Valleywide : Parents Tour Facilities for Disabled Adults

High school graduation and career planning can be emotional experiences. For parents of mentally and physically disabled students, that transition from classroom to adulthood can be even more stressful.

Exploring options for their children’s future, about 40 parents on Monday toured three Valley facilities that prepare disabled adults for jobs and independent living.

The daylong field trip for the parents, arranged by Los Angeles Unified School District counselor Marilyn Gruen, is now in its second year. Gruen, who has a daughter with disabilities, said most parents don’t know what to do after high school.

“Sometimes graduation comes as a shock and parents haven’t started planning,” Gruen said. “This prepares them and gives them some hope.”

Parents visited New Horizons, a North Hills facility that provides job training workshops in packaging and assembly, ceramics, cooking and maintenance. Parents of individuals with more severe disabilities learned about New Horizons’ residential services, which provide clients with furnished apartments and supervisory care, in addition to career training and counseling.

Pat Shumway, whose son Ryan will graduate from Joaquin Miller High School in less than two months, said meeting other parents with the same concerns helped put her at ease.

“This trip builds a kind of support network,” said Shumway. “We can bond with other parents and find out what’s going on.”

Parents also visited Rehabilitation Industries in San Fernando and Passports to Learning, a Northridge-based organization that sends counselors to homes of disabled adults and helps them become working members of society.

Parents needing more information should contact the career and transitions counselors at their LAUSD school, Gruen said.