ADULTS (AGES 21+)

PROGRAMS

SELF-ADVOCATE COMMUNITY NETWORK

The Community Network (CN) is a social and leadership group created and run by post-high school self-advocates with Down syndrome of diverse backgrounds. The CN gives participants an opportunity to say what’s on their minds and to speak up about their wants and needs. It is also an opportunity to develop leadership skills and ways to apply them in their communities. Above all it is mostly a group to build community among young adults and adults with Ds. We want to have fun and to make people feel like they belong.

POSITIVELY SPEAKING

In partnership with ArtStream, Positively Speaking teaches, supports, and empowers our teens and adults with Down syndrome.  Workshops focus on communication and social skills using innovative theater arts techniques. Workshop series are offered in the spring and fall. For a preview, check out this WJLA feature of a Positively Speaking workshop!

RESOURCES

We have attempted to create a comprehensive and inclusive list of resources to support caregivers and adult self-advocates in finding age specific programs and services. These resources may include but are not limited to educational programs, support groups, parenting guides, financial grants and assistance, community and recreational programs, and health and wellness services.

• Supporting People with Disabilities Coping with Grief and Loss
• Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act
• ABLE National Resource Center - educates, promotes and supports the positive impact ABLE can make on the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities and their families.
• Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) - delivers a variety of social  services, employment supports, safety programs, and court-ordered behavioral health care.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - provides monthly payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources.
• Personal Finance for Disabled People
• GLOBAL Medical Care Guidelines for Adults with Down Syndrome - provides first in-kind, evidence-based medical recommendations to support clinicians in their care of adults with Down syndrome and was supported by generous donations from the Down syndrome community.
• Adult Down Syndrome Center - Resource Library - provides healthcare and services for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. 
• Respite Coordination - coordinate short-term respite for unpaid, primary caregivers who live in the same household
• Worksource Montgomery - connects jobseekers to employers and employers to jobseekers.
• Graduate Transition Program - a custom-tailored and learning community program that offers students a unique postsecondary opportunity to further their formal education.
• TerpsEXCEED - an inclusive post-secondary education program at the University of Maryland, College Park that provides Maryland students with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to participate in a college experience for two years, culminating in a certificate.
• Challenge Program - provides unique open enrollment enrichment courses for adults with developmental disabilities to help them function more independently in their homes, at work, and in the community.
• Employed Individuals with Disabilities - a Medicaid buy-in program for workers with disabilities who would be ineligible for Medicaid because of their earnings.​
• SPIRIT Club - offers individualized services in the form of both private training and group classes aimed at giving each member a meaningful fitness experience.
• Community living services - focuses on individualized support can be provided to adults with disabilities at one of 35 single-family homes, townhomes or condos owned or operated by The Arc Montgomery County.
• Think College - provides resources, technical assistance and training related to college options for students with intellectual disability, and manages the only national listing of college programs for students with intellectual disability in the United States.
• Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) - a resource and advocacy center that promotes independent living and equal access for people of all ages with all types of disabilities residing in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.
• MAKOM - supports and empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve the quality of life to which they aspire.
• Upcounty Community Resources, Inc. - promotes the full inclusion of persons with developmental and intellectual differences into every aspect of community life. ​
• Potomac Community Resources - promotes the inclusion of persons with developmental differences–intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD)– into all aspects of community life.
• Sunshine Projects - provides exceptional enrichment and leadership development opportunities to young adults in the greater DC area.
• Sunflower Bakery - provides skilled job training and employment for adults 18+ with learning differences in pastry arts, production baking, barista service and front of house operations.
• Adult Medical Guidelines from Global
• Social Security Disability Insurance - provides monthly payments to people who have a disability that stops or limits their ability to work.
• Respite Coordination - coordinate short-term respite for unpaid, primary caregivers who live in the same household
• Division of Rehabilitation Services - provides Transition Services for Students with Disabilities.
• Aquatics at YMCA Silver Spring - provides opportunities in wellness, aquatics, youth sports, overnight camp, and more for over 250,000 people through our 16 branches and program centers.
• Kenny Krieger - Down Syndrome Clinic and Research Center - provides interdisciplinary and comprehensive evaluations and services from birth to adulthood to patients from all over the United States.