Looking for a Good Job for a Hard Worker

Weekends used to be really tough for our family. Charlie thrives on the structure and busyness of school, and try as we might to fill Saturday and Sunday with activities, it just never seemed to be enough. Now that he’s older, and feeling very secure about his school situation, weekends have been better—-nonetheless, I think a lot about how necessary it is that Charlie will always have lots to do, will have work to do that is meaningful and uses his talents, for his whole life. Today’s Baltimore Sun has an article about vocational programs for autistic and developmentally disabled adults in Maryland. Located in Ellicott City, the Linwood Center provides vocational programs for individuals who are not able to find jobs in the community; some participants have also been able to find jobs at places like Wal-Mart and Sears.

I hope very much that Charlie will be able to work in the community, among others, with others. He really does like to be busy and have things to do; he likes, too, to be among people. Certainly he’s heard us telling him “good job” for doing this or that well all these years and on the top of my list is making sure that they’ll be a good job out there for him, and for the duration of his life.