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Legal Adults

When Your Child with Special Needs Turns 18

By Sue Marquette Poremba

"It's a good idea to engage community organizations while the child is still a student," says Amy James, head of Six Things, Inc., a consulting business that advises media clients and school districts on how to comply with state and national education standards, and author of School Success for Students with Special Needs (Wiley, June 2007). This gives parents and the child with special needs the opportunity to learn what resources accommodations, jobs, general support systems, for instance will likely play a role in the special-needs adult's life. "If the child wants to and is able to join the military, then representatives from the military should be involved in the transition plan," James says.

The plan looks at what the child would like to do after graduation. Is he able to extend his education past high school? If so, the team will look at what courses the child will need, as well as updating the IEP. What sort of job training should the child have? Those types of classes will also be addressed for inclusion in the child's academic schedule.

If the child with special needs is able and willing to hold a job, Blacher recommends the child begins working while still in school. "If they work in high school they are more likely to work after high school," she says.

When the child with special needs is 17, Eppy recommends that parents consult with a lawyer to discuss legal guardianship and setting up a trust. Even if the child is high-functioning and can live independent from the parents, setting up legal guardianship can provide an extra level of protection. "A lot of individuals with disabilities are 'yes' people," says Eppy, who specializes in working with clients with special needs. "They will do whatever they are asked." Unfortunately, unscrupulous people take advantage of this good-heartedness, and the adult with special needs ends up in trouble. If legal guardianship is set up, the adult with special needs cannot sign any legal documents, like a loan, without the guardian's approval.

Parents are nearly always the choice for legal guardianship; however, parents should also designate someone who can take over if the parents become ill or for after they die. Once legal guardianship is addressed, parents should then set up a financial plan, usually done in a trust. The adult with special needs may be eligible for benefits such as SSI payments, but those benefits won't cover all the living and medical expenses. The trust can also designate who pays the bills, how the bills are paid and how much money the adult can carry. Like legal guardianship, financial matters must be planned in advance to ensure the adult with special needs can be cared for when his parents are unable to do so.

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