[the21stblessing]

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<div dir=”auto”>Dear Senate Budget Committee members,</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>”Self-determinatioin will change your child’s life.”  These were the words on a sign written by my daughter, who has Down syndrome, on a suggestion board at a conference shortly after our family was introduced to person-centered planning. It is her way of saying that her life is on a positive trajectory toward her dreams and goals because of the California Self-Determination Program. It enables her to access individualized supports to grow in her job skills, hone her self-advocacy skills, and open up practical hands-on ways to learn independence — after being on a waiting list for an “independence skills class” through a regional center vendor for two years.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Happily, she was selected as a Self-Determination Program participant in the November 2019 DDS drawing; but because of the burden of COVID restrictions, our progress in enrollment was delayed — There was so much on our plate as a family, plus our daughter was dealing with the stress of changes in life. She struggled with the sudden necessity of frequent handwashing and getting used to masks; plus she was furloughed from work for two months, which magnified identity issues and loss of connection with her social circles. She sorely missed hugs and face-to-face contact from those dear to her outside the home.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Working through the pandemic was rough at first, and constructing new virtual connections with friends and family took time… It did not leave a lot of energy left over to make progress on fine-tuning a person-centered plan, budget certification, and spending plan.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>However, she has officially gone live as of January 1, 2021 and she is being dramatically empowered by accessing tailor-made supports outside the traditional vendor system . For example Toastmasters ($90/year) helps with her growth in persuasive speaking, organizing her ideas, building confidence, and honing self-advocacy skills. Also she is working with a coach who is an outstanding self-advocate/mentor to help her prepare for the meetings for which she serves as a board member, by helping her better understand the meeting agendas and handouts. Self-determination benefits are crucial to her maximizing her gifts and accessing the community, –but these supports are outside the scope of a typical day program.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>In addition, instead of “boring” respite hours at home (she is an active 24 year old, after all), she is looking forward to bus discovery adventures with a community integration trainer, once both of them get their vaccines. And these are just a few examples of how her life is changing for the better because of self-determination.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Last night my daughter competed in a local speech competition for the first time — and >>won<<! As a result, she will be competing in a district Toastmasters competition next week. Her topic? “The New Normal.”</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>At one point she states:</div>
<div dir=”auto”>”Before I had been reluctant about talking about my future, but now I began to apply for a program called Self Determination, a program that supports my growing toward my goals and things I love.”</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Our sons and daughters need self determination; and our polity sorely needs the growing self-advocates and transformed lives that the Self-Determination Program engenders.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Please support this unique program which values:</div>
<div dir=”auto”>• Freedom to exercise the same rights as all citizens; to establish, with freely chosen supports, family and friends, where they want to live, with whom they want to live, how their time will be occupied, and who supports them;</div>
<div dir=”auto”>• Authority to control a budget in order to purchase services and supports of their choosing;</div>
<div dir=”auto”>• Support, including the ability to arrange resources and personnel, which will allow flexibility to live in the community of their choice;</div>
<div dir=”auto”>• Responsibility, which includes the opportunity to take responsibility for making decisions in their own lives and accept a valued role in their community, and</div>
<div dir=”auto”>• Confirmation, in making decisions in their own lives by designing and operating the service that they rely on.</div>
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<div dir=”auto”>Self-Determination >>changes<< lives.</div>
<div dir=”auto”>Sincerely, Linda Chan Rapp</div>
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