By Mike Walther, Oak Wealth Advisors
Start the New Year right by resolving to implement these top 10 ideas from Oak Wealth Advisors in 2011:
1. Start a video record of your family that includes your special needs child’s strengths and challenges. This will be an invaluable resource for tracking progress in future years.
2. Get registered for all the services and benefits you are entitled to receive. If you live in Illinois, be sure to register your child with special needs on the Prioritization of Urgency of Needs for Services (PUNS) list. PUNS is the IL waiting list for services.
3. Create a safety plan that focuses on the challenges your special needs family member may have in the event of an emergency. Practice your responses to fires, floods, tornadoes, and other potential disasters.
4. Alert your community public safety officers (fire, police, and paramedics) to your child’s condition and/or challenges. Information saves lives and can also help in the event your child becomes lost or disoriented in the community.
5. Take a vacation without your children to get the much needed respite that you deserve. Vacations may feel selfish but they allow you to relax and re-energize.