Youth & Young Adults
Nothing For Us Without Us!
Transition
There are many transitions that occur throughout our lives. One of the most important transitions that we plan for is the transition between high school graduation and adulthood. For students with disabilities, this transition can be more complicated. PIC is here to help!
Taking the First Steps
Did you know that it’s your right to have services available that help you make the transition into the next phase of your life? The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) ensures that all students have postsecondary transition goals (what your plans are after high school) as part of your IEP the year you turn 16.
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From the Utah Parent Center
Use Your IEP Meetings to Learn How to Advocate for Yourself:
Self-advocacy is a key step in becoming an adult. It means looking out for yourself, telling people what you need, and knowing how to take responsibility. No one is born knowing these skills. Everyone has to learn them. Ready to begin learning?
Here is some great information from teens, for teens, that can start you on your way (click here).
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Wyoming Department of Workforce Services
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) establishes Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) as the primary agency for preparing youth in an educational setting (H.S., home-school, college, HiSET) with disabilities for employment. VR can deliver specific Pre-Employment Transition Services (PreETS).
The goal of PreETS is to improve individual informed choice for students with a disability when it comes to preparing for a career or employment. Early exposure to a multitude of options, careers and experiences lead to better employment outcomes. PreETS are about exposure, exploration and preparation for future employment.
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The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has resources for parents and graduating students. Check out this resource on planning for life after high school.
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Welcome to The Youthhood!
Hello! Hey, we're glad you made it. This site is a place for you, your friends, and other teens. It's a welcoming community for all youth and a place where all youth belong. We want you to be here. This is your place, your space.
Here you can start thinking about what you want to do with the rest of your life. This Web site was built to help you plan for the future. What will you do after high school? Will you work? Go to college? Live in a place of your own? By using this Web site, you can plan for your future right now!
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They provide information, tools, and supports to assist multiple stakeholders in delivering effective services and instruction for secondary students and out of school youth with disabilities.
So that ALL students and youth with disabilities experience increased:
Enrollment in postsecondary education
Graduation
Credential attainment
Competitive integrated employment
Community engagement
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Independent Futures That Work hosts helpful resources for youth.
Self-Determination &
Independent Living
Self determination is believing you can control your own destiny. Self-determination is a combination of attitudes and abilities that lead people to set goals for themselves, and to take the initiative to reach these goals. It is about being in charge, but is not necessarily the same thing as self-sufficiency or independence. It means making your own choices, learning to effectively solve problems, and taking control and responsibility for one’s life. Practicing self-determination also means one experiences the consequences of making choices.
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An organization that seeks to develop leaders with developmental disabilities to learn skills and teach others with developmental disabilities to stand up for their rights, choices and address ideas in a productive way.
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Wyoming Independent Living, Inc. (WIL)is dedicated to the philosophy that every person, regardless of disability, deserves to experience dignity, safety, health and personal independence.
Services provided by WIL staff are consumer-oriented and individualized based on your personal goals. All programs are designed to enhance mobility, increase the ability to care for yourself, to communicate and to live independently in the community of your choice.
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We provide individuals with resources and options that can assist in making informed choices about living, learning, and working independently. Our staff is available to both consumers and agencies to research individual requests for information and potential referral resources. In addition, WSIL offers resources on issues related to disability, which is available to the public.
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Currently, there is no state chapter of The Arc in this state. Please contact one of our local chapters below for further information and assistance, or contact the national office at chaptersupport@thearc.org
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The Wyoming State Independent Living Council (SILC) believes and supports the independent living philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and system advocacy, in order to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities and the integration and full inclusion of people with disabilities in the mainstream of American society.
Self-Advocacy
These videos have been created by youth, ages 15 - 19, to ensure that young people with disabilities and their families have access to information, ideas and resources that can assist in building self-advocacy and self-determination skills.
Advocating as a Freshman in College With Autism
What does “advocating” mean to you?
What should I do to get ready for a job interview?
Advocating For Yourself When You Have Dyslexia
A Journey Through Self-Advocacy
Getting a Job
For youth with disabilities and their families, transitioning into adulthood can require additional thought and planning. Work experiences can help prepare you to learn new skills outside of the classroom. The videos below have been created by youth, ages 15 - 19, to ensure that young people with disabilities and their families have access to information, ideas and resources that can assist in building a seamless transition from school to post-secondary opportunities.
Searching for a Job - Where to Start:
Interview Questions & Answers:
What should I do to get ready for a job interview?
How can I learn more about the job?
What should I ask during an interview?
What happens after a job interview?
A Sample Interview:
Mock Interview - Example 1
Mock Interview - Example 2
Voting How-To’s
The videos below have been created by youth, ages 18 - 19, to ensure that young people with disabilities and their families have access to information, ideas and resources on how to find out about who your representatives are and how to find out more about them.
Finding out who your Representatives Are and How to Contact Them
Using the Voting Machines: What does it look like when you go to vote?
University of Wyoming
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers relevant, up-to-date content taught by credible industry experts on a wide range of business, technology and creative subjects. Access over 15,000 courses in 7 different languages taught by real-world practitioners, located across the globe. LinkedIn Learning provides certification preparation for a multitude of technical based programs including Adobe, Oracle, Cisco, Unity 3D and Microsoft along with continuing education units for National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Click here for more info.
Different. Not less.
– Temple Grandin
For Parents:
Parenting a teenager or young adult can be a combination of emotions. Pride, that they’ve turned into a caring adult. Joy, as they transition into a person you can have adult conversations with and surprise as they show their own personality and opinions. Fear, fear is an emotion we can help you navigate. You may have fear for the future, fear about the help your child may still need, and fear of letting go.
Helpful Organizations:
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Life sometimes presents challenges. Knowing that you or your loved one will have someone in your corner when illness, injury and other life-moments arise makes it easier to navigate tough decisions and get you focused back on what you enjoy most: living life.
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The Utah Parent Center has some great resources for families seeking information on self-determination and youth transitioning into adulthood.
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“Guardianship is the process through which an adult can be found legally incapable of making decisions for him or herself and another adult appointed to make decisions on behalf of that individual. There are an estimated 1.3 million people subject to guardianship in America.”
Click here to download the NCD's Beyond Guardianship study.