The Choice Group

  We extend our heartfelt appreciation to The Choice Group counselors, Rita Dee and Christine Clayton, for their exceptional representation of our organization at the Norfolk Transition Agency Tour in May. The Norfolk Transition Agency Tour is an post-secondary transition planning event designed to offer invaluable information to currently enrolled adult students or parents/guardians of students with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and/or autism who are receiving services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The agencies who participated boast an extensive track record of assisting individuals with disabilities in Virginia as they make the critical transition from high school to adulthood.  Rita and Christine’s involvement in the tour exemplifies their commitment to providing comprehensive guidance and support to individuals with special needs. We commend them for their remarkable contributions and once again extend our immense gratitude. for th...

Rita Dee has been helping individuals navigate their personal and professional challenges since joining The Choice Group as a counselor in 2015. One of her clients is Adele Lampley, who has been with her current employer in the food industry for seven years, thanks in part to the support and guidance she has received from Rita. Adele has taken on more responsibility throughout her employment. She started in utilities and quickly moved to making chips, preparing taco shells, keeping the dining area clean and sanitized, and even setting up catering. The employees at Adele’s place of employment loudly greet patrons when they enter, which is a perfect fit for her personality. She loves to welcome customers and never misses the opportunity to do so. As her counselor, Rita has helped Adele navigate the challenges of her job and gain practical tools and strategies to manage the demands of her job. One such example is when she campaigned for a user-friendly timer to ensure Adele could successf...

Rita Dee, one of The Choice Group counselors in Hampton Roads, has been working with her client, Heather, for more than five years. Throughout those years, Rita has had the pleasure of seeing Heather succeed in her role at the public library. Heather has been working with the public library for eight years now. During her time there, she has experienced a remarkable improvement in her confidence and comfort levels. Heather was recently honored with the 2022 Customer Service Award and received a promotion to Librarian Assistant 1. When determining what jobs would be a good fit for Heather, Rita focused on Heather’s interests. Even though Heather can be reserved at times, she has excellent customer service skills and truly loves books. In her role at the library, Heather takes care of general tasks, with Rita regularly checking in for encouragement and support. If you want to learn more about our programs, clients, and counselors, visit our  website.

  Rita Dee, a counselor on our Hampton Roads team, has seen first-hand how our Project SEARCH program sets our clients up for success. Sean Thomas-Rowe completed the program five years ago and, since Rita came on board as his counselor, she has seen how well Sean has done in his professional role.  In 2017, Sean accepted a position working with a non-profit that helps families build and improve potential places they can call home. He is in charge of updating the website and handling graphic design requests from his management team. Rita credits Sean’s positive impact at work to his interest in computers, his ability to master programs like Photoshop, and his background in website coding. Seans’ evaluations are always outstanding. His graphic designs have been used on multiple flyers, T-Shirts, and on the website. He has an extreme level of dedication, often double-checking work orders as a part of his routine and honing his graphic design skills in his spare time.   ...