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Excerpt:
The
excerpt comes from pages 1-3 of Becoming
Remarkably Able …
Introduction
Sitting in a bookstore cafe on a rainy
afternoon, I read a quote by Theodore
Roethke, "I learn by going where
I have to go." That phrase describes
the direction I chose to take 25 years
ago. That "path" led me to solutions
to help my son Trent eventually live an
adult life with meaning and purpose.
Trent
was diagnosed with autism at the age of
3. After asking many questions and searching
for answers, I decided to move ahead with
the conviction that he would reach a full,
happy, and independent life as an adult,
despite having autism. There isn't anything
in the Walking the Path model in this
book that I haven't questioned, tested,
retested, studied, tried professionally
and, equally important, initiated personally
with my son. The book is grounded in (a)
quality-of-life research on people with
disabilities within the past 23 years,
(b) tools and strategies I learned through
trial and error and approaches other students
and families have used, and (c) findings
from my own research of 15 young adults
with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD),
who achieved independent living, employment,
and enjoyment and acceptance in activities
with people with whom they feel safe and
accepted.
Walking
the Path (WP) is a practical model for
youth with ASD and developmentally disabilities
(DD) who are in transition from adolescence
to adulthood. It is a creative, action-oriented
process to discover a student's strengths
and gifts. With supports, it will lead
the student to employment, leisure, and
greater community independence.
Perhaps
you are a parent, advocate, or professional:
-
concerned about the quality of a student's
adolescent or adult years?
-
seeking help to build a more meaningful
life for a son/daughter?
-
wanting to know how the young adult
can enter integrative community settings
and have opportunities to continue grow
personally?
-
desiring to learn what steps to take
so the young adult can access employment,
attend college, participate in leisure/hobby,
or have more independence?
-
curious about the future because you
have a child or work with children diagnosed
with autism or other severe disabilities?
If
you are facing any of these issues or
concerns, the WP will be helpful to you.
The information presented here is based
upon the following premises:
1.
Each adolescent or young adult is special
and can develop to his or her fullest
potential.
2.
Individuals with diverse levels of severity
can benefit from the ideas and activities
presented here to become more capable
in all areas of living. Labels such as
"high functioning" and "low
functioning" are not the criteria
to determine if the model is applicable.
WP can help guide all individuals regardless
of the disability severity. Labels serve
no purpose here.
3.
Every student or young adult has a viable
gift, strength, and/or interest that may
only need uncovering to blossom.
4.
Supports or accommodations are necessary
in order for a person to explore and identify
strengths that will open different community
settings.
5.
We never stop learning and growing. Therefore,
making progress in skill development and
personal growth in adulthood is a not
a myth, but a reality. Indeed, growth
continues into adulthood.
6.
"Independent living" refers
to persons with a disability living at
their highest capability level regardless
of the "supports" that assist
them in participating in everyday activities,
such as having a job or living in an apartment
or house. A person who reaches "independent
living" may do so with few supports.
Yet, a person can also live "independently"
with all kinds of supports. Thus, "independent
living" means never going it alone.
Youth
see in themselves what we see in them.
Each has the most basic right to enjoy
continued growth, find happiness, and
contribute something positive to the world.
We are all essentially "advocates,"
to include the person with ASD or DD,
family members, professionals, and the
community. As all of us create a larger
vision of a student's capabilities, the
greater will
be his willingness to act upon personal
strengths and gifts that we acknowledge
and support. In other words, a student
with a disability will see how capable
he can become through our eyes. My highest
vision is that any person with any disability
can deeply feel or say, "I belong;
I matter; I am accepted."
Currently,
there are few positive examples of people
with severe disabilities living with purpose
and independence in the community. In
the midst of critical resource shortages,
families with youth who have more involved
disabilities are desperate for options.
Information and governmental support programs
that provide knowledge and the "how
to" of establishing community living
are often nonexistent. Many families see
no other choice but to keep a young adult
at home, in a day program, or in a sheltered
workshop.
Disability
list serves on the Internet make daily
announcements of parental family struggles,
crises, and tragic outcomes for children
and adults who are either without resources
and services or living isolated. But there
is good news. Parents and professionals
are rallying together to demand and work
toward community outcomes for youth other
than the current options. Many parents
are unwilling to accept isolation and/or
day programs that limit the young adult's
growth or fail to promote independence
and well-being.
The
WP Process
Walking the Path provides a process that
includes all stakeholders in creating
options that promote personal growth in
youth and greater community participation.
The process is multifaceted and multidimensional.
It is not linear. You will not find a
consecutive, step-by-step approach. That
is not possible with any creative process.
You start with a blank slate and then
you guide the adolescent/young adult into
the exploratory process. You do not necessarily
know what you will learn or discover.
Surprising outcomes have occurred during
this exploration, such as being referred
to someone who will teach a particular
skill, being offered a paid job with the
support to learn tasks, joining an exercise
club where a volunteer retired military
officer will coach the young adult in
developing strength and using the machines,
or an upper-level college student guiding
and supporting a freshman in her first
semester of college.
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