Their Time Has Come: Youth with Disabilities on the Cusp of Adulthood

Acknowledgments

ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My profound thanks to the youths, parents, and professionals who told me about their experiences, and for their suggestions about how the transition to adulthood might be improved. Their words bring this book to life. I am also deeply grateful to the William T. Grant Foundation Scholars program, which funded this work. They offered more than funding—their emphasis on individual development applies not just to youths, but also to the scholars whom they sponsor. Bob Granger, Ed Seidman, Vivian Tseng, Tom Weisner, Brian Wilcox, and Irene Williams provided support and encouragement at just the right moments over the past five years. One of the biggest challenges in any research study is to find people who are willing to participate, and a number of organizations and individuals went out of their way to help me because they believed that transition was such an important topic. For taking the time to provide me with advice and assistance, I would like to thank staff at the Asperger’s Association of New England, Boston Center for Independent Living, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Boston College Campus School, Cotting School, Easter Seals of Massachusetts, Enable Inc., Federation for Children with Special Needs, Landmark School, Mass Arc, Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, Massachusetts Family Voices, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Multicultural Center for Independent Living, New England Academy, Partners for Youth with Disabilities, Seven Hills, Toward Independent Learning and Living, and Urban Pride. Several colleagues and friends encouraged and helped me on this project. Although none can be held accountable for what follows, I appreciate their efforts to help me improve it. Penny Hauser-Cram, Dennis Hogan, Emily Ozer, and Kevin Roy offered constructive feedback on various parts of the manuscript . Oakley Hoerth and Jenifer McKim took turns taking care of our girls in our working moms’ cooperative, Claire Goodwin accompanied me on outings, and Betsy Anderson and Diane Hammer kept me company when I took the time to stop and smell the roses. Three research assistants made important contributions to this work. Lexie Waugh, who conducted the youth interviews and helped me code all the youth and parent interview data, deserves special recognition for her hard work, fresh insights, great people skills, and good company on long drives all over Massachusetts. Sheila Rosselli contributed terrific ideas and her time coding the professional data, and Jen Byers helped with some of the legal work and bore a heavy literature load. My family has been incredibly supportive throughout. John is always there, cheering me on, and Esther and Evelyn were patient with me when I had to spend time with other people’s families many evenings instead of with them. Breakfasts with my father-in-law, Wally, were a lifeline, as were weekly check-ins with my mom, Elizabeth, and my mother-in-law, Celia. Finally, my thanks to the staff at Rutgers University Press, who were so helpful throughout the final stages of writing this book. I’d like to thank Myra Bluebond-Langer and Marlie Wasserman for their early encouragement when the book was not yet a book, Marilyn Campbell and Peter Mickulas for their smooth handling of all the details, Bobbe Needham for her thoughtful and constructive copyediting, and Catie Colliton for her thorough indexing. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x Their Time Has Come ...