Scarce programing for special needs leads to creative thinking!

For most having a child become an adult is an exciting time with the young adult venturing out into the world and thoughts of an empty nest for the parents.  When your child has special needs this can be a very challenging time, now what are they going to do?  We now have 3 in this category and it's difficult, the schools, clubs and activities they once attended no longer welcome them as a participant now that they are an "adult".  They don't have the prerequisites required for college, university or a job.  Their peers are venturing out, starting their adult life while they are at home wondering what has happened.  With the current state of funding being cut and not enough resources to go around we have needed to be creative and combine options to help fulfill our children's days and our requirements.  We have a rule in our family that you are up by 7:30am during the week and doing something productive that does not include video games, television or naps.

For 2 of our adults we were able to take advantage of the extremely well hidden information in the provicinal education program policy. (I really recommend reading the policies of any program your children are in and make sure you know your rights and options)

 To be eligible, Adult non-graduate students with special needs must be working towards goals set out in their Individual Education Plan (IEP) and:

• have been reported on the Form 1701 in the prior school year (i.e. they are continuing their K-12 education program uninterrupted from when they were still school age), and;
• be continuing their program at the same school (i.e. they are continuing their K-12 education program uninterrupted at the same school leading towards a B.C. Certificate of Graduation, the B.C. Adult Graduation Diploma or the School Completion Certificate Program from when they were still school age).

The public schools around here usually fight this policy but being a homeschool family this enables them to continue having a funded education support person (at home), therapies and programs.  The policy doesn't state a time limit and we are currently on year 2 with one adult and hope to continue as adult special needs funding is scarce for other programs.  In addition to school funding we were able to secure a position for one adult in a day program twice a week, another adult was able to gain funding for a support person for 12 hours per week and the third adult we are still working towards funded support.

We have decided to mix up their learning this year to reflect their desire to earn and income and continue learning the K-12 education.  With their support workers/education assistants we are working on income generating projects, for the last month part of the day includes craft making and attending various craft fairs.  With the help of Pinterest I have been able to come up with crafts that don't take a huge amount of skill or expense that have become profitable.  With the speed that our adults work and their limited abilities they will not be able to earn an imcome sufficient to live on however they are able to earn spending money and have a huge sense of accomplishment.  The adults are making projects, working out costs to produce items, figuring out mark up and determining a sale price.  They are also working on their social and sales skills while at various craft fairs/markets and also handling money and making change.  Bread making is another venture we are trying with the hope of selling to friends and family and in the spring we hope to add a gardening unit.

Do you have any business or employment ideas for the unskilled and in need of one on one support individuals?  What are your adult children doing during the day?

Meaningful Employment For People With Disabilities

Recently I attended a workshop called "Employment 101" this workshop discussed the importance of meaningful employment for people with disabilities.  Having a few children in this category that struggle finding and keeping employment I am looking for all the ideas that I can get.

First the Facts
52% of people with disabilities are unemployed while the Canadian unemployment rate is 7.6%

87% of people with intellectual disabilities are unemployed

56% of people with disabilities yearly income is less than $10,000 with women the hardest hit earning 50% receiving less than $5000 per year

People with disabilities can work, if they have the appropriate supports

Why employment is important to people with disabilities?
Work has a central role in most people's lives, offering rewards beyond that of an income.  Employment provides not only a monetary compensation but also social identity and status: social contacts and support; a means of structuring and occupying time; activity and involvement; and a sense of personal achievement.  Work is linked to social inclusion, and gives people with disabilities opportunities to participate in society as active citizens.  The barriers to work are linked to stigma, prejudice and discrimination.

One of my sons works with a landscape company and it has taken years finding the right balance for him.  If he works full time it is too much and everyone suffers from the crazies he presents when overwhelmed, however 2-3 days a week is great.  He puts in his time, comes home feeling he has achieved something, earns some cash and has stories to tell when others are talking about their work.  He recently had his work Christmas lunch and came home with a Christmas bonus, this part of his life feels normal to him....it's similar to his adult siblings and society.

What are the benefits to the employer hiring people with disabilities?
Employees with disabilities tend to be loyal, reliable and hardworking.  Studies show that people with disabilities have low absenteeism rates and long tenures.  Hiring people with disabilities adds to diversification in the work setting, something that leads to an overall positive work environment.

We have a close relationship with the person that employs our son so we get feedback on his work.  Over the years she has commented on our sons reliability and consistency, saying he might not work fast but he is extremely consistent.  She also never had to worry about whether or not he would show up on time and ready to work.

Questionable labour practices and special needs

Raising multiple children with FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) and other special needs, we have had on going challenges when it comes to employment.  Living in a small town our teens/young adults are often asked to do small jobs in the neighborhood.  This is both a blessing and a challenge, for example yesterday our 18 year old comes running home from walking the dog saying "some guy up the hill wants me to come work right now".  When asked who the "guy" was and what he would be doing our son had no clue.  If our son had good judgement and common sense we would let him go and determine if this job was something he was capable of doing, if he would be safe doing it and if it was a legal activity however this isn't a skill our son with FASD has.

Added to this issue we have a couple children that have an inflated vision of what they are capable of doing which also causes an issue when it comes to employment as they frequently feel they have the skills/experience necessary for a variety of jobs. For example one son was asked if he could use a chainsaw and cut down some trees - he thought this sounded fun however we felt it would end like a horror movie and needed too step in for everyone's safety.

We have also come across people preying on people with challenges, to get a task that should be done by a professional, as a way of getting something done extremely inexpensively.  Our children/young adults have been asked to do jobs in condemned buildings that weren't safe for entry, they have been asked to deal with rat infested buildings, climb high up into trees to limb them, etc.

As a family we have come up with a checklist for our children when considering a job and require a couple of our children to complete it and present it too us before taking on any odd jobs.  Our hopes are that these questions will eventually run through their heads when considering a job.  Who is hiring you? Contact phone number? Will that person be present when you are working/who will you be working with? What will you be doing? Do you have the skills for this job?  What safety gear and/or equipment is required?  Do you have the safety gear/equipment required? What day and time will you be working?

Our rules have caused some short term upset when we have said no to certain jobs especially if that is on a day when the child in question is low on cash.  I do feel that overall it has saved our children from some unsafe situations far more times than they have been upset.  Having used this system for multiple years I can say that our 25 year old son is now starting to think through these questions prior to taking on a job.

SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED

With 2 children with high special needs fast approaching adulthood we have been busy working on accessing adult services.  Finding adult services is similar to youth services in the fact that they all seem to be "top secret".  It baffles me that information about the various supports available are not readily accessible, you would think that the services for people with special needs would be easy for these individuals to find.  I totally understand that each service provider is trying to protect their budgets but really it should be easier.

When we are planning out activities for our young adults we need to consider the fact that they need a (competent) adult with them at all times.  Although these 2 function much lower than their chronological age they see their peers going to college, getting jobs, and becoming more independent and have visions of themselves doing these things also.  With these 2 challenges we have our work cut out for us as we try to come up with a plan that meets their needs and dreams.

We have applied on their behalf for a disability pension that they meet the requirements for and we are working on "community living" supports however this is just a fraction of what we envision for our young adults.  We want them to have activities to do each day, we do not want them sitting watching television or playing video games all day long.  The other thing is, as wonderful as special needs programs are we want our children to also participate in some activities with the general population.

Our first step is finding "work" this could be paid employment or a volunteer job or a few volunteer jobs.  One issue when looking for employment paid or volunteer is that our young adults fatigue quickly and may not be able to work full time, also it can be very draining for the employer working with them so a short day once a week may be more successful.  We also want to find something of interest that each young adult can feel a sense of accomplishment from.  This is where the work for us begins because it's not like working with our typical children that can go out and make a life for themselves.

Our daughter envisions herself being a famous singer or actress and she would also consider being a first aid instructor.  These dreams are beyond her current reach so its time for some brain storming.  We are looking at her current hobbies, interests and activities seeing what can be expanded into an "adult plan" as high school will be coming to an end.  She currently volunteers at "therapy" for a couple hours per week where she cleans the equipment and does a bit of office work.  Working/volunteering at a place that provides therapies for people with special needs works well because they are already used to dealing with the challenges she presents.  Numerous members of our family volunteer at St John Ambulance and this is why she thinks being an instructor is a good idea.  She is unable to do the activities the other members are doing but after some brain storming we found that they need a person to restock the first aid kits on an ongoing basis.  With us going in and photographing everything and making up a visual for her this helps her to be successful with the task.

Our son enjoys/needs physical labor but requires a lot of guidance so finding opportunities for him takes looking in a different direction.  A neighboring community has a small museum that a group of senior males volunteer at doing repairs and maintenance.  After us approaching them they have agreed to have our son work with them one morning a week.  A friend has a landscaping business that requires laborers and as full time would not work she has agreed to having him on call.  We have worked with her discussing what his challenges are and what makes him successful.  She knows he needs support preparing for work and doesn't have the skills for planning ahead so we work with her.  When she wants him to work she schedules that with us, we work with him ensuring he packs and wears appropriate clothing for the job, has his safety gear, brings a lunch with water and arrives on time.

Finding work/volunteer activities for our soon to be adults is a challenge and time consuming but having done this with another adult child we know the many benefits to the child.  This will be a great confidence builder for them and as their skills increase they may be able to do more and hopefully eventually support themselves.  Having our young adults out in the world also opens more doors for them as others see them being successful. Another benefit is that them going to "work" provides the competent adults to look after them so we as parents are not needing to be there 24/7. I look forward to your comments please let me know what opportunities you have found for your children and how you make it successful for them.

Stay tuned for more posts on adult supports/life for our young adults.


shared at http://www.lovethatmax.com/
http://www.hdydi.com
http://www.faithfulmomof9.com/
http://www.motherwifeme.com/allaboutyou-link-pin-party-week-14/
http://theadoptionsocial.com/weekly-adoption-shout-out/the-weekly-adoption-shout-out-waso-week-62/
http://www.growinghomeblog.com/growing-homemakers-link-141-2/
http://cornerstoneconfessions.com/2014/04/t2t-linkup-99.html

http://teachingwhatisgood.com/