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I have to tell you readers, my brain is spinning a bit lately.<\/p>\n
You see, my son, my beautiful severely autistic son, turned fourteen this spring, which means his next IEP meeting is a \u201ctransition\u201d meeting. In an effort to prepare I googled \u201ctransition,\u201d and it means \u201cthe process or period of changing from one state or condition to another.\u201d<\/p>\n
I know it is a process his mama will have to go through too.<\/p>\n
To be honest, my quest for transition information is a bit of a first world autism problem for Justin. There are so many resources out there, numerous agencies with websites and webinars dedicated to just this very process that I should be able to access the information I need pretty easily, for which I am grateful. I can\u2019t imagine going through this twenty years ago.<\/p>\n
Hell, I can\u2019t imagine doing any of this twenty years ago.<\/p>\n
But still, it\u2019s overwhelming. I recently printed out information from the DDD website about all the issues I will need to address. I have to make sure he\u2019s eligible for DDD and Medicaid. I will have to apply for guardianship (it somewhat amuses me that I will have to pay several thousand dollars to make sure he remains mine). There is a potential job (?) to consider. Housing. Legal planning.<\/p>\n
Also there\u2019s who will love him when I\u2019m gone, but I don\u2019t think that will be on the IEP agenda.<\/p>\n
It turns out Justin\u2019s school is planning an information fair that will take place hours after my IEP meeting, so in typical \u201cawesomeness\u201d fashion his principal agreed to meet with me a few weeks beforehand so I\u2019m not walking into this meeting blind about what options await my boy. Planner that I am I need to know my choices, and trust me, I\u2019m grateful that with his school there will probably be choices for him. He\u2019s doing really well there; perhaps a small job will be in store for him, perhaps not.<\/p>\n
I would really enjoy telling his little brother that Justin is earning his keep.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what will happen at his IEP meeting, but I\u2019m already creating my list of questions (it will be long), and I\u2019m feeling rather positive about future changes, which from a woman who\u2019s not big on change is a huge step. It helps immeasurably to know he\u2019s in good hands, that his last seven years of educational entitlement will have a variety of possibilities to engage my boy.<\/p>\n
It helps stave off my other worries. Where will he live? Will he get into a day program? Will he deign to stay in said day program? Will I become his nanny when he turns twenty-one and graduates with me sobbing my guts out noisily on graduation day (trust me it\u2019s coming). Will he be safe? Will I ever get some \u201cKim time\u201d again (I have my priorities).<\/p>\n
Will he like his adult life even a fraction of how much he loves his childhood?<\/p>\n
See, the thing is, I want it all to be good for him. I remember mentioning his \u201cremaining eighty years\u201d once at an IEP meeting years ago (I think he was five) and getting some incredulous looks around the table, but yes people, I think about this on a daily basis. He\u2019s worked so hard all these years. He\u2019s in the least behavioral and most academic of the classrooms for his age group at his school. He can\u2019t go an hour without hugging me for no reason. He laughs often.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s happy.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m going to do the best I can to make things stay that way.<\/p>\n
For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com<\/em><\/p>\n Follow me on Facebook at Autism Mommy-Therapist<\/em><\/p>\n