Life Beyond School
Introduction
Life beyond school takes a lot of thinking and planning. Sometime family carers and whānau may want to do this themselves, others may want to engage with external support, and some may want to ask for providers or independent organisations to do it for them. This is about collating all the knowledge and information together to be able to experience new ideas.
How can we:
- support our disabled whānau member to prepare for Adulthood
- get clear about what you and your whānau member want
- help their aspirations and goals become a reality and
- think about ways and resources to achieve this.
Transition
What is our disabled whānau member going to transition to?
- Work
- Adult Education
- What to do during the day
- Change of living
- Something else
One of the most important things that disabled people and families and whānau have emphasised is to ‘Stay in contact with Friends’. Friends are important and life can be quite isolating without outside contact.
Some ways to stay in contact may include;
- Regular catch-ups
- Social Media
- Gaming
- Working together
- Adult Education
Knowing ‘What’s in my Community’ is important.
Our community have resources that can be useful. Having an idea and access to resources can help to pave a way forward.
Some people and families and whānau have collectively connected to explore ideas and knowledge. This can be rewarding as this can add an additional support where opportunities can evolve. Explore My Network.
Opportunities may include;
- Work options
- Adult Education
- My Business – micro business – collective business opportunities
Stepping Back
Some people want families and whānau involved with their lives, while others want to explore Adulthood independently. This can be a challenging time for families and whānau. Things to consider may include, strengths, interests, types of communication, and Supported Decision Making
(SDM) is about having the supports or systems in place that enable any person to make a decision. It recognises that with support almost everyone can make their own decisions and indicate their preferences.
While we are planning Life beyond school we could think about, what could life look like in five years, ten years, and what do we need to get there?
Remember life is a journey and we ALL learn from experiences and opportunities can come from unexpected places.
You can request a workshop to develop new/additional skills needed to create thinking about ‘life beyond school’ by clicking on this link.
