Jackie's Story

February 18, 2011
By Jackie

My son was diagnosed in the mid-70s with infantile autism when he was 5 years old. Today at age 40, he lives at home with me and his father. We were told by the experts when he was very young what we could expect for his future and that he would most likely end up working in a sheltered workshop as an adult. They were pretty much right on with most of their predictions. 

After graduating from high school, he went to work in a sheltered workshop. After 5 years, he wasn’t happy and wanted a "real' job. With a lot of help and encouragement, he was able to leave the workshop and get a real job. He is currently in his 11th year working part time as a courtesy at a local grocery store. We could not be more proud of him.

For a long time he has wanted nothing more than to live independently from us. So far, this has been his greatest challenge. With severe shortages of state funds for supported living housing, it is not possible for him. He has been on our state’s waiting list for services for more than 15 years, but because he has parents who are still physically able to care for him, he is not eligible to receive services. This is unfair and unfortunate, both for him and us as aging parents. All of the attention and money is spent on educating children, but once they reach adulthood, they are pretty much forgotten as far as support and services.

My sister and I completed a manuscript last year and submitted it to several publishing companies, but so far have been unable to get his story published. Our purpose in writing his story s to bring attention to the need for adult services.