NICHCY Connections...
to Transition Resources for Students

If you're reading this and you're a student, then adulthood must be right around the corner. Are you excited? Nervous? Wondering what you are going to do with yourself, and what choices you have? Time to plan ahead. Come on, it'll be fun!

To help you plan what comes next, after you leave high school, NICHCY offers this list of resources for students in transition. This page is part of our Transition Suite, which has the following sections:

• Transition 101
• Transition Resources for Parents
• Transition Resources for Students (you're here!)
• Transition Resources for Professionals
• Transition and Specific Disabilities

• Top 10 things to think about as you prepare for your transition to adulthood.
  www.heath.gwu.edu/PDFs/Top%20ten%20things%20to%20think%20about.pdf
  Can you guess what they are?
  
  
• What's an IEP, and how to get involved in writing YOURS.
  www.nichcy.org/stuguid.asp
  As a student with a disability, you probably have an IEP (individualized education program) that lists your school goals and the services and supports the school will provide to help you achieve those goals. Now that it's time to plan for life after high school, the IEP will include transition goals. It will also list what you need at school to help you get ready for the future. You are a very important part of the team that plans these transition services. So get involved! NICHCY's Student Guide to the IEP set will tell you how. Listen to the audio program and hear students like yourself talking about how they've helped write their IEPs. The audio program comes with a book written just for you---A Student's Guide to the IEP.
  
  
• Get the most out of vocational rehabilitation.
  www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=129
  Every state has a vocational rehabilitation(VR) agency that is designed to help individuals with disabilities meet their employment goals. Vocational rehabilitation agencies assist individuals with disabilities to prepare for, get, keep, or regain employment. This publication answers questions frequently asked by individuals with disabilities.
  
  
• How about more school? Going on to postsecondary education.
  www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html
  More and more high school students with disabilities are planning to continue their education in postsecondary schools, including vocational and career schools, two- and four- year colleges, and universities. As a student with a disability, you need to be well informed about your rights and responsibilities as well as the responsibilities that postsecondary schools have toward you. This brief tells you what you need to know.
  
  

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You are a key member of the team that plans your transition to adult life, did you know that? It's true--and it's important. You don't want others planning your whole life for you, you want a voice in shaping your future. So--what do you bring to the table? What do you want to say? What would you tell others about yourself? Ask for? Insist on? Wish you could do....? The resources in this section will help you focus in on yourself: who you are, what you want, what you don't want, and where you might take yourself in the future.

• Youthhood.org.
  www.youthhood.org
  Childhood meets adulthood at Youthhood.org. This very interactive site for youth will help you start thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life.
  
  
• Relish is for more than hot dogs.
  www.nichcy.org/stuguid.asp
  That's the name of another NICHCY Student Guide, complete with audio program about young people with disabilities who followed their dreams and found their own sweet success. Their advice? Relish your dreams, delight in your talents, work to achieve who you are and who you will become.
  
  
• More on the value of your dreams.
  www.infouse.com/openfutures/index.php
  Each month Open Futures will introduce you to three people with disabilities who believed in themselves and followed their dreams. Open Futures will also lead you to resources that will help you open up your future.
  
  
• Be your own advocate.
  http://depts.washington.edu/~transctr/ETP.html
  Visit KASA (Kids as Self Advocates), a national, grassroots network of youth with disabilities and needs (and friends), speaking out. As KASA youth say, "We are leaders in our communities, and we help spread helpful, positive information among our peers to increase knowledge around various issues. Those issues include: living with disabilities, health care transition issues, school, work, and many more."
  
  
• Yes! Know yourself, know what you need, know how to get it.
  www.wrightslaw.com/info/sec504.selfadvo.ld.johnson.htm
  More on self-advocacy.
  
  
• Use your personal networks.
  www.communityinclusion.org/topic.php?topic_id=7
  "Making Dreams a Reality: Using Personal Networks to Achieve Goals as You Prepare to Leave High School" tells the stories of students who used their personal networks to exercise self-determination and follow their goals, and includes worksheets for you to build and use your own networks.
  
  
• Looking for a job? First, look inside yourself.
  www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=54&type=topic&id=11
  "Starting with Me: A Guide to Person-Centered Planning for Job Seekers" is a career development guide to help you make satisfying job choices. In person-centered career planning, your personal preferences, goals, and dreams are the focus. A person-centered approach does not mean you have to tackle job exploration all on your own. It does mean that anyone who helps you in your career search and the development of your career dreams respects your wishes and helps you to focus on your skills and abilities. Finding satisfying work doesn't usually just happen by applying for a job in the newspaper. The process involves several phases-- and it all begins with you.
  
  
• What do you say about your disability?
  www.ncwd-youth.info/resources_&_Publications/411.html
  This workbook will help you make an informed decision about whether or not to disclose your disability in several different postschool settings. The workbook contains eight units with classroom activities or activities that you may do independently. The units include Self-Determination, Rights and Responsibilities Under the Law, Accommodations, Post-Secondary Disclosure, Disclosure on the Job, and Disclosure in Social and Community Settings.
  
  
• Just for fun.
  www.nichcy.org/kids/index.htm
  Visit Zigawhat!--NICHCY's site just for young people.
  
  

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