HOME IS WHERE YOUR STORY BEGINS
Twenty years ago, I never imagined Julie living in a group home. That was until I visited another young woman CdLS in her group house, and I saw that it could be done well. Julie needs 24-hour care and supervision.
During her high school transition meetings for her Individualized Education Program (IEP), my vision was that someday she would be living away from us. I started looking at living arrangements in my area and attending meetings with other families looking for housing for their children with special needs. There with foster homes, group homes run by an agency and even parents getting together to purchase a home. I expressed my interest in placement to the case manager at my state’s Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDS), and was told the wait list for all placements was long.
During Julie’s teen years, we received funding to provide respite care outside of the home. We had a local Respite Inn that Julie would visit for overnights through these experiences, I saw that others could take care of her—not exactly the way I might do things, but she was safe, well cared for and happy.
When I brought her to the Respite Inn, she would get out of the car and walk to the front door—something she never did at home. This was her way of telling me she liked it there.
My meetings with DDS continued for a few years, with me being told no placements were available. I finally contacted my State Representative, and within two weeks I had a meeting with the head of our regional DDS office this led to the agency finding an opening in a group home 30 minutes from my house. I visited and immediately liked what I saw.
Today, Julie lives in that house with three other young women her age. The house managers and staff are very caring and conscious of the clients’ needs.
Each resident has her own bedroom with 24-hour staffing. Julie attends an adult day program, and the house staff keeps her active with horseback riding, dances, swimming, and rides in the van. The house has nurses who arrange Julie’s medical appointments, which I can attend. Since living at the house, Julie has learned new skills, such as putting her dirty dishes in the sink.
