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Ready for Independence
Helping Special Needs Children Prepare for Life on Their Own By Sue Poremba
(Tyborne Hill Publishers, 2005). It can alsoenforce simple rules and expectations of the child.
"We had a young mother with a child with Down syndrome," says Cynthia King,executive director of the Vital Living Foundation and a former ARC employee. "He was an easy child to get attached to. Teachers tended to baby him, but his mother insisted on proper behavior and manners. She didn't want him to be different.
"When parents have certain expectations for their child, the child grows up more able," King says.
David Leatham tells a story of a couple in their 70s who became the caregivers for a 50-year-old cousin. When the couple first took over his care, the cousin was unable to bathe himself or do simple chores like taking out the trash because his parents never expected him to do these things. It took patience for the couple, but after a few months, the cousin was able to take on personal responsibilities and chores.
It is important to remember that when it comes to special needs children, independence means different things. For one, it is living alone but having someone come in to cook or take care of the banking. For another it is holding down a job but not being able to drive. For a third, it is the ability to keep up personal hygiene.
Group homes are a family-style house, often in an average residential neighborhood. How many people live in the house is dependent on the organization that runs the home and the community. Group homes have caregivers on site 24 hours a day.