Being a parent of a child with a disability can be very difficult. One thing the makes sense is that if your child is in grade 1 next year the plan is to get the child to grade 2. You have teachers and school administrator looking after your children during the day while you go to work. However what happens in high school? You child graduates and now what? The whole world that is supposed to open up for kids doesn’t seem so open for you.
With my brother I am ashamed to say we did not have a plan leading up to his graduation. The following year he stayed at home, nothing to show for it. I then went off to university and I didn’t look back until much later. Honestly I wish I could go back and redo those years and be a more proactive brother. If I could go back I would tell my younger self…..
Get a Game Plan:
Like to old saying goes “if you fail to plan you plan to fail”. So how do you make a plan? Well lets start with how old is your child. Honestly the earlier you start the better. For the really young kids (elementary/ middle school) I would recommend keeping the plans looking at no longer than 1 year into the future. There are just too many moving parts and your probably won’t be able to assess exactly how your child’s disability will affect them in future years. Get as much information as you can from teachers, guidance counselors, doctors and other families that are going through similar situations. Reach out on social media, public events and peer support groups. It will help create more realistic bench marks than just following “what all the other kids are doing”. Most importantly include the child. It is their future and by helping them choose their goals it will make achieving them so much easier.
Now for older kids (high school) we should start with more long term planning, again the earlier the better. Now I know what your thinking, this genius says we need a plan for my teenager who is going to graduate from high school, get this man a Nobel prize for stating the obvious. How do I make this life plan!? As with everyone the plan depends entirely on who it is for, so lets start by asking questions:
- What type of work does my child want?
- What type of education does my child need to obtain that job?
- How does the disability impact the type of work?
- How much supervision does my child need?
- What type of housing can we afford?
- What services are required to support my child’s ability to live independently?
Also check this link for a ton more questions: https://connectability.ca/Garage/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/STEPS-To-Independence.pdf
Reviewing Resources and other Service Providers:
Once you got a plan in place of what you want, now we need to figure out how to get it. While in school your child may be getting resources from either school, government or other organizations. Typically these resources only cover your child while they are below the age of 18 years old. It is important that you approach other service providers before they are needed so that your child can switch over to them without delay.
Legal:
Another aspect to be prepare for is power of attorney. If you live in Canada the legal age of adulthood is 18 years old. At that point it is assumed that most people can make there own legal decisions. However for some individuals with disability it is not possible. Thus a someone should be appointed to have power of attorney. This is something that needs to be discussed with parents, child with a disability and their doctor. This is something that we will be going into more depth with a future article.
Challenge Time:
Now its time for you guys to jump in. Post in the comments section below what is your game plan and any resources you find to help reach your goal.