GEARING UP: Transitioning from school to adulthood is daunting; by considering your child's unique needs, parents, providers and caregivers can choose the right digital assistive tools that will enable them to enter adulthood with the resources they require.
high school, losing access to valuable services, like teaching support and behavior management. A Drexel University study (drexel.edu/autismoutcomes/blog/overview/2015/August/falling-off-the-services-cliff) found that 70 percent of families with a child with autism reported that "some'' or "great effort" was needed to access services following high school, and more than 25 percent of individuals on the autism spectrum receive no services, once they reach early adulthood.
Digital assistive technologies provide effective support and continuous learning as your child transitions into adulthood. Resources like the Center for Assistive Technology Act Data Assistance (catada.info) or the State Assistive Technology Programs (at3center.net/state-at-programs) equip caregivers with helpful statespecific information on the available assistive technology programs, resources, and funding available to get connected to these resources. However, due to a lack of formal guidance, understanding digital programs within the disability space, can be overwhelming. Connecting with the correct digital support tools to prepare your child for their next phase of life begins with asking future-oriented questions and then understanding your child's current needs.
FINDING MORE SUPPORT
Accessing support for individuals with ASD or other IDDs is not always easy and, unfortunately, the responsibility most often falls on parents and caregivers to ensure their children are wellequipped for success outside of the classroom.
If you're seeking more support for your adult child with ASD or other IDDs to help select the right assistive technologies, or for moral support, I recommend organizations like Parent to Parent USA (p2pusa.org) or the Pacer Center (pacer.org/about), and recommend looking into assistive technology libraries. Finding funding for assistive technologies can often feel daunting, which is why I recommend parents and caregivers explore the ABLE National Resource Center (ablenrc.org), which provides information on the state-run savings program for individuals with disabilities in the U.S., the National Disabilities Institute (nationaldisabilityinstitute.org)
which provides helpful resources on how to introduce finances and fiscal responsibility to your child with autism or other IDDs, or Benefits.gov (benefits.gov) which is the official benefits website of the United States federal government, which helps millions assess their eligibility for various resources. For resources involving pre-employment transition services, the WINTAC (wintac.org/topic- areas/pre-employment-transition-services) provides training and universal, targeted, and intensive technical assistance to State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) and related agencies and rehabilitation professionals and service providers.
By considering your child's unique needs, parents, providers and caregivers can choose the right digital assistive tools that will enable them to enter adulthood with the confidence and resources they require, to live successfully outside of the classroom. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lisa Marie Clinton is the Director of avail Support at CentralReach. She has 15 years of in-depth, hands-on experience in the field of education and skills development for individuals with Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities (I/DD). While working in education, employment and directly with many families in their home environment, she witnessed the challenges in developing and obtaining the right support for individuals. Fueled with her passion, drive and vast real-life expertise, Lisa Marie set about creating a revolutionary digital program to promote lifelong learning, focusing and enabling young adults to live an independent and fulfilled life. Through further study in a Masters and Dissertation, Lisa Marie researched the underpinning data for avail® in 2015, which was launched in 2017. Since then, as Founder and CEO she has continued to research and develop avail® into the revolutionary program expanding therapy, 1:1 support and addressing waiting lists while achieving incredible outcomes for both end users and their providers: Schools, Employment Agencies, State bodies and Service Providers across Europe and North America. In 2021, Lisa Marie and the Avail Support team joined forces with CentralReach to accelerate reach and further program delivery across the neurodiverse population.