Guest guest Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 From what I have seen at the different day habs that I visited the personel need to be trained in dealing with autism and how to teach them. They need help in all areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 said: " If someone wants to help the adults and provide services? What > services and areas of help is needed in the adult field? " If someone wants to help the adults and provide services? What services and areas of help is needed in the adult field? I think part of it is something that will replace school services… something to DO. Most people, when they graduate from high school, either go to college or get a job. Our adults usually do neither. So we need some sort of service to fill the gap. Something supportive that either provides support for some sort of post-secondary education (vocational school or program, independent living skill program, etc.) OR they need to get a job. Unfortunately, most of our individuals don't have the skills for that, either, because they were not taught those skills in school because Texas does a LOUSY job overall on transition and transition planning (they get cited on this by the Feds at every monitoring visit!) DARS (formerly TRC) will only provide job coaching, etc. for a very limited amount of time (about 6 weeks is what I hear). Therefore, if the individual with autism hasn't mastered his job in 6 weeks, they are out of luck. There is no continuous job coaching available. I have found TRANSPORTATION to be a significant issue, depending on where you live. If you have a child who will not be learning to drive, even if they want to or are able to pursue post secondary education or get a job, they have to be able to access transportation to get there. Even though I live in a metro area, there is NO public transportation here. So, if I work, then my daughter can't go to school or to work because she has no way to get there. Appropriate recreational opportunities is another area of concern. It's not like most of our family members are going to go out to a bar and meet friends after work. Most of them don't have any friends because they have no social skills. So teaching and learning social skills (as well as behavior management) continue to be an issue all throughout their lives…yet it doesn't get addressed, either. Then there are independent living skills. I want my children to learn to do things for themselves. At 18, I still struggle with getting my daughter to do even the most simple chores at home. If she can't do these, then how can she possibly live on her own or be self- sufficient? These weren't taught at school (even though they were in her IEP repeatedly), so she still needs to learn them. But she won't work with me very well…I really need someone besides me to work with her. But there aren't very many places that will teach these skills. If you can find a habilitator who understands and knows how to work with autism, you are really lucky. My experience with CLASS is that they have no one trained to do anything with or for people with autism. You have to find your own people and train them yourself. Other issues include hygiene, medication management (knowing why one takes medicine, what it is for, when to take it, how to refill it, etc.), handling medical care issues (if parents are not guardians), how to handle financial matters, etc. They still need to learn all these skills OR if they have learned them, they need an environment to practice them in. Otherwise, its all up to the parents when high school ends. Those are just a few of the things adults with autism need. Pretty much all the same things that they have always needed…but there is no longer " school " to send them to in an attempt to get someone to teach them these things. Sorry this was so lengthy! nna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 said: " nna--you should post the link > to your on-line autism 101 again so that parents can ask that the people in > the agencies they're dealing with to ask least have THAT training. " - That link is http://www.mhatc.org/education.htm The course even comes with CEU's for professionals who need them...an extra incentive to take the course. It is just a pretty basic autism 101 course, but it is a start. It is very difficult to work with people you know nothing about and do an even mediocre job! nna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 I've been doing community service work with my son. He LOVES it. We go once a week to a place that feeds the homeless and has a food pantry and a clothing distribution center. We make sandwhiches, hand out lunches, and hang out with the other volunteers. He knows he's being useful and helping others, and there's LOTS of teachable moments for self management, hygiene, social skills, skill acquisition etc. AND we're doing a useful service for the community. I don't see why this couldn't be a possibility for adult programs. Some kind of overlap with food pantries or other volunteer efforts. Just a thought. Re: Adult Service ? said: " If someone wants to help the adults and provide services? What > services and areas of help is needed in the adult field? " If someone wants to help the adults and provide services? What services and areas of help is needed in the adult field? I think part of it is something that will replace school services… something to DO. Most people, when they graduate from high school, either go to college or get a job. Our adults usually do neither. So we need some sort of service to fill the gap. Something supportive that either provides support for some sort of post-secondary education (vocational school or program, independent living skill program, etc.) OR they need to get a job. Unfortunately, most of our individuals don't have the skills for that, either, because they were not taught those skills in school because Texas does a LOUSY job overall on transition and transition planning (they get cited on this by the Feds at every monitoring visit!) DARS (formerly TRC) will only provide job coaching, etc. for a very limited amount of time (about 6 weeks is what I hear). Therefore, if the individual with autism hasn't mastered his job in 6 weeks, they are out of luck. There is no continuous job coaching available. I have found TRANSPORTATION to be a significant issue, depending on where you live. If you have a child who will not be learning to drive, even if they want to or are able to pursue post secondary education or get a job, they have to be able to access transportation to get there. Even though I live in a metro area, there is NO public transportation here. So, if I work, then my daughter can't go to school or to work because she has no way to get there. Appropriate recreational opportunities is another area of concern. It's not like most of our family members are going to go out to a bar and meet friends after work. Most of them don't have any friends because they have no social skills. So teaching and learning social skills (as well as behavior management) continue to be an issue all throughout their lives…yet it doesn't get addressed, either. Then there are independent living skills. I want my children to learn to do things for themselves. At 18, I still struggle with getting my daughter to do even the most simple chores at home. If she can't do these, then how can she possibly live on her own or be self- sufficient? These weren't taught at school (even though they were in her IEP repeatedly), so she still needs to learn them. But she won't work with me very well…I really need someone besides me to work with her. But there aren't very many places that will teach these skills. If you can find a habilitator who understands and knows how to work with autism, you are really lucky. My experience with CLASS is that they have no one trained to do anything with or for people with autism. You have to find your own people and train them yourself. Other issues include hygiene, medication management (knowing why one takes medicine, what it is for, when to take it, how to refill it, etc.), handling medical care issues (if parents are not guardians), how to handle financial matters, etc. They still need to learn all these skills OR if they have learned them, they need an environment to practice them in. Otherwise, its all up to the parents when high school ends. Those are just a few of the things adults with autism need. Pretty much all the same things that they have always needed…but there is no longer " school " to send them to in an attempt to get someone to teach them these things. Sorry this was so lengthy! nna Texas Autism Advocacy www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org Texas Disability Network Calendar of Events www.TexasAutismAdvocacy.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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