Today I am at my son and daughter-in-laws home with my four granddaughters.  Their oldest daughter is 11 years old. She is a sweet, good natured girl who suffers with severe epilepsy. Her epilepsy has stolen most of her abilities that are normal for a child of 11. She wears pull ups, is non verbal and needs constant supervision.

In speaking to the younger granddaughters, they told me along with their daily chores, they each chose one Abigail chore. The 4-year-old, puts her shoes on, the 6-year-old takes care of her toileting, and the 8-year-old helps feed her and get her into her car seat when they travel. I was so impressed that they chose on their own to help their older sister.

They are quickly learning to be caregivers and nurturers. Many of you will recognize the skills learned as the caregiver or helper to someone who is disabled. Many social workers and people working at Social Security have family members who are disabled. Every member of the Mission Possible (MPES) team has a family member who struggles with a disability. We’ve all learned to be caregivers and support people. These skills learned either as a child or adult help us be that support person for the people we work with. We understand the struggles of being disabled and many of your needs.

Mission Possible Employment Services support can come in many forms. For example, we help people with paperwork, we listen to your needs, we teach you about resources and services available to you. We also teach you about Social Security Disability process, the Ticket to Work program or how the Administrative Employment Network works.

We are here to help you, support you and be your partner in all our programs. Please feel free to contact us via e-mail, phone or text. We are happy to be your support person.

~ Patty