For many parents of children with intellectual disabilities, one question often sits just below the surface:
What will my child’s life look like when I’m no longer there to support them every day?
It’s a question that can carry a lot of weight. And with it often comes stress, uncertainty, and concern about whether your child will be safe, supported, and happy. These feelings are completely valid. We’ve had them too.
In our previous blog posts, we’ve shared practical steps to help reduce some of these stresses by exploring different housing options, identifying support people beyond parents, and building independent living skills.
But there’s another side of this journey that doesn’t always get talked about enough.
The joy.
When you’re in the early stages of planning, it’s easy to focus on everything that could go wrong. But what we’ve seen, both with our own children and within our community, is that living as independently as possible can open the door to moments of real pride, confidence, and happiness.
We’ve had 12 of our members move into their own homes so we asked them directly:
What do you like most about living on your own?
Their answers were a powerful reminder of why this work matters. For many adults with intellectual disabilities, independence isn’t defined by big milestones, it’s found in the everyday moments that most of us take for granted.
Here’s what our members shared about the joys of living on their own:
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“I like being able to have my own space.”
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“[I like] doing things like my own laundry, cleaning, and cooking.”
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“I can do what I want with my friends.”
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“I don’t have to spend hours organizing plans because we all live in the same building.”
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“Watching my own TV with my own cup of coffee.”
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“Independence.”
These moments might seem small, but together they represent something much bigger: choice, autonomy, and a sense of home.
