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Anna and her travel trainer
The Day My Teenager Learned Public Transportation
I finally got a call from the Chicago Public Schools district travel trainer to let me know that he was ready to begin teaching my teenage daughter how to take fixed-route public transportation. She is 16 years old and has a developmental disability, and I, along with many parents of transitioning teens with disabilities, have been told that being able to take the bus or the train is an important step in her road to independence when she enters adult life.
We had been anxiously waiting to get off of the wait list for travel training for more than six months, but when the day arrived to begin training, I began wondering if I had lost my mind. Was I going to let my teenage daughter, who is so innocent and so dependent upon me and others, learn how to take public transportation? In the City of Chicago? By herself? Was I crazy?
A lot of people might say yes. But I was reminded that this kind of one-on-one support offered by the school district is only available while she is still in school. While there is some one-to-one travel training for adults, it’s harder to get, the wait is much longer and by then, windows of learning have closed. I know that it is important to start building transportation skills now instead of waiting to build these skills in adulthood.
So, I held my breath and let her go.
I honestly assumed that after the first training session, the trainer would inform me that my daughter didn’t have the maturity, reasoning skills or motor planning ability to make the decisions involved in walking to the bus stop, crossing a major street and boarding and riding the CTA. Ironically, hearing that would have made things easier in a weird way. If they tell you she can’t, well, then decision made! Cross that off the independence list!
Boy, was I flummoxed and, admittedly, a little scared, when he told me how impressed he was with Anna’s skills after the first bus trip! There was no viable reason to stop the training.
So my daughter continued for several weeks, working with the trainer who supported her learning all along the way and gave her plenty of opportunity to try parts of the experience independently while he shadowed her. By the end, he and my daughter determined that she has more learning to do before she is ready to ride independently on the bus, but she has taken important initial steps toward independence by at least learning the home-to-school bus route with excellent support from the trainer. Eventually she may be able to do this on her own.
Others parents might question my decision to let her learn public transportation, and I will always worry about her safety – just as I do with all of my children. However, I am taking a leap of faith that she has the tools to grow to reach her full potential. And I am putting faith in the trainer – that he is teaching her the myriad of skills needed to accomplish this task. And I am putting faith in my neighborhood and the school community- that they will support Anna if necessary on her journey to independence, even if it is only a total of 2 bus stops!
5 Comments
The trainer is my nephew Kyle Menke and to him this is much more then just a job. He and his fellow trainers do this for the love of the children and to better their lives. He gets more back from these kids then he gives.
Thank goodness there are programs like this that help bring these special young adults out into society. We all stand to benefit from interaction with these wonderful kids. Keep up the great work travel trainers!
This is great for Anna! I understand that there are challenges to letting her take public transit by herself, but it is good life skill to learn public transportation. I have taken the METRA and CTA several times (both ways to NB). It’s important to learn public transit so you are able to navigate from place to place. Once you become familiar with public transportation routes, your commute is very convenient.
I have taken both the regular Pace buses and ADA paratransit some places. First off, the paratransit system here has improved a great deal if you ask this rider. The new public buses are very nice. I’ve taken them a few times with Dave, one of my life-skills tutors who is with Center for Independent Futures. I think my only complaint about ADA paratransit now is that a lot of my rides have been on those newer hybrid buses, if the driver doesn’t physically come guide me into the bus. These can be a bit hard to hear in high-traffic areas such as right outside my building. But I’m trying to figure out a way around this.
i take the pace 290 bus they are great and i see some of co-workers of mine who i work with also. Some times the drivers are not too nice and are nice
It trains and learn on how to learn to ride the Pace Bus. You need to learn on how to walk, wait for the bus stop and boarding and riding the CTA. You got to learn on how to ride independently. My driver will guide me to know the direction where you are going in the route from the Pace Bus.