Welcome to the WIRE Differently podcast where we chat all about how to best support exceptional children.

I'm your host, Holly Blanc Moses, the mom psychologist who gets it.

Welcome, everyone. I'm so excited to have Rose Rape with me today. We're actually talking about three

things to stop doing to set your child up for success and independence. So Rose is a licensed

clinical mental health counselor, a certified rehabilitation counselor. And before becoming a therapist,

she supported clients with disabilities

as an independent living case manager. So now Rose has her own counseling practice in Carrie,

North Carolina, where she helps people with disabilities and the people who love them,

including special needs parents. Welcome, Rose. Hey, Holly. Thank you so much for having me.

I'm so excited you're here because this is absolutely important that we talk about it.

Our kids grow up so fast and before we know it, they are 16, 17, 18 years old. And there are

things that we really have to think about in order for them

to become more independent. And we have to start doing those things now. So walk us through your

three things that we need to stop doing. So this one sounds very untherapisty. My first suggestion to parents who are raising

kids with disabilities is that you can't just live for today. And I get that today is taking a

lot of energy, right? To go to all the IEP meetings, to make it to all the

therapy appointments, to do all the things it takes just to get through a day, completely

get it. At the same time, I talk to so many parents whose children are 18, 21, 22,

nearing the end of high school. And the parents realize,, oh my gosh, all of these services we've been

getting are going away. All of the clear path of where will my child spend their time every day?

That's going away. So as much as it's important, yes, to get through the day, to take mindful

moments, keep doing all of those things, but also set aside a little bit of time to think about the future.

...