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Learning Opportunities: Montana and Online
Visual artists with disabilities may benefit from listening to the recorded webinar Online Media and Marketing for Visual Artists with Disabilities. The session describes how artists can establish and grow an online presence through creating an online portfolio, making a great website, networking through social media, and more.
The recording and handouts from the ASD in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing webinar are now available. This webinar used a combination of information from the literature, retrospective chart review of children with a dual diagnosis and feedback from family and professional focus groups to assist the learner in understanding the unique needs of children who are deaf/hard of hearing with an autism spectrum disorder.
Disability Status Report Webinar
April 1, 2014
11:00 AM-12:00 PM MT
This presentation will explore the Census Bureau's December 2013 release of data from the 2012 American Community Survey (ACS) related to disability and employment, education, poverty, household income and labor earnings.
Realizing Rural Care Coordination: Considerations and Action Steps for State Policymakers
April 2, 2014
12:00-1:15 PM MT
This webinar will feature state officials from Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico, who will share their distinct approaches to coordinating care for rural residents.
Marketing & Job Development for Youth and Adults with Disabilities
April 2-15, 2014
Cost: $159
This course focuses on the key principles and hands-on tools for finding jobs for people with disabilities and other high-unemployment groups.
Self-Employment: A Customized Career Strategy for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
April 8, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM MT
JAN Consultants will discuss the self-employment option focusing both on the development of the business itself, as well as potential accommodations in a small business context.
College Experience Options for Students with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities
April 10, 2014
10:00-11:00 AM MT
Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members
This webinar will describe the national movement on inclusive post-secondary education including information about ThinkCollege.
A Piece of the Financial Pie: Breaking the Poverty Cycle through Benefits Counseling, Financial Literacy and Asset Development for Individuals with Disabilities
April 30, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM MT
Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members
This webinar will provide evidence of the justified need for rehabilitation and developmental disability service providers to address financial literacy, asset development and benefits counseling to break the cycle of poverty often faced by persons with disabilities attempting to become fully integrated in society.
Crucial Components of Effective Transition Programs: 10 (actually 17!) "Things" Every Transition Program Should Have
May 8, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM MT
Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members
This webinar will overview the 17 evidence-based predictors of post-school success from the correlational literature, focusing on those predictors most relevant to transition planning for students with intellectual disabilities as they prepare for integrated employment.
Assistive Technology to Support the Independence of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and/or Autism in Employment Settings
May 14, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM MT
Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members
Participants will be provided with strategies for determining appropriate AT based on the needs of the employee, the employment setting, and requirements of the job and will also be given an overview of various low to high tech AT supports that can be used to support and promote independence of learners across a variety of jobs and skill sets.
Raising Student Knowledge and Skill about Transportation Options to Improve the Successful Transition to Post-School Settings
June 5, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM MT
Cost: $25 APSE Members/$50 Non-members
This webinar will introduce attendees to community mobility management systems that serve as an additional resource for people with disabilities in accessing reliable transportation.
Self-Determination: Past, Present, Future
June 12, 2014
12:00-12:45 PM MT
Cost: Varies
This webcast will give a brief history of self-determination, then focus on self-determination's important role in workplace support and employment issues.
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Learning Opportunities: Other States
Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Training
April 3, 2014
Boise, Idaho
Cost: $150 Individuals/$250 Professionals
Speaker Pete Wright, Esq., presents this one-day Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy workshop designed to meet the needs of parents and professionals serving children and teens with disabilities.
2014 Disability Policy Seminar April 7-9, 2014 Washington, DC
This is an opportunity to hear from leading public policy experts, disability advocates and Congressional staff discussing current key policies important to the disability community. State of the Science - Advancing Evidence-Based Practices and Policies to Close the Employment Gap April 8-9, 2014 Bethesda, Maryland |
The Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers on Evidence-Based Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation, Employment Policy and Measurement, and Individual Level Characteristics Related to Employment Among Individuals with Disabilities will share research that advances evidence-based practices and policies to close the employment gap between people with and without disabilities.
Best Practices in Providing Services to Individuals with Disabilities
April 14-16, 2014
Chamberlain, South Dakota
Cost: $150
Among the session titles are "Tackling Today's Technology: Promoting social skills in a new way by using video games;" "Healthcare Transitions: Bridging Troubled Waters;" and "Can we talk? Enhancing Communication Skills for People with Disabilities."
25th Annual APSE National Conference
July 1-3, 2014
Long Beach, California
This conference focuses exclusively on employment of people with disabilities in the general workforce and features nationally renowned keynote speakers and over 70 breakout sessions.
Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) Conference and pepnet 2 Training Institute
July 14-19, 2014
Sacramento, California The AHEAD conference, "Access Always, in All Ways" features foundational and advanced training in disability law, civil rights, disability services management, access technologies, student services, and new ways of thinking about all of these. The pepnet 2 Training Institute offers more than 30 sessions, reflecting research and best practices in the design and delivery of state-of-the-art educational opportunities for deaf or hard of hearing students. |
Reinventing Quality 2014 August 3-5, 2014
Baltimore, Maryland
The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services, the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota, the Human Services Research Institute The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and The University of Delaware's National Leadership Consortium come together to organize the Reinventing Quality Conference.
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Welcome to the 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.
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Montana News
Montana Autism Education Project consultants can review an IEP for a Montana student with autism and then arrange a conference call or visit to provide feedback, suggestions and praise. If you are interested in an IEP consultation, send an email to ddoty@mt.gov with the Subject line: "IEP Consultation Request" for more information.
Montanans are invited to a Statewide Town Hall Meeting on State Plans for Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services and the Statewide Independent Living Council. The meeting will be held on Friday March 28, 2014 from 3:00-4:15 at various locations:
Billings
MSU-Billings, 1500 University Drive, Education Building, Room 158
Bozeman
Montana State University, Eng. Phys. Science Building-South 7th and Grant, Room 126
Butte
Montana Tech, 1300 West Park Street, ELCB Room 225
Great Falls
Great Falls College of Technology, 2100 16th Avenue South, Room B-133
Havre
MSU-Northern, 300 11th Street West, Hagner Science Center, Room 202
Helena
Old Livestock Building, 1310 East Lockey, Rooms 105 and 107.
Kalispell
Flathead Valley Community College, 777 Grandview Dr., Learning Resource Ctr. Rm. 120
Miles City
Miles City Community College, 2715 Dickenson Street, Room 313
Missoula
University of Montana, Corner of Arthur and Eddy, Galagher Building - Room 104
There will be a call-in line available during the time of the hearing. Participants on the call-in line will have the opportunity to make comments. Call-in number: 406-449-7478; Conference ID: 77178#
Written comments will be taken until April 4, 2014 and can be mailed to:
Mike Hermanson or Julie Clay
Disability Employment and Transitions Division
P. O. Box 4210
Helena, MT 59604
Or email: mhermanson@mt.gov. or jclay@mt.gov
You can also post comments online.
It's once again time for recruiting delegates and staff volunteers for the 2014 Montana Youth Leadership Forum. This year, 20 delegates will be chosen through a statewide competition that seeks students with disabilities who have leadership potential. Each applicant submits a standard form, an essay, and a letter of recommendation. The group that is selected is representative of the state in terms of geographic location, gender, economic status, ethnicity, and types of disabilities. Applications must be postmarked no later than April 4, 2014. The conference will be held July 21-25 on the Carroll College Campus in Helena, Montana.
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Announcements
March is national Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
The Disability.gov "No Boundaries" public service announcements are now available online.
TASH is accepting presentation proposals for the 2014 Annual Conference, "Be the Future," in Washington, DC, December 3-5, 2014. Proposals are due by May 10, 2014.
Recorded archives of the ODEP and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Disability & Elderly Public Health Group Webinar Series on recent Federal policy guidance issued by CMS are now available.
A fact sheet that combines the answers to key questions raised in both of these webinars will be available in the near future.
Linda Hodgdon's March newsletter includes Best Practices for Visual Supports - Part 3, the last in a three-part series.
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Employment
Read about Poppin' Joe's, a successful self-employment enterprise, on this month's DynaVox blog.
Q & A on Employment: Customized Employment for People with Physical Disabilities addresses a number of questions about customizing jobs for people with physical disabilities.
An Exploratory Study of the Elements of Successful Service Dog Partnerships in the Workplace by Margaret K. Glenn identifies 68 elements that stakeholders perceived and rated to be important or highly important to successful service dog partnerships in the workplace.
Promoting Integrated Employment: Lessons Learned from States' Efforts to Transform Their Employment Service Systems for People with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities "describes five states' efforts to increase integrated employment among individuals with IDDs, discusses barriers that have hindered states' progress toward expanding integrated employment outcomes, and highlights lessons learned that can help other states advance their efforts transforming their employment service systems."
EARN recently published brief guides on how to conduct a job analysis and write a job description.
Self-employment for Individuals with Disabilities is an archived webinar offering an overview of self-employment for individuals with a disability and tips on how to structure a home-based business.
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Health
Healthy Transitions: A Pathway to Employment for Youth with Chronic Health Conditions and Other Disabilities [PDF] presents a study that examined the relationship among disability, health and wellness, and transition and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. The study also examined the role healthcare providers play in establishing employment expectations.
A Qualitative Study of Adult AAC Users' Experiences Communicating with Medical Providers by M.A. Morris, B.J. Dudgeion, and K. Yorkston (Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 8(6), 472-481) examined the experiences of adults who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems when interacting with primary care providers. Themes that arose included: planning and preparing for the appointment, time barriers, inappropriate assumptions, relationship building and establishing rapport, medical decision making and implementing the plan. (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.) |
Post-Secondary Education
Inclusive Postsecondary Education: Reimagining the Transition Trajectories of Vocational Rehabilitation Clients with Intellectual Disabilities by K.K. Yamamoto, R. A. Stodden, and E. D.R. Folk (Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 40(1), 59-71) highlights how one VR agency assumed a leading role in the transition of students with ID into PSE through participation in a model demonstration based around three evidence-based practices: interagency team processes, person centered planning, and provision of essential PSE supports (educational coaches). (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.) |
Technology
Color Communication Badges, a fact sheet from the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network's Pacific Alliance on Disability Self-Advocacy, covers the use of color communication badges as an accommodation to support social interaction for people with a variety of disabilities.
What You Need to Know about Assistive Technology but Didn't Know Who to Ask [Video] is an 80-minute archived presentation highlighting assistive and cognitive support technologies, resources to locate products and services, and the process for identifying the AT needs of individuals with a variety of disabilities. Individual slides from the presentation are also available.
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Transition
Autism and Skills for Adulthood is an archived webinar in which Dr. Peter Gerhardt discusses the adaptive skills/skills of daily living that teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder need to acquire to help them lead safe, productive, and fulfilling adult lives. These skills include safety, hygiene, employment, social competence, decision-making, self-management, and communication.
Promise for the Future: A Compendium of Fact Sheets on Federal Programs for Transition-Age Youth with Serious Mental Health Conditions [PDF] describes programs administered by the federal government that can help young people ages 14-30 transition to careers and independent living.
The March 2014 Disability Connection Newsletter features 10 Ways to Make a Smooth Transition to Adulthood.
The Pennsylvania Secondary Transition Guide suggests self-determination skills and strategies students should work toward at various ages.
The I'm Determined Transition Guide from the Virginia Department of Education Self-Determination Project suggests transition preparation activities students should undertake at different ages. The realms of Independent Living, Employment, Post-secondary Education and Training, and Self-determination are addressed in the guide.
Employment Outcomes of Transition-Aged Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A State of the States Report by S. Burgess and R.E. Cimera (American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 119(1), 64-83) reports findings of a study to evaluate the employment outcomes of transition-aged adults with autism spectrum disorders served by vocational rehabilitation services over the last 10 years by state. Although the number of young adults with ASD seeking VR services has increased, employment outcomes (percentage of adults working, number of hours worked, and wages earned) have not improved.
"Just Having a Job"': Career Advancement for Low-Wage Workers with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities by L. Lindstrom, K.A. Hirano, C. McCarthy, and C.Y. Alverson (Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, online ahead of print) found that young people's employment opportunities seemed to be influenced by family advocacy and expectations, school-based work experiences, job development services, and work environments. (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.)
Transition from School to Adulthood for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: What We Know and What We Need to Know by P. Wehman, C. Schall, S. Carr, P. Targett, M. West, and G. Cifu (Journal of Disability Policy Studies, online ahead of print) provides a critical review of the key aspects of the transition process and identifies recommendations for policy and practice. (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.)
Identifying a Transition Competency Domain Structure: Assisting Transition Planning Teams to Understand Roles and Responsibilities of Community Partners by A. Plotner, J. Trach, and K. Shogren (Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 26(2-3), 255-270) describes a transition competency domain model consisting of seven domains: (1) provide career planning and counseling, (2) provide career preparation experiences, (3) facilitate allocation of resources, (4) build and maintain collaborative partnerships, (5) promote nonprofessional support and relationships, (6) promote access and opportunity for student success, and (7) coordinate program improvement activities. (Article abstract is free; the full text version may require a subscription or purchase.)
The Office of Disability Employment Policy website describes ODEP's youth initiatives and provides links to transition-related resources. |
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