Independent Living

The culture in mainstream America values independence.  Consequently, independent living is a goal many of us wish to obtain.  None the less, this topic is a stressful time for families with children transitioning from secondary school.  Independent living includes interpersonal skills, awareness of transportation options and ability to get around, managing money, caring for personal needs, buying and preparing food, engaging in civil activities such as voting and volunteering, and participation in recreation and leisure activities such as swimming, hiking, and canoeing.  This can be an even more stressful time for parents of children with disabilities.  However, being aware of the families’ and child’s goals and expectations can direct the type of resources necessary to see those goals become reality.  The following websites have information on many topics needed to be evaluated by parents to help lead their child to reach their postsecondary goal which may be independent living. 

REACH

REACH stands for Rehabilitation, Education, and Advocacy for Citizens with Disabilities.  It is a nonprofit corporation which provides services for people with disabilities so that they are empowered to lead self-directed lives.

Under the “Need Assistance” tab, free counseling service is offered at UNT Dallas.  It is offered to the entire community.   In addition, there is information on free smoke detectors specially designed for individuals with hearing impairments provided by the Dallas Fire-Rescue.  Safety is important. 

Under the REACH Dallas website, there are web links to various sites for various disabilities or factors that may inhibit one from performing to their maximum level.  Some web links included are those for cancer patients, prescription assistance, medical assistance, and employment connections for individuals with disabilities.  This website is full of an abundant amount of resources for individuals with disabilities.  Parents can look through these websites alongside with their child to find the resources that are beneficial for their child to transitioning to independent living. 

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Guardianship Booklet

This booklet discusses guardianship for Texans with disabilities.  Guardianship is a legal device used to protect the rights and interests of an incapacitated person, defined as someone who cannot manage his or her personal and/or financial affairs by himself/herself.  This booklet is written primarily for parents and other family members of a person with disabilities. It is important to make an appropriate decision about guardianship. In Texas, a guardianship can be appointed over the person or the estate, or both, of a person with a disability. The court may grant the guardian full authority over the person, or may grant the guardian limited authority as indicated by the person's actual abilities. In each type of guardianship, the powers and duties of the guardian must be specifically stated.  This booklet discusses the need for guardianship and some common problems of persons with disabilities that might be solved without getting a guardianship.  Parents of children with disabilities should carefully read over the Guardianship Booklet to find the most appropriate choice of the type of guardianship needed for the person with the disability to be able to lead their life to independent living so the guardianship document is ready when the child turns 18. 

 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

                                                              

This website offers affordable housing for very low income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.  The housing choice vouchers program is the federal government's major program for assisting these individuals to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.  The individual is responsible for their choice of housing and ensuring the owner will accept the voucher.  There is usually waiting a list due to the demand exceeding the available resources so it is important to plan for this assistance and the time needed to receive this financial assistance.  Parents can assist their child by going with them to this the nearest Public Housing Agency (PHA) to fill out the necessary forms to be placed on the list for the housing choice voucher, to research possible houses affordable in their budget range, or to get an idea of price ranges for renting or buying a house. 

 

Postsecondary Education

Postsecondary education is considered as any education done beyond high school. Many students have a difficult time determining what path they want to take and what outcomes they wish to achieve after high school. Many students choose postsecondary education to prepare for a career in doing something they are interested in or love. This is their plan to make more money in the future. How can we, as teachers, prepare our students to transition into postsecondary education?
Here are some helpful resources in preparing for postsecondary education:

Next Step Video 25 minute download

This is a great video to show to your students with disabilities who are interested in pursuing postsecondary education. The five students speaking in the video are all students with disabilities who have successfully attended college. The students talk about their disabilities, tell stories from early school experiences, express their feelings on the first day of college, how to get help on campus, how to advocate for yourself, and urge one to never give up. You also get to hear some of the parental concerns these students’ parents had about sending their children to college. This video can be used as an inspirational tool as you prepare your students for success in postsecondary education.

Next Step Users Guide

This guide goes along with the Next Step video. The first section is a discussion guide that relates directly with the video where topics, definitions, and questions can be discussed in groups. The discussion guide is a great tool to use with students, parents, or a group of teachers who viewed the video. The rest of the guide is broken up into sections with the titles: secondary teachers, counselors, vocational adjustment coordinators, elementary teachers, parents, and students. The section for secondary teachers, counselors, vocational adjustment coordinators provides steps on how to prepare students for postsecondary education. Throughout this section, you can find higher education expectations for all students and for students with disabilities. The section for elementary teachers provides a guide on how to begin building foundations for higher education for students with disabilities. The next two sections are for parents and students. These sections provide useful information and tips on preparing for secondary education. This guide can be useful to anyone who has an interest in the success of the student in postsecondary education. We can use and refer to this guide as we are creating transition plans for students with disabilities.

Transition to College

This is a great website for teachers who are interested in developing a program for students with disabilities to transition into a college setting. This website explains how to build a program, how to implement the program, and how to improve the program you developed. This site explains how each program is unique and will be designed around the needs and desires of the students, the skills and experiences of its staff, and the resources it has access to which includes the college environment. This website also provides a full list of resources that are beneficial to teachers such as: recent articles and news, a needs assessment and individual support online training modules, a self-advocacy checklist, sample measurable program goals, and a sample employer partnership letter. This site is full of valuable information and tools that teachers can use to create a successful transition program.

Employment

Employment is an important goal area that students with disabilities should be engaged with; employment will help students be more independent and help with other goal areas that are in plan for them after graduating. Some examples are independent living; by having a source of income students are able to maintain the basic necessities and expenses of living on their own. Social relationships can increase by being employed, due to the interactions with the community or co-workers. That is why students with disabilities should be informed of various resources available to them like career assessments, writing a resume and interview attire. Below you will find these resources to see how to get started!

Career Assessment

Career interest assessment surveys students with disabilities interests and preferences to match the results to an ideal job. Students should take career interest inventories to determine what employment occupations they are best suited for and meets their interests. For example, they can tell you what kind of employment environment fits you the best, such as whether you prefer to work in an office, in a school, outdoors or in a hospital setting. Do you like helping people? Would you prefer to design buildings or build them with your hands? The link above can give you a free career assessment inventory that can list occupations that are most suitable for your personality type. The assessment is beneficial to students with disabilities because they can have an idea and build on the foundation of what they discovered about themselves. The assessment is based on Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers approach.

How to Write a Resume

After you decide what career path you want to take you have to build your resume. A resume is a document used by individuals to present their education, skills, job history, and background. Resumes are typically used for job seekers to present to their potential employer. You will want to present a resume to get an interview, present your strengths, and demonstrate what you are capable of if you are hired. It is very important that an student with disabilities be able to write a resume to give them an advantage and a chance to not be labeled right of and the employer sees their abilities and strengths on the resume instead of a person who is disabled. The link above is a helpful tool that gives you tips and advice on how to write a resume.

Interview Attire

Job interviews are very important and play a major part in the decision making of a vacant position. You have a greater opportunity of attaining the position if the employer’s first impression of you is a good one. In order to prepare you for this what better way to do it than to show you. This video is easy to follow so that students with disabilities are prepared and well dressed for a job interview. Above is a link to a video that gives instructions on what to wear for your job interview.