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Originally Posted by ShaniFaye
I actually emailed the guy that wrote the article with some of the ideas we were talking about....evidently they passed the email along to the sister and she emailed me back, this was her response
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Very cool Shani. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I was all about this guy getting his license until I read what was happening when he had one. Allow me to skip happily down the bleeding heart liberal trail and suggest that this is exactly the kind of situation the entire mental health system is set up for. I'm not suggesting that he move into a group home, but there are ways to support him and allow him to live as independently as he and his family would like. The People First group would be a great start. Alot of the folks I've met that are involved in the organization are very outgoing and personable. He wouldn't be friendless for long.
There's no reason why a local agency couldn't assist him in learning about the responsibility of riding his moped. They could make sure he's well informed of the risks involved and help him ward off the folks who've taken advantage of him in the past. Even help him find a way to pay for insurance, repairs to the moped, gas, etc. Hell, I bet they could find someone to assist him in getting his CB up to snuff so it's not taking out the neighbor's telephone. It's all about his role in the community he lives in and a big part of how supports and services are suppose to be designed now.
Slightly off topic. I've been working in the DD community for over ten years now and I always call people by their names, not their disability. If you use the word retarded as slang, I won't say anything to you, but I'll be mentally dropping your IQ by several points. I don't care if you consider it "PC" or not.