Ready, Set, Transition
High School graduation is the beginning of adult life. During this exciting time, young people and their families face many decisions to make about the future. These decisions include furthering education, finding a job, and living independently. Planning for the future of a child who has a disability can spur a fear of the unknown. Oftentimes this fear can cause parents to focus the present and delay addressing transition planning. The Disability Action Center believes working through these fears and taking the student’s best future interest into consideration, will lead to the most beneficial outcome for both the parent and the student.
Even though transition planning has been mandated for all students with disabilities for more than 10 years, transition planning for individuals with disabilities is still behind the transition planning of other groups. The results of several recent studies have suggested that many high school students with disabilities encounter difficulties in making the transition to adult life, including problems related to unemployment, underemployment, job changes, participation in community and leisure activities, pay, dependency on parents and others, postsecondary academics, and functional skills.
The transition services offered through the Disability Action Center are designed to prepare students who have disabilities to make the transition from the world of school to the world of adulthood. The transition services are based upon the student’s needs and include independent living skills training, development of work skills, assistance with the financial aid process and registering for post-secondary education. These services encourage the student to take an active role in the planning of his or her future, to be involved in the organization of their lives and to attain their highest level of independent living.
The Transition team at the Disability Action Center helps young adults living with disabilities acquire the necessary skills, knowledge, and experiences to ensure a successful transition into adult life. Our services are designed to help young adults discover answers to the critical questions: Who am I? What am I good at? What do I like? What do I need? What are my challenges and resources? and How do I get from here to there?
To learn more about how the DAC and our caring staff can help with transitioning and life after high school graduation, contact us today!
Haley Slagle, DAC Transition Specialist