there has to be something...?

If you have a child with learning disabilities then those 5 words will have come out of your mouth one several occasions, I got sick of hearing myself say them and once I realised I was saying it far too often panic set in... if there is nothing for my son to do when he reaches 19 then what is he going to do?

Below is a short introduction to why in the first few weeks of 2008 I wrote my thoughts down and made a business plan to try and do something myself for my son and other young adults that must be in the same situation in the region.

"During the past 16yrs as the mother of a child with Learning Disabilities it has been a constant uphill struggle to ensure that my son has been allowed to experience life and to progress to the same mental ability as that of any other child without learning disabilities. By this I mean that his education fully meets his expectation and that through his education he is provided with a learning curve that is suitable for him.

"During the past 8 – 9 years since living in Lincolnshire I have seen no major effort from the education authorities to offer encouragement towards my son getting the best education for his needs, the fact that he has had to go outside the county to receive this essential education that has made him the bright young man he is today is proof that this area needs to offer more constructive placements for people with learning disabilities, there is a great demand for these people to be included in the everyday things that you and I take for granted.

Unlike mainstream children when they reach the age of 16 – 19 it is automatically assumed that if that child wishes to progress into further and adult education places are readily available. Unlike young adults like my son there is little or no provision for there continued education, learning and work experience at all. I have been enquiring for the past few years about the next stages that my son will move onto and I have been told on numerous occasions from people in authority that once he reaches 19yrs that there are no further options for him; his only option is to gain employment. Something I do not feel my child would be able to cope with by himself.

It is this factor that my child will not be provided for that has spurred me on to do something for other children and young adults in the same position as my son. As you can imagine being the parent of a child with learning disabilities I am aware that there are many other parents who are facing or are already in the same predicament I am. Some parents are faced with leaving full time employment to be home with there children as there will be no provision for their child during the day, and because there is no provision for people with any form of disability then most families will be confined to the home as there is no where to take them to keep their minds stimulated and to provide them with some sense of self worth, enjoyment and to lead the same fulfilling life that the rest of society take for granted."

Diane Farrah

talking really does get results

An introduction to another parent and the need to get this project moving forward in any form lead to a chance conversation that resulted in my business plan being presented to another 3 other parents in the area who had also been looking at setting something up to involve their children - and as they say the rest is history the ideas we all had all came from one single purpose - to help create something meaningful for our children that would also eventually be of use to others...the Bridge Venture is now a reality and took its first set of students in on November 2nd 2009.