When Barb Sabin’s son Patrick approached graduation, she looked at the occasion not with celebratory happiness but with the feeling many parents of adults with special needs experience: anxiety. Patrick’s adulthood meant a new set of challenges. “I saw that there weren’t very many appropriate options for him and other kids with autism,” says Sabin, a special education teacher and intervention specialist. “Sitting at home on the couch wasn’t going to be an option for him, because I believe all of these kids can work. The key is to have a program designed around them that’s built on their strengths and not their weaknesses.” Sabin got inspired and this year started Green Options for Autism of Lucas County, a school for students ages 5 through 22 and an adult services program. Job training is focused on environmental work in a greenhouse or other eco-friendly program, and will teach social and communication skills so that students can thrive in mainstream work environments. There are also goals to incorporate a residential, independent living facility in the future. “I think it gives them purpose, it gives them something to look forward to,” Sabin says. “It’s not about the paycheck — they just want to be thought of as an equal member of society, as they are.”
For more information on enrollment or opportunities to get involved, contact Sabin at 419-250-0401 or email goindependence@yahoo.com. Green Options for Autism of Lucas County is located at 1660 Amesbury. Visit facebook.com/bsabin58 or www.goautismlucas.com. —AO
