Empowering Independence
by Sara Crimm, co-founder and director of Families CCAN
What do you think is the most challenging part of achieving independence for your family
member?
In our experience the biggest hurdle is often the parent or guardian stepping back and letting
go. It’s a delicate balance: providing both the support for our family members with disabilities
to do more on their own and making space for “dignity of risk.”
“Dignity of risk” refers to the right of every person, including those with a disability, to make
choices and take risks in order to learn, grow, and have a better quality of life. Inherent to this
idea is the belief that life experiences come with an element of risk, which even the
best planning and support cannot eliminate. Providing space for risk-taking means that parents
and guardians need to step back and let go.
Easier said than done! But little steps on a journey often take you down a longer road. I invite
you to explore, together with your family member, our Empowering Independence Workshop.
During 5 sessions of dreaming, sharing, and working together, we’ll start to take some of those
small steps. We’ll help you set some realistic initial goals. We’ll provide a context for opening
up a conversation about planning for more independence. And we’ll create a safe space to
examine how your roles can and will change so that you can start to let go a bit.
As a parent or guardian you owe yourself this choice; this opportunity to take some risks on the
path to independence!
Read more about our Empowering Independence Workshop. We hope you will register to
join us on January 5th!
