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Recent episodes
124 Planning The Journey – Building Daily Living Skills
In this series I will be focusing on exploring in more depth the 4 core topics that the podcast has always focused around: daily living, relationships, purpose and financial. In this episode the focus is daily living skills. I will be sharing some techniques I used to successfully support my own daughter to build these skills. These techniques, which include scaffolding and habit stacking, can be invaluable in helping support young people to build those daily living skills they need as they journey towards greater independence.
123 Housing Options Series: Why Choice and Community Matters
Where will my daughter live when I’m no longer around? It’s a big question, and some of the ideas explored in the Housing Options series just might help answer that question. In this episode I discuss some of those ideas, and why we might need to rethink our assumptions around support. I also talk about why choice and community must sit at the center of any of the housing solutions offered to our children.
122 Housing Options Series – 200 Lives – Finding Out What People Actually Think
It’s difficult to develop better housing options if we don’t know what people want and need. This week’s guests Chris Hatton and Lauren Blood were involved with a research project which will in part help to address this issue. The 200 Lives project looked at the quality of supported living and residential care in England. Chris and Lauren discuss the research findings and some of the implications which are relevant to anyone, regardless of location, looking
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In Support of Supported Internships
To celebrate the first National Supported Internship Day, here in the UK, it seemed like a good time to explain why I’m such a fan. When we decided to take our daughter out of her post 16 education placement and head off on the supported internship journey, we were scared. Her education placement was safe and gave everyone a couple of more years to think about what next if we wanted.
Why without Visibility there will never be Real Awareness, Genuine Understanding and Actual Inclusion
When was the last time you met someone, and you really weren’t sure what to say or do? How did it make you feel? Confused? A bit fearful that you might say the wrong thing? Why did this happen? Was it because you didn’t really understand how to interact with this person? Was it because you had never met anyone like them before?
Start Early And Often
My ultimate objective is to get rid of my daughter. That’s not quite as bad as it sounds! My goal is to enable my youngest daughter to move out and live in a place of her own. When I have spoken on the podcast to people involved in training programs, one common theme has been that often the young people that come to them lack some of the basic daily living skills.
Our Focus
Young people with additional needs should have the opportunity to live independently in a way right for them. The podcast is about sharing stories and sharing solutions that enable parents and carers to support them on this path to greater independence.
Independence for most people consists of three things:
1) Having a Purpose for the day – usually paid employment, but possibly a place to go to make a contribution to the world.
2) Having the Daily Living skills for independence – being able to look after ourselves, cooking, shopping.
3) Having Relationships with family, friends and maybe even a partner one day.
There is also an additional consideration that serves as the foundation of all these – Financial Security. Like it or not money often dictates how we live our lives, and we need to confront the issue of how our children will survive financially when we are gone.
For more information visit redgiraffesolutions.com
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121 Housing Options Series – Our Stomping Ground – Inclusive Communities
For too long housing solutions for young people with additional needs have failed to consider the importance of inclusion. This week’s guests Paula Manion and Donna Budway, from Our Stomping Ground, are changing that by developing housing solutions that have inclusive communities at their heart. They discuss how the housing model has evolved, why Our Stomping Ground uses the housing first model, and the impact that has on young people’s lives.
120 Housing Options Series – US Autism Homes – Building With Love and Science
Creating a housing model for young adults with additional needs that really works means doing things differently. This is something Lisa Liberatore from US Autism Homes understands. We discuss the three-pillar solution they developed and how that has helped create an inclusive community. Lisa also discusses the important role science can play in helping young people develop the skills to live more independent and, more importantly, happier lives.
119 Housing Options Series – Everyone Needs A Community
Finding somewhere to live is about more than just about finding a place, it’s about building a life. Community is an important part of that life. How to build communities is the topic of this episode with Kathy Meyer, from Everyone Needs A Community. We not only talk about why community matters so much, but also about understanding that communities need to reflect where they are and how the people there live their lives. We also discuss Microboards and their role in strengthening the community around our children.