Navigating Life as we Know It

Affordable, accessible housing, transportation and internet availability are serious issues for people with disabilities in just about every state in the USA.  It is especially problematic in rural areas.  As if these challenges weren't enough, the crew of the Disability Resource Network in Huntsville Alabama opened for business during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.  For some, quarantine and social distancing would ha...

Imagine engaging an architect to create plans for the perfect house to fill all your needs.... You are excited about turning this dream into a reality…but then discovering there is no one to do the excavation for the foundation. Also, there is only one carpenter to work on the frame...and that craftsman can only work 12 hours a week on your project. There is a shortage of plumbers...so you will have to make do with an outhouse unti...

Episode 3 - Life together and Changing the World

Most movements for social change are identified with a few prominent and well-known leaders.  For instance, people like Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy, among others, are associated with the Civil Rights movement in the USA. Nelson Mandela is a name synonymous with the abolition of apartheid in South Africa.  The truth is…these individuals provided a voice and a...

Episode 2 - Love and the Audacity of Change 

Most movements for social change are identified with a few prominent and well-known leaders.  For instance, people like Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy, among others, are associated with the Civil Rights movement in the USA. Nelson Mandela is a name synonymous with the abolition of apartheid in South Africa.  The truth is…these individuals provided a voice and a fac...

Family, Faith, and the Seed of Self Advocacy

Most movements for social change are identified with a few prominent and well-known leaders.  For instance, people like Martin Luther King, John F Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy, among others, are associated with the Civil Rights movement in the USA. Nelson Mandela is a name synonymous with the abolition of apartheid in South Africa.  The truth is…these individuals provided a voice and a fac...

It is not ever comfortable discussion what happens after someone dies. But when it comes to the death of care providing parents conversations need to happen and plans must be made. Legal, financial and Medicaid Planning are important, of course, but living a full life is more than providing these core necessities.  Life as we know it (and aspire to live it) includes meaning, purpose, identity and being “seen” by the members of your...

When you have a child with a developmental or intellectual disability your life gets complex.  Often it becomes overwhelming.  Navigating a path to find the right resources is essential.  Today's episode is about two Medicaid Waivers that provide valuable supports, The Michigan Waiver for Children and  the Michigan Waiver for Children with Serious Emotional Disorders (SED).  We also cover the basics of Michigan's Children&#...

Imagine yourself on a vacation to a country where your native language is not spoken. Let's say Portugal. You do not know how to speak or read Portuguese, but you are given a map to help you get around.... but the map (of course) is printed in Portuguese. You can see the roads and have a vague idea of where you are going, but the map does not tell you what the BEST route is. And you won't know what lies between your current...

Our show today is “The Different Flavors of Medicaid Waivers” …. but you are also going to hear a lot of discussion about person-centered-planning (PCP) and the proper use of two assessment tools associated with person centered planning process... the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) and the Psycho-Social Assessment (PSA). Why??  Because assessment tools, person-centered plan and Medicaid Waivers all work together for benefit of the ...

Growing up can be hard. Especially the teenage years. And even more so if the teenager in question has social skill deficits. As humans we are all "hard wired" for relationships with other humans. Individuals living with autism often want to develop skills necessary to make and keep friends. They need to learn the skills necessary to navigate various social situations in which they may not feel comfortable. And they also mu...

I'm probably showing my age...but some of you might remember the routine of "defragging" your computer to allow it to work more quickly and efficiently. It was once described to be as allowing your computer to take some time to put files away and "clean up" it's desk. This was it was able to work better. Well, wouldn't it be nice to defrag your mind on occasion? Just to put away the loose ends and clutte...

"There's no place like home!" In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy said these words and clicked the heels of her ruby slippers three times. Instantly she was transported back to her farm home in Kansas. This makes for an enduring story...but getting into the right home presents a little more of a challenge today. Especially if you live with an intellectual and/or developmental disability. You have many obstacles to contend with,...

Everyone has heard the phrase "forgive and forget."   That isn't always possible, or even advisable.  It is important to remember. To recall emotional pain that has played a destructive role in the course of your life and in your relationships.  With these memories it becomes even more important to forgive, or to ask forgiveness, so you may convert the hidden pain your have experienced in your past from suffering to gro...

Remember Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz? She had an impossible task. First retrieve the broom stick of the Wicked Witch and deliver it to the Wizard of Oz who would grant her wish to return to her home in Kansas. Doesn't life feel like that sometimes? Impossible task? Improbable goals? Flying Monkeys all around you? Attempting to find and secure affordable, community based, appropriately supported housing during a skyrocketing re...

It's hard to let go of things...and I have a garage filled with items I should have let go of years ago. But I keep thinking, maybe I'll find a use for this "thing." But I hardly if ever do. It is much different letting go of people, but it is natural and necessary when raising children to "let them go" in order to "let them grow." We learn by facing new life challenges, often making mistakes in the ...

Bridges create opportunities for connection. They empower travel to visit people and places that might otherwise be inaccessible. And they often unite people together to pursue common goals. Some are span enormous distances while others are measured in feet and inches. Today’s show is about one of the world’s smallest bridges. But it may be one of the most important bridges you will ever cross. The “bridge” we explore today is name...

The Space Shuttle, with over 2.5 million parts, 230 miles of wire and 1,060 plumbing valves was once described as the most complex "machine" ever made by man. For successful results it's mission requirements complex systems and a flawless degree of accountability were essential. Flaws in those complex systems resulted in the disasters of Columbia and Discovery. Our health care system, experienced from a patient perspect...

Most of us at one time or another have driven down a dark road and found ahead of us a deer transfixed, staring into our headlights? Have you ever felt like you have something in common with the deer? In the disability community we face a labyrinth of rules, regulations, benefit levels, service options, waivers, forms and...well you get the picture. It all looks more like and obstacle course than a path forward. It's in unchart...

"You can't age out of being in a family" according to Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Director of the Friendship Circle in Bloomfield Michigan. Over the past 27 years as children within the Friendship Circle have grown so has the capacity of Friendship Circle to meet their employment needs and enhance the quality of their lives. The Soul Cafe and Soul Studio, launched in 2016, are located inside the Friendship Circle’s Fa...