This Crazy Quilt: Parenting Adult Special Needs One Day At A Time
By Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
This Crazy Quilt: Parenting Adult Special Needs One Day At A Time is a collection of daily blog posts chronicling our family’s process as our special needs daughter turned 21 and “aged out” of her school system. It’s all here: our steps, missteps, failings, successes, emotional highs and lows, bureaucratic bumblings and staff saves.
The series of posts that became this book were an outgrowth of my professional blogging as a couples psychotherapist as well as a serendipitous confluence of conversations with friends and colleagues. One friend proffered, “This is a story that nobody is telling.” As the speaker was herself a journalist the comment gave me some pause.
My hope is that by extending my hand to you and guiding you through the pages of our family’s journey, you will feel less alone; that perhaps something in the pattern of our footsteps will offer guidance in your family’s quest to find a safe and satisfying adulthood for your special needs child.
The book includes illustrations by our daughter and an extensive list of post-secondary and other resources for parents of special needs children.
About The Book Author
Specialist in Individual and Couples Therapy
Hello. I’m Jill Edelman, and, counting clinical practice, training and education I’ve been a therapist for over four decades.
My practice focus is on couples therapy which draws on my skills and experience working with individuals and couples with a wide range of issues. Some of the problems presented to me have included significant child-parent strains, divorcing parents, step-family adjustments, post-divorce parenting, mid-life confusion, loss of a family member, betrayal and affairs, children and gender orientation, same-sex relationships, gay and lesbian adult children, dealing with mental illness, cultural differences, special needs parenting and the impact of extended family members and family business on a couple’s relationship.
My goal has been to paint a picture in prose for parents of adult special needs to view as useful model for their journey. Each state has its own confusing process, each adult child their own set of challenges and abilities, each parental body, their unique gifts and opportunities. Some folks do not need government funding. Others have children who do not readily qualify for government funding, yet clearly are ill-equiped to live on their own. Whatever the composition of your child’s patchwork quilt of adult special needs living, perhaps this blog can be of help. Fingers crossed all our special children will arrive at a place of safety and fulfillment in adulthood. That is the wish; that is the work.
Reviews
"Jill has navigated the waves of young adulthood searching for the optimal recreation, leisure and vocational life activities that could focus on her daughter’s talents. The balance of activities of daily living, community program participation and meaningful evening leisure options is a hard puzzle to put into action. Jill, passionately dives into and discovers roadblocks can be overcome. Masterfully creating meaningful life experiences and tackling structured living. Jill is an inspiration to all people who are involved in the special needs community. We are grateful to be included in this much-needed ocean of clever conversation, humor and dignity for all of our children with all of their abilities."
Cindy Freedman CTRS, OTR
Co-owner, Angelfish Therapy.com
“Jill Edelman has created a unique and inspiring resource for families of young adults with disabilities. Elegantly written as a series of daily posts, Jill chronicles the challenges and successes, disappointments and triumphs of her daughter’s first year in her own apartment. With honesty and humility she guides the reader through her daughter’s journey and her own journey as parent. One family’s experience accessing government benefits, working with adult agencies, looking for employment and exploring recreational pursuits will undoubtedly provide insight, encouragement and guidance to other families seeking a fulfilling life for their own adult child.”
Maureen B. Brenner
Maureen B. Brenner