Low-Incidence Transition
September 2022
Welcome Back!
Please feel free to share this newsletter with your friends!
Thanks for reading!
Beth Heinz
PHOENIXVILLE TRANSITION NIGHT
Participants from Millersville, WCU, OVR, MH/IDD, a parent speaker, financial advising, along with other resources will be there!
RAM Initiative Open House
This fall, Open House sessions for the RAM Initiative are held on Saturday 9/17/22 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on campus and Thursday 9/22/22 from 8-9:00 p.m. via Zoom. If interested RSVP the RAM Initiative email RAMInitiative@wcupa.edu. In the email, include the open house that you will attend. Once your information is received, a Zoom link will be sent for the 9/22/Zoom session.
Open Houses
- Saturday September 17th from 1:30-2:30 at West Chester University
- Thursday September 27th from 8:00-9:00pm via Zoom
Please RSVP for either open house at: RAMINITIATIVE@wcupa.edu
The RAM Initiative application is now available for the 2022-2023 academic year. To apply, download and complete the application . Comprehensive application packets are due/postmarked by October 1, 2022.
The ARC Chat-n-Chew
September 14th - Social Security Disability Benefits I
September 21st - Social Security Disability Benefits II
September 28th - Empower U Specialty Fitness
Wednesday, Sep 14, 2022, 11:30 AM
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Parent Reflection on Transition - Lynda Rubinstein
My sons are Benjamin and Gary. They are 36 year old twins. They are each others best friend. They live together, go to work together and spend the majority of their time together.
Gary is Intellectually Disabled. Testing from when he was in his 20’s shows him in the lower end of the mildly deficient range. His IQ was 64. He has a very large “scatter”. There are things, like reading, that he is very proficient in, and other things, such as fine motor skills that he is very challenged in.
Benjamin is also Intellectually Disabled. Test from in his 20’s shows his IQ as 55. Ben has had many medical issues over the years. These medical issues include a 3 chamber heart, a total hip replacement and lower oxygen levels and therefore less stamina and endurance for all activities. He has problems with motor-planning, it takes him a long time to process questions and figure out the correct response and then to verbalize it.
Ben and Gary live independently in a townhome we own. They work in a sheltered workshop (HandiCrafters) and have support staff that helps them in the afternoons and early evenings during the week to do their errands and cook dinner.
Gaining this independence was hard won. It started in their teens with doing their own laundry, making their own lunches and learning how to use the microwave. When they were 20 and we were living in Arkansas, they lived in an Intermediary Care Facility. The facility had 24 hour staffing and they were supposed to be learning living skills. After a year they received Waiver funds and moved to a supported living apartment. They each had a small apartment in a facility that had staff. Staff took them to the workshop, grocery shopping, and out in the community. There was someone on call 24/7.
When we moved back to Pennsylvania, we applied for waiver funds. They lived at home and worked at HandiCrafters. After about 18 months they were granted a PF waiver. This paid for HandiCrafters and for staff for 20 hours a week. We purchased a condo for them and they started their next adventure.
During this time, Ben and Gary lived in their own condo, worked at HandiCrafters and had staff to help them approximately 20 hours a week. They used Uber to get to work, and staff would pick them up. Staff cooked dinner for them 5 nights a week. They microwave dinners on the weekends. They make their own breakfast and lunch, do their own laundry, change their sheets, and basically do all that is necessary to live on their own.
My best advice for parents starting this journey is to be a very vocal advocate. When we were trying to get waiver funds I was a constant presence at meetings held by DHS for transition, waiver and self advocacy groups. We met several times with DHS to see where they were on the waiting list, when we could expect services, etc. They knew my name, they knew me, they met the guys. I was a pest! But a nice pest. I joined committees, answered surveys and basically kept their names in front of the group.
You also have to be patient. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Teaching them life skills took time and patience. But if they wanted independence badly enough, they learned how to do things. They knew for a long time that living on their own meant that they had things that were required that they know how to do. And gradually they learned them. And gradually I let them go.
Beth Heinz
Low-Incidence Transition Coordinator
Phoenixville Area High School
Email: heinzb@pasd.com
Phone: 484-927-5161