Transition/Vocational Supports
Students in transition settings, typically have not only just transitioned
from school settings, but will soon transition into adult services. What appears
to be a most promising practice takes place when school services and adult
services collaborate to build a support structure that "wraps around"
the transitioning student and creates a continuous system of supports.
Unfortunately, some adult services do not have a legal mandate to provide
services except when a student might qualify for such a service. State
departments of vocational rehabilitation typically serve high school students
through youth transition programs. Such youth programs have the same
requirements as adult programs - that they provide only short term supports for
individuals who can predictably achieve competitive employment and independent
employment.
These departments do not provide long term supports in a supported
employment model. Yet, people with developmental disabilities often need exactly
that level of support.
However, each voc-rehab counselor needs to ask, "What can supported
employment look like?" "Are the levels of support the same for each
person with a developmental disability?"
Many people with developmental disabilities have outstanding skills, but lack
the opportunity to demonstrate those skills in a formal work environment.
Many times, sensory and behavioral issues make it necessary that a person with a
developmental disability have extra supervision to assure that their sensory and
behavioral issues do not interfere with their work product.
Sometimes, the only thing a person with a developmental disability needs is a
chance to show the "world of work" how well we fit in.
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