Episode 28: Broken Promises: The Unreliability of Special Needs Resources

[00:00:48] Welcome to another episode of Talk To Me Michele.

[00:00:51] I am back y'all.

[00:00:52] I got some explaining to do.

[00:00:55] Yes I do, because I know I tried to give you guys two episodes a week.

[00:00:58] Didn't happen last week.

[00:01:00] And I'm going to tell you why real quick.

[00:01:02] Number one, I've been revamping the office and you guys are going to see the results when

[00:01:07] I go on live, whether it be on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.

[00:01:12] I've been doing a little makeover for the look.

[00:01:14] So that's one thing I've been working on.

[00:01:16] But a bigger part of my frustration and why I'm surprised I still even have a voice

[00:01:22] to speak with after cussing a couple of people out is it's not easy.

[00:01:27] And when I say it's not easy, that's in general, but it's even more implied when I'm addressing

[00:01:33] parents who have young adults with special needs.

[00:01:36] It's more frustrating with parents that have children or young adults with special needs

[00:01:42] because you have to go through so much to make sure that they're on the right path.

[00:01:46] Now you guys know my son's autistic and I have been trying to get him on a path

[00:01:52] not that he's not willing to.

[00:01:54] It's just the resources I've been finding to be very unresourceful.

[00:02:00] And I want to get to the frustration and the unreliability of special need resources.

[00:02:08] And I'm speaking from a personal experience on this and I know if I have any parents out

[00:02:13] there that do have a young adult or a child with special needs, they will understand what

[00:02:17] I'm saying directly.

[00:02:20] So this episode, I'm going to be discussing the widespread frustration of many parents

[00:02:25] and caregivers of special need individuals they face due to all these unreliable

[00:02:32] inconsistent resources including the government programs and other support systems.

[00:02:39] The goal of this episode is to raise awareness about the challenges and the accessing

[00:02:44] reliable support for special need individuals and the toll it takes on the families because

[00:02:50] I promise you, I thought I was going to go postal this time last week.

[00:02:54] I promise you had to woo-sa bring myself down.

[00:03:01] Now for those of you guys who are not familiar, you may be asking what are special

[00:03:05] need resources?

[00:03:07] There's different programs to fit different special needs.

[00:03:11] Not just autism and with autism alone, there's so many different levels of the spectrum.

[00:03:17] So you can't just see one person who's autistic and assume that applies to everybody who's

[00:03:23] autistic. Everyone differs from that.

[00:03:25] I've noticed that when you have a special need child that there's everything available

[00:03:30] from elementary through high school. And soon as they graduate is like, okay,

[00:03:35] you're on your own.

[00:03:36] That's the attitude I get because there's barely any resources.

[00:03:40] If there are resources is either crazy expensive or you have to fill out a whole phone book of

[00:03:47] paperwork and you have to go through this waiting process.

[00:03:50] I've been on a waiting list for a service out here in Texas since we moved here.

[00:03:55] That was back in 2007 and we're still on the waiting list for this program.

[00:04:00] Now these programs are supposed to help people with special needs for vocational

[00:04:05] rehabilitation, educational support, job training and social development.

[00:04:10] So those are the purposes of some of these programs, but the promise versus reality.

[00:04:16] Okay, a lot of promises made little reality hits home because these programs tell you they're

[00:04:24] going to be able to help your special needs adult with job placement, job training,

[00:04:28] job coaching, social skills. All this comes into play, but when it comes down to it,

[00:04:35] there is a major lack of communication extremely long wait times and poor follow up if any

[00:04:43] follow up. Why is it so important? I mean, I'm not just saying this because

[00:04:47] it's not paying out for my son because I know I'm not the only one out here.

[00:04:50] I want to highlight how unreliable these resources are and they stall the development

[00:04:56] and the opportunities for anyone who has special needs. That's crucial in adult development because

[00:05:04] you're throwing a child out here who just got, you know, got through the process of going to

[00:05:08] school and graduating if they continue their education great, but if they have to get into

[00:05:12] the job force, that's a hold of the beast because they have to face different challenges.

[00:05:17] So let me share my personal story with you guys real quick and it's been a two year plus

[00:05:21] struggle. Yeah, I said two years my son graduated high school and we were referred to the Texas

[00:05:29] workforce commission and I was excited because oh, we're going to help him get a job training

[00:05:35] everything you need and the initial excitement of enrolling him in this program to the

[00:05:41] disappointment after two years of inconsistency. Now let me tell you how this process goes.

[00:05:45] Lots of paperwork filled everything out. Lots of Zoom meetings and the thing about it is I never

[00:05:51] had a Zoom meeting with one consistent counselor beside one toward the tail end of my frustration.

[00:05:59] Okay, so it was like every time I would call and follow up the voicemail would be full. First

[00:06:04] of all, that's a red flag for me even socially but if you are a professional I'm calling your

[00:06:08] office number and your voicemail is consistently full what are you doing? I wish I could have

[00:06:15] a job where I didn't just let the calls go to voicemail and I still get paid and not get fired.

[00:06:19] Not only that they would switch counselors on us almost every time we had a virtual meeting.

[00:06:26] I would have to chase down the counselor where are we at? What do I need to do? Where does he

[00:06:32] need to go? I mean if he got an appointment to go somewhere if he has to do an assessment,

[00:06:36] I will take my day off from work and I will go take him to make sure he gets what he needs

[00:06:42] but this was a consistent battle every time I turned around and it got to a point where they

[00:06:49] basically called on another resource to help with the training so this is what happened.

[00:06:55] My son went through two days of skill assessment training that's when they try to see what you're

[00:07:01] good at and that was with the individual then we had to do it again where I had to drive

[00:07:07] an hour for each appointment which was two appointments out to Clear Lake and they did the

[00:07:13] same thing. Now once I did the Clear Lake evaluation they called me back they evaluated this is where

[00:07:20] he needs improvement these are his strengths okay cool they're recommending additional social

[00:07:27] interaction so they have a program for that okay I'm all ears let's do this

[00:07:32] uh no word back okay so they just dropped the ball we wasted two days of our time

[00:07:40] to go to that assessment and get no follow-up from the Clear Lake campus we were referred to

[00:07:46] then I'm calling the Texas Workforce Commission again different counselor because I had already

[00:07:53] written them a letter like that scene from the girl in white chicks I'm gonna write a letter

[00:07:57] oh that is me to a T because see letters hit different and when I detailed my displeasement

[00:08:04] with this program I'm going to go to the media you all to be ashamed in how you are failing the

[00:08:10] special needs community in general oh I got some real attention that's when we went to the Clear

[00:08:16] Lake and that's when we started getting stuff but again it wasn't even a couple of weeks after

[00:08:20] that letter went out we were back at square one new counselor I haven't heard back from them

[00:08:26] they haven't called they haven't returned a call and then they will lie

[00:08:31] that I promise you the last time I contacted the Texas Workforce Commission with the only woman

[00:08:37] Miss Sanchez I'm gonna give her props Miss Sanchez was the only one to help my son and myself out

[00:08:42] of our case and I told her your co-worker that says she's calling me is not calling me let me

[00:08:48] get both of her phone numbers she gave me both her numbers I looked at my call log ain't a damn

[00:08:52] call from either one of these numbers in my call log so tell your employee colleague whatever

[00:08:58] that effort is to stop lying and do her job by the time I want to say like I said it was about a

[00:09:05] week ago I went off and I had to apologize to Miss Sanchez because she's been nothing but friendly

[00:09:12] and helpful in this journey and she's working with a bunch of fucking idiots it is where

[00:09:19] it is I'm gonna say what I gotta say the Texas Workforce Commission is the sariest piece of shit

[00:09:26] in the state of Texas I don't know how they're even still existing because I know you guys get

[00:09:33] state funds and you don't have the proper staff you don't have the proper training you don't do

[00:09:38] professional follow-up on cases I have sent the same paperwork in several times to different people

[00:09:45] at the same company so you get where I'm going with my frustration so we're talking about

[00:09:51] missed appointments like a follow-through empty promises and also they had gotten me hyped because

[00:09:57] oh they said we got a culinary program my son loves to cook I'm like cool if he can get education

[00:10:02] versus a job I would take that route any day of the week so he can learn to trade oh I don't

[00:10:08] know what you're talking about what program what you know what see this is what I was going through

[00:10:14] and then my son would get excited thinking there was going to be an opportunity for him

[00:10:17] either job wise social wise or even education wise and every time we would have these conversations

[00:10:24] because he would have to be at these virtual meetings we would get the same thing promises no

[00:10:30] delivery am I something like okay what's going on I thought I was gonna be doing this I thought

[00:10:34] I was gonna be working at a pizza place or something he's excited but you're getting

[00:10:38] my son hyped up for nothing because you know why nobody wants to follow up nobody wants to do their

[00:10:45] job even the applications they did put in for him he still doesn't have the social skill set you

[00:10:50] guys told me you're going to set the social skills so it's all over the place and this is why I'm

[00:10:56] just like super pissed at this whole experience it's an emotional toll because I feel like my son

[00:11:03] is further behind now socially and professionally because I went to these resources that are supposed

[00:11:11] to be here for the special needs community and they yet have anything to do with good correspondence

[00:11:19] follow up to follow through with what they told us in these meetings but let's look at the broader

[00:11:25] impact on the special needs community not just my son this is probably not a unique story

[00:11:30] I bet you if I could knock on every door of every parent in this state and they've actually had any

[00:11:37] experience with any of these resources especially the Texas Workforce Commission I'm sure they would

[00:11:42] have a similar story as mine so it's impacting a whole community of people dropping the ball

[00:11:49] and then we got a government who don't even consider special need individuals

[00:11:54] and y'all know that's a reality they want to cut disability social security some of everything else

[00:12:02] that could give some people a leeway it is not much that you're fighting for when it comes to that

[00:12:07] stuff but yet you wonder why you see so much mental health issues because people are not

[00:12:12] getting the help they need you wonder why people are still you know in a situation because

[00:12:17] the resources that they thought that was going to be there for them have failed them so I know

[00:12:22] the whole special needs community is impacted by this lack of professionalism and resources

[00:12:30] now could there be a reason why the system fails I mean you know from what I've experienced

[00:12:36] I say it's just some trifling ass people working there that's just my experience I'm not in the

[00:12:42] building I can only go by the interaction or lack thereof that I've experienced now the Texas

[00:12:47] workforce commission is a huge fail I give them the biggest fail of the year really for the past

[00:12:55] two years like I did mention earlier we were in that program for two years and got nothing out of

[00:13:01] it but a waste of time gas and loss of money because I had to take off work but even if they

[00:13:07] had the funding for this program to work properly would they allocate the funds to make sure

[00:13:14] that employees are professionally trained you've got somebody with a degree that has experience

[00:13:20] with people with special needs and they're aware of all these challenges that families as well as

[00:13:26] the individual face I don't know I don't know if these funds will be put toward training

[00:13:33] professionalism common courtesy some type of empathy for a person with special needs

[00:13:39] now it could be also staffing because I've never seen such a big overturn and new employees new

[00:13:47] counselors that I saw with the Texas workforce commission in that two-year period my son had to

[00:13:55] have at least anywhere from six to seven counselors within that two-year period so why is it such

[00:14:02] a big turnover I mean I'm sure if it's anything like I've experienced I couldn't imagine what the

[00:14:07] employees are going through but I would think people in those positions would take those positions

[00:14:13] because either they studied it they have a passion for it and they want to be a big resource to the

[00:14:18] special needs community I don't know about the pay I really don't but I would think by the way

[00:14:24] they keep switching people up it must be convenient and the pay must not be that great because

[00:14:28] they're so willing to bounce so quickly now the larger issue is how the government and

[00:14:34] community programs sometimes prioritize securing funding over actual service delivery because you

[00:14:41] know what if I was a person that had anything to do with their funding to make sure that their program

[00:14:47] can stay in operation I would be getting consistent phone calls I will be getting follow-up because

[00:14:53] it has something to do with money but now that you have the money to do what you can do

[00:14:59] you have dropped the ball all the way so why do you even have a budget to fund this damn sorry

[00:15:05] ass state program so look at the long-term consequences of unreliable programs such as the

[00:15:10] Texas Workforce Commission I mean look at it when you look at let's just say there's 20

[00:15:16] special need individuals that have been enrolled in this program they've been on the waiting

[00:15:21] list and given the run around for the last two years so what productive could that person

[00:15:27] have done so what I'm going to have to do as a parent is I'm going to have to go and enroll him

[00:15:33] in a social program myself not go through the state and even when you do that that's still a hassle

[00:15:40] I went to a local black owned social program for people with special needs and I'm sure I've

[00:15:47] mentioned this before that was the sorryest piece of shit paperwork again I'm willing to pay for

[00:15:53] program in full for the year and when I called to see what the status was on the waiting list

[00:15:59] I will get back to you when it's available the half of didn't even ask me for my name

[00:16:04] so that let me know right up front you don't want to be bothered but these impacts also give

[00:16:09] special need individuals other challenges because they're already going through social

[00:16:14] isolation they don't have no friends nobody in the age group either people they went to

[00:16:19] school with have either moved on went to school got a job if their parents put the work in and

[00:16:25] that's what I gotta do for my son because I cannot rely on this program to get my son on the right path

[00:16:31] and it's stolen his development and if you don't have any experience with anything

[00:16:36] that's a lack of employment opportunities so that's going to affect the entire family because

[00:16:42] if I can't make sure he's straight how can I go to work you know you can't just leave

[00:16:48] your child your young adult home and waiting for somebody to pick up the ball and say hey here you go

[00:16:53] you have to stay on these people and even when I did that I still got nothing so solutions and what

[00:17:00] needs to change you know I could be here all day long talking about what needs to be changed

[00:17:05] but what I am going to say is that whole system needs to be reformed you know there's a need

[00:17:12] for an overhaul and how special need resources are administrated whether it be you know just

[00:17:17] training social interaction but the staff that's supposed to service the special needs community

[00:17:23] they definitely need to be trained they definitely need to be consistent and follow up and take

[00:17:29] accountability I hate it when people had the you know it's just like watching the Super Bowl

[00:17:34] your favorite team is a pinch away from winning the Super Bowl but you have one player all it

[00:17:40] takes is one to drop the ball to fumble and the whole game is shot to shit and we definitely need

[00:17:48] more transparency and better communication between resource providers and family because you know

[00:17:54] we got too many ways to communicate whether it be through email text message phone call

[00:17:59] there are too many ways to communicate to drop the ball so it's about taking matters into your

[00:18:06] own hands and I know parents we are working you know more than one job nowadays the house needs

[00:18:12] managing but you still have to carve this time out because you have to make sure your special need

[00:18:18] young adult or adult is functioning where they can adapt to socialize to make their own money

[00:18:25] to handle their own money to handle their expenses to enjoy their life so this is what

[00:18:30] is important to me as it is for any other parent of a special need child so parents if

[00:18:35] you have anybody in your family with special needs we've got to advocate for them because nobody

[00:18:40] else is going to do it and we have to find more reliable alternatives of traditional resources

[00:18:46] that fall short now to go even further I had to bring my son Kevin in here to express his

[00:18:53] frustration with the whole process how you doing today man I'm doing well that's good you know

[00:18:58] why I want you to come in here and talk to me right about the process system yeah yeah

[00:19:03] how do you feel you know after all this time that people say that they were going to get you

[00:19:08] into certain programs or a job and we still haven't gotten any either one of them painful

[00:19:15] is painful yes are you disappointed yes why are you disappointed it will take I think

[00:19:22] you did because I think that it will take too long because they think not bad or

[00:19:31] they're just extremely busy well baby first of all that's their job so nobody is that busy

[00:19:37] I always remember in life people make time for what they want to make time for so don't ever

[00:19:42] think as you and it's not that you will not be a great employee it's just that they've dropped

[00:19:47] the ball on their end and I just wanted to know how you feel about you know being on hold for

[00:19:53] the last two years these many years of having no job must be really painful so after two years

[00:20:00] you know we were supposed to get into a social program get a job for you but you haven't had

[00:20:05] either experience so how does that make you feel but I really want to learn and interact with

[00:20:12] people well I know you do want to make new friends you definitely want to make your own

[00:20:18] money and I just know it's frustrating for you and I mean what would you like to do if you was able

[00:20:24] to get a job today I'll be happy and work hard to do my best but what kind of job

[00:20:31] an art cooking yeah and gaming you know and I think what we're going to try to do and

[00:20:40] I've been talking about this for a minute is for you to start your own YouTube gamer channel

[00:20:45] because I always try to teach my son that nine times out of ten if you got my DNA he ain't gonna

[00:20:52] want to work for nobody else so it's always best to make your own path even if you do get a job

[00:20:57] working for somebody it's always best to have your own additional source of income with your own

[00:21:05] business yes okay so anything else you want to tell the people on why you know this process

[00:21:12] has taken so long and why is so frustrating no I had enough well thank you for joining me man I

[00:21:23] appreciate your opinion thank you so I hope this episode has brought some light to the

[00:21:30] frustration that parents I mean parents in general we all got our struggles but like I said the

[00:21:34] special need parents definitely have a little bit more of a challenge because we are directed

[00:21:39] to resources that don't resource and as you heard my son he's been wanting the opportunity to work

[00:21:46] he's been wanting the opportunity to learn he's been wanting the opportunity to be social and make

[00:21:50] new friends so I really want people to get together and when it comes to these government

[00:21:56] funded programs such as the Texas Workforce Commission I definitely think we need to show up to

[00:22:02] these meetings and make our voices a little bit louder if you can't show up to the meetings

[00:22:06] you can always write in because I think of enough voices get together with the same frustration the

[00:22:13] same stories either that program needs to be defunded or they need to get together and right now

[00:22:21] I am with the defunding I'm not going to even lie that's how pissed I am at the Texas Workforce

[00:22:26] Commission so hopefully if you guys know parents that have children with special needs if you

[00:22:32] do have spare time see how you can help maybe you could do a little online research maybe you

[00:22:37] can donate some time I'm actually motivated now to start my own program and like I said I got a

[00:22:45] lot stuff on my plate but my son is always first so I've got to make some moves myself

[00:22:50] and I hope that if I make this move right and get the right people that will be able to be a

[00:22:58] reliable resource for the special needs community all right guys so I hope you guys understand why

[00:23:04] I've been frustrated and why I could not drop two episodes last week now y'all know but I'm going to

[00:23:10] see you guys on YouTube make sure you go to YouTube and subscribe to my YouTube channel

[00:23:14] very exciting interviews coming up also make sure you follow me on all social media podcasts

[00:23:21] talk to me Michelle on everything and if you like the content you want to support the show

[00:23:25] definitely you can do that by going to buy me a coffee dot com backslash talk to me Michelle

[00:23:31] I got merchandise over there you guys can donate if you want to because it keeps the content

[00:23:36] coming and covers these expenses y'all thank y'all so much and speaking of which I gotta shout

[00:23:41] out to my biggest supporter D Capri I don't care if I drop one episode two episodes whatever D has

[00:23:51] been a major supporter of this podcast and D I thank you for the bottom of my heart for always

[00:23:57] helping me out and I'm so glad that you're enjoying the content so until next time everybody peace