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[quote=Anonymous]
I am prior poster about our youngest daughter.  We must have rolled a red ball to her thousands of time saying ball roll.  Interesting when she started speech at 3, she had about 200 words which I had, of course, jotted down as she said them; but she did not chain or connect even two words.  The speech therapist started with wind up animals of a cow and sheep I think and "cow walks" etc.  Also what you find as you go with speech therapy is that as it goes on, it relates to reading skills such as sequencing activities, pronouncing words clearly and correctly etc.  To be clear, we knew early on that she would be focused on acquiring basic skills, but also the abilities that would serve her well in the work world.  While it takes time getting used to her low speech volume and clarity at times, she has excellent social skills and workplace behaviors.  She knows safety rules at home and in the work setting.  And while you will hear the use of "functional skills," please do realize that this can mean reading the newspaper each morning about the Washington Football Team, scanning the headlines to know that Biden is under stress for this and that etc.  It also means having her cookbook from which she chooses recipes to make with me and maintaining her own calendar of work and volunteer activity.  She has the right bag set for her job, her volunteer job, piano lesson or the library a day or more before. While she does not have an abstract concept in her brain, she is excellent at rounding up numbers if we go shopping, she can read and choose from a menu within the cost range suggested as in we are not going for shrimp which is likely the most expensive item!  Functionality has many different levels.

For OP and others with an ID disability, it is important to get in touch with your local developmental disability agency which in Virginia is your Community Services Board (CSB) to be sure your child/teen has an intake done to see if one qualifies to receive Case Management services and be placed on the Medicaid DD Waiver Waiting List.  In Virginia there is a waiver that many are able to qualify for with no waiting list called the C+++ Waiver which can offer in-home care assistance, respite etc. if one meets the criteria.  For older teens and young adults, folks are using the waiver to have a son or daughter out in the community and learning in-home skills, too.  To be truthful, families often find a way to supplement the official low hourly wage.  We have our daughter on DD Waiting list, but have not used the other waiver personally.  I have found that college students are great and once you get in the door, it is very easy to find another as students graduate.  It is very good to have made connection to the DD Agency in your area should there be a crisis situation so that those who step in will have someone to help them navigate the system.

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