DadFLA,
I know that Vocational services like the Ticket to Work program exists for those on Disability. It seems Life Skills courses are typically designed for those with Intellectual Disabilities.
PWBPD have stunted maturity from what I read, similar to those struggling with addiction during the teenage and young adult years. How do they catch up? My guess is this duty falls to the parents to try to reteach basic life skills that we assumed they got the first time around.
Hoping others will respond here with some thoughts or experience in this area. There is a whole section in “Loving someone w/BPD” about Apparent Competence. She explains that many times we simply assume our pwBPD can do certain things based on their age, education, general demeanor, etc, but the actually do not know how. It’s unsettling to see this firsthand.
What life skills would you hope to see your DD learn?
Our DD is 31 with a 2 YO son. I would love for her to be able to set goals, get a steady job and be able to take care of her son. IQ is definitely not her issue, it is her emotional intelligence and stunted maturity. But, I know she can be successful with the proper guidance and focus. I truly believe that if she were to focus on going after some goals it would improve her overall self-worth and give her less to focus on partying. Perhaps, I am naive. Also, part of this is selfish because my wife and I do not want to be full-time caretakers. But, I feel that we are worthy of having our own lives, as well. I have spent the past few months removing the barriers of getting our daughter her Birth certificate, SS Card and State ID.
