The goal for all young people with disabilities
is to learn the necessary skills so they can live as independently as possible.
Steps include exploring ways to live on your own, such as getting care at home
adapting your home to meet your needs
and knowing how you'll get from place to place.
Listen to what these young people have to say about independent living
and what they did to prepare for it.
I think independence
to me it means being able to be
self-sufficient in whatever I can.
It's about your life decisions and it's about what's best for you.
Or how you want to be successful in life.
How do you choose to live your life?
When I was young my idea of independence was
complete and utter self-reliance and self-sufficiency.
As I've gotten older I've realized that
independence is partially relying on yourself and being self-sufficient.
But it's also
knowing yourself well enough
to be able to ask for assistance when you need it.
To me independence means you are able to live your own life as you want o
and you are able to make your own decisions
and make your own choices.
Independence means
paying all my college education bills on time.
Finding a permanent job that suits my dream career.
Having a place of my own to live.
Right next to some railroad tracks in a safe neighborhood.
Getting around the Twin Cities on my own.
Getting my degree in engineering.
Having a family of my own
if I choose to have one.
I think Camilo could live independently.
I think he has the skill set to live independently.
And now it's just a matter of
his desire to live more on his own.
I do have plans to live independently.
It's a goal that I'm working towards.
Right now I'm kind of doing more
household chores and
being responsible for like my own space,
like my bedroom
and learning how to be smarter financially as well.
I think that's a big part of living independently.
Yeah, I just moved into my own apartment last week.
I currently live in an apartment.
It is ideal because I'm still close to
family, friends and I can still
stay involved in the community activities that I'm involved in.
Sam currently lives in an apartment with her PCA Claire.
They have, maybe I should leave Sam that.
But they have lots of things in their apartment.
Yeah.
I have two birds.
Claire has two birds.
She just got like two fish.
She has a dog that's a support dog.
I've got plants everywhere.
Growing things is really important to me.
But it's been a new experience a new part of my journey
and I'm looking forward to getting used to it.
It's been very interesting.
I don't have any roommates anymore.
I'm completely on my own.
In my own place. I can invite people over
and I've had my siblings over to my apartment
and my family has come to visit and that's been great.
I am preparing to move into my apartment
by paying for rent and utilities
and also learning cooking skills
and budgeting skills with my independent living services.
And you also practice with your friend, right?
Hang out with Mark and go shopping and make some meals.
What did you make last week in cooking class?
Pasta.
Right now for transportation.
I mainly get rides from my family and my friends.
Or if it's close I'll walk somewhere or ride my bike.
Some steps I've taken to become more independent.
Include just driving more and getting more comfortable with
driving on highways and at higher speeds.
And for longer distances.
Because eventually I do want to have my own car someday too.
Independent living is different for different people.
Many of the young people in this video talked about preparing for living independently
by learning and practicing skills
before they needed to do them on their own.
Learning new life skills can help you
become more independent.
With the right skills
you can feel confident and in control.
Hannah said that it's about doing what you can
but also knowing yourself well enough to ask for help when you need it.
That's important to keep in mind.
Everyone needs help with certain things in life.
You can still be independent and make your own decisions
even if you need help along the way.