Natural supports complement government-provided support systems to improve the quality of life in households where someone has a disability. Paid and formal support systems that may be accessed through health and human services, Medicaid, or managed care options are strengthened when combined with informal, community-based assistance. The “natural” supports can come from a variety of sources like:
- Extended family
- Coworkers
- Parents of a child’s peers
- Neighbors
- Members of one’s faith community
Nonprofit organizations
Since caregiving succession is a challenge in most households, one of the greatest benefits to building strong natural supports is the opportunity to “try” letting someone else assist with caregiving responsibilities. Without respite of any type, burnout is paractically inevitable and can become a “least desired” outcome.
Many families start to build their support networks with “trades” of caregiving duties with other families. These informal chance for some respite (while others who have empathy for your situation temporarily give you a break) can be used for a date night, to catch up on rest or errands, or simply to “test the waters” and observe how your growing child handles new situations and responds to the nurture of other people.
We will explore other ways to build natural support systems in future blog posts. Another type of natural support, however, is providing assistance with navigating formal support systems. With an ever-changing landscape of forms to complete, pre-conditions or requirements to satisfy, and eligibility to demonstrate, it can be very, very difficult to secure and maintain support systems.
Knowing where, when, and how to seek help that has been prepared for families similar to yours can seem daunting! People within the “system” assigned to help families sort through options often lack broad knowledge of “what else is out there.” While these workers are often well-intentioned, it’s common for organizational “silos” to function like blinders on a horse, where myopic vision can limit one’s point of reference and ability to anticipate what else exists outside one’s immediate domain.
A third category of natural supports is planning assistance. Knowing:
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- Where you are,
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- Where you’re headed, and
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- How to get from “here” to “there”
can make a huge difference in the quality of life you experience as a family! We’re committed to using tools like our Life Empowering Abilities Quotient (“LEAQ”) to help families create better plans. We see value in our tool at the individual, household, and community levels. Knowing areas of strength, sources of friction, and the gaps between what is desirable vs. what is being experienced goes a long ways towards creating a customized priority of person-centered resources.
We’re partnering with other organizations, identifying existing tools, developing tools and programs, and offering assistance to families so that you can have the strongest possible natural supports. If you’d like a 1:1 conversation, please reach out to us via email: programs@wwwwy.org!