When I first moved to Brookings Oregon there were several things that I needed to know about the community and services that were available for children with disabilities. I am the parent of a wonderful child who has Autism and we had been living in Tucson Arizona where I did not have to search for services, the services searched for us. So when I first arrived in Brookings it was difficult for me to find the information that I needed to put all the services for David into place. It was a long grueling process to find all the providers and locations that these services were located at. Since Brookings is a very small rural community I found out that many of the services we needed were located as much as two hours from our new home. If you have ever traveled with children for any distance, you know that it can be a challenge. Since David has such a hard time traveling for any distance, the two hour trip could sometimes take up to 5 hours for us. I am not sure I would have relocated here if I had known that this would have been such an issue for us. So I have made it a point to have as much information available as I can about the services that are available here for both children and adults with disabilities so that I am able to provide this to potential home buyers.

Here are some of the areas that I believe real estate agents should have information available, especially when located in small and/or rural communities.

1. The local schools and programs that are available for children with disabilities. This includes early intervention programs, pre-schools, elementary, junior, and high school programs. How are these programs run, do these programs provide inclusion for the children with disabilities, and what kind of a reputation do these programs have.
2. Is there an adequate number of doctors, dentists, physical therapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists that provide services for individuals with disabilities (both children and adults).
3. Is there a local hospital. If not, where is the nearest hospital located.
4. Are there adequate emergency services available. (ambulance, fire department, police) 
5. Is there a local department of developmental disabilities agency and a local mental health facility. If not, where is the nearest area these agencies are located in.
6. Is there a Veterans Clinic or Hospital. If not, where are the closest located.
7. Are there In-Home Health Care Services available.
8. Are there services such as: Vocational, Rehabilitation, Adult Care Homes, Independent Living Skills, Job Coaching, Mentoring, Special Olympics, Post High School, Group Homes
9. Are there disability support services such as: Autism Specialists, Respite, Transportation
10. Are the sidewalks, stores, parking lots, and buildings handicapped accessible

I have found that if you have information available on these topics and you are familiar with these topics, it will help potential home buyers to make an informed decision about relocating to your area. It will also make it much easier for persons with disabilities to locate the services that they may be in need of procuring.

As a parent of a child with disabilities I know first hand how important it is that you treat everyone with respect and I believe in "People First Language".  By including information about services that are available to individuals with disabilities, you can help home buyers feel much more confident about making a decision to relocate to your area. This is the kind of information that every individual has some sort of an interest in, after all, everyone will have some kind of a disability occur in their lifetime. It may be at birth or through an accident or the aging process. So be prepared and make sure you are able to provide this information to the home buyers that you encounter.