Tag Archives: hope

Hope

04 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by in Asperger's syndrome, Autism, Disability, Independence

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

This building looks like hope to me.

10592911_10152272532556381_1738163719996521992_n

After I dropped Mary off for her class last Wednesday, I sat in my car and watched some of her classmates go in. The rear door of the van near the door popped open, a ramp was lowered by an unseen force, and a motorized wheelchair  appeared, the operator quickly making progress toward the entrance. Another young woman got off the Go Bus, and with her white cane walked to the door. Adults of all ages filed in, some with walkers, some with canes, and some with no visible signs of disability. Although I have always said that no one would know that Mary had a disability until she starts talking.

All of these adults have a substantial, documented disability. All of them also had to pass a series of aptitude tests and an interview to get into the program. All of them had to have an extended period of looking for work with no success. They are taking a course for some sort of computer certification. At the end of the course, they will have to take a certification test. If they pass, they will then interview for work at a help desk for a call center operated by a government contractor.

The government contractor hires people with disabilities. It may be required to do so, and there are probably substantial incentives.

In this state, there are incentives for private employers to give people with disabilities a chance. For a period of time, a substantial portion of their wages is paid by the state. Yet, the unemployment rate for intelligent adults with disabilities is very high. Many times the rate of unemployment for the general population.

They want to work. They want to have purpose, to be independent, to make their own money. So the government has stepped in to provide both training and an opportunity for them.

This week, they will begin building a computer from scratch. I have suggested to Mary that she take one of her old computers, open it up and study the parts in three dimensions. She does the home work. She knows what it takes to pass a class.

This group had to be extra patient, as the teacher who was supposed to teach them left for another job. They had to wait another three months to get in. Some of them won’t make it, but they have hope.

And hope is a precious thing.

 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all -” Emily Dickinsin

How Can You Stand It????

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by in Asperger's syndrome, Autism, Disability, faith, high functioning autism, Support, Thankful

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, ,

My kids’ piano teacher said to me after piano lessons one day, “I don’t know how you can stand it.” I said, “I just do it day by day.”

My son, Will, had spent a good portion of the piano lesson time interrupting the flow of conversation with his thoughts about his Mario Brothers video game. I felt free in a calm tone of voice to say, “Will, I am done hearing about video games. What do you think about this piece of music?” When others outside of the autism community would hear me say things like this, they would say, “You are so patient.” Continue reading →

Job Reality!!!!

28 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by in Achievement, Asperger's syndrome, Autism, Disability, faith, high functioning autism, Independence, Miracles, Thankful, Transition issues

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Mary just received a call from the nonprofit she interviewed at two weeks ago. She will be starting next week for two four hour shifts on Tuesday and Thursday, and she will keep her other 6-hour a week job at the homeless shelter.

When I got home, Mary told me that they wanted to hire more than one person. And also, if she did the job well, there could be an increase in hours. Mary was right; the interview did go well.

The interview came about in part because her caseworker helped set up the interview and advocated for her. And her supervisor at the homeless shelter also probably gave her a recommendation. And Mary has confidence and competence because of her volunteering for a year and then doing paid work for the homeless shelter.

She has a chance to prove her ability.

One more step toward independence. One more step toward leaving the harbor.

Patty, my youngest daughter, says it could happen sooner than I think.

Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley

23 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Support, Thankful

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

This poem is often given to parents of children with Down Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy before they leave the hospital.

This poem was given to me when we were in the midst of the early elementary years with our kids, when the we were in the midst of school activities and therapies.  My kids are a gift from God, and he will use them  in the lives of others. Still, this poem expresses things that are  true.

http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.