
DSP of the Month: Rosie Houser
Congratulations to Rosie Houser, July’s Direct Support Professional (DSP) of the Month!
Rosie’s passion for working with those with developmental disabilities started many years ago as a teenager when she worked with children with physical and mental disabilities during the summer.
“I met a young girl with Cerebral palsy (CP) and mental disabilities (this was the 70s, and I was 13 at the time) and met her family,” Rosie Houser. “For many years, I would babysit her and go on vacations with them to help her. They were like a second family to me. Upon entering high school, I knew this was what I wanted to do when I graduated from college. I ended up getting a special education degree and taught for several years.”
Once Rosie retired from teaching, she knew she still wanted to be involved in the DD community and work part-time. Luckily, she met Cleo, who worked for Family Support Care LLC. Cleo explained to Rosie all about the organization and introduced her to Sean Briede. Shortly after, Rosie took Sean on as her first client for Family Support Care LLC.
“When I was introduced to Sean and his family, we just clicked,” Rosie said. “I have now worked with Sean for nearly 5 years, and it has been very rewarding! I enjoy working with Sean and coming up with different projects to do with him. One of the first ones was our state project. We made cards with many different, unusual facts for all the states. Sean’s mom, Charlene, is so great to work for. She is very understanding and supportive of the different things I introduce Sean to. We did a unit on flights, which was very interesting. I even learned some new things!”
Sean’s BCBDD SSA, Michelle Reed, said Rosie goes above and beyond in all that she does with Sean.
“Rosie works with Sean for about 16 hours each week,” Michelle said. “All activities, whether in his home or the community, are well planned out for Sean to not only participate but also be meaningful. For example, they plan to cook an item that he likes, in which he participates using Hand Over Hand (HOH) assistance. Once complete, she prints off the recipe and then takes a picture of Sean and puts it on the back of the recipe. Sean now has a recipe collection. Sean utilizes a computer as a communication device. He selects which restaurant he wants to go to by tapping the picture, and then taps the picture of what he wants to eat at the restaurant.”




Rosie said she loves to cook and enjoys cooking and baking with Sean each week.
“Sean loves the recipe cards we create together,” Rosie said. “I always try to get a picture of him with the food that we made. Then he gets to enjoy eating it. I enjoy sharing and always trying out new recipes with him. We’ve had a few that we wouldn’t do again!”
In addition to cooking, Sean also enjoys using his communication device to choose books for Rosie to read.
“Rosie is very in tune with Sean as he is with her,” Michelle said. “When Rosie is reading to him, he will let her know that he does not like the book by yelling, so she will stop reading, and he will choose another book. If Sean is not having a good day, Rosie recognizes his triggers and knows what she needs to do to help calm him down. Rosie takes Sean out into his community so that he can have a variety of experiences. For example, when Rosie took Sean to the Air Force Museum, it was more than just taking him. She planned the trip by talking to Sean about where they were going to go and what they would see.”
Rosie has taken Sean to experience many places, such as the Cincinnati Zoo, Kings Island, and Luke5Adventures, which she says are some of her fondest memories being a DSP.
“About once a month, I take Sean to Luke5Adventures,” Rosie said. “It is a group that takes those who can’t hike, or are in special wheelchairs, on hiking trails in the different parks in Cincinnati. Sean enjoys these hikes, and it is so rewarding to see his reaction. We also recently went to the Cincinnati Museum Center to see the dinosaur and space exhibits because we are currently learning about dinosaurs. He was very attentive to both exhibits!”





Rosie is excited for Sean’s future and said he inspires her every single day, as do all the individuals she works with developmental disabilities.
“As I said earlier, I have always been inspired to work with those with disabilities,” Rosie said. “I’ve felt from a young age that all people count and can learn to the best of their ability, no matter age, sex, or the disability they might have. They are people like everyone else and deserve to have a full life too.”
Do you know an amazing DSP who deserves to be recognized for everything they do? Nominate them below! Nominations for August’s DSP of the Month are due by Friday, August 1.