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Transition Tidbits
Transition News and ResourcesJuly 2013
In This Issue
Training: MT, Online
Training: Other States
MT News
Announcements
Employment
Health
National News
Post-Secondary
Social Security
Technology
Transition
Web Sites

Learning Opportunities: Montana and Online

 

The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) is offering a free, 12 credit-hour Physician Education in Developmental Disabilities webinar series designed to enhance the practice skill of primary care physicians and residents who would like to provide better care to their adult patients with developmental disabilities.

 

The American Sign Language University offers free ASL I and ASL II courses on their website.  Lessons include videos, quizzes and more. 

 

The Job Accommodation Network's webinar More Than One Path to the Top of the Mountain: Self-employment as an Individualized Process for Individuals with Disabilities is now available for viewing on the JAN website.

 

The Health Care Law - Health Insurance Marketplace 101

July 11, 2013

12:00-1:00 PM MT

This webinar will cover the main provisions in the health care law (the Affordable Care Act) and how to access care in your community. Topics include the Health Insurance Marketplace, how to enroll in health insurance and how to receive updates on implementation of the law. A brief question and answer session will provide answers to commonly asked questions.

 

Diagnosis Webinar - Autism and the DSM V

July 11, 2013

12:00-2:00 PM MT
This webinar will provide an overview of the DSM-5 changes to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) classification and outline the changes between the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) and ADOS-2. 

 

In It for the Long Haul--Long-term Supports and Employment

July 16, 2013

1:00-2:30 PM MT

While there is a lot of enthusiasm and talk about Employment First as a philosophy for youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, how do we ensure the outcome of paid community-based employment for people with ongoing support needs when many of these people don't have access to long-term supports? This webinar will emphasize the importance of getting to know job seekers through the process of Discovery in order to identify each individual's ideal characteristics of employment.

 

ADA Anniversary Update: 23 Years Later

July 16, 2013

12:00-1:30 PM MT

Representatives of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice will present an update on litigation, technical assistance, and enforcement efforts over the past year. Participants will have an opportunity to pose questions to the presenters regarding issues in their own workplace or community.

 

Person-Centered Employment Practices in Postsecondary Education

July 17, 2013

12:00-1:00 PM MT

Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members

This presentation will discuss how Western Carolina University's University Participant works collaboratively with participants, families, current and potential employers, and Vocational Rehabilitation to form person-centered job development and work-based experiences.

 

Part I: A Global Approach to Interventions Appropriate to a Person with an FASD

July 18, 2013

11:00 AM-12:30 PM MT

Dr. Susan Doctor will discuss strategies that she calls "global" intervention strategies appropriate to people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. She will spell out the rationale for and value of each global strategy as applied to the provision of appropriate supports for the individual with an FASD.

 

Rethinking Guardianship/Conservatorship (two part series)

Part One: July 23, 2013
12:00-1:15 PM  MT

Part Two: July 25, 2013
12:00-3:15 PM MT

Cost: $50 per session for TASH members/$70 per session for non-members

Establishing guardianship or conserving a person with disabilities is demeaning and contrary to current best practices. The outcome for the person is devastating and stigmatizing. We must rethink this pervasive, but outdated methodology and instead use alternatives and provide the supports, assistance and accommodations persons need to exercise choice, have their preferences honored and to participate in our communities as equal citizens.

 

Ticket to Work and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities

July 24, 2013

1:00-2:30 PM MT

In addition to Ticket to Work basics, participants will learn about the EEOC's role in enforcing employment laws; the ADA; and where to find more information.


Disability as Diversity: Including America's Largest Diversity Population in Diversity Planning and Practice

July 25, 2013

11:00-11:45 AM MT

Presenters will review topics such as the value proposition of diversity, lack of disability inclusion in diversity efforts, statistics and case studies, workplace connections and strategies, customer/market issues, and supplier diversity and strategies.

 

Promoting Employment - Discovering Your Potential: Using Discovery to Identify Your Employment Goals

July 31, 2013

1:00-2:30 PM MT

The webinar will provide information on how to use Discovery - an alternative assessment tool proven to identify the strengths of job seekers with and without disabilities - to help job seekers identify personal employment goals. Participants will gain an understanding of Discovery, how to use Discovery components individually or in preparation for Group Discovery, and the potential outcomes.

 

ADA Title I. Rights and Responsibilities  

August 15, 2013
12:00-1:00 PM MT

Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members

This presentation will provide an overview of Title I of The Americans with Disabilities Act, focusing on the rights and responsibilities offered to both job seekers and employers.   

 

Transition to Employment for Students: Strategies for Success

August 22, 2013

12:00-1:30 PM MT

Cost: $50 TASH Members/$70 Non-members

All youth can work! And work should be an important feature of secondary education and transition programs for youth with disabilities. Join us for a special training session illustrating how schools and communities can incorporate strategies into successful transition programs.

 

Everyone Can Work!
August 29, 2013

12:00-1:30 PM MT

Cost: $50 TASH Members/$70 Non-members

This session will introduce the audience to strategies of Discovery and Customized Employment, which are effective in creating employment for people who face significant challenges to working. After attending the training the audience will have the skills to begin getting to know a prospective job seeker for the purpose of determining what they can do for employment.
Learning Opportunities: Other States

The 2013 Arc National Convention: Achieving Momentum

August 3-5, 2013

Bellevue, Washington

Register now to attend the premiere event for the intellectual and developmental disability movement and join hundreds of other individuals, families, advocates, experts and professionals in the field for three days of informative sessions, unique events and opportunities to connect.

 

 Lights, Camera, Access: Spotlight on Disability Inclusive Diversity
September 30 - October 3, 2013

Los Angeles, California

Plan to attend the U.S. Business Leadership Network's 16th Annual Conference, where you will gain actionable knowledge to build a business case for your disability inclusion initiatives and develop robust strategies that align with your organization's goals to create culturally competent workplaces.

 

October 9-11, 2013

Minneapolis, Minnesota

This year's conference builds on a tradition of providing a comprehensive examination of the most current uses of technology by persons with disabilities and the professionals who work with them. Topics will cover a broad spectrum of technology as it is being applied to all disabilities and age groups in education, rehabilitation, vocation, and independent living. 

 

14th Annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference: Transition from Pediatric to Adult-based Care

October 16-18, 2013

Houston, Texas   

This conference provides a state-of-the-art update on issues involved in health care transition for youth and young adults with chronic illness and disability and their families from pediatric to adult- based services.  It brings together internationally, nationally and locally-recognized clinical, policy, legal, research, youth and family experts, making it a unique conference in the breadth and depth of topics addressing all aspects of transition planning.

 

 

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Greetings!

Welcome to the latest edition of Transition Tidbits. We hope you find the news and resources in this issue useful as you support young Montanans with disabilities in their transition to adult lives.
Montana News

The Montana Assistive Technology Loan Program (MATL) offers Montanans with disabilities, or their family members, the ability to purchase assistive technology for a variety of needs.

 

Save the Date! The 2013 Montana Youth Transitions Conference will be held November 6-8 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. Speakers are invited to submit proposals for conference workshops pertinent to professionals, parents/families, and/or youth with disabilities.  

  
The Rural Institute Consumer Advisory Council (partially funded through a contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Children's Special Health Services) is recruiting representatives from the Montana Developmental Disabilities Program and the foster care system (especially youth/young adults who are or have been in foster care). We also seek Native Americans/American Indians with a disability and children and youth with special health care needs to serve on the council. For more information or an application, contact Kim Brown at brown@ruralinstitute.umt.edu or by calling 406-243-4852.

 

Announcements

Application Deadline July 15, 2013!

The University of Maryland is recruiting students for the 2013-14 Academic Graduate Certificate in Transition from School to Career. This will be the University's fifth time offering the 12-credit certificate to transition specialists in schools, rehabilitation, and adult service agencies. The four courses, which start this fall, are offered entirely online to meet the demands of working professionals. Certificate students are offered state-of-the-art curriculum through the teaching and mentoring of highly qualified transition instructors. The deadline for applying is July 15, 2013. A scholarship is offered to pay for tuition and educational materials. For application materials or additional information please visit the University of Maryland's Website. For information about applying or details about the certificate, contact Ellen Fabian, Ph.D. If you have questions regarding the learning content, contact Debra Martin Luecking, Ed.D.  

 

The TASH Conference Registration is now open! The 2013 TASH Conference: A Movement United will be held December 11-14 at the historic Hilton Chicago in Downtown Chicago, Illinois. This conference brings together advocates and professionals from across the U.S. and abroad to learn about best practices in the disability field, share information and experience, and develop lasting relationships and networks. "This year's theme draws its inspiration from three challenges facing the disability community today: 1) People with disabilities are often lumped into segregated (or parallel) systems and services; 2) there are significant gaps in the communication between systems and services; and 3) the wide array of stakeholders in the disability field approach issues differently, and are not always aligned to advance the common goal - equity, opportunity and inclusion in all aspects of community life."  

 

The Autism NOW Answer Series offers a variety of YouTube videos addressing questions about autism.

 

The Spring 2013 issue of the Shriver Center Spotlight [PDF] newsletter is dedicated to functional communication for people with a range of developmental and intellectual disabilities.

 

First Step: A Youth Practitioner's Resource Guide to Supportive Services [PDF] provides quick and easy-to-use information about programs and services that might benefit the young adults you serve.

Employment

The Critical Importance of Customized Employment and Discovery, a TASH guest blog by Michael Callahan, TASH Board member and Chair of its Employment Committee, calls for Customized Employment and Discovery to be made widely available for people with significant disabilities.

 

Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies Helping People With Psychiatric Disabilities Get Employed: How Far Have We Come? How Far Do We Have to Go?:  Case Studies of Promising Practices in Vocational Rehabilitation [PDF] summarizes eight promising practices VR agencies might wish to develop to improve employment outcomes among clients with psychiatric disabilities.

 

Customized Self-Employment and the Use of Discovery for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities (Heath, K., Ward, K., & Reed, D., Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 39, no. 1, 2013, pp. 23-27) reports findings from the StartUp Alaska research-demonstration project. The project's aim was to identify promising self-employment practices. According to the article abstract, "Results based on a self-employment facilitator generated database and survey on individual participants indicated an association between successful business launch and the use of Discovery." The full journal article is available for purchase online.

 

The June 2013 LEAD On! e-newsletter is now available on the LEAD Center website. This issue includes news and innovations in employment, policy and economic advancement for adults with disabilities.

 

Health

Youth Solutions Desk - Helping Youth Transition, a service of the Interagency Working Group for Youth Programs, presented a webinar on Health and Health Care in the Transition from Adolescence to Young Adulthood including the impact of the Affordable Care Act on adolescents. The webinar slides [PDF] are now available online.

 

Archived webinars from the HealthMeet� project and other sources are now available. Sessions include Approaches to Training Healthcare Providers on Working with Patients with Disabilities; Women's Health Issues Over a Lifespan; Integration of Individuals with Disabilities into Local Public Health Programs; and many more.

 

The Capitol Insider Blog's Health Care section provides current news about implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

 

The Department of Health and Human Services refocused HealthCare.gov  to educate the public about their options for affordable health coverage in preparation for open enrollment and purchasing private health insurance in the new Health Insurance Marketplace.

 

In September 2012, the National Gateway to Self-Determination published a Research to Practice in Self-Determination brief focusing on Self-Determination and Health [PDF].
National News

The ADA Legacy Project (TALP) is gearing up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 2015. TALP's mission is to honor the contributions of people with disabilities and their allies by:

  • preserving and promoting the history of the disability rights movement;
  • celebrating the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as other related disability rights legislation and accomplishments; and
  • educating the public to create opportunities for inclusion, access, and equal rights for the future.

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is featuring the web exhibition EveryBody: An Artifact History of Disability in America. The exhibition uses images and text to share history from the perspective of people with disabilities.

Post-Secondary Education 

The Importance of Collaborating on Concurrent Work and Education Experiences: Kentucky Experiences [PDF] by Kathy Sheppard-Jones, Victoria Reilly and Melissa Jones describes how Kentucky Vocational Rehabilitation and post-secondary programs are working together to provide employment opportunities to students with intellectual disabilities who are enrolled in post-secondary programs.

 

Peer Mentoring in Postsecondary Settings: Experiences at the College of Charleston [PDF] by Meghan Trowbridge, Kinsey Carlson and Edie Cusack discusses the importance of mentoring in supporting students with intellectual disabilities on the college campus. Strategies from Charleston College's REACH Program are shared as examples of effective practice.

 

Profiles and Promising Practices in Higher Education for Students with Intellectual Disability is a Think College publication that describes the background and structure of five post-secondary programs serving students with intellectual disabilities. It also identifies promising practices that appear to have a positive effect on student outcomes.

 

A Taxonomy for Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [PDF] is a policy brief presenting the taxonomy and examples of how it can be used. The taxonomy facilitates comparison of the growing number of post-secondary programs for individuals with ID/DD.    

 

In June 2013, the National Gateway to Self-Determination published a Research to Practice in Self-Determination brief focusing on The Impact of College on Self-Determination [PDF].

Social Security

Do you need to know how many people in your state or region are receiving Social Security and/or SSI payments? How many SSI recipients are aged, how many are blind, and how many are disabled? What the total monthly payment amount is? The Social Security Administration's Office of Retirement and Disability Policy's Congressional Statistics, December 2012 provides the answers to these questions and more.

 

Technology

New Gadgets Help Disabled Find Work, a July 1, 2013, article from the Columbus Dispatch written by Martha Mendoza, describes the booming U.S. market for assistive technologies. The article mentions several specific technologies that have been life-changing for individuals with disabilities.

 

The Job Accommodation Network released its newest Just-in-Time training module on Assistive Technology in the Workplace. This 21-minute introductory training module covers the basics of assistive technology, alternative input, products, and resources available for use in the workplace.
Transition 

 Promising Practices in Transition: Results of Multi-Year, Multi-Site Study, an archived webinar from the Center on Transition to Employment for Youth with Disabilities, covers factors contributing to employment for predominantly minority youth with high incidence disabilities.

 

Working With Youth to Develop a Transition Plan [PDF] helps child welfare professionals and others who work with transition-age youth partner with the youth to create transition plans that build on their strengths and support their needs.

 

How to Help New High School Grads Transition into Adulthood, a post from the May 13, 2013 Lebanon Daily Record, offers tips for parents of transition-age youth from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

 

Eduployment: Creating Opportunity Policies for America's Youth [PDF] from the Youth Transition Funders Group introduces the concept of "eduployment," a term recognizing learning and work are inextricably linked. The report suggests "opportunity policies" to help young people achieve success. Foundational elements of these policies include:

  • Keeping students in school
  • Early work experience
  • Ensuring students graduate with a meaningful diploma
  • Successful post-secondary skill development

The U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division has found that Harold H. Birch Vocational School in Providence, Rhode Island violated the Americans with Disabilities Act [PDF] by operating a sheltered workshop for students with disabilities within the local high school. Students were only paid 50 cents to $2 an hour for work and they were required to work long hours. After graduating or aging out of school, students were given few options for employment and were often funneled into the local sheltered workshop. The Justice Department found that, "The City, in part, by operating an in-school sheltered workshop at Birch, has planned, structured, administered, and funded its transition service system in a manner that imposes a serious risk of unnecessary segregation upon Birch students."

 

 
Web Sites

The NIDRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC: RURAL) launched TelecomToolbox.org, a website designed to increase vocational rehabilitation counselors' capacity to use online communication methods with their clients.  Visit the site for information about email, social media, video conferencing, and telecommunication in counseling practice.

 

Employment First Across the Nation is an interactive map of Employment First activities around the United States. Visit the website to see what is happening in your state and region, and to gather ideas about initiatives you might like to promote in your area.

 

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) has added the ReadSpeak player to their website. This feature allows users to listen to the site content and follow along with highlighted text.  The website's Spanish pages  offer a Spanish voice and an Escuchar button.

 

The Kids Together Facebook page invites followers to share the latest information about supporting people with disabilities in schools, employment, recreation and communities.

 

 
 

Please note: the Transition and Employment Projects at the University of Montana Rural Institute shares information and resources our listserv members may find of interest. We do not endorse the web sites or workshop contents or their providers, and we assume no responsibility for the validity of information provided on sites or in sessions not hosted by our agency.

 

This project is funded in whole or in part under a Contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. The statements herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Department.