Check out what's new with your host - Valerie

Episode Highlights:

• New Focus for 2025:
  • Valerie announces the podcast’s transition from sharing stories to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for forever home planning.
  • The mission remains the same: empowering and supporting parents of children with disabilities.
• Why This Change?
  • Many parents feel overwhelmed by the legal, financial, and emotional aspects of planning for their child’s future.
  • Valerie’s expertise and lived experience uniquely position her to offer structured solutions.
  • The podcast aims to provide a supportive space with actionable steps, ensuring families feel less isolated in the process.
• Key Topics in Forever Home Planning:
  • Legal Considerations: Navigating guardianship, Power of Attorney, Henson Trusts (Canada), and Special Needs Trusts (U.S.).
  • Financial Planning: Exploring funding options such as RDSPs, grants, and personal investments.
  • Housing Options: Evaluating independent living, supported housing, and cooperative housing models.
  • Building a Circle of Care: Establishing a network of professionals, family, and community members to support your child.
  • Emotional Readiness: Addressing guilt, anxiety, and uncertainty while embracing self-care and planning a fulfilling life beyond caregiving.
• Real-Life Success Stories:
  • A couple who secured a forever home for their son, allowing them to retire and travel with peace of mind.
  • A newly married couple who found a supported living arrangement that enabled them to strengthen their relationship while ensuring their child’s well-being.
  • Parents who successfully relocated for work, knowing their child was securely cared for in a stable living arrangement.
• What’s Ahead for the Podcast?
  • Step-by-step guidance on developing a forever home plan.
  • Conversations with financial planners, housing specialists, and disability advocates.
  • Personal stories from families at various stages of creating their child’s forever home.
  • Strategies for overcoming logistical and emotional challenges in the transition process.

How to Get Involved:

• Share your thoughts on the podcast’s new direction.
• Submit questions or topics you’d like to hear covered.
• Text Valerie through the podcast host platform to join her monthly newsletter for key insights on forever home planning.

Save the Date!
The next chapter of Special Needs Mom's Circle of Strength launches on March 5th with fresh content and a renewed focus.

Live with Intention – Embrace the Journey.

Connect with me:

Valerie's Links: https://bit.ly/3RL0da2

Music Acknowledgement: Audio Coffee - Denys Kyshchuk

Editor: Scott Arbeau

Link for book: The S.H.I.N.E. Principle: The special needs mom's path to strength, hope and happiness by Valerie Arbeau

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CW18ZXGX (Canada)

https://a.co/d/03hFdZI4 (United States)

Learn more about your host at:
https://coachingwithvalerieanne.com/

Transcript

Many families, myself included, our family included, worry about who will care for their child when they're gone. The podcast will provide strategies for establishing a circle of care that includes professionals, family members, and trusted community members.

Emotional readiness.

Transitioning a child into independent or supported living is emotionally complex.

Hello and welcome to this episode of Special Needs Mom's Circle of Strength podcast. I'm Valerie and I'm so thrilled that you're here with me.

Today I'm going to be telling you about a new chapter. My new chapter is entitled Helping You Create Your Child's Forever Home.

I just want to say before I go any further, shout out to a new listener in Fort Lauderdale. Thank you, so glad that you're part of the community. Welcome.

All right, so reflecting on the journey so far of this podcast that started, I think October 2023. So just over a year ago. So we all have stories. Our journeys are incredible and they bring out the tenacity, our strength, our resilience and our grit.

I personally get inspired by others and I love how they are navigating their journey and how they're sharing that with us. It's my hope that the stories that you've heard over the last 15 months have done just that for you.

So introducing my new direction for 2025.

2025 is very much a year of anticipated change for me in so many ways, personally, individually and in my family, professionally, in my own world and in the world at large. My focus in business is moving in a different direction, though very much still related to working with parents of children with disabilities.

So I'm sure you can agree with the advances in technology, medicine, our standards of care for our children, our children are living longer lives, more productive lives and having a better quality of life. Some of us older parents are recognizing that our children actually might outlive us. So then what?

I've had the privilege of sharing with numerous people what we have done for our children regarding shaping their future, especially their living arrangements. So with this in mind, my focus is shifting to sharing my lived experience and things that I've picked up along the way to help other families create the future for their children with disabilities.

So what that means is that I'm shifting the podcast from storytelling to providing actionable guidance on creating a forever home for your child with disabilities.

So be assured that while the format is evolving, the heart of the podcast, empowering and supporting parents, remains unchanged. 

Reflecting on the journey so far, I've been privileged to meet some amazing parents, some of whom are authors, some are fellow podcasters, some are coaches. I've met doctors who have given their insights into diagnosis and how to navigate them. I've met professionals who work with parents of children with disabilities to help them navigate their journey. And of course, I've had the privilege of listening to the stories of parents and siblings and being encouraged and inspired by their journey in the special needs world.

I've also heard from past guests who have shared how they have created living arrangements that work for their family, allowing their child some independence from their parents.

So, these experiences have made me reflect, and I know this was me as well, so many parents are consumed by caregiving and don't give themselves permission to plan a life for themselves beyond their role as a caregiver.

Now, that realization fueled my desire to provide more than just stories in the podcast. I want to provide real, actionable guidance to help parents create both security for their child and a fulfilling life for themselves. So in my interaction with others over this last 15 months and longer, recurring themes have been: the importance of planning, financial considerations, and the emotional aspect of transitioning a child into a forever home.

Parents have shared their fears, their challenges, and their triumphs, reinforcing the need for a space that goes beyond just storytelling to providing real solutions. Through feedback and discussions, it has become clear that many parents feel isolated in their journey. And this podcast aims to strengthen that sense of community, offering reassurance and guidance so that no one has to navigate this alone. The collective wisdom from past guests, experts, and engaged listeners has shaped the podcast's next phase, ensuring it meets the real, practical needs of families planning for their child's future.

My own personal lived experience has compelled me to share.

So why this change?

Well, I've been made aware of the increasing need for structured guidance in forever home planning based on feedback from parents who feel overwhelmed by the process. This transition aligns with my expertise, background, and passion for helping families secure a stable and fulfilling future for their children. And as a life coach and consultant specializing in helping families create long-term housing solutions for their children with disabilities, I've worked closely with parents who are navigating this complex journey.

I have successfully guided families in building a roadmap for their child's forever home, ensuring security, community integration, and sustainability. And my personal experience as a parent in the special needs community gives me firsthand insight into the emotional and the logistical challenges involved in planning for the future.

I've been collaborating with financial planners, housing specialists, and disability advocates, which has strengthened my ability to provide expert-backed actionable strategies that truly make a difference.

So, my mission is to ensure that parents are not only preparing their child for a stable future, but also, and more importantly, giving themselves permission to reclaim their own lives, their dreams, and their aspirations beyond caregiving.

So I've learned common challenges that parents face include the legal complexities. So parents often struggle to navigate guardianship, power of attorney, Henson Trust in Canada, or Special Needs Trust in the US, which are crucial to securing their child's financial future while preserving government benefits.

Financial planning. Many parents don't know where to start when it comes to funding a forever home, whether it's leveraging RDSPs, grants, or personal investments. And I'm planning to bring in financial experts to break this down step by step.

Finding the right housing model. Parents can often wonder whether their child should live independently, in a supported living arrangement or with a cooperative housing model. So I'll explore different housing options, their pros and their cons, and how to determine what the best fit is for your child's unique needs.

Building a support network.

Many families, myself included, our family included, worry about who will care for their child when they're gone. The podcast will provide strategies for establishing a circle of care that includes professionals, family members, and trusted community members.

Emotional readiness.

Transitioning a child into independent or supported living is emotionally complex.

Parents often experience guilt, ding ding, anxiety, ding ding, and uncertainty. Yep, I check off all of those. But I will provide strategies such as mindset shifts, reframing the transition as an act of love and empowerment rather than abandonment. Gradual transitions, so easing into independence through respite stays, trial periods, and step by step adjustments. Support systems, so leaning on community supports, community groups, peer mentors, and other families who have gone through the process. 

Self-care for parents. I know I know. But we're encouraging parents to reconnect with their passions and envision a fulfilling life beyond caregiving.

Success stories and transformations. So I've had a front row seat at many transformations. I'm thinking of one couple who were coming up to retirement. The husband was. The wife had not worked in 20 some years since they had their youngest child who was the one with disabilities. And so she had been a full-time caregiver for all those years. And being able to watch them decide, "Yes, this is something that we can do." They connected with another family. They created their forever home for three young men. And they have now been able to travel, to retire without having to take on the role of caregiving. And so it's just been amazing to watch them blossom as a couple, have time to reconnect with each other. And that brings me to another couple as well who had recently been married, I think, three or four years. And we were able to work with that family and get them to see what it's like to have a child live independently. And it was just so wonderful to see the mom's eyes just light up. "This is what I want for my child," when I was able to show them what we were doing for our oldest daughter. And so to see them being able to really establish their marital relationship and grow and be able to travel. And another couple that I'm thinking of, they actually were able to leave the province in which we live and go to another province and work for a period of time, knowing that their child was well taken care of in the setup that they had for their child. Amazing!!

It just warms my heart to think of what changes these families have experienced and how they've had a new lease on life.

So what's coming next?

Well, the direction of the podcast will be looking at step by step guidance on developing a forever home plan from initial considerations to long term sustainability. We'll be bringing in experts, including financial planners, housing specialists, disability advocates to provide well rounded perspectives.

We'll have stories from families who have forever home plans, offering inspiration and practical takeaways. We'll have stories from families who are in the process of creating a forever home for their child. 

We'll have practical strategies for managing emotional and logistical challenges that come with transitioning a child to independent or supportive living.

I just want to reassure listeners that the content will remain relatable, engaging and deeply supportive.

So what I would love from you, please share your thoughts on the transition. 

Text me through the podcast host platform and let me know what your thoughts are. Let me know if you have any questions. Please submit questions or topics that you'd like covered in future episodes because I want to ensure that your concerns and your needs are addressed.

Drop me a text with your email and I can send you my monthly newsletter, which goes through some of the key things to be thinking about when you're wanting to plan a forever home for your child with disabilities.

I want to remind you that you're not alone in this journey. Together, we can build a secure and fulfilling future for your child one step at a time.

Thank you for being part of the podcast evolution and I really appreciate your continued support.

 The transition is happening as I speak. I'm working on new content for you and I'll be back on March 5th with a fresh look and feel to the show. So save the date, March the 5th.

 Live with Intention - Embrace the Journey.