Adult with Disabilities Shares What Kids with Disabilities Need to Learn

Adult with Disabilities Shares What Kids with Disabilities Need to Learn By Andrew Pulrang What skills do children with disabilities need to become independent adults? There are plenty of transition planning guides and parenting tips to help answer this question. I would like to offer some ideas to consider, as an adult who was once a child with disabilities. At times it may seem like independence is determined by the type and level of disability a person has, but it isn’t. People with all kinds of disabilities live independently.  What they have in common is a set of key skills and habits: – They know what their disabilities are and can explain them briefly and accurately to others, without drama or embarrassment. – They ask for help and accommodations in an appropriate way, and they don’t feel bad about it. – They advocate for their needs politely but firmly, even when met with opposition, indifference, or bureaucratic inertia. – They use assistive technologies, adaptive techniques, and support services that work best for their particular disabilities. – They seek and listen to advice as needed, but make their own important life decisions. – When something is going wrong, if they are in an uncomfortable situation, if they don’t like the way they are being treated, they speak up about it, clearly and confidently. – They say please and thank you, and they mean it, but from a position of strength, not dependence. Nobody is born with these skills. They have to […]