Author: Tina Calabro

We spend hours together every day and, yet, how much do we know about how our 22-year-old son thinks about his life and what he wants for his future?

After more than two decades of parenting, have the lines blurred between what we want for our son and what he wants for himself? Are we ready to wholeheartedly support his vision?

These are the questions I have been asking myself — and the reason I asked the PA Family Network to offer a local workshop on LifeCourse tools.
Continue reading “Carving out time to listen our son’s vision for his life”

As parents of a young adult with significant disabilities, one question is never far from our minds: What will our son’s life be like when we are gone or simply unable to participate in his care?

A little about our son:

Mark is 22 and has cerebral palsy. He has many abilities as well as disabilities and medical conditions that require one-on-one support. My husband and I — both of us in our 60s — are the primary caregivers. Habilitation aides and nurses also provide support several hours a week.

Continue reading “Facing the Big Question: How will our son fare when we are no longer around? How to find help — and some measure of control”

Call me naïve, but I never realized how much driving I’d be doing after my son Mark graduated from the school district five months ago. I have essentially taken over as bus driver.

He received terrific travel training at the City Connections transition program. He’s taken dozens of rides on Port Authority buses and ACCESS. But since he graduated, he hasn’t taken the bus or ACCESS even once.  Continue reading “The bus stopped coming (literally and figuratively), and now I’m spending way too much time behind the wheel”