The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

This session will guide both families and individuals on how to identify and utilize their strengths, as well as how to recognize what opportunities will benefit their areas of challenge. A strong focus will be on the transition that can be achieved when the bar is raised and how elevated expectations can drive us towards successful outcomes in employment, relationships and quality of life. This presentation will include strategies to build effective collaborative relationships between community, school and home. Methods for facilitating active, engaged participation in transition planning, including the development of detailed post school outcome statements, as well as the importance of teaching self-advocacy, will be explored. The session will target planning for the future by connecting the supports for students under IDEA to those offered through the Rehabilitation Act. In addition, this presentation connects the various systems together to improve outcomes for students transitioning.

The learning objectives will include:

1. Gain knowledge of the importance of self-advocacy and its use in navigating the complex adult service system
2. Increase understanding of transition planning requirements under IDEA and the Rehab Act (VR)
3. Recognize why inclusion at a young age has such a huge impact on living inclusively as an adult.

This training will utilize video presentations, case studies, visual examples of strategies, group interactive activities and PowerPoint to illustrate the topic.

Attendees will leave this session better prepared to access services, identify job placement options that are in line with the personal interests of the individual and advocate for services necessary to improve individual quality of life.