Transition

[Guest guest]

Hey everyone and Happy New Year!

Bonnie, I¹m sorry about your experiences with Patty and your school

district. Patty is one of the kids who is kind of stuck in the middle. Her

hearing is ³pretty good² and her vision is ³pretty good², so people assume

she is ³getting along² ok. It¹s really the pits because the combination of

the two losses greatly impact a child¹s learning. Andy was diagnosed deaf

and blind when he was 7 days old. It was an awful diagnosis but the

positive result was that early intervention began immediately because of

those two words: deaf and blind.

Andy is 22 and life is better/easier than the early years, but still a

little scary when we think about his future! Sorry to have to say that.

When Andy was born it changed our lives. Like Bonnie (and most everyone

else) we put our lives on hold for our kids, especially Andy. We went to

" Holland " (the story my Dutch friend resents!) but we're now moving closer

to the border of Germany and Belgium.......getting a little closer to Italy

every day! We may never stay too long in Italy, maybe just day trips, but

it's not as important as it once seemed.

For those of you who have kids 14 and above, take advantage of the federal

special education law, IDEA, which requires school districts to begin

addressing transition at age 14. It seemed way too early when Andy was that

age......but believe me, IT WASN¹T!!!!! It¹s never too early! There is a

lot to do to prepare our kids (and us) for life beyond school. A good way

to begin the transition process is to request a Personal Futures Plan,

Person Centered Plan, PATH, (lots of different names for a similar process)

etc. for your child. This will help all the stakeholders (education,

social services, rehab, medical, family, friends) involved and begin

thinking about your child¹s future. It will help to get everyone on the

same playing field and thinking about the same goals. With our kids being

so complicated, it can also be a great learning experience for the variety

of people who work with our kids. An critical part of futures planning is

the follow-up. Make sure someone is responsible for follow-up at the

meeting and put timelines on it or the whole process is a waste of time.

When Andy was in high school, we learned our district spent $62,000

annually ...a typical kid cost ~$6,000. That paid for his education outside

our school district, services of a 1:1 Interpreter/Intervener, Orientation

and Mobility Specialist, Vision Teacher and his transportation. Kids can

remain in the educational system until age 21-22 (except in MI, til¹ 25

years) so take advantage of all the possible services offered until that

age. Take advantage of these services offered by law, you won¹t get them

after they graduate. Don¹t let school districts ³guilt² you about the

costs....they receive reimbursements from the federal government for a large

portion of the costs.

Thanks to some preparation, Andy is living at home and working a 40 hour a

week in an office. DON¹T rely on the rehab agencies to find jobs.....every

job Andy has had was found without help from the ³system². He has worked a

2 week stint as a jr. counselor at a day camp for elementary-age kids who

are deaf, dishwasher at a bakery for 2 years, and potters assistant {bull in

a china shop:-)}. We worry about the day his current job says " good-bye "

because the hassle of communication becomes too difficult....or the social

aspects of CHARGE pop up. I know legally, that can't happen, but there are

other means of getting rid of an employee.

Andy recently told me(signed to me): ³CHARGE really sucks!² Yea, it does,

but what a great kid I got out of the deal:-)

Sally (Bill-home from London for the holidays, Andy-22 and Liz-16)