Help me name a program for children with disabled parents.
December 2, 2007 5:57 PM 
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Help me name a program for children with developmentally disabled parents.
I do volunteer with with an organization that works with developmentally disabled adults and their children. We are looking for a name for a new program that I will discuss below. It should be an acronym that incorporates the spirit of the program, and is simple and non-threatening.
Here are some excerpts from a VERY early program design draft I am working on:
"Given this situation and the tremendous need, [ORGANIZATION] has established a pilot program aimed to educate children between the ages 6-17 residing within the home of a developmentally disabled client designated as a head of household. This criteria promotes the multigenerational approach that our pilot program is designed to utilize. Approximately 20% of [ORGANIZATION] clients identify themselves as grandparents. Over the next ten years, we project that 50% of current [ORGANIZATION] clients’ children will be young adults or teens at risk of becoming parents to unplanned children, regardless of their readiness to be a parent. Considering these statistics, the pilot program’s main objective will be to impart the philosophy that each child is capable of taking responsibility for their own actions, and through nurturing and support, they can choose to make important life decisions that will better their lives and the lives of those around them. This philosophy is takes into account that young adults can make educated and informed decisions that will positively impact their lives.
The pilot program will utilize three early-intervention tools: a face-to-face interactive group-oriented educational outreach program; regularly scheduled positive reinforcement counseling sessions; and a scholarship fund which will provide educational assistance for enrollees through the purchasing of educational savings bonds. The interactive educational outreach program will be divided into four ten-week modules, with each module teaching the students critical skills necessary to have the courage and fortitude to make difficult yet beneficial life decisions. Incorporating the philosophy of instilling in children the courage to make “empowered choices”, each module will have interactive lessons, guest speakers and end-of-module reinforcement sessions. The modules are designed to teach children how to utilize certain critical life skills such as the power of self-reliance, the importance of forming healthy relationships, how educational goals impact lifetime earning potential and giving children the tools and information they will need to make important life decisions. Each face-to-face group session will help children to cultivate within themselves the ability to express their feelings in a healthy way and how to get the information that they need about their lives by asking questions and interacting with their parents and other adults. Students that successfully complete all four modules will graduate from the program, and participate in a graduation ceremony that will hopefully set them on a path that will lead to a life full of healthy relationships and educational opportunities that they not have had otherwise."
Basically folks, kids in a household with one or more parents who are suffering from borderline/mild mental retardation are at an incredibly high risk of of having children very early, getting thrown into the juvenile justice system or otherwise ending up all f'ed up. It's the rule, more than the exception.
Anyways, thanks folks. I'm usually good at coming up with witty names, but my brain is fried after a weekend of non-stop work.
Stand Up (or Stand Alone, Stand Together, etc)
Good Choices
Do you teach them using some enduring metaphor? Like a "decision triangle" or anything like that? If so you could use that as the name of the program - Triangle.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:09 PM on December 2, 2007