'The lost generation'

FORT WALTON BEACH — Following a pair of local tragedies involving adults with special needs, professionals in the disabled adult care industry are speaking out about shortfalls in Florida’s healthcare system and the need for more providers, funding and support for adults with special needs.

Lynn Miller and David Miller (no relation) have both worked in professional capacities with disabled adults in Okaloosa County for several years, and both have personal experience caring for disabled loved ones as well.

Both said one of the biggest threats to the special needs community in Northwest Florida is a lack of providers and facilities.

“There’s always going to be people who need additional support and more care and therapies,” David said. “There’s always a great need here, and the community is very supportive with fundraisers, but it’s never enough.”

Two tragedies in three months

In November 2017, the body of 40-year-old Adam Vaughn was found in a retention pond behind an apartment complex in Destin, about a mile from where he wandered off from his caregiver the night before.

Vaughn was developmentally disabled, and police said he didn’t know his address or know how to read.

He had been living in an adult facility in Laurel Hill with caregivers and other special needs adults. He had no apparent contact with family.

Three months later, 76-year-old Judson Wood, who lived in Niceville with his wife and disabled son, was arrested for attempting to kill them both with a metal mallet while they slept.

Wood had told investigators that caring for his son, who is 49 years old and has cerebral palsy, became “too much” for him and he was afraid that no one else would be able to care for his son the way he needed.

The pair of unrelated tragedies spurred discussions in the local special needs community, including families of disabled adults and professional caregivers, about resources and programs — or lack thereof — for people with special needs.

Shortage of care providers is 'critical'

Lynn Miller is a former curriculum director at Pyramid, Inc., an adult day training facility with six locations across Florida. She worked with Vaughn for a period of time during his time at Pyramid and was interviewed by investigators looking into his death. She also worked at the Era Burgan Learning Center in Crestview, another adult day training facility, and is currently living in DeFuniak Springs working as a personal support professional for persons with disabilities.

She got involved in the career field nearly 20 years ago after her daughter, who is now 26 and on the autism spectrum, was born.

She said adult day programs, like the ones where she used to work, are critical for adults with special needs because they teach them life skills that help them become more independent, including everything from taking out the garbage to socializing with other people.

But those facilities, and providers for those facilities, are becoming increasingly difficult to access, Miller said.

“We do not have enough providers in Florida. As a matter of fact, it’s critical,” she said. “The Agency for Persons with Disabilities used to have two time periods for provider enrollment, but now it’s open all the time because there is such a shortage of providers for people with disabilities.

“And we need more adult day training programs,” she continued. “The state of Florida has very strict guidelines of paperwork and documentation that need to be kept up ... if there is someone out there who happens to have capital, I know we need more day programs so these people can have a meaningful day instead of being stuck at home in front of a TV.”

She said most adults with disabilities rely on a Medicaid waiver program to cover the costs of healthcare, day training facilities and medical supplies, but the waiting list for the program is long — 20,000 people in the state of Florida alone, by some estimates — and it can take years to be accepted.

“The resources are getting harder and harder to come by because of the shrinking Medicaid waiver program,” she said. “Even medical goods like walkers, adult diapers, clothing protectors, wheelchairs — all of it is paid for by the Medicaid waiver program. If someone isn’t on a program, some get social security disabilities ... but those factors are changing.”

'The lost generation'

Dr. David Miller was the executive director and CEO at Horizons in Fort Walton Beach for 16 years, an adult day training facility that changed its name to Arc of the Emerald Coast in 2015. He said he worked with James Wood, the disabled son of Judson Wood, during his tenure, but could not say in what capacity. Miller is currently an instructor in the management department at the University of West Florida.

Miller agreed there is “always a shortage of money and providers” in the field.

“If you have a baby today or your child is diagnosed with autism, and you want to get on the Medicaid waiver program in this state, your name will go to the bottom of the waiting list,” he said.

He also serves as the Guardian At Litem for a 35-year-old nonverbal disabled woman, which means he makes all of her financial and medical decisions.

He calls the generation of middle-aged adults with disabilities “the lost generation.”

“Back when they were in school, nobody knew what to do with them,” he said. “They were nonverbal and in their own worlds.”

Miller said during his tenure at Horizons, he saw hundreds of adults with disabilities go through his program and blossom with the help of their supportive families. Some adults, however, had no families to support them.

“In most cases, people are very supportive of their son or daughter with Down Syndrome,” he said. “And sometimes people are pretty much abandoned. I can think of a number of people who were basically abandoned at birth and ended up in one of our group homes.

“Everybody had parents at one time,” he continued. “But some have disappeared. For the most part, people do try to the best of their abilities to take care of somebody that needs the care, but unfortunately what happens as parents get older is somebody else is going to have to pick up the slack.”

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