Tag Archives: Transition Programs

Why Haven’t I Worked? (Part three)

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The ongoing saga of advocacy running amok

2008 – Final weeks

Nearly a dozen weeks into the New Year, things were going to hell and a handbasket, but the teachers didn’t understand anxiety and behavior issues because they were not a “therapeutic program”. For them to think they need to be therapists or emotional councilors should look at themselves for allowing chaos at all costs as the only way to grow. Between Mass. February Vacation to March 12th, was nearly 3 weeks away; staff just wrote it off as another business day in the office.

Without repeating too much of that history, the involvement of the “transition coordinator” was literally my responsibility playing email and phone tag and trying to get someone to show up on a January day in 2008, no less than 2 months to my graduation. Is this what “self advocacy” really means?

Ironically other threats such as “we won’t be here after your 21st birthday” was also repeated. I say “threats”, because the manager type was drilling it down to cause panic to learn to cope. Some people I have spoken to have rightfully said that at this point family members should be supporting in that transition. Well unfortunately, my family was dwindling and my cousins that were the closest were not available, as a result just feeling so alone to begin with.

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Why Haven’t I Worked?

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Part of an ongoing series of feel-good ideals leading to hopeless outcomes

2005-2007

I was able to claim the “Class of 2005” in some ways, my second out of district program. In fact the Eagle Tribune had a photog, but none of the pictures ever got to print. I was hoping I’d have a moment. Again anyone with behavior challenges must be damned from soup to nuts, meaning we were the least underfunded program of all the programs at that site – because no one has sympathy to people who have chronic behavior issues.

The “school to work” program commenced at the start the 05-06 school year, with the summer time being spent 1/2 the day being what became my former program and what would be my new one. By end of the summer program, the program I left was 3 years to the day, the longest I would be in three out of district programs.

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Transitions? OMG That’s an Awesome idea…

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…but why are you 10 years behind the 8 ball?

I sit on a planning committee of an annual conference for families who live in my state -the state I live in, and I sit and have to listen to a couple hours almost every month about people presenting ideas about transition planning.

And I sit there quietly like a wallflower.

I sit like I have severe autism.

I remain quiet.

I don’t like to come off as threatening or combative.

I just sit there.

And hopefully people of the intellectual class and the professional class gets their heads out of their rear ends and understand that while this is good for the second or third generation of autistics (or developmentally disabled people) in my state, the state I live in – what about the thirtysomethings who are limping around the system just trying to get through a day? Some may not be able to verbalize because they can’t put their concerns into words, or they have been severely manipulated by a bunch of racist psychologists who think its OK to ruin a child’s brain at their teenage years, and screw them off as they become adults and not have any clue what unintended consequences they do to these people.

Excuse me for being crass: I could care less about the goddamned spoiled rotten brats in special ed! Who gives a flying bleep about “the children!” What about the goddamned adults that the professionals could care less about?

I wished I wasn’t a monster, but I sadly became one in many ways thanks to the goddamned idiots running SAU 12, GLEC and dare I say “Doctor” Teresa Bolick who with all their failures caused me to become a scary person. Now I know why people run away from me. It’s these nitwits that should be on death row!

The controlled rants are over. 🙂

If you’re new to this site, let me be clear: I live in a state where we were the first in the nation to close a statewide “school” for autistic like people; but its also the same state where people have pushed “progressive” agendas that have resulted in “regressive” actions. I also live in the most richest towns probably per capita and those communities have absolutely zero tolerance for people with developmental disabilities (if you are under the age of say 21.) You (or your child, your “friend” from elementary school, or family member) has basically been hopeless since entering middle school; and some of these people have been hopeless as early as the end of the 20th Century.