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You don't need a provider to start building independence. You need one small routine, done the same way, most days, with you doing a little less each week. Here are five we recommend to nearly every family we meet. Pick one. Not five — one. How to use these Each routine follows the same pattern, and it's the same pattern our coaches use: 1. Do it together for a week or two, narrating what you're doing and why. 2. Step back one notch. You're nearby, but they lead. You answer q

Choosing a provider is one of the bigger decisions a family makes in SDP, and most families make it with less information than they'd use to pick a dentist. That's not your fault — providers all describe themselves the same way. These seven questions get past the brochure. Ask them of us, too. 1. "Walk me through what a typical session looks like." You're listening for specifics: where it happens, what the coach does, what the individual does. A good answer sounds like a stor

Most first jobs don't end because the person couldn't do the work. They end because of everything around the work: the schedule, the small talk, the manager who said "grab me when you're done" and meant something specific. So when we prepare a young adult for employment, the job tasks are the smallest part. Here's what we actually practice, in roughly the order it comes up. Before applying: knowing what you're looking for Figuring out the fit. Not "what job do you want" but "

"We teach, we don't do it for them" is easy to say. Every provider says something like it. So instead of explaining the philosophy, here's what it actually looks like on a Tuesday afternoon. The goal The young adult in this example — call him D. — has a goal in his plan: shop for a week of groceries on his own. Right now his mom does it. He's been to the store plenty of times, but always as a passenger. Before the store The session starts at home, not at the store. D. and his

Families often ask us for "support" without knowing there are two distinct services behind that word. Both are built on the same approach — teach the skill, don't just do the task — but they fit different moments in a person's life. Here's the difference, and how families usually decide. The one-sentence version Coaching (our Champion Program) builds skills toward independence. Supported Living Services provide ongoing support for an adult who is already living, or about to l

If you've heard "Self-Determination" at a regional center meeting and nodded along without being sure what it meant, you're in good company. Most families we work with felt the same way at first. Here's the version we wish someone had handed us What Self-Determination actually is California's Self-Determination Program (SDP) is an alternative to the traditional way regional center services are delivered. In the traditional model, the regional center picks the vendors and arra