Meeting Special Needs on the Road to Adulthood

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2013) — On April 12 and April 19, the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky will present two free seminars about helping youth with special needs navigate challenges in the transition to adulthood.   

The first seminar, "Navigating the Challenges of Transition: Supporting Youth in Educational, Community Living and Pediatric-to-Adult Health Care Planning," will take place from 1-3 p.m. on Friday, April 12, in in the Human Development Training Room at the UK Coldstream Research Campus, with a video-conference link to the HDI Basement Conference Room in the Mineral Industries Building on main campus.

The second, "Transition and Beyond for Youth and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder" will take place from 1-3 p.m. on Friday, April 19, in the Human Development Training Room at the UK Coldstream Research Campus, also with a link to the HDI Mineral Industry Building Conference Room.

April 12: Effective Transition Planning

The April 12 seminar is intended for youth with disabilities and their parents, professionals in education, social workers, rehab counselors, psychologists, licensed professional counselors and educators. The presenters will focus on how to help youth with special needs, their parents or guardians, and professionals identify where the youth is in the process of planning for transition to adulthood and how to plan for the next steps.

Presenters will discuss components of effective transition planning, as well as getting the youth, parents/guardians and all supporting professionals on the “same page.” Transition topics to be discussed include: making health care decisions, self-advocacy, types of adult living arrangements, and transitioning to adult health care providers.

Videos will reveal teens’ perspectives on transition planning and moving to adulthood. A Transitions booklet, which will be shared with participants, was developed through incorporating personal experiences of family members of children with special health care needs, professional experiences working with and advocating alongside other families, and a review of cross-disciplinary transition planning resources.

April 19: Transitioning with ASD

The April 19 seminar deals specifically with the special transition needs of youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Awareness and accurate knowledge about autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are important to support transitions for individuals with ASD across varied contexts. For transitions within public school settings, accurate teacher and peer knowledge about autism are important to support changes in educational placements, to different schools via graduation, or changes due to relocation.

The Collaborative Model for Promoting Competence and Success (COMPASS) is a consultation model that assists parents and teachers in making decisions about educational goals and teaching plans to ensure good educational outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Information on COMPASS will be provided, including a description of two experimental controlled studies. A brief case study will be presented to demonstrate COMPASS in practice.  The second part of this presentation provides an overview of research findings and introduces materials for the purpose of educating peers, teachers, and employers about ASD.

Awareness and understanding of ASD are also important to support individuals with ASD in transitions to employment settings. Materials developed by the Organization for Autism Research, which are freely available, will be highlighted in the presentation.

Registration

In addition to the main seminar sites, video-conference sites will be available around the city and at locations throughout the state. Space is limited and advance registration is required.

Those who wish to attend may register online at http://www.hdi.uky.edu/news/events.   Attendance site must be selected at time of registration; if a site is full, you will have the option to select another site.

HDI's seminar series is open to faculty, staff, and students, as well as self-advocates, parents/caregivers and professionals statewide. Continuing education units may be available. 

Please contact Marybeth Vallance at marybeth.vallance@uky.edu if your site wishes to host a live video-conference in your community.

The Human Development Institute is Kentucky’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service, focusing efforts on improving lifelong opportunities and services for individuals with disabilities, their families and the community.

The institute provides a strong foundation for more than 40 research, training and service projects, addressing a wide range of topics and issues in areas such as early childhood, education and alternate assessment, transition across the lifespan, employment, community living, and personnel preparation.

HDI is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Kentucky and a member institution of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD).

For more information, visit the HDI website at http://hdi.uky.edu.