What is Self Determination
This sounds too good to be true!
Yes, this program does seem too good to be true, but it is a wonderful new program that most individuals with a development disability in California qualify for. In the past, an individual with a developmental disability was provided generic type services for behavior modification, independent living skills, pre-occupational training and so on. These services were limited to organizations, both non-profit and for profit, that had developed programs that were mostly for groups. An individual was offered services based on what a provider offered, and often on where there was room within a program. As you can imagine, popular programs rarely had openings for new clients. A group formed in Orange County to make some changes that would open the process to allow the individual to develop their own program. A pilot program was developed, then more were slowly added to the program. In July of 2021, the program opened up to include most individuals in California with a developmental disability.
While the process can seem overwhelming, the benefits are endless. If an individual wants to learn to play the piano, they can hire a piano instructor. The typical budget for Self Determination services is based on the budget for services prior to entering the program. In other words, the amount a regional center paid on behalf of the client in prior years. There are several steps in the process of converting to a Self Determination plan that are covered in the links provided under our page titled "resources". There are lots of resources available to help you navigate the process. The hope is that this site will do just that...the goal is to help.
our success story
...and we feel it's a huge success!
in 2018, Kendall was randomly selected as one of 2,500 in California to be accepted into the Self Determination program. I researched the program and together he and I attended the required training sessions offered through our local regional center. We started the process, but at a very slow pace. There was a bit of fear of the unknown mixed with not wanting to deal with what seemed like a great deal of red tape. Yet the excitement of what the program offered was amazing.
Kendall was ready for new services and this program had wide open opportunities. He had recently graduated from Fresno State with a graphic art degree, but was far from ready for employment. He was volunteering at our church doing graphic work and operated a commercial live production camera on Sunday. We saw that he could be more employable if he had video editing skills.
We made it through all the steps and finally had a budget as of March of 2020. We found ourselves feeling stuck again because there was now a COVID 19 pandemic and the world changed. We tried many times to press on as the last step was finding a service provider. We had handed out "provider" packets from our Financial Management Services (FMS) to a handful of people, but could never get anyone to take this opportunity seriously enough to fill them out. The packet seemed overwhelming. Most flipped through it and saw the "live scan" form and probably tossed it aside. If they had read that it was only needed for those providing "personal care", maybe they would have filled it out.
Eventually, the pandemic became our friend. We knew of a family member that had a degree in film and television production that was on unemployment because all production came to a screeching halt. He even lost his side job as a server at a restaurant. Cousin Blake wanted to be working instead of collecting unemployment and he could teach Kendall! We officially started in October of 2020 and Blake jumped right in teaching Kendall to use his iPhone to capture video and to use Final Cut Pro to edit it. Since I've been a real estate broker for many years, the first project was a real estate video. I played the role of the picky customer (I play the role well, lol). I'd watch the video and insist on edits to make certain the property was as well presented as it could be. I already admitted that I am a tough customer, but I was quite pleased with the end result. Check it out:
In the process of creating this video, Blake said "Kendall should have a Youtube channel". We laughed at the idea. Can you imagine someone who is autistic and struggles to make eye contact hosting a YouTube channel? Well to try and keep it short, that is exactly what we did. We took Kendall's life-long passion to explore and see things and turned it into Adventures With Kendall. Our hopes and goals are that the channel takes off and becomes financially viable, but in the mean time we are working and traveling together to see sites and develop our video productions skills as a family. I call that success!
Use Self Determination to help you write your own success story!
By the way, we have been so excited about the progress Kendall has made working with Blake, that we have nearly used our budget for the year. This experience has changed Blake's life as well and he wants to keep helping people thrive. Given our budget situation, Blake is ready for new clients! I cannot recommend Blake highly enough. Check out his listing on our service providers page.
About Kendall
Kendall is an autistic adult artist and filmmaker who has not let the struggles of socialization stop him from achieving life goals. He started school non-verbal in a severely handicapped class and is now a college graduate with a degree in graphic arts from Fresno State. Through his YouTube channel, Adventures With Kendall he takes you on weekly adventure while working to inspire others on the autism spectrum to focus on their God given abilities. As Kendall says, “May your gifts bless the world”.
That is obviously the over-simplified version as there were many hurdles and challenges getting Kendall through high school and then on to college. We are still working on Kendall's "job ready" skills, but have made tremendous progress with the Self Determination program. It gave us the ability to seek out the kind of specific training we knew would be the most beneficial for Kendall.
My Commitment to Kendall
I noticed that Kendall was often unresponsive to verbal cues at about 18 months old. I started with the family doctor who was knowledgable enough to refer us to the regional center in our geographic area. That lead to a referral to a school speech therapist and a special education pre-school. At five, Kendall was official diagnosed with high functioning autism.
In the process of getting Kendall through the various levels of school, I took ever opportunity to get involved at school, attend training sessions and conferences open to parents, read books, etc. I served for many years of the Tulare County Office of Education Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, always served on the school site council, etc. I did all of this so I would know as much as possible about the services and rights Kendall had to a quality education.
There were obviously highs and lows, but I always knew he could do great things. We picked our battles and focused on the areas where change was likely to be successful and meaningful. I tried many times to teach him to tie his shoes before I realized he could live a full life without the ability to tie a knot. The bottom line was to love him unconditionally and encourage him to develop skills that made him happy.
This hasn't been an easy journey, but Kendall and I both hope to make it easier for you. Having other parents or autistic individuals to network with has been extremely helpful for us. This website is a continued commitment to Kendall and our way of helping others use their "gifts to bless the world".