after 21 | Autism PDD

david thanks for your reply. glad you have found another place. we are not really interested in how much he will get paid. know the pay is minimal. have looked at a few workshops and found a good one. my son on the low functioning side and likes doing that sort of work. gives him a sense of well being and accomplishing something. do not really care if he makes money at it. also a few of his buddies from school were at this one workshop so would be nice for him to see them again. carol, i don't know of any of those places around here. seems everyone wants to get paid around here.

I don't know where you are from and if you have this where you live. Here we have an agency called SPIN (special people in need) it is an agency similar to a senior center but for young people to go and do activities with others like themselves. I believe it is low cost or free here. You might check locally and see if there is a program like this near you, even if its only temporary to keep him busy while your waiting for waiver for next year.

good luck to you and your son seems like we are the same age

i used to work at a workshop like that in my area for a few months after i turned 19

it wasnt really a very fun experience for me personally and i dont think the people there

(mostly lower functioning mixed in with some high
functioning people)

always got paid right however not all of these places are run the same some actully are run better then others

where i was you would make 2 $ an hour i was amazed when i heard that

so i eventully left.

i was in the same boat that your son is in now though sitting around with no job for 5 months last year

my casemanger found me a different one and

im happy to say i have a different job now that is much better paying and i will be moving out to my own apartment in a couple of weeks

sorry i couldent help out more just wanted to share that i was in this situation myself and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel

i hope all goes well for you and him.know there are not too many people in here with kids over 21 but am asking any who are here for some answers. after being out of school for four months have heard from state that the money is all given out for the year and he is not getting a waiver. has been sitting home doing nothing since school. obviously we can't wait another year. husband had to quit work to stay home with him. our only option is to private pay at one of these workshops but we are living on a string already. anyone know of any other way we can get funding for workshop. we were told there are 800 people in our county alone waiting on waiver. it is insane.thanks for your replies. have contacted my state reps etc and will continue letter writing campaign. it is just sad that we should have to deal with all this. i could say that i did not want him to live with me and then they would have to deal with him. could never do that though. do firmly believe squeaky wheel theory. have many friends with kids who went to school with my son who are all in the same boat. are working on getting more autism services in pa but these things take time. we have been working at the state level since kids were about ten. my son very adaptable an easy going so not difficult with him at home just feel badly for him, he would like to be at work. this is what he has been going to school for. makes no sense to me, they pay 40,000 a year for school then they sit and wait. to all of you with younger children think about this. there are many more autistic children out there and when they turn 21 it will be a disaster. need to work on this now. i applied for waiver 3 years ago. he was not emergency status then. he is now after school. the state knows my husband out of work. feel like i am between a rock and a hard place with no where to go. thanks for the support. we will manage through this just another bump in the road. one constant fight after another. when does it all end. My ds is only 7 but I worry about it. I am not sure that his adaptive skills
will ever be strong enough that he can function without support.
I just finished reading a book 'Rachel in the world' written by a mother
about her struggles of getting her dev. disabled dd housing and work
after age 21.' Squeeky wheel' is an understatement. (Maybe you could get
the book from the library - she goes into great detail of how she worked
to get her dd to get resources for housing and a workshop) I know two
families with adult kids who started their own business in an effort to
create a workplace and support for their child. Of course this is not an
option for everyone.
I am no help but I think everyone is right that it takes a large amount of
proactive work on a parents part to help our kids get the resources they
need. It is sad that all this rest on parents shoulders.

I was at an autism seminar the other weekend, and the guest speaker told us about a young woman who was nonverbal at 3-1/2 but who is now working in a daycare center. They did a longterm project focused on preparing her for the workplace and provided lots of social stories which she carries around in wallet size to refresh her memory. She also has a support person at the workplace.

I thought this was inspiring, because based on how she was at 3-1/2, especially given how autism education was here in Norway in the 1990s, no one would have expected such positive results.

I don't have any experience with this, but just wanted to point out that we have a collection of Transition to Adult Life Resources under the following topic on our forum. Free online articles and booklets which might have the answers you're looking for:

http://www.autism-pdd.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17860&am p;KW=transition

Good luck with everything.

Here in Florida the situation is the same. I work in the field and I know that there are 16000 people on the waiver waiting list. I have seen a pattern for emergency placement....the squeeky wheel gets the grease!!!! Make noise, don't let them forget your name! Try and ask for emergency respite care in a sheltered workshop setting. Make sure the state knows that your husband had to quit his job, it is the states legal obligation to provide those services whether the money has run out or not!!! Without a doubt, ask for respite! Make sure they know this is causing undue financial hardship on your family. Write email's everyday to the district program director until you get a yes! REmember that after 18 individuals with disabilities, from a legal standpoint not emotional, are the states responsibility! That statement is not made to be harsh but is made to ensure we stay in touch with the fact that they must provide services.sarao39374.8533680556

HI my son is 20, where do you live. AT this point he is still in school, and I am fighting with them alot, trying to get him services...Do you have the Dept. of Rehab.? I was told that they are the place to go to after school...I hopefully will have that inplace before he is out.

Good Luck with your son, I wish I could help more...Does he have a Regional Center? We live in California.