How Vest solves one of the biggest problems facing every parent of a child with special needs
It's the 2 a.m. question that haunts every parent of a child with special needs. "How will others know what to do after I'm gone?"
Every parent who has a child with special needs seeks answers to that question. In response, parents are advised to prepare a "Letter of Intent” that will provide guidance for caregivers in the future.
However, through no fault of their own, parents are rarely able to complete this vital task.
Here are the top five reasons special needs parents put off doing their Letter of Intent:
1. Getting organized is hard.
There are hundreds of constantly changing details to organize. Many parents simply don’t have the time or energy to organize the myriad details of their child’s life, let alone putting them down on paper.
2. Formatting is confusing.
Your Letter of Intent is a “road map” to guide others, so it must be comprehensive, yet easy to follow. It has to contain everything. Where do you start? Finding no practical tools to help format a Letter of Intent, many parents simply abandon the task.
3. Updating the "letter" is extra work.
Your child’s life is constantly changing, so the document must be constantly changed. Word-processed documents are cumbersome and not easy to update (even if you can remember where you saved it!).
4. Sharing it creates more work.
Your updated Letter of Intent must be shared with others after you are gone. You will select different people to fill key roles over time. Mailing out updated copies yearly to different people during your lifetime is simply an impossible task to achieve.
5. Thinking about it is upsetting.
Facing this daunting task, many parents are simply frozen by the emotional impact of writing such a document. Capturing the details of your child's life so others will know how to care for him or her is an enormous task. Naturally, you want to get this perfectly right...
With so much to think about, there's no clear place to start. Which is why so many parents never leave a Letter of Intent at all!
Parents will be relieved to know that our app is now available to help your solve all of these problems:
What is Vest?
It's an application that lets parent create a Vest for your child with special needs. Your Vest is where you store, remember, find, and connect everything and everyone that matters in your child’s life. Just like a life-vest, Vest will help keep your child safe and protected into the future.
How does Vest work?
To create a Vest and get started on your Letter of Intent, go to www.vestlife.com to sign up.
Vest is organized by Sections and Pockets. Sections cover each major area of your child’s life. Pockets are where you fill in specific and unique information about your child. Vest has pre-organized everything, so you don’t have to. You can jump right in and go.
Everything in One Place
Say goodbye to sticky notes, binders, and email chaos. All of the information that used to be spread out around your house and your brain will now have a single home. Vest lets you remember, find, and connect everything and everyone that matters in the life of your child with special needs.
Easy Updates
Vest is a Cloud application that works from any device – iPhone, iPad, tablet, android, Mac, PC – they all work with Vest. This means you can get to your Vest from any device and easily update information as the need arises. Your Vest is always there, keeping key information available at your fingertips.
Secure Sharing
Vest lets you connect family members and your child’s support team with just the information they need. When you update your Vest, team members are kept current with automatic update notifications. You can add and revoke sharing privileges at any time. You can also share Vest information by printing out a hard copy. Vest’s sharing tools allow you to pass on current and comprehensive information about your child to future caregivers, so that they can continue to update your Vest, for your child’s lifetime.
Superpowers!
