Will my kids be able to function independently when I'm gone? Another wonderful question parents of a special needs kid faces. I'm not anticipating leaving the Earth any time soon, but this question needs answers.
As parents, we can have all the legal and financial documents in place, but those papers don't address the real concern of what
will happen to our kids. HOW will they live? What are their actual abilities? Even more important, how confident are they?
This summer I am focusing on educating our
autistic teens on real life skills and issues. Everything from junk
mail and scams to emergency situations. My goal is to get them
functioning independently NOW. Not when they're older. Not when I'm
physically or mentally gone (ok that occasionally happens already).
There are the obvious life lessons of budgeting, shopping, cooking, cleaning, housing, schooling, etc. There's also the medical and government agencies that requires mountains of paperwork. Details. Follow through. There are many steps in each of these issues.
For example, transportation--can my boys drive? My parents have volunteered to help in this endeavor. Getting a driver's permit, let alone license, is paramount to independence. We're not sure the boys can handle driving, but we need to find out. If they can't, then getting them familiar with public transit will be the next step. Finding support systems and training is vital, and they do exist.
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