Having a child with special needs in your life brings not only challenges, but also evokes great emotions and fear of future. The future means a lot of things for a lot of people. For us parents, apart from other things it also means the uncertainty, the apprehensions, the doubts and the worry about our children and what will happen after we are no more. People and communities from all over the world have been experimenting with various models trying to see what works and how we can make future a little less worrisome. The fact that some children can live a rather independent life while some need more assistance and supervision adds different dimensions to whatever model we are working with.
Recently at a Down syndrome convention, I came across a network of parents who introduced a special arrangement where 3 young women (2 with Down syndrome and one with other cognitive impairment) were living together as flat mates. They were there with a project coordinator and a help. All these girls were employed in different schools as teacher’s assistants and were doing pretty much everything on their own.
I would like you all to invest about 20 minutes of your time and think if this could also be one of the models we can adapt few years down the line. I would also like to hear about some other options that you people have come across and which you found interesting and worth sharing. Please do leave a comment to appreciate the efforts of these girls, their parents and the people involved because with every such project we take one step towards making our kids’ future a little more secure.
P.S.
This project and the video appeared in a leading daily digital paper and are copyrighted so I am sharing the link. The video is embedded in the article. do watch, I assure you that this is worth your time.
