As I was making my umpteenth call the other day, all things regarding Blake, I was suddenly overcome by the realization of what it takes to manage his life. We have a least 2-3 doctor appointments a month. He takes several medications, needs letters to certify his disability for this agency and that agency, managing caregiver schedules and payments, well the list goes on. I'm sure you can relate. I'm an extremely organized person. I have spreadsheets, charts and files of all sorts. And I truly don't mind doing this job. I do it with love and would be happy to do it for another 50 years. But I'm 55. Whose going to do this job when I can't remember things so well anymore? I do have a system for giving him all his medications each day. They have interaction issues, so everything is timed just so, so hopefully I'll be able to continue this routine for awhile. But who will do it when the inevitable will come? So you think about it?

So I thank all 64 of you who visited our blog on the first day. It's apparent that there are a lot of us in the same or similar boat. Though my living situation is working for us presently, I really don't know what the future will bring on that front. My bigger concern for the immediate future is what I'm going to do with Blake next year when he graduates from high school. Unfortunately, there isn't any options for him in my community. I find that incredibly hard to believe, but it's true. Nothing. Zero. Zip. Nada. I guess I've made my point. So as usual, I guess it's going to be up to me to figure something out to do. So, I've been thinking.... Something my husband says is a dangerous thing. LOL. But I really don't have a choice. HE CAN'T STAY HOME ALL DAY. So what should we do? Well, he likes to cook and bake. His favorite item to cook is quiche. It's fairly easy, and with assistance of course, he does quite well. He also likes to bake cupcakes, cookies and cakes. He isn't independent enough to work for anyone other than me. Do I have to open a shop? Do I have to start a business just to give my son a purpose in life? These are some of the thoughts that I've been having lately. What are your thoughts? What are your adult children doing to keep themselves busy all day? Have any of you started anything like a day program or cottage industry? Please comment!

Welcome to the first post of SNACCERS. SNACCERS as you can see stands for Special Needs Adult Children Caregivers. In other words, if you are the parent of an adult child (18 years and up) with special needs, and you are involved in caregiving in any fashion for your child, I think you will enjoy our blog. You may want a clarification of what it means to be a caregiver. Well, there are many ways in which to be a caregiver. In my case, my 21 year old son with autism, Blake, sort of lives at home. "Sort of" because he lives in his own home which is attached to my home. Like a mother-in-law cottage. He has 24 hour supervision, which isn't myself all the time,but I'm quite involved. I do a lot for him, but also have help. So I am a Snaccer. Now there are many other types of caregivers. I know people who's child lives in another setting, but they are still actively involved in managing their child's life. They are most certainly Snaccers. Then of course, many individuals still live directly in the family home. What kind of SNACCER are you? Where does your child live? Tell us about your situation. Val