But planning is indispensable.
Ever since I was a young child, I've liked to have a plan. "What are we doing today?" was a common question I'd ask my parents. I felt secure when babysitters came prepared with activities for us to do. I admired my teachers who wrote schedules on the chalkboard and erased each completed task as the day went on.
Following suit, I was the kid on the block who knew how many days of summer vacation were left and how many Campbell Soup labels we still had to collect for school. And yes, I've always loved a good planning calendar!
All through college and into adulthood, I've relied on planners, whether written or electronic. List-making is a favorite pastime. And when I became a special needs parent, planning and scheduling dominated our family life. Naturally.
I've admired people who can fly by the seat of their pants. People who wake up in the morning without a plan and allow whatever's going to happen, to just happen. I have friends who possess this quality, and sometimes it's great to be around them and follow their example. For me, operating "willy nilly" is a welcome break, but it also goes against my nature.
Special needs parents, it seems, reach a point where they cannot go about life in a haphazard fashion. For the sake of their child with special needs, many things about life have to be planned and scheduled - and this remains a lifelong pursuit. Whether they are natural-born planners (like me) or people with the magic of spontaneity in their bones, planning for special needs is a critical task.
Take the Letter of Intent (LOI) for instance. Many special needs parents are either told to do one by well-meaning advisers, or they take on the task themselves because they know they should. But the LOI is honestly not a good plan! (We recently posted about the harmful myth surrounding the LOI; here's the link).
Special needs parents who think the LOI will be the ULTIMATE PLAN for their child are wrong. It is a waste of time and effort to make this your plan. In reality, the LOI only serves you; it will not serve your child and their future needs.
Parents of special needs children become absolute champions for their kids. The lengths they go to meet their child's complex needs is beyond admirable. The "homework" they do is never-ending. The sacrifices are immense. The drive they have provides phenomenal care for their child living with special needs.
"A goal without a plan is just a wish." ~Antoine de Saint Exupéry
So why is it that these same parents gamble with the future care of their child? They spend decades as gatherers and organizers of critical information pertaining to their child, only to let such important knowledge die with them.
In the progression of life, children grow up, leave home, and take care of themselves as they live their own lives. In the world of special needs, the children inevitably grow older, but don't really "grow up." Whatever the child's age, they may be unable to fully care for themselves.
Champions need to step up and make a plan for the future care of their child with special needs. VestLife provides the best way to do that. Having a Vest for your child, no matter what their age, ensures parents like me that the plethora of information I have about my son won't be lost. I can put everything in his Vest. It will protect him and let others know what to do when I am not there.
Vest appeals to my sense of planning. And I'm one of those people who wants to plan before an emergency makes me plan. But Vest will work just as beautifully for those who give things more wiggle room. If the words "make a plan" feel like nails on a chalkboard to you, I can assure you that using Vest will leave you feeling like a straight-A student. It's easy, intuitive, and solves your planning problems. You'll be an ultimate champion for your child.
Click HERE to find out more about VestLife.