Last night's show!

[Guest guest]

OK, some of you with younger children might not be comfortable with

this, but Jan is in a day program. It isn't my view of what a 33 year

old would like, but she loves it. She is living independently in her

apartment with a few hours a week of independent living support and

going to her day activities on " outreach " which is our elder and

handicapped transportations system.

Jan gets up early and is ready on her own (without supervision) when her

ride comes. She relates well to both other clients and to the staff.

There is work as it is available and a few dollars twice a month for

taking part in that. There are classes when there isn't work and a

whole lot of people who appreciate Jan as a person.

Last night was the annual show (the fourth) in which a dozen plus

individuals with handicaps (some really serious) stood up in front of an

audience and did a performance that they had chosen and learned to do.

Mostly each had a song that they loved and they sang it (as well as they

could) and had some mobility and audience interaction. It was taught by

a woman who teaches at the local community college and who puts a lot of

attention to this particular set of people. Jan wanted to do

's Thriller and it was probably the hit of the show (unless your

kid did something else). They had managed to put together a

sort-of-wolf for her added some theatricals to support it.

One of her friends wanted her tail .. Jan sold it to him for $5 after

the performance. He also wanted her phone number, but neither Jan nor

her parents could remember it.

I was impressed with how much many of these kids had let loose on a

locked in personality and taken part. There were two numbers done by

the sign language class. I liked Yellow Submarine the best.

Jan's home this weekend .. the first in a while. We're glad to see her

and are working hard on weight, which blew up in the past two weeks.

She had a long bicycle ride with friends (our age, but parents of the

kids she was raised with) and I'm in charge of meals. We will make

progress, but the next steps are up to her becaus she will be back on

her own next week.

In her place, much of her cooking is low calorie frozen entrees with

some beg supplements, but there has been too much junk food on top. We

continue to work on what will take a long time to teach, but I only have

to go to the supermarket and look at people to realize that she isn't

the only one who had weight issues.

The latest bumps in the road are relatively small. She lost her

wallet. Most of the cards in it were copies. In the new wallet, they

all will be .. after we get the few lost cards replaced. She lost her

keys .. but that got fixed by her ILS counsellor with some inputs from me.

There is life after all the trauma of gettingyour kids educated. They

continue to be a delight as adults!

Rick .. dad to Jan .. ds .. also post AML and a bunch of other medical

challenges

[Guest guest]

Rick,

I think that is wonderful.... yes my little girl is only 6 but who knows where

she will end up with in wants, desires, and abilities.... and I can say the very

same thing about my 15 year typical teenage son...

success comes down to is she happy and fairly independant? are you happy and

fairly satisfied with that independance?

to me it sounds like the answer is yes... the independance that Jan has is my

ultimate goal for ... I also hope that she enjoys reading and other

academic pursuits... I hope she does some kind of work.... whether it is in a

job at McD's, a grocery store, or a day program like Jan is attending is not as

important to me in the long run as to whether is happy at it......

It comes down to the fact that you and Jan are some of my role models in this

journey I am on...... Thanks for being here

Last night's show!

OK, some of you with younger children might not be comfortable with

this, but Jan is in a day program. It isn't my view of what a 33 year

old would like, but she loves it. She is living independently in her

apartment with a few hours a week of independent living support and

going to her day activities on " outreach " which is our elder and

handicapped transportations system.

Jan gets up early and is ready on her own (without supervision) when her

ride comes. She relates well to both other clients and to the staff.

There is work as it is available and a few dollars twice a month for

taking part in that. There are classes when there isn't work and a

whole lot of people who appreciate Jan as a person.

Last night was the annual show (the fourth) in which a dozen plus

individuals with handicaps (some really serious) stood up in front of an

audience and did a performance that they had chosen and learned to do.

Mostly each had a song that they loved and they sang it (as well as they

could) and had some mobility and audience interaction. It was taught by

a woman who teaches at the local community college and who puts a lot of

attention to this particular set of people. Jan wanted to do

's Thriller and it was probably the hit of the show (unless your

kid did something else). They had managed to put together a

sort-of-wolf for her added some theatricals to support it.

One of her friends wanted her tail .. Jan sold it to him for $5 after

the performance. He also wanted her phone number, but neither Jan nor

her parents could remember it.

I was impressed with how much many of these kids had let loose on a

locked in personality and taken part. There were two numbers done by

the sign language class. I liked Yellow Submarine the best.

Jan's home this weekend .. the first in a while. We're glad to see her

and are working hard on weight, which blew up in the past two weeks.

She had a long bicycle ride with friends (our age, but parents of the

kids she was raised with) and I'm in charge of meals. We will make

progress, but the next steps are up to her becaus she will be back on

her own next week.

In her place, much of her cooking is low calorie frozen entrees with

some beg supplements, but there has been too much junk food on top. We

continue to work on what will take a long time to teach, but I only have

to go to the supermarket and look at people to realize that she isn't

the only one who had weight issues.

The latest bumps in the road are relatively small. She lost her

wallet. Most of the cards in it were copies. In the new wallet, they

all will be .. after we get the few lost cards replaced. She lost her

keys .. but that got fixed by her ILS counsellor with some inputs from me.

There is life after all the trauma of gettingyour kids educated. They

continue to be a delight as adults!

Rick .. dad to Jan .. ds .. also post AML and a bunch of other medical

challenges