Adult services start - finally! It's scary for mom!!! Things I did to make it better for him (and me hopefully).

The first Weekday Mixer was a great success! We had 100 blogs linked up and numerous social media link-ups! We hope that you all had the opportunity to mix and mingle and make some awesome new buddies!

 

 Welcome the 2nd week of The Weekday Mixer Social Media Link-Up! As you know, it is a brand new social media link-up for all to join! This mixer is all about networking and making connections. Also, you can gain exposure and increase your social media following! Link up your social media accounts and mix it up with some of the other linkers.

Each week, the Weekday Mixer will start on Sunday nights at 8:00pm and go on until Friday night at 11:59pm. One linker will be chosen each week and featured in the following week's link-up! If chosen, you can provide a brief summary about yourself and your blog/website and all of your social media accounts will be listed. It's a great way to stand out among the crowd!

Now meet this week's featured blogger...

My name is Pamela and I blog over at Macdonald's Playland. My goal is to inspire and help (even in some little way) fellow women, wives, and mommies going through their own journey...all while documenting my own. In this blog I share my creative outlets and a smorgasbord of other topics I enjoy as I adventure through wifehood and motherhood. In my blog you'll find posts on recipes (I'm always rumbly in the tumbly!), fitness (or lack thereof), thoughts on marriage (TMI much?), and lessons
in mothering/parenting (usually it's my child teaching me things!). I also share a lot of crafts/DIY, home decor, party planning, etc. Additionally, I document family adventures, life lessons, my faith, every day randomness, and other Macdonald household shenanigans!

Check out some of my posts: 

• My DIY Blog Planner
• Tour my all-white master bedroom (yes, all white..even with a toddler. I laugh in the face of danger)
• Tour my dining room
• Check out the Teddy Bear Picnic Party I threw for my daughter's 1st bday
• Pregnancy updates (we are expecting our 2nd baby...a boy this time!) :)
• How my family and I announced my 2nd pregnancy through a fun stop-motion video
• See how gullible my husband is and how I told him I was pregnant (hint: I'm slick, it was at Disneyland, and I also caught it on video)
• Tour my computer desk space & a DIY milk bottle craft (to make a vase and pen holder)
• See more of the crafts & DIY projects I make such as felt food for my child, busy bags, portable felt boards, etc.
• Add recipes to your recipe book while following along in my attempts at cooking yummy things (like Snicker-Filled Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes!)

Thank you so much to the beautiful and sweet Natasha for choosing to feature my blog this week! I am so happy to be here and look forward to meeting you all! I love meeting fellow bloggers and getting to know my readers! Please come visit my playland , say hi, and enjoy your stay.... even if it doesn't
have much to do with cheeseburgers or a clown (clowns are scary anyway.)

... Macdonald's Playland ...| follow my blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | shop |

 

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Will finally started his adult service program. I love the place! It has been around for a long time and has a great reputation. They spend a lot of time and effort on employment opportunities for the adult with disabilities. During our meetings, everyone was forthcoming with information, asking tons of questions about Will and what he likes, what he can do, what has he done, skills he has, etc., as well as personal hygiene issues,

communication, chores. They covered many topics.


Now he begins his journey. The facility is very different from school -- open, busy, noisy -- with lots of new faces. His first day went relatively well. He is part of the RIde program which we normally see as small buses. This is used for older people who cannot drive and disabled adults. Well, I find out they also use taxis when there is no bus available. The first day, I was going to ride with him, so we took the taxi they sent. He was not quite sure what to make of it. I let him take his radio with a larger headset for the ride. When we got to our destination, I took the headphones back (they were too big for his backpack, with everything else that was in there). He was allowed to keep the radio and they would let him use an headset there.


Problem came when he was leaving. Not only did he see many people leaving before him, but they took their headset back. So the taxi driver told me the ride home was not exactly smooth!! I explained this was his first day and the driver was fine. I wasn't so sure about this taxi thing -- I guess I have watched too many Law & Order, CSI, Criminal Minds, and my mind goes thru what if ... What if they make other stops and he tries to get off, what if the driver tries something (Will doesn't speak and is pretty easy), what if someone tries to take something out of his bag, what if they take him to the wrong stop and tell him to get out??


The next day, I take him. I see many taxis when we get there and talk to people. Taxis have been driving their clients for years and there have been no issues. OK..... He has a great day!!! I had purchased earbuds (we had none that worked at home the day before) and let him use those. He did just fine. Again he got anxious seeing other people leave and not him, he had to wait. But the ride home was fine, he even had a young lady in the taxi riding home with him!!!


So 3 areas that popped up that gave us or me problems: the first was the radio, easy - earbuds. The second issue was departing the facility. So I took to his iPad and the 'calender'. I set up the Monday - Friday time period that he is going to be there. So if he gives them a problem, they can point to his schedule: you are here 8:30 - 2:30. I set the next hour for 'wait for ride' since sometimes there may be a delay in pick-up. They can also add to it if he gets anxious about lunch or break or whatever. We also set up an agreement that they can write to me in the 'notes', to let me know how he does. Third is a mommy issue, the trip by himself. I know he is 21 but still s little boy in my eyes. Maybe I would feel better if he spoke. There have been no issues that I know of with people going to centers such as these via outside transportation companies. The local school busses have had more problems!! He seems excited when I told him he could take the ride himself in the morning, so I hope (with his radio working), he'll sit and enjoy the scenery! Lastly - I will try NOT to call the center to make sure he got there OK!!! Which face do I wear today????

A Checklist For Transitioning Parents - What I information I am passing on to other parents.

What? Me? A guest speaker? Will's teacher asked me to speak to other 'transitioning' parents this week at a school meeting, to offer my experiences and tips. As I told her, I hope I can live up to her expectations. This sent me looking through all the paperwork I have accumulated from transition seminars and workshops,

tips from school and information I just searched for, as well as looking over the applications I have already filed. So here is a list I would like to share to others who may be starting their 'adventure' down transition lane or to remind other families in the middle of it that the process can seem like it takes an eternity, can be confusing, can be frustrating (yes - you do have to deal with government agencies) but it is worth it.

Checklist: 1) file for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - they can start receiving at age 18; 2) check in with the Office of Rehabilitative Services (ORS) which I did about 1 year before leaving and Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabiities & Hospitals (BHDDH) - I started doing this about 10 months before he turns 21; 3) apply for guardianship - this we did at age 18, and healthcare like Medicare or Medicaid - we are doing this now (probably a little later than we should have) with his caseworker; 4) check with your teachers about a vocational assessment being done; 5) get the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) done - this we did in the late spring of this year. We did this early since someone told me it is a good idea to have his letter of funding with me when we went to visit agencies so they could see what help he is getting and how they can fit. After all these are done, you should be close to your child getting out of school at 21 years of age. Now you start looking at a variety of adult services whether they are day services or residential. Take your child with you so you can ask him/her, if they are verbal, what they like or do not like. If they are like Will, non-verbal, just watch for reactions like if they stop to look at things or seem extra interested in some activity or room; or do they just want to move on and get back to the car. Right now our state is redesigning their work programs so many agencies are not taking names. I was told by some agency directors that it is a good thing I am looking what is considered 'early' at programs because I still have a shot at getting in before more places stop accepting people or can get Will's name in so he can hopefully start fairly quickly after leaving school - there may not be a long span of time staying home and getting 'real comfy'.
We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Will's name is in 2 agencies with people looking over his 'application' - hopefully he will split his time, one for work & one for community time. Besides talking to your child's teachers, go to any and all informational seminars and workshops. They do provide a wealth of information - both written (tons of brochures and booklets) and verbal (lots of agency representitives and don't forget the other parents). Some of these agencies can help you manage your way through all of this as well. I have several other posts regarding our experiences on my other blog so please feel free to check it out: A Lifetime of Special Needs