Aging Poses New Challenges For Those With Special Needs

For more than 20 years, Tricia McGee has lived, worked and taken classes at Misericordia, a sprawling campus serving people with developmental disabilities on Chicago’s North Side.

But when the 56-year-old woman with Down syndrome began forgetting her work schedule, becoming disoriented around campus and feeling too confused to do her job in the mailroom, administrators at the Catholic facility moved her to a new program designed to meet a need that advocates say will only be more pressing in the years ahead: caring for people with disabilities as they age.

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.