April 21, 2025 • 16 mins
Hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) discuss the eligibility categories for Developmental Disabilities (DD) agencies and what that means for families. They talk about the distinction between "Future Needs" and "Current Request" levels. They cover the "Supports Only" designation, and how that can require additional documentation. Additionally, they also touch on "Crisis Prevention" and "Crisis Resolution" for urgent needs, highlighting the importance of gathering comprehensive documentation to support these requests. Join the conversation!
Episode Keywords:
DD services, Developmental Disabilities Administration, eligibility, future needs, current request, choice letter, coordinator, supports only, crisis prevention, crisis resolution, documentation, appeal, transition process, resources.
Links:
Developmental Disabilities Agencies (page)
Episode 13 DDA Pt. 1 (page)
Episode 14 DDA Pt. 2 (page)
Episode 62 DD Agency Locator (page)
Maryland (specific) Links/Supports:
Developmental Disabilities Administration (site)
What is DDA? (page)
Completing the DDA application (page)
To download a copy of a transcript for this episode or any of our previous conversations, click here.
Also visit our Podcast webpage to find links to all of our other discussions; go to www.p2transition.com.
Additional information about post-secondary transition can be found at our website.
The Post-Secondary Transition Podcast Facebook page.
Visit our YouTube Channel to find additional video resources.
Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee from Pixabay.
Transition music by Joseph McDade from Transistor.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Cadigan (00:01):
Welcome, this is the Post Secondary Transition
podcast where we haveconversations around the ins and
outs and everything in betweenof the transition process for
families of students withdisabilities. I'm one of the
hosts. My name is PatrickCadigan, and I am a public
school transition coordinator.
As always, I have a co-host, andwho would that be?
Meghan Smallwood (00:19):
I am Meghan Smallwood, and I'm also a public
school transition coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (00:24):
We are actually back, like...
Meghan Smallwood (00:26):
Holy moley!
Patrick Cadigan (00:27):
Yeah, we've, like, I feel like our schedules
have now, like, caught up and,you know, we had an opportunity
to talk, and we can, like, throwout, like, hey, this is what
we're going to talk about,and...
Meghan Smallwood (00:37):
I know.
Patrick Cadigan (00:38):
...this is what we're gonna do. So that's a good
thing. So one, one topic, onetopic that comes up all the time
is eligibility for DDA services.
Now, for the uninitiated, DDA orthe Developmental Disabilities
Administration, it is the agencythat provides funding and
(01:00):
services to individuals withdisabilities.
Meghan Smallwood (01:04):
And I think it's something that when you
start that contact with them, itcan be very confusing, because,
as a state agency may do, theysend out the same generic letter
to every person who is applied,and you Get a lot of information
that may not pertain to you, andit may be hard to interpret what
(01:26):
the letter is telling you, andwe'll go into a little detail
about that, but as we alwaysreiterated, it's good to use
your resources. If you have atransition specialist at your
school, reach out to them andshow them the letter. I
appreciate when families willsend me a picture. So I can say,
"okay, this is what it means,"or "Don't worry about this," you
know. So we just want to gothrough what everything means,
(01:48):
so you have a better idea whenyou do get that correspondence
from them.
Patrick Cadigan (01:53):
We're going to presuppose a few instances, but
we did want to kind of lay itout. All right, so now this is
again for families who haveapplied for services through
DDA. We encourage them to do soprior to 18. In fact, as
transition coordinators, it'slike, boom, you hit 14, it's a
good idea to do this. Completingthat application will then add
(02:16):
your child to the list. And thereason that we're going to talk
about this is is is that, again,we want to go back and remind
everyone that DDA or DD servicesin general, because, of course,
DDA is specific to where we are,at least the name is, but DD
services, they're based oneligibility. It is not an
entitlement. And so there is alimited funding assignment. So
(02:40):
you have applied, and then youwill receive a letter. Do you
want to talk about that?
Meghan Smallwood (02:47):
Yeah, absolutely. So ultimately, the
eligibility level that you wantto receive to get that full
funding after 21 is for yourindividual to be determined as
developmentally disabled,DD-eligible. So that means that
they understand that thedisability was manifested before
age 22 and that your young adultwill be unable to live
(03:11):
independently without somesupport or regular assistance
moving forward. So that is whatyou want to see on the letter.
And it's like one sentence, likeI said, in a whole document of
other things that they sendalong. But you want to look for
that DD-eligibility, and thenthere's different levels of
that. So if you apply prior to18, which we advise, just to
(03:33):
make sure that DDA knows youryoung adult exists and puts them
on the database, you may get aFuture Needs level. And what's
confusing when you get thatletter is it'll say we recognize
the level of need. However,there's no funding available.
That just means it's because ofthe age. They're too young right
(03:54):
now, since it's, you know,transitioning you the 21 but
they put your young adult on theregistry, and they're just not
going to get any direct serviceslike with a coordinator yet.
Okay, but Future Needs is fine.
Once your young adult reaches18, that's usually when it'll
switch over to something calledCurrent Request, and that's
recognizing that the serviceswill be needed within that three
(04:16):
year window when they exit theschool system.
Patrick Cadigan (04:21):
So you are seeing, if you see Future Need,
that indicates that you havebeen found DD- eligible,
however, you just won't needservices yet. I'm actually going
through this with one of mystudents right now that the
coordinator who I was emailingback and forth, they threw out
just like Meghan had said thatwhen said student turns 18, make
(04:46):
sure to respond back so that wecan...
Meghan Smallwood (04:50):
Change them from Future Needs to Current
Request.
Patrick Cadigan (04:52):
Oh, yes, thank you.
Meghan Smallwood (04:53):
Yeah, and that usually requires contact made
from your end, or if you have atransition, special. List at
school there and with DDA,because, you know, DDA has a
list of thousands of people, sowe want to make sure that that
your name is pulled up and thatthey recognize it they're
turning 18, and then they willsend you something called a
(05:14):
Choice Letter in which you wouldselect a provider agency for a
coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (05:21):
So we've gone through this process now. The
family, they received theirDD-eligible letter, and it was
late categorized as FutureNeeds. Eventually, what will
happen is, is that once thestudent hits around the age of
18, they'll change it over toCurrent Request, but they will
receive that Choice Letter tochoose a Coordinator of
(05:44):
Community Service...
Meghan Smallwood (05:45):
Right.
Patrick Cadigan (05:47):
If the family doesn't choose one themselves,
what happens there? Like if theyif they simply don't respond?
Meghan Smallwood (05:57):
It used to be that they automatically were
randomly assigned to an agency.
But lately, and I don't know ifit's just that the agencies has
been overwhelmed with cases,I've seen where it just kind of
sits and nothing's reallyhappening, which makes me
nervous, because then you get tothe point where you're closer to
21 and there's nobody on top ofit for them. So I highly
(06:17):
recommend if you know yourindividuals charting 18 to just
stay on top of it, if youhaven't heard from a
coordinator, then you know,reach out again to your
transition specialist or theeligibility specialist at DDA to
find out who your connectionshould be. Also, I think it is a
good opportunity for you toselect that agency rather than
(06:40):
be randomly assigned. So youhave some input. You know,
talking to other families tohear who they've worked with or
what their experience has beencan help. But also remember that
it really comes down to thecoordinator more so than the
actual agency.
Patrick Cadigan (06:57):
Meghan, let's say that a family has chosen an
agency, however, they areunhappy. Are they stuck with
that agency forever?
Meghan Smallwood (07:05):
Absolutely not. You're not even stuck with
that coordinator forever. If youreally are not, you know,
feeling that connection, or ifyou're not getting the
communication you like, you canalways ask the supervisor to
switch to a new coordinator.
That doesn't work. You canalways reach out to the
eligibility specialist, the DDAto switch agencies. It is not a
long process like I've seen, youknow, a week or two, turn around
(07:27):
for families, and then you canjust move forward from there.
But I did want to jump overbecause you mentioned between
future needs and currentrequests that is being
recognized as full support thatis DDA eligible. Now I've seen
families get a letter back thatsays supports only, and it the
wording is a little confusing,because it says it recognizes
(07:50):
that there's a level of need,but it supports only. So it's
not that great of a need, and itcan be a little misleading,
because there is no funding forsupports only. DDA is limited
because of what it has, and it'sonly going to provide funding
for those who have full fundinggiven to them. So if you do see
(08:13):
supports only, that means what Itell families is that more
documentation is really neededto show that level of need, that
long term level of need for youryoung adult as they get past 21
I've had families who we knowthat the young adult will need
that, but the documentation thatwas sent might have been too
(08:35):
old. So when I saydocumentation, I mean like a
psych assessment or aneducational assessment. It might
have been six years old. Well,DDA wants to know that that's
still the case now, here now,and a lot of times, if you get a
supports only decision, or ifyou get it said that says we
have determined the individualineligible, there's usually a
(08:59):
box underneath that that willtell you their reason behind it,
and it'll reference thispsychological assessment by
so-and-so is from 2010 pleasesend further documentation. Or
what I've seen lately is thedisability code, if they have a
disability code that is not acognitive disability. DDA is
(09:21):
kind of drawing that as a redflag to understand why there's
more support needed so it can beworked through. You just have to
know and talk to people whounderstand what it means to help
you get through it all. Theother thing is, when you do get
a supports only or ineligibledecision in that packet of
(09:43):
papers that you get from DDAwith that, you know, one
important sentence, they willalso send information about an
appeal. So if you feel like thedecision that was made is not
accurate and you want to appealit, there's paperwork that they
send and. Can simply be filledout and sent with the additional
documentation that they need orfurther explanation about it, so
(10:05):
that is included in the packet.
Patrick Cadigan (10:10):
And one other thing worth mentioning is that,
again, different familiesexperience different challenges
and they have differentcircumstances. So in some cases,
there is a different prioritylevel that are referred to as
both Crisis Prevention and thenCrisis Resolution. Meghan, did
(10:31):
you want to talk about each one?
Meghan Smallwood (10:33):
Yeah so I've had families who have asked, you
know, well, is it possible toget any support before 21 we're
having a very hot, tough timeand again, like Patrick said,
it's individualized. If you, youknow, just feel like you need
more help, or it's just likethey're going to be very
particular. They have criteria,and you, you will have to plead
(10:53):
your case. But for CrisisPrevention, they recognize that
there's an urgent need. So thatcould be that the caretaker is
too old or has health issues andis unable to care for them. This
could be that within the nextyear, like they know something
bigger is going to happen, andthey need to be alert to it. So
(11:15):
it's just pleading the case thatwe're going to need some funding
sooner than later. CrisisPrevention, kind of putting you
on like, status, like, okay,there might be something coming
up, but let's see if othersupports, because that's the
other thing too. DDA is going tolook to see what else you're
accessing in the community tohelp you with your need before
(11:35):
they venture up to DDA funding.
So coordinator may recommendthat you look at the local
health services office, or haveyou accessed other waivers that
are available so they might putyou in touch with other
resources before they bump youup to a status where, okay, you
have, it's still not helping,now we need to look at it
(11:56):
together. With Crisis Resolutionthat's a little more severe, and
it's saying we need the helpright here/right now. And I've
seen cases where it's becausethe family lost their home and
they have nowhere to go, and sothey they need support. A lot of
times, it can be the level ofphysical aggression towards
themselves or others hassignificantly increased, and
(12:19):
it's dangerous. And again, itcould be the caretaker not able
to manage them. It...I've hadcoordinators, typically, the
coordinator will have to comeout, meet with the family, they
gather additional documentation,and they submit the information
to DDA to determine whether theindividual would fit this
(12:39):
priority category. And I've hadfamilies who have like, you
know, really worked with thecoordinator to explain to them
and gather things like hospitalrecords, doctors notes, things
like that, to show it, but itjust keep in mind it's not given
lightly, and we know thatthere's families out there who
(12:59):
really do need that support. Soif you really feel like it's
it's your situation, make sureyou're talking to someone to see
how to get about doing that.
Patrick Cadigan (13:13):
All right.
Well, fantastic. Well, I thinkthat that was a really good
conversation to have. This issomething that has come up now.
I'm a fairly new transitioncoordinator, which is to say new
to the process itself, and to beperfectly frank, and I tell my
families this all the time. Insome cases, I am learning with
(13:34):
them, and we are going throughthe experience together. And I'm
like, Hey, this is, I don'tknow, let's go find out.
Meghan Smallwood (13:42):
Yeah, and I can tell you, even being in
charge of the whole transitionteam for the county, I still
have cases that make me scratchmy head, and I'm like, "Huh!"
I'm gonna contact my people andfind out, because it's so
individualized, you know? Andbut that's what I love. Like,
when you learn different cases,and then you can refer back to
them, like, "Oh, I remember inthis situation." So we're always
(14:03):
building and we're alwayslearning.
Patrick Cadigan (14:06):
Just a reminder, we have had a
conversation around DD agenciesin the past. There will be a
link in the show notes to that.
There will also be a link in theshow notes to some additional
resources that we feel like canhelp families out. But yeah,
this was a conversation that wewanted to have, and I'm glad
that we finally are back on acalendar track and could do it.
Meghan Smallwood (14:33):
Me too, it's been quite the busy year, but
you know, all good things.
Patrick Cadigan (14:37):
All right, and we still have more to come, but
we thank you guys for joiningus, and we will talk to you
soon.
Meghan Smallwood (14:42):
Thanks everyone.
Patrick Cadigan (14:51):
You'll find all the links to the information
from our conversations in ourshow notes. We would love for
the information from this andall our other discussions to.
Reach as many families aspossible, and we need your help
to do that. You can find ourconversations at www, dot p2
transition.com, like, follow andshare out the podcast. Our
(15:12):
conversations are posted to allthe major platforms, including
Apple podcasts, Spotify, YouTubemusic, and that's just naming a
few. So please share and shareoften.
Meghan Smallwood (15:23):
Please also check out our YouTube channel.
Now that we've done some of theleg work for you by curating
videos of topics that revolvearound transition, we have
playlists for guardianshipalternatives to guardianship
ABLE accounts, and there's moreto come. So please be sure to
subscribe there as well. Andthen finally, check out our
website, which is full ofinformation and links to
resources around the transitionprocess. So open your web
(15:46):
browser of choice and surf towww.postsecondarytransition.com
and we thank you so much for thetime you spent with us, and look
forward to talking again soon.
Welcome, this is the Post Secondary Transition
podcast where we haveconversations around the ins and
outs and everything in betweenof the transition process for
families of students withdisabilities. I'm one of the
hosts. My name is PatrickCadigan, and I am a public
school transition coordinator.
As always, I have a co-host, andwho would that be?
Meghan Smallwood (00:19):
I am Meghan Smallwood, and I'm also a public
school transition coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (00:24):
We are actually back, like...
Meghan Smallwood (00:26):
Holy moley!
Patrick Cadigan (00:27):
Yeah, we've, like, I feel like our schedules
have now, like, caught up and,you know, we had an opportunity
to talk, and we can, like, throwout, like, hey, this is what
we're going to talk about,and...
Meghan Smallwood (00:37):
I know.
Patrick Cadigan (00:38):
...this is what we're gonna do. So that's a good
thing. So one, one topic, onetopic that comes up all the time
is eligibility for DDA services.
Now, for the uninitiated, DDA orthe Developmental Disabilities
Administration, it is the agencythat provides funding and
(01:00):
services to individuals withdisabilities.
Meghan Smallwood (01:04):
And I think it's something that when you
start that contact with them, itcan be very confusing, because,
as a state agency may do, theysend out the same generic letter
to every person who is applied,and you Get a lot of information
that may not pertain to you, andit may be hard to interpret what
(01:26):
the letter is telling you, andwe'll go into a little detail
about that, but as we alwaysreiterated, it's good to use
your resources. If you have atransition specialist at your
school, reach out to them andshow them the letter. I
appreciate when families willsend me a picture. So I can say,
"okay, this is what it means,"or "Don't worry about this," you
know. So we just want to gothrough what everything means,
(01:48):
so you have a better idea whenyou do get that correspondence
from them.
Patrick Cadigan (01:53):
We're going to presuppose a few instances, but
we did want to kind of lay itout. All right, so now this is
again for families who haveapplied for services through
DDA. We encourage them to do soprior to 18. In fact, as
transition coordinators, it'slike, boom, you hit 14, it's a
good idea to do this. Completingthat application will then add
(02:16):
your child to the list. And thereason that we're going to talk
about this is is is that, again,we want to go back and remind
everyone that DDA or DD servicesin general, because, of course,
DDA is specific to where we are,at least the name is, but DD
services, they're based oneligibility. It is not an
entitlement. And so there is alimited funding assignment. So
(02:40):
you have applied, and then youwill receive a letter. Do you
want to talk about that?
Meghan Smallwood (02:47):
Yeah, absolutely. So ultimately, the
eligibility level that you wantto receive to get that full
funding after 21 is for yourindividual to be determined as
developmentally disabled,DD-eligible. So that means that
they understand that thedisability was manifested before
age 22 and that your young adultwill be unable to live
(03:11):
independently without somesupport or regular assistance
moving forward. So that is whatyou want to see on the letter.
And it's like one sentence, likeI said, in a whole document of
other things that they sendalong. But you want to look for
that DD-eligibility, and thenthere's different levels of
that. So if you apply prior to18, which we advise, just to
(03:33):
make sure that DDA knows youryoung adult exists and puts them
on the database, you may get aFuture Needs level. And what's
confusing when you get thatletter is it'll say we recognize
the level of need. However,there's no funding available.
That just means it's because ofthe age. They're too young right
(03:54):
now, since it's, you know,transitioning you the 21 but
they put your young adult on theregistry, and they're just not
going to get any direct serviceslike with a coordinator yet.
Okay, but Future Needs is fine.
Once your young adult reaches18, that's usually when it'll
switch over to something calledCurrent Request, and that's
recognizing that the serviceswill be needed within that three
(04:16):
year window when they exit theschool system.
Patrick Cadigan (04:21):
So you are seeing, if you see Future Need,
that indicates that you havebeen found DD- eligible,
however, you just won't needservices yet. I'm actually going
through this with one of mystudents right now that the
coordinator who I was emailingback and forth, they threw out
just like Meghan had said thatwhen said student turns 18, make
(04:46):
sure to respond back so that wecan...
Meghan Smallwood (04:50):
Change them from Future Needs to Current
Request.
Patrick Cadigan (04:52):
Oh, yes, thank you.
Meghan Smallwood (04:53):
Yeah, and that usually requires contact made
from your end, or if you have atransition, special. List at
school there and with DDA,because, you know, DDA has a
list of thousands of people, sowe want to make sure that that
your name is pulled up and thatthey recognize it they're
turning 18, and then they willsend you something called a
(05:14):
Choice Letter in which you wouldselect a provider agency for a
coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (05:21):
So we've gone through this process now. The
family, they received theirDD-eligible letter, and it was
late categorized as FutureNeeds. Eventually, what will
happen is, is that once thestudent hits around the age of
18, they'll change it over toCurrent Request, but they will
receive that Choice Letter tochoose a Coordinator of
(05:44):
Community Service...
Meghan Smallwood (05:45):
Right.
Patrick Cadigan (05:47):
If the family doesn't choose one themselves,
what happens there? Like if theyif they simply don't respond?
Meghan Smallwood (05:57):
It used to be that they automatically were
randomly assigned to an agency.
But lately, and I don't know ifit's just that the agencies has
been overwhelmed with cases,I've seen where it just kind of
sits and nothing's reallyhappening, which makes me
nervous, because then you get tothe point where you're closer to
21 and there's nobody on top ofit for them. So I highly
(06:17):
recommend if you know yourindividuals charting 18 to just
stay on top of it, if youhaven't heard from a
coordinator, then you know,reach out again to your
transition specialist or theeligibility specialist at DDA to
find out who your connectionshould be. Also, I think it is a
good opportunity for you toselect that agency rather than
(06:40):
be randomly assigned. So youhave some input. You know,
talking to other families tohear who they've worked with or
what their experience has beencan help. But also remember that
it really comes down to thecoordinator more so than the
actual agency.
Patrick Cadigan (06:57):
Meghan, let's say that a family has chosen an
agency, however, they areunhappy. Are they stuck with
that agency forever?
Meghan Smallwood (07:05):
Absolutely not. You're not even stuck with
that coordinator forever. If youreally are not, you know,
feeling that connection, or ifyou're not getting the
communication you like, you canalways ask the supervisor to
switch to a new coordinator.
That doesn't work. You canalways reach out to the
eligibility specialist, the DDAto switch agencies. It is not a
long process like I've seen, youknow, a week or two, turn around
(07:27):
for families, and then you canjust move forward from there.
But I did want to jump overbecause you mentioned between
future needs and currentrequests that is being
recognized as full support thatis DDA eligible. Now I've seen
families get a letter back thatsays supports only, and it the
wording is a little confusing,because it says it recognizes
(07:50):
that there's a level of need,but it supports only. So it's
not that great of a need, and itcan be a little misleading,
because there is no funding forsupports only. DDA is limited
because of what it has, and it'sonly going to provide funding
for those who have full fundinggiven to them. So if you do see
(08:13):
supports only, that means what Itell families is that more
documentation is really neededto show that level of need, that
long term level of need for youryoung adult as they get past 21
I've had families who we knowthat the young adult will need
that, but the documentation thatwas sent might have been too
(08:35):
old. So when I saydocumentation, I mean like a
psych assessment or aneducational assessment. It might
have been six years old. Well,DDA wants to know that that's
still the case now, here now,and a lot of times, if you get a
supports only decision, or ifyou get it said that says we
have determined the individualineligible, there's usually a
(08:59):
box underneath that that willtell you their reason behind it,
and it'll reference thispsychological assessment by
so-and-so is from 2010 pleasesend further documentation. Or
what I've seen lately is thedisability code, if they have a
disability code that is not acognitive disability. DDA is
(09:21):
kind of drawing that as a redflag to understand why there's
more support needed so it can beworked through. You just have to
know and talk to people whounderstand what it means to help
you get through it all. Theother thing is, when you do get
a supports only or ineligibledecision in that packet of
(09:43):
papers that you get from DDAwith that, you know, one
important sentence, they willalso send information about an
appeal. So if you feel like thedecision that was made is not
accurate and you want to appealit, there's paperwork that they
send and. Can simply be filledout and sent with the additional
documentation that they need orfurther explanation about it, so
(10:05):
that is included in the packet.
Patrick Cadigan (10:10):
And one other thing worth mentioning is that,
again, different familiesexperience different challenges
and they have differentcircumstances. So in some cases,
there is a different prioritylevel that are referred to as
both Crisis Prevention and thenCrisis Resolution. Meghan, did
(10:31):
you want to talk about each one?
Meghan Smallwood (10:33):
Yeah so I've had families who have asked, you
know, well, is it possible toget any support before 21 we're
having a very hot, tough timeand again, like Patrick said,
it's individualized. If you, youknow, just feel like you need
more help, or it's just likethey're going to be very
particular. They have criteria,and you, you will have to plead
(10:53):
your case. But for CrisisPrevention, they recognize that
there's an urgent need. So thatcould be that the caretaker is
too old or has health issues andis unable to care for them. This
could be that within the nextyear, like they know something
bigger is going to happen, andthey need to be alert to it. So
(11:15):
it's just pleading the case thatwe're going to need some funding
sooner than later. CrisisPrevention, kind of putting you
on like, status, like, okay,there might be something coming
up, but let's see if othersupports, because that's the
other thing too. DDA is going tolook to see what else you're
accessing in the community tohelp you with your need before
(11:35):
they venture up to DDA funding.
So coordinator may recommendthat you look at the local
health services office, or haveyou accessed other waivers that
are available so they might putyou in touch with other
resources before they bump youup to a status where, okay, you
have, it's still not helping,now we need to look at it
(11:56):
together. With Crisis Resolutionthat's a little more severe, and
it's saying we need the helpright here/right now. And I've
seen cases where it's becausethe family lost their home and
they have nowhere to go, and sothey they need support. A lot of
times, it can be the level ofphysical aggression towards
themselves or others hassignificantly increased, and
(12:19):
it's dangerous. And again, itcould be the caretaker not able
to manage them. It...I've hadcoordinators, typically, the
coordinator will have to comeout, meet with the family, they
gather additional documentation,and they submit the information
to DDA to determine whether theindividual would fit this
(12:39):
priority category. And I've hadfamilies who have like, you
know, really worked with thecoordinator to explain to them
and gather things like hospitalrecords, doctors notes, things
like that, to show it, but itjust keep in mind it's not given
lightly, and we know thatthere's families out there who
(12:59):
really do need that support. Soif you really feel like it's
it's your situation, make sureyou're talking to someone to see
how to get about doing that.
Patrick Cadigan (13:13):
All right.
Well, fantastic. Well, I thinkthat that was a really good
conversation to have. This issomething that has come up now.
I'm a fairly new transitioncoordinator, which is to say new
to the process itself, and to beperfectly frank, and I tell my
families this all the time. Insome cases, I am learning with
(13:34):
them, and we are going throughthe experience together. And I'm
like, Hey, this is, I don'tknow, let's go find out.
Meghan Smallwood (13:42):
Yeah, and I can tell you, even being in
charge of the whole transitionteam for the county, I still
have cases that make me scratchmy head, and I'm like, "Huh!"
I'm gonna contact my people andfind out, because it's so
individualized, you know? Andbut that's what I love. Like,
when you learn different cases,and then you can refer back to
them, like, "Oh, I remember inthis situation." So we're always
(14:03):
building and we're alwayslearning.
Patrick Cadigan (14:06):
Just a reminder, we have had a
conversation around DD agenciesin the past. There will be a
link in the show notes to that.
There will also be a link in theshow notes to some additional
resources that we feel like canhelp families out. But yeah,
this was a conversation that wewanted to have, and I'm glad
that we finally are back on acalendar track and could do it.
Meghan Smallwood (14:33):
Me too, it's been quite the busy year, but
you know, all good things.
Patrick Cadigan (14:37):
All right, and we still have more to come, but
we thank you guys for joiningus, and we will talk to you
soon.
Meghan Smallwood (14:42):
Thanks everyone.
Patrick Cadigan (14:51):
You'll find all the links to the information
from our conversations in ourshow notes. We would love for
the information from this andall our other discussions to.
Reach as many families aspossible, and we need your help
to do that. You can find ourconversations at www, dot p2
transition.com, like, follow andshare out the podcast. Our
(15:12):
conversations are posted to allthe major platforms, including
Apple podcasts, Spotify, YouTubemusic, and that's just naming a
few. So please share and shareoften.
Meghan Smallwood (15:23):
Please also check out our YouTube channel.
Now that we've done some of theleg work for you by curating
videos of topics that revolvearound transition, we have
playlists for guardianshipalternatives to guardianship
ABLE accounts, and there's moreto come. So please be sure to
subscribe there as well. Andthen finally, check out our
website, which is full ofinformation and links to
resources around the transitionprocess. So open your web
(15:46):
browser of choice and surf towww.postsecondarytransition.com
and we thank you so much for thetime you spent with us, and look
forward to talking again soon.
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