Apartment Trials!

When Angela was 11 years old she told me one day, "Mom! I have bad news. I'm moving far away and you're not coming." After all, that is what her big brothers did, and she always looked up to them as little sisters do. Unfortunately for Angela, her health was never very stable, and this was not going to be a realistic expectation for her. Then, a few years ago when she was so sick, and we were told she would not likely survive, we stopped looking into the future more than a few weeks at a time. Thanks to a life-saving, life-altering surgery, Angela's life changed. Our goals for her changed, including being able to live at least semi-independently.

This past week she did a one-week apartment trial assessment with a local agency called Kota Connections. The purpose was to see what areas of independent living skills she has mastered, where she needs a little more work, and where we know she will need supports.

I'm happy to report our impression of Angela's living skills are pretty accurate! In the trial we confirmed she needs help with cooking, and we knew and due to medical problems she can't be alone when she eats due to her unstable swallow. We discovered when faced with new-to-her machines she just needs a few prompts for laundry but will soon be independent with this. Cleaning is an area she needs help. The rest of her day: taking medication, getting out the door on time, etc she does completely independently thanks to her Goally device. (When staff arrived to check on her in the morning she was up, and ready to go, waiting at the door for her ride.) Even when there was a change in schedule and she needed to be ready to leave earlier, I was remotely able to make adjustments to her Goally.

Our next step is to 1) wait for her new county case manager to be assigned because she's currently without one 2) contact the agencies that do supported living (I think her previous case manager did this and 3) find a roommate!

If you are considering the possibility of your adult with a disability moving out, but are unsure if they would be able to manage it, I HIGHLY recommend doing an apartment trial! It allows you to learn where your loved one's independent living skills are before you are stuck in a one year lease. I know a few people who have done similar trials and learned their loved one was READY, and others who had a list of skills their loved one needed to gain or improve before moving forward.