A Solution with Soul & STOKE-ability 4 all abillities
I am Jen, aka Zen Jen, the founder and FLY girl behind FLY homes and DragonFLY landing concepts and designs.
Because neurological diagnoses like ASD or TBI have symptoms like elopement and other extremely risky compulsions paired with sensory dysregulation, the outcomes in everyday environments can not only stress the most chill parents out, but also create barriers in places many people take for granted, like the grocery store or a walk in the neighborhood. My family has experienced this in the wilderness and in urban settings, and we chose to navigate the wild risks over the latter. My son, on several occasions has swum away in many cold and treacherous bodies of water...MANY. His lack of danger awareness (cars, strangers) plus obsessions that outweigh consequential memory, are ALWAYS ON. Sleep is rare. Sitting is rare. Supports in the home are almost unheard of, and yet, we somehow have seen our way over, under and through several extreme adventures. By successful, I mean we are alive to tell the story.
Many supports, like respite and government-funded personal care, are limited to care IN THE HOME or a break for the caregiver in the form of leaving the supported person at home and deeper in isolation. So, while the rest of the family goes elsewhere to play or socialize, the high-needs member of the family stays at home where they are safe. This leads to lack of engagement with the essentials of existence like community, belonging and the skills to build complex tools to navigate the outside world. I believe and have proven over and over again that play...with family, friends and community members is an incredibly rewarding way to access social skills, improve neurological health and to become the best version of yourself, which I believe is every human being's purpose. I didn't want my kids to miss out on their stoke just because the world wasn't built for their sensitive systems.
Outdoor activities and freedom sports afford individuals the opportunity to develop complex problem solving and executive functioning in a FUN way. There is nothing more motivating than finding an activity you love and people to share it with. Our family has found that skiing, hiking, mountain biking, soccer, art, surfing and skateboarding offer us a level of unpredictability and risk that let us know we are ALIVE. Yes, risk is essential. And NO, not everyone is equipped to go try these things like we did with little or no support.
So I designed DragonFLY landing, modeled after the extreme adventures I took with my kids with the added supports, staffing and adaptive ammenities we longed for. The hope is that the environmental
BONUS: You don't have to have a family member with autism to come play, IT IS OPEN TO EVERYONE. You DO get the privilege of learning alongside the beautiful individuals on the spectrum in an environment that they and their families can manage with more ease and grace. This mutually-beneficial space allows for maximum inclusion and the capacity for individual growth at whatever pace and support level is required to say YES to the adventure, whether walking, biking, creating art or simply hanging out with your people. This location is a place where everyone can relax and Go Big.
DragonFLY Landing offers intricately-designed housing, engaging employment, chillin' community settings and adventure sports courses and equipment. All of these services are woven into an intricate care and safety matrix intended to ensure ease, excitement and maximum autonomy.
Because neurological diagnoses like ASD or TBI have symptoms like elopement and other extremely risky compulsions paired with sensory dysregulation, the outcomes in everyday environments can not only stress the most chill parents out, but also create barriers in places many people take for granted, like the grocery store or a walk in the neighborhood. My family has experienced this in the wilderness and in urban settings, and we chose to navigate the wild risks over the latter. My son, on several occasions has swum away in many cold and treacherous bodies of water...MANY. His lack of danger awareness (cars, strangers) plus obsessions that outweigh consequential memory, are ALWAYS ON. Sleep is rare. Sitting is rare. Supports in the home are almost unheard of, and yet, we somehow have seen our way over, under and through several extreme adventures. By successful, I mean we are alive to tell the story.
Many supports, like respite and government-funded personal care, are limited to care IN THE HOME or a break for the caregiver in the form of leaving the supported person at home and deeper in isolation. So, while the rest of the family goes elsewhere to play or socialize, the high-needs member of the family stays at home where they are safe. This leads to lack of engagement with the essentials of existence like community, belonging and the skills to build complex tools to navigate the outside world. I believe and have proven over and over again that play...with family, friends and community members is an incredibly rewarding way to access social skills, improve neurological health and to become the best version of yourself, which I believe is every human being's purpose. I didn't want my kids to miss out on their stoke just because the world wasn't built for their sensitive systems.
Outdoor activities and freedom sports afford individuals the opportunity to develop complex problem solving and executive functioning in a FUN way. There is nothing more motivating than finding an activity you love and people to share it with. Our family has found that skiing, hiking, mountain biking, soccer, art, surfing and skateboarding offer us a level of unpredictability and risk that let us know we are ALIVE. Yes, risk is essential. And NO, not everyone is equipped to go try these things like we did with little or no support.
So I designed DragonFLY landing, modeled after the extreme adventures I took with my kids with the added supports, staffing and adaptive ammenities we longed for. The hope is that the environmental
BONUS: You don't have to have a family member with autism to come play, IT IS OPEN TO EVERYONE. You DO get the privilege of learning alongside the beautiful individuals on the spectrum in an environment that they and their families can manage with more ease and grace. This mutually-beneficial space allows for maximum inclusion and the capacity for individual growth at whatever pace and support level is required to say YES to the adventure, whether walking, biking, creating art or simply hanging out with your people. This location is a place where everyone can relax and Go Big.
DragonFLY Landing offers intricately-designed housing, engaging employment, chillin' community settings and adventure sports courses and equipment. All of these services are woven into an intricate care and safety matrix intended to ensure ease, excitement and maximum autonomy.