The Future's So Bright... I Might Have to Wear Shades.
By Kim Stagliano
This is my daughter Mia. She is 19 years old and just finished her fourth year of high school. Next Fall she starts in a new program within our district called Trac21. This is a pilot program, the first in our area outside of private autism schools, to serve the autism population in their "gap" years between traditional secondary school and aging out at age 22.
Our Special Education department recognized early on that the "regular ed special ed" post grad program, called "Elite" in our town, was not going to work for the autism population. (Yet another example of the newness of the epidemic in the last twenty or so years. There are almost no housing or work programs specific to autusm.) First off, it is an itinerant program. The students meet in different locations every day of the week. Second, it is primarily vocational in focus with emphasis on the job sites where you usually see people with disabilities, like stocking shelves at retail and working in a grocery store.
I was on a committee that ate Dunkin Munchkins and drank coffee for two solid years in an effort to find a site for Trac21, plan vocational locations and craft a meaningful day for the two students who would be part of the 2015 school year. 23 months into planning, we had a pilot program. Mia will have almost a full school day, with academics in the morning, vocational work, life skills training and the familiarity of a room within the high school near friends and staff she already knows and trusts. Overall, I'm pleased.
No one knows our children as well as we do - right? No teacher. No doctor. No therapist. I was trying to imagine an appropriate vocational site for Mia. Her autism is pretty severe. I want her to be fulfilled, happy and content where ever she works. Work doesn't have to be about money for Mia. Like many adults with full autism, Mia will cost the state of Connecticut hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions likely, throughout her lifetime. The bit of money she will earn at any job will be symbolic. Rightful earned and with dignity I hope. But Mia will not be a taxpaying citizen because of her autism.
I heard about an art studio nearby called, The Giggling Pig. I called the owner and left a looooong message that went something like this:
"Hi, my name is Kim Stagliano and I am calling to see if you might have any interest in becoming a work site for the new autism program within our high school, specifically for my daughter, my oldest of three girls with autism. The school would train you and provide support and the kids would come with staff.... yada yada yada please please please oh man she is never going to call me back......"
Two hours later, "Hi Kim? This is Hannah from The Giggling Pig. I have been wanting to offer some sort of program for special needs and this sounds like an interesting opportunity." Faster than paint dries, we had a voc site for my daughter.
Wow.
Mia met Hannah for the first time last week, in a spur of the moment visit. And that is the photo you see. Not much I need to add, is there?
My heart overflows with excitement of the possibilities for Mia and the hundreds (of course just in your area) who are coming in her wake!!
Posted by: Jan | June 25, 2014 at 06:15 PM
Yeah for Mia and may people like Hannah be blessed for being willing to give our kids a chance. I hope the program works out well.
Posted by: MelissaD | June 25, 2014 at 08:14 AM
Thanks for being a leader and motivator for other moms. Working with our school case manager for my 20 year old. So much to do, so little time.
Posted by: Lori Stella | June 24, 2014 at 03:50 PM
Love the picture of Mia and Hannah! I will say a prayer that it will be a wonderful and blessed opportunity for both of them :)
Posted by: Laura Hayes | June 24, 2014 at 12:15 PM
Way to go, Mama Bear and Mia!
Consider this also:
In my ideal world, I envision a future of autistic, independent contractors based on the highly specific strengths our children have.
In general, for our kids to thrive, they would be better served by tapping into unique, individual strengths OUTSIDE of the conventional, NT, corporate model based on their perseverations, splinter skills, art, science or tech skills. Many would love to be consultants and be paid "experts" with respect to their obsessions.
If we can somehow make their skills marketable outside the corporate model and have them work at home or specialized work centers and contract their work out with dignity and a fair wage - that would be so lovely.
It is time to think out of the box and come up with different working paradigms for our kids before someone else with less than altruistic intentions does it for us.
Besides more extensive, intense training in the practical arts so that they may have some measure of independent living, I would love for the focus for them to be trained to write more effectively and think more critically, whenever possible, as well as more therapy to develop motor skills, esp their fine motor skills.
Working in more controlled environments like home or specialized work centers as independent contractors, may mitigate the issues of auditory processing and social deficits as well as sensory issues. However, the cynic in me understands that this model may lead to their being exploited economically.
Then again, with luck, perhaps one of our kids will develop some type of technology that will be a game changer, where they will find their niches, where the world would adapt to them instead of the other way around.
Just like the advent of the PD opened career doors for so many, you never know what technological advances are on the horizon that would facilitate our kids adapting and even thriving in the NT world.
Hope springs eternal.
Posted by: Handthatrocksthecradle | June 24, 2014 at 11:52 AM
Mia is very pretty like her Mother.
Thanks for the song and the analogy of a "Future so Bright, I got to wear shades"
Posted by: Benedetta | June 24, 2014 at 10:25 AM