For typical high school students, the choices about the future are numerous and exciting. In stark contrast are students with disabilities who have fewer choices and more limited options.
For example, dropping out of school poses serious job-related problems for typical students. Most businesses require and prefer to hire young adults with high school diplomas. Therefore, for students with disabilities, dropping out of high school is a disaster.
Many students with disabilities do not graduate with a regular high school diploma. They graduate with an IEP diploma (Individualized Educational Plan) which means that the general education course work which they have been exposed to has been modified to their level of understanding. As a result, it is even more difficult for students with disabilities to find and to maintain jobs.
Because of some changes to the education law, students with disabilities must now be provided with a formalized program referred to as Transition Programming, which starts at age 14.
What is a transition program? A transition program involves a coordinated set of activities which develops a student’s skills to increase the likelihood for independent living and self-sufficiency. Some students with disabilities remain in educational programs until age 21 to receive these services.
Transition services include educational instruction, community experiences, employment development, vocational training, and the development of post-school adult living skills.
The transition from school to work and to community adult living can be very difficult for all students but particularly for students with disabilities. Consider the difficulties related to getting to work: reading the bus or train schedule, traveling without getting lost, paying fares and having strategies to deal with getting lost.
So starting in grade 7, transition planning becomes a continuous process that must include interviews with the student, his family and his teachers. The beginning part of the process seeks to establish appropriate and realistic career goals by evaluating a student’s interests and skills.
It is important to note that transition planning can only be successful if teachers, parents and students work together to build a bridge to the outside community. Schools providing these programs must create the linkages that establish the student’s interconnections to training programs, job sites, and social service agencies prior to graduation.
This year at the School for Language and Communication Development, Dr. Jeremy Tiegerman, School Psychologist, Lindsay Rich, School Psychologist, Toya Davis, Parent Liaison, and Robert Schmidt, School Principal scheduled a Career Day and Job Fair for the Middle/High school students in Woodside, Queens. The Job Fair took months of planning and preparation to organize. Community businesses had to be contacted and encouraged to participate.
The students learned about the community’s diverse employment opportunities.
Professionals representing different sectors within the business community spoke to students about job requirements and answered many questions about work schedules and salaries. These early contacts with business leaders hopefully will create the core of job opportunities for students when they leave the program. The Job Fair also provided business professionals with the opportunity to meet students and visit the school.
We all want independence and self-sufficiency for our children. We all want our children to reach their potential in order to live a fulfilling life. For students with disabilities, the process takes longer and requires educational as well as community supports.
Businesses need to consider minor work-setting changes which could create an internship experience for a high school student with a disability. The more business and community leaders who open their hearts and their work settings to students with disabilities, the greater the probability that job success will be achieved. Students with disabilities can become a productive part of our vibrant society. For some of our children, we need to be more creative about the process. Everyone can contribute to the success of American business.
Ellenmorris Tiegerman, Ph.D. is Founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development
