Robert in an office wearing glasses and a sweater

What are some of the things you enjoy about directing your own services and supports?
I things I enjoy about directing my own services are freedom, independence and respect from the community.

Tell us about a time when you and your support service professional (SSP) tried something new in your community. Where did you go? What did you do? What did you like about this activity? How did your SSP support you in this new adventure?
I had received services from Enable Inc. in Princeton, NJ. The organization helped me with cash assistance, clothing, and finding a place to live. However I felt the only way to get what I needed was to go and get it for myself.

Is there anything you think is hard or challenging about directing your own services and supports? Tell us about a time that you faced a challenge with your support staff and how you worked through this challenge.
It was hard because I didn't receive the support services until later in life when I became an adult. If I was made aware of my rights when I was a child the results would have been different.

Directing my own services and supports is important to me because...
Directing my own services and supports is important to me because it show other in the community where I was and how far I become. For the most part, in life it isn't about a label or classification. It is about showing society that I am a human being just like the non-disabled members of society. No one should be excluded from anything in life, weather it is a good education, employment, relationships, friends, etc.

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About the Project

This project is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council; in part by grant 2001PASCDD-02, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

For more information about PDS

Contact us at pdss@temple.edu.

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