March 19, 2015 4:05 pm

One of the most overwhelming concerns for a parent of a child with special needs is wondering is that child will ever be able to live independently. After all, when a parent plans to have a child, the parent plans to care for the child until adulthood and then help, when needed, until the amount of help tapers off and the child is independent. When a child has significant special needs or challenges, these expectations change dramatically. Parents, grandparents, and siblings wonder if a person will ever be able to live independently, and, if so, what modifications, if any, they will need to support that independence. If not able to live independently, what level of supervision and support does the person need to thrive? The answers to those questions are critical and impact the lives of everyone in the family. The reality is that most children will survive their parents, and oftentimes may even survive their siblings, so that it is important for families to have a care plan established for adults with special needs prior to the death or serious illness of their caregivers.

Mt. Bethel Village is currently offering a very limited transitional living program that is aimed at helping families transition their adult family members from their family homes to independent living situations. While this transitional program will review the basic life skills most students are taught during special education programs http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Life_Skills_Mastery/, it will go beyond those skills to focus on other skills necessary for true independent living. For example, during these programs, adults will be taught how to maintain an apartment, prepare meals, do their laundry, set tables, clean up after themselves, and socialize away from the family home. They are also taught to advocate for themselves, which can be important, as many people with special needs come from families who have always advocated for them, and need to be able to learn how to do that for themselves.

Combined with the emphasis that Mt. Bethel places on lifelong skills that residents can use for success in both volunteer and job force positions, learning how to maintain an apartment and speak up for themselves can prepare residents to live on their own, not only in a special needs community, but potentially in a completely independent living scenario, like an apartment that is located close to a workplace or within walking distance of shopping places. The ultimate goal of the transitional program is to help those adults for whom independence is within reach attain that goal, while also helping families construct support networks that can enable that independence.

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