Issues Facing the Special Needs Community: Transitional Planning

Today, we're posting the first in a series of articles highlighting important special-needs issues. These articles also include information about important special-needs professionals.

Professional
Stuart Flaum is the chairman and founder of the Disabilities Leadership Council. While the Council is a fairly new organization, Chairman Flaum has been active in the special-needs world for a number of years. In addition to his work for the Council, he is the co-chair of Autism Speaks' Manhattan Walk, serves on the Planning and Advisory Board of the Glenholme School (a school for children with developmental disabilities in Connecticut), and coaches an elite Special Olympics snowshoe team. Stuart is also active in a number of organizations, including the National Autism Association, NAMI, DOROT, and AHRC. Stuart is also instrumental in helping families plan for their financial futures. He is the founder of the Special Needs Family Planning Group at AXA Advisors, LLC, a group centered on specialized financial planning for individuals with disabilities and their families.

Issues: Transitional Planning
One of the big issues facing individuals with developmental disabilities is the challenges posed by the transition from childhood and the school environment into adulthood. Parents and social workers must aim for the full inclusion of people with special needs into the community; gone are the days when, after high school graduation, people with ASD and other developmental disabilities disappeared into group homes or were otherwise institutionalized. The inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in society is a main goal of the Disabilities Leadership Council, and the concept is also supported by the Special Needs Family Planning Group at AXA Advisors. Individuals and families must make long-term financial plans well into adulthood to ensure that an individual with special needs are well supported for as long as necessary.

The Autism Society of America has prepared information concerning the transition into adult life which covers a number of issues underlying this transition. This document is available at http://www.autism-society.org/site/DocServer/Transition-Preparing_for_a_Lifetime.pdf?docID=10622.

Please comment with your reaction to this document, or with suggestions for future topics and people for discussion.