Services for developmentally-delayed teen? (Phoenix, New River: homes, school district, living)

[happygirl'smom]

My family and I will be moving to the Phoenix metro area, as my husband has earned a promotion requiring relocation to AZ from our current home in the Midwest. I'm writing to ask for information regarding services for our 17 yr. old daughter, who is developmentally disabled and has a 65 IQ. (It seems like all kinds of labels for the same disability are used: mentally retarded, cognitively disabled, etc.) She currently attends public school, but is in a self-contained class. As part of that class, she participates in employability training activities within the community while supervised by school staff in the mornings and returns to the school for the afternoons to participate in academics and social activities.

I would sincerely appreciate any advice on beginning my search for services for my daughter. Do any of you have experience with high schools with similar programs? If not, what do your schools offer for older DD students? I know it's federal law that they can stay in school until age 21 if it's in their best interest. What about community services and/or transition services for life after high school- do any of you have info. about those? Any input would be helpful, since I'm not sure where to start! Thanks!!

[mycrazylife]

I have a disabled son. Brain injury from a car accident. I do think that overall there are good disability resources in the area. You could check out ABIL (Arizona Bridge to Independent Living) sorry I don't know the link, but you should be able to google it. Maybe they could be of some help, or at least tell you where to go for more info.
If I come up with anything else, I'll let you know.

[mycrazylife]

Here are a couple of links for you to try:

The DRM Regional Resource Directory: Arizona

Learning Disabilities Resource Community - Home

Arizona Bridge to Independent Living, Phoenix, Arizona, assisting persons with disabilities, ADA services, Peer Mentoring, Home Modifications, Personal Assistant Services, and more.

Arizona State Resources (broken link)

ADAPTIVE RECREATION SERVICES

I don't know if this is what you are looking for~ but if not maybe there will at least be some info to help you find where to go. The employability training sounds similar to the program my son is participating in, so checkout the Vocational Rehabiliation/Independent Living Resource Office.

Here'sa link to the VR page and the ILRS and other disability info can be accessed in the menu on the left of the page.
https://www.azdes.gov/rsa/vr.asp

[aguafria]

Originally Posted by happygirl'smom

My family and I will be moving to the Phoenix metro area, as my husband has earned a promotion requiring relocation to AZ from our current home in the Midwest. I'm writing to ask for information regarding services for our 17 yr. old daughter, who is developmentally disabled and has a 65 IQ. (It seems like all kinds of labels for the same disability are used: mentally retarded, cognitively disabled, etc.) She currently attends public school, but is in a self-contained class. As part of that class, she participates in employability training activities within the community while supervised by school staff in the mornings and returns to the school for the afternoons to participate in academics and social activities.

I would sincerely appreciate any advice on beginning my search for services for my daughter. Do any of you have experience with high schools with similar programs? If not, what do your schools offer for older DD students? I know it's federal law that they can stay in school until age 21 if it's in their best interest. What about community services and/or transition services for life after high school- do any of you have info. about those? Any input would be helpful, since I'm not sure where to start! Thanks!!

Hi there! I used to be a Life Skills High School Special Ed teacher out here in Arizona. It sounds like maybe she could have been in my classroom! We used to go out a lot into the community to learn a lot of real life skills. (I'm a SAHM now, so I've been out of the loop on teaching for 4 years now)

Do you have any idea where you will live in the Phoenix area? You will definitely need to contact the school district and they will have a lot of information for you regarding their programs. From what I've witnessed, there seem to be a lot of good schools out here that will fit your daughter's needs!

[happygirl'smom]

Originally Posted by aguafria

Hi there! I used to be a Life Skills High School Special Ed teacher out here in Arizona. It sounds like maybe she could have been in my classroom! We used to go out a lot into the community to learn a lot of real life skills. (I'm a SAHM now, so I've been out of the loop on teaching for 4 years now)

Do you have any idea where you will live in the Phoenix area? You will definitely need to contact the school district and they will have a lot of information for you regarding their programs. From what I've witnessed, there seem to be a lot of good schools out here that will fit your daughter's needs!

Thanks for your reply. I'll bet she would have been in a classroom like yours! Do you know if all of the high schools have Life Skills program, or do only certain ones provide that? My husband likes the northern part of the area- he's thinking about New River to get a little further away from the city. (He's used to commuting, since he worked in Chicago and we live in SE Wisconsin.) He's already been working out there for a few months, and my daughter and I are going out for Easter and the week afterwards. We plan to start looking for homes during that time, but we won't actually move until after the school year is over this summer. Thanks again!

[happygirl'smom]

Originally Posted by mycrazylife

Here are a couple of links for you to try:

The DRM Regional Resource Directory: Arizona

Learning Disabilities Resource Community - Home

Arizona Bridge to Independent Living, Phoenix, Arizona, assisting persons with disabilities, ADA services, Peer Mentoring, Home Modifications, Personal Assistant Services, and more.

Arizona State Resources (broken link)

ADAPTIVE RECREATION SERVICES

I don't know if this is what you are looking for~ but if not maybe there will at least be some info to help you find where to go. The employability training sounds similar to the program my son is participating in, so checkout the Vocational Rehabiliation/Independent Living Resource Office.

Here'sa link to the VR page and the ILRS and other disability info can be accessed in the menu on the left of the page.
https://www.azdes.gov/rsa/vr.asp

Thank you for the information! I appreciate it very much!! I'm sure you know how overwhelming it can be at times. Thanks again

[aguafria]

Originally Posted by happygirl'smom

Thanks for your reply. I'll bet she would have been in a classroom like yours! Do you know if all of the high schools have Life Skills program, or do only certain ones provide that? My husband likes the northern part of the area- he's thinking about New River to get a little further away from the city. (He's used to commuting, since he worked in Chicago and we live in SE Wisconsin.) He's already been working out there for a few months, and my daughter and I are going out for Easter and the week afterwards. We plan to start looking for homes during that time, but we won't actually move until after the school year is over this summer. Thanks again!

You know, I'm not sure. I know at my high school we didn't have the program until 2001. But know there are at least 2 Life Skills Classrooms. I'm betting that you won't have a problem finding a self-contained LS classroom up in that area.