This past weekend, we celebrated the United State’s Independence Day. Concurrently, I am working with several clients to create a comprehensive long-term care plan for their family member with a disability. While none of us lives completely independent of others, the goal of most American adults is to live as independently as possible. Describing “as independent as possible” for a particular adult with disabilities is the first step towards building a long-term care plan that will provide...

This past weekend, my younger son turned 15. Fifteen is a nice, solid number, but it is a “not-quite” age. Not-quite old enough to drive, not-quite old enough to work, at least that’s the case for most employers. It is a birthday that can go a bit unnoticed. For children with disabilities and their families, the focus is often on age 18. It is true that 18 is an inflection point. Prior to the children’s age 18, parents have control and veto power over their children’s decisions and...

One of my husband’s favorite movies is The Goonies, in which a small band of quirky childhood friends pursue a lost pirate treasure in Oregon. In one scene, one of the band sets off a Rube Goldberg machine involving a ball, a track, a bucket, a sprinkler, a lot of string and a live, egg-laying chicken which, when functioning correctly, allow him to unlatch and open the front gate without leaving his bedroom. A Rube Goldberg machine is defined as a chain reaction that uses everyday objects...