Shared Support Stories: Steve Corderman

Steve went from living in an institution to being supported in community living!

We watched our son, Steve, struggle through many Special Ed classes in multiple schools and group homes from Massachusetts to Virginia. With many miles between us, it was very depressing to leave our son behind. Sometimes, he had experience abused in many forms, this made it harder to deal with the situation. After hitting many bumps in the road in trying to make his quality of life better, we had to resort to institutional living for him. He made many acquaintances along the way that truly cared about him, but still in an institutional setting. The positive outcome was finding the correct medicine and dosage that was recommended by the doctor at that facility.

Since leaving the institution he’s become a totally different person, in all respects. Now, under the guidance of SSMD, he is living in his own apartment with 24-7 staffing and is always anxiously looking for work. He loves to be active, so he is involved with Special Olympics and attends church. He regularly goes shopping, bowling, to the movies, and spends the weekend with Mom and Dad. He’s much of a calmer individual and a lot happier living a normal life in the community. With the assistance of his staff, he is able to go places, achieve more goals, make decisions, and most importantly, he feels good about himself and his accomplishments.

SSMD has helped our son accomplish things we thought were never in his future. His life may not be perfect, but it’s more than we could have ever hoped for. Due to the challenges in his life, he will never be able to appreciate the services extended by SSMD, but as his parents, “We do and we say, Thank you.”

By Nelson & Sib Corderman