Finding Opportunities for Inclusion in the Community
Employment, social activities, and life management in the Lake Houston area:
Recreation & Social
Forgotten Wishes Foundation One in four people of all ages has a disability that keeps them from living, working, attending school, or socializing without the assistance of another person. While each individual’s needs and circumstances are different, they share one thing in common, they often feel excluded, isolated, and forgotten. The Forgotten Wishes Foundation was created to impact the lives of people living with a disability by letting them know that they are remembered and valued through personalized holiday and birthday cards, newsletters, and a Facebook page. They serve anyone with a disability at any age, focusing on individuals with IDD, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and other physical or mental impairments. Sign-up is free.
Individu
als with disabilities often choose activities and friendships with their disabled peers as well as with others in their general community.
Sailing Angels Foundation – Sailing out of the Portofino Harbour in Kemah, Captain Dave McCabe arranges two-hour sailing adventures for individuals with disabilities and their families. It is a wonderful non-profit organization dedicated to providing a great experience on the water.
Best Buddies – Many high school and college campuses have chapters of Best Buddies, a national organization that partners students with disabilities with typical peers. The link will take you to the Best Buddies Texas page. The University of Houston, Rice and Houston Baptist University have Best Buddies Chapters.
Special Olympics Texas – Special Olympics Texas offers athletic training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities ages 8 and up. The local Kingwood/Humble/Atascocita team is the Lake Houston Hurricanes. Sports are seasonal and include swimming, cycling, bowling, basketball, equestrian, ping pong, tennis and others.
Volunteering
“Involving Youth with Disabilities in Community Service Activities“ is a helpful article that appeared in the Impact Newsletter published by The University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration. They publish excellent single-subject, magazine-type newsletters available online. This article comes from Issue 192, their Impact: Feature Issue on Parenting Teens and Young Adults with Disabilities. Other issues focus on topics involving integration of people with disabilities in the community, including transportation, social integration, etc.
Self-Advocacy Programs
Some resources for learning and practicing advocacy skills:
1. Texas Advocates – Texas Advocates provides training to its members on self advocacy, self determination, person-directed planning, and self advocacy organizations.
2. Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities helps people with developmental disabilities achieve their potential for independence, productivity and integration into their communities by working to develop a comprehensive system of service and supports in Texas.
More to come….
