Bridge Made Simple: How Intermittent Services Support Kids and Young Adults
A simple guide to Bridge services that support independence without leaving home.
What if support did not mean uprooting your life.
What if it meant strengthening the life you already have.
For many families, the need for extra support shows up quietly. A teenager wants more independence but still needs guidance. A young adult hopes to stay at home while building skills for the future. Parents want help that fits into real routines, not a system that replaces them.
Bridge Intermittent Services were designed for these moments. They offer practical, relationship based support that meets individuals where they are in life and helps them keep living there with confidence.
Support That Fits Where Life Happens
Bridge Intermittent Services are built around one simple idea. Home matters.
These services support individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who live either in their family home or in their own private home. The difference is not about intensity or worth. It is about context.
When someone lives in their family’s home, services are called Supported Family Living. When they live independently in their own home or apartment, services are called Independent Living. In both cases, the purpose is the same. To help the individual build skills, confidence, and routines so they can remain where they live and move toward their goals.
This is not about rushing independence. It is about strengthening it over time.
What Bridge Intermittent Services Look Like Day to Day
Bridge Intermittent Services focus on habilitative support. That means teaching and practicing skills that help individuals navigate daily life and community involvement.
Support may include learning personal hygiene routines, doing laundry, cooking simple meals, or managing household chores. It can look like practicing how to use public transportation, showing up for community activities, or developing social and leisure skills that bring joy and connection.
These services are flexible and individualized. They grow with the person. What is supported today may change tomorrow as skills build and confidence grows.
The goal is not perfection. It is progress that feels meaningful and sustainable.
Who Provides the Support
Support does not always come from someone new.
Bridge Intermittent Services can be provided by Alora staff, a trusted family friend, a relative, or a legal guardian who is not legally responsible for the individual. What matters most is that the person providing support understands the individual, respects their goals, and can be a steady presence in their life.
Alora helps families think through who makes the most sense in each situation and provides guidance, structure, and oversight so support remains consistent and effective.
This approach allows individuals to build skills alongside people they already know and trust while still having the backing of a larger support system.
When Extra Care Is Needed at Home
For some families, daily support needs go beyond skill building.
LRI Personal Care exists for situations where an individual requires hands-on assistance that exceeds what a parent or spouse would typically provide for someone of the same age without a disability. This service is available only when the individual meets Nebraska’s definition of Extraordinary Care.
LRI Personal Care supports activities of daily living, health related tasks, and instrumental activities of daily living. The goal is to ensure the individual can safely remain at home and in their community while their extraordinary care needs are met.
In these cases, parents of a minor child, a spouse of an adult, or a court appointed guardian for an adult may serve as paid caregivers. This recognizes the depth of care already being provided and helps families sustain it without burnout.
A Bridge, Not a Detour
Bridge Intermittent Services are not a final destination. They are a pathway.
They help children, teens, and young adults build the skills needed for what comes next, whether that is greater independence, employment, community involvement, or simply a more confident day to day life.
Families often tell us that these services bring relief. Not because everything becomes easy, but because they finally have support that fits their reality.
Support that strengthens the family instead of replacing it.
Support that honors where someone lives today while preparing them for tomorrow.
This is what a bridge can look like.
Come on in.
