u/Amber_Barrage23748

Hi, i am a "mid" support needs autistic young adult, and i want to ask about your experiences with day programs, and applying for developmental services agencies?

For context, i live in Canada. I think it is different in every province and territory, and that some don't even have a developmental services agency (That is operated by the government or is independently managed). But where i'm from, we have a government run developmental services agency, and they use the Supports Intensity Scale to somewhat accurately assess how "much" support an adult with a developmental disability needs in order to "thrive", by their own words. This is after the applicant has been approved/considered "eligible" for supports that the agency directs people towards.

I got a 73rd percentile on the general Support Needs index thingy, which the assessor who assessed me says is "generally falls into the mid of support needs compared to other adults with a developmental disability". That is what i take to mean medium support needs, so that's why that's my flair. But my question isn't focused or even about my support needs (It is discouraged to ask about them on the sub rules section IIRC), it's focused on your experiences around finding a disability focused day program, especially on finding and on successfully enrolling yourself in one.

I hope this makes sense, but otherwise, feel free to ask me to clarify if needed!

Does anyone else spiral and overthink their support needs?

Like, i have received my results and scores are pointing towards my having moderate/medium support needs as an autistic person, but i still consider myself confused and still worried as to what that means. I say "consider" because i don't think i am genuinely confused, but more so in an irrestible urge to ask for validation of what the medical professional has said, especially as they have agreed to what i myself said about my own support needs. I am overthinking, but this doesn't seem like the most common case of overthinking things, you know?

I'm all over the place right now. I couldn't sleep because i've been obsessively and fixatedly thinking about what my support needs are, especially in light of me seeing a certain post where people from this community are questioning another person's level 2 claim just because he used the word neurodivergent instead of autism. This was compounded after i had also seen a post where another person talked, or maybe asked about, their support needs and the scores they got from their SIS-A assessment. The comments within that post was very invalidating and like they were fakeclaiming the OP.

And i just felt so invalidated and dismissed about it even though they hadn't said any of that to me directly. But the OP had a similar profile to mine, and i was really shocked to see the response. It was very harmful, and i'm rethinking joining Reddit now. So many autism focused subreddits are incredibly toxic and i don't like the fact that there is a subreddit dedicated to hating on the self diagnosed, it just makes me feel invalidated once again.

Hi my name is Teagan! I have autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as a specific learning disability in written language and in mathematics. I am a Demi verbal AAC User. I’m sure you guys know me as Ihaveautism1.2 from TikTok! It’s so nice to meet all of you guys!

My Information: 18, Female. Lives in Canada. Diagnoses are: ASD (No Level), ADHD (Additional to my ASD diagnosis, so comorbid, I THINK, combined type. Learning Disability(ies) (Written Language/Writing and in Mathematics). I take Biphentin 40mg for ADHD medication. I take Calcium, multivitamins, and period-blocking pills. I don't smoke, use recreational drugs or drink alcohol.

Primary complaint: What does the 73rd percentile on the Supports Intensity Scale - Adult Version, 2nd Edition (2023) mean? Or read the title for the primary complaint.

Title/Quote: "{Teagan} is in the 73rd percentile on the Supports Intensity Scale – Adult Version, 2nd Edition. This means that, generally, {Teagan}’s support needs fall in the mid-range compared to other adults with a developmental disability."

Important Context for Question: The title is the quote that I got from the summary that explains the results that I got from the SIS-A assessment. I don't exactly know what this means. I have asked various people, even AI, about what that means for my support needs, and many people have said to me that it is within the "level 1" criteria of "requires support", even though the person who personally assessed me told my mom that I would fall within the medium support needs range. The language used in the quote above also points towards medium support needs. My mom also just now explained to me that if I am in the 73rd percentile (73 percent), it is higher than if someone were to be placed on or around the 50th percentile. So basically, those who scored lower than me (Less than 73 percent) have less support needs, and people who have scored higher than me have more support needs. This is what my mom has said. But, considering that she isn't a trained professional in stuff like this, I am not quite confident she is right in how she explains things.

The AI overview that Google gave me when I put the title of this post into the search engine was that “Being in the 73rd percentile on the[ Supports Intensity Scale – Adult Version, 2nd Edition](https://www.aaidd.org/sis/sis-a) means Teagan has higher support needs than 73% of other adults with developmental disabilities. This places Teagan above the median (50th percentile), indicating moderately high support needs rather than mid-level needs; however, someone on another subreddit responded to me (On my other account) saying that I would be in the “requires support” region. So that is also confusing. Maybe it’s because they thought I was talking about an autism level, which, no, I want to clarify, is not what I’m asking about; I’m asking about my support needs when it comes to autism.

If this is not the right subreddit for this post, or if I lack any information in this post or otherwise have broken the rules of this subreddit, please let me know!

I have two AAC apps downloaded on my IPad. Proloquo2Go and TD Talk. One is symbols based and the other one is text based.

I have used Proloquo2go a lot, so I have had a bit more experience using this type of AAC than I do with text based app such as TD Talk. I am however using TD Talk a lot nowadays ever since I got it because it’s way easier and faster to use than Proloquo2Go is.

But I don’t want to delete that app, I don’t want to switch from using Proloquo2go to now only using TD Talk. I want to use both of these apps but I don’t know how to best figure out when to use one over the other since I barely use my AAC device to begin with.

So I need some advice from those who use two or more AAC apps instead of just using one.

I have seen multiple AAC users on TikTok and on other social media platforms talking about how they use this app but then also use this other app. Like for example, someone uses Proloquo2Go but then uses a text based AAC app like Speech Assistant or something like that.

And i never understood why they did this. All i know is that switching between two apps in AAC might be too difficult for me, because i don't like routine changes and this is one of them.

Edit: I am not criticizing or being negative towards those who use two AAC apps instead of one. I just want to know how to best utilize both for certain times or tasks. I just didn’t get to typing that part of this post up so sorry for the confusion.

My Information: 18, Female. Lives in Canada. Diagnoses are: ASD (No Level), ADHD (Additional to my ASD diagnosis, so comorbid, I THINK, combined type. Learning Disability(ies) (Written Language/Writing and in Mathematics). I take Biphentin 40mg for ADHD medication. I take Calcium, multivitamins, and period-blocking pills. I don't smoke, use recreational drugs or drink alcohol.

Primary complaint: What does the 73rd percentile on the Supports Intensity Scale - Adult Version, 2nd Edition (2023) mean? Or read the title for the primary complaint.

Title/Quote: "{Teagan} is in the 73rd percentile on the Supports Intensity Scale – Adult Version, 2nd Edition. This means that, generally, {Teagan}’s support needs fall in the mid-range compared to other adults with a developmental disability."

Important Context for Question: The title is the quote that I got from the summary that explains the results that I got from the SIS-A assessment. I don't exactly know what this means. I have asked various people, even AI, about what that means for my support needs, and many people have said to me that it is within the "level 1" criteria of "requires support", even though the person who personally assessed me told my mom that I would fall within the medium support needs range. The language used in the quote above also points towards medium support needs. My mom also just now explained to me that if I am in the 73rd percentile (73 percent), it is higher than if someone were to be placed on or around the 50th percentile. So basically, those who scored lower than me (Less than 73 percent) have less support needs, and people who have scored higher than me have more support needs. This is what my mom has said. But, considering that she isn't a trained professional in stuff like this, I am not quite confident she is right in how she explains things.

The AI overview that Google gave me when I put the title of this post into the search engine was that “Being in the 73rd percentile on the Supports Intensity Scale – Adult Version, 2nd Edition means Teagan has higher support needs than 73% of other adults with developmental disabilities. This places Teagan above the median (50th percentile), indicating moderately high support needs rather than mid-level needs; however, someone on another subreddit responded to me (On my other account) saying that I would be in the “requires support” region. So that is also confusing. Maybe it’s because they thought I was talking about an autism level, which, no, I want to clarify, is not what I’m asking about; I’m asking about my support needs when it comes to autism.

If this is not the right subreddit for this post, or if I lack any information in this post or otherwise have broken the rules of this subreddit, please let me know!