Living independently can be a huge step in personal growth and in self-advocacy. We have greater freedom and control over our lives.

There is a lot to living buy ourselves. There is grocery shopping, meal preparation, money management, house cleaning, taking medications. It is also important to take time for our friends and make new friends.

Some of things are straight forward and we can do by ourselves. Other things might involve skills we simply don’t know how to do. We can benefit from having someone support us and teach new skills and give us a fresh way of looking at things.

Our ILS worker can be such a person. Building a positive working relationship with our ILS Worker is very important. Open conversations with active listening help our ILS Worker better know our wants, needs, hopes, and frustrations. This helps them better support us.