Parenting does not end when the severely LD child graduates from school but continues as he struggles for independent livingI. If the young adult does not meet the criteria for developmental disabilities or mental illness, the role of the parent is more important than ever because eventually there are no more programs - just family. I do not know of any networking among families of adults with learning disabilities, and I would be interested if any exist in the southeast. I’m not interested in a support group that talks about the problem but rather parents who are interested in working together to solve some problems such as finding roommates, offering financial supervision, perhaps applying for grants for an on-sight mentor for several individuals in 2-3 apartments. How do I go about persuing this idea? Also, I have heard that in NY Developmental Disabilities money can flow to LD individuals for services…is that true?
Re: did you try the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation?
[quote=”patti”]That would be a good place to start because he needs to find a way to support himself and they fund programs for rehabilitation so people can be employable.[/quote]
Hi Patti,
Not to be negative but it has been my experience that most people with LD have not found the state voc rehab programs very helpful. Heck, even people with other disabilities have complained bitterly about voc rehab.
I hate to complain and not provide an answer but unfortunately, that’s what the deal is as Susie said in her 1st post. But as a person with LD, let me state what I think the issues are and why the solutions continue to be elusive.
In my opinion, LD is still too often grouped with MR.
As a result, we end up dealing with counselors who don’t think we are very capable. It has been our experience that the only jobs that counselors seem to be able to find for us are clerical in nature such as filing clerks. Think of how you would feel, with all your training, if you sought assistance, and was offered that type of position. But for some reason, it is perfectly acceptable to do that with folks like us.
What needs to happen is that people with LD must be treated as a separate group from folks with MR. Then what needs to happen is that people have got to stop doing the same old, same old.
For example, the only job hunting method these folks seem to know is to respond to advertisements. Well, for folks who don’t have LD, they have less than a 10% chance of obtaining employment. So it stands to reason, that our chances would be even less..
Also, what needs to change is the rating system of the effectiveness of these counselors. Instead of judging them on their placement rate, they should be judged on how long a person stays in a job and whether there are advancement opportunities. But because they are evaluated on how many cases they close, their only interest is in shoving us into jobs that may not be suitable for us.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent like this. I know there are voc rehab counselors who care about doing a good job for their clients. But they seem to be in the minority.
PT
Re: parenting the young adult with LD
Hey, a lot of them care and care deeply — but as you said, they really don’t see the difference between LD and MR. Worse yet, often the “entry level” jobs that are automatically looked for are exactly the jobs with specific demands on social or physical skills that the person with the LD struggles with.
‘Round here they do it at least a little bit better, so the worker who can type 80 wpm and do specific office tasks extremely well, but is autistic and doesn’t have “telephone skills” isn’t placed-to-fail in that receptionist’s office. However, I don’t know if they do any better with folks who don’t fit their slightly bigger set of round & square peg holes; they do great if you can put stuff in boxes for Kraft, but I know soem of the folks *could* do jobs that are a lot more challenging. I think it’s sort of like “right to an appropriate education” — they don’t feel an obligation to get you to your potential, but just to get you off the ground.
But, ‘round here, it’s the adults with actively involved parents who really know and understand their kids’ strengths so they can advocate for them, and their challenges so they can make sure they’re not set up for failure, who have a much, much better chance of getting into a successful niche.
The rehab connection could be a place to connect with those parents. One of those well-meaning folks might just be willing to provide a place and the logistics for a “caregiver support group.” Once you meet each other, you can do your own thing :-)
They have apartments for folks with some support & job coaching, etc. here.
That would be a good place to start because he needs to find a way to support himself and they fund programs for rehabilitation so people can be employable.