved me into another staff as a joke. That is literally a hostile work environment, in all honesty I can not say that all of Spectrum for living is like this since I only worked at one location. Overall I must say that this place forced me into finding a different job, did not want to work for this company anymore.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 10 salaries reported	$20.80 per hour
Program director 7 salaries reported	$58,214 per year
Group manager 10 salaries reported	$22.47 per hour
Behavioral specialist 6 salaries reported	$23.88 per hour
Residential coordinator 8 salaries reported	$23.50 per hour

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