Penny and I did a presentation together at Hope Heals Camp about taking steps to plan for the future. If you want great advice and info from an 18-year-old who just graduated from high school, keep reading! The Path process that Penny writes about transformed education and special education and disability support and person-centered learning for our family.

Workshop

Before I share Penny’s words below, I want to make sure you know about my Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop. This workshop invites families affected by disability, who may feel overwhelmed or lonely or inadequate or confused, to envision and work toward a good future for their family. We’re hearing from so many individuals about the beautiful ways this workshop is equipping them as parents/caregivers and helping their families. I can’t wait to reimagine family life together with you! Let’s get started!

Penny in her own words

Now on to Penny’s reflections…

Can you explain to people what we do at a Path meeting?

At a Path meeting we talk about basically the future but also we highlight the hopes and dreams that you have right now. And maybe add some hopes and dreams for the future. We also review the achievements and go through the action plan.

Some of my achievements are:

Being on the cheer team for 3 years
Having amazing friends who have supported me
Senior Project ( Event Planning) skills

An action plan is you make a chart with important key takeaways from the meeting and you list those takeaways on the chart with the person who will help you go forward and complete that task.

Who are some of the people who come to a Path meeting?

Your support group, teachers, friends, counselor.
I am mostly in charge of inviting the people to the meetings but also a staff member can have a say as well.

What is the purpose of these meetings?

The purpose of a Path meeting is to think ahead to your future and try to plan ahead of time what you could do.

What are some of your hopes and dreams for the future?

Some of my hopes and dreams for the future are:

Travel to the Bahamas
Be a self advocate
Continue Writing

What are some of your fears?

Some of my fears are:

Being too independent- I guess it means being more mature like making my own appointments. Or it means being more responsible than I am right now.
Not being able to find a job based on my disability
People thinking I am younger than I actually am
People talking only to another person in the room about me when I am in the room and can answer their questions

Are there things you have worked on that address those fears?

I have had some previous work experience at Panera in Southbury and at the Po back in Washington.
Sometimes or more often the doctor will actually ask me the questions that I can easily answer for myself.
When I advocated about the whole Pointe situation.
Maybe give me some prompts for when I need to step in and say something. Especially if it’s about me.

What are some of the things we’ve worked on over the years in order to move towards your hopes and dreams?

We have worked on the following:

Me being able to do my own laundry
Putting my hair up In a ponytail
Cutting my fingernails and toenails
Kitchen skills
Navigating public transportation

How has your community helped you?

My community has helped me by providing transportation and giving me the opportunity to work at different job sites.
Also Tamara from church made me make a phone call to order dinner so that we could pick it up.
I also helped Dad by guiding him using the signs through the busy airport.

Is there any advice you would give to other people who are trying to make a plan for their own future?

Focus on your hopes and dreams and then worry about everything else later.

A few more helpful PATH resources:

Our journey using the Path process
inclusion.org
pacer.org

MORE WITH AMY JULIA:

Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop

Penny In Her Own Words