Information on Publications Available
VPIC's 4 new pamphlets for Youth in Transition
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities in High School - This Issue Brief is produced by the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET). Fewer students with disabilities in middle schools and high schools use accommodations than students with disabilities in
elementary schools.
"When I Grow Up - I am Going to Work" - a new publication from PACER Center for children with disabilities and their parents. It is about a vision of a future for all children with disabilities to work and share their gifts with their communities. The first part of the book is to be read to children. The second part of the book has tips for parents. For ordering information contact PACER Center at 888-248-0822 or visit the pacer web site at www.pacer.org.
"Postsecondary Education and Transition for Students with Learning Disabilities (2nd Edition)" - has been completely updated and expanded to include eight entirely new chapters plus an accompanying CD-ROM appendix. The book is available from PRO-ED, Inc., http://www.proedinc.com.
National Resources Available on the World Wide Web
The HEATH Resource Center
The HEATH Resource Center is the national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities. The Center serves as an information exchange about educational support services, policies, procedures, adaptations, and opportunities at American campuses, vocational-technical schools, and other postsecondary training entities.
Midwest Center for Postsecondary Outreach (MCPO)
The purpose of the MCPO is to increase and improve postsecondary educational opportunities for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing in twelve midwestern states. The center works primarily at an institutional level to increase the capacity of colleges, universities, and other postsecondary institutions to attract and serve deaf and hard of hearing students.
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures. NCSET is headquartered at the Institute on Community Integration in the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development.
National Post-School Outcomes Center (National PSO)
National PSO's mission is to help state education agencies establish practical and rigorous data collection systems that will measure and profile the post-school experiences of youth with disabilities. The results will be used for national, state, and local reporting and "most importantly" to guide and improve transition services to this population.
National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC)
NSTTAC's purpose is to assist states to build capacity to support and improve transition planning, services, and outcomes for youth with disabilities.
Northeast Regional Center
The Northeast Regional Center based at Rochester Institute of Technology, home of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, is one of four regional centers funded by the Department of Education. The mission of the Northeast Regional Center is to assist secondary and postsecondary institutions to improve educational access and enhance postsecondary education opportunities for students who are deaf or hard of hearing
Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet)
PEPNet is the national collaboration of four regional centers that assist educational institutions in more effectively addressing the postsecondary, vocational, technical, continuing, and adult education needs of individuals with deafness, including those who are deaf with co-occurring disabilities. Visit our four Regional Centers.
Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA)
TATRA offers a variety of services that include individual technical assistance plans, ongoing information and referral, an annual conference, teleconferencing, and the Reference Points listserv. The TATRA Project also partners with the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition and other partners on a variety activities to build the capacity of parent training centers to meet the transition needs of youth with disabilities and their families.
Workforce Development Focusing on Youth with Disabilities - This website is from National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). The site contains useful information and resources for youth with disabilities and their families, service providers and other front line workers, administrators, policy makers, and employers.
Websites on Transition Topics
Accommodations
Job Accommodation Network (JAN) a free consulting service designed to increase the employability of people with disabilities by: 1) providing individualized worksite accommodations solutions, 2) providing technical assistance regarding the ADA and other disability related legislation, and 3) educating callers about self-employment options.www.jan.wvu.edu
Age of majority
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) website contains a parent brief titled the Age of Majority: Preparing Your Child for Making Good Choices. NCSET coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures. NCSET is headquartered at the Institute on Community Integration in the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development.
Assistive Technology
VPIC's site contains nine (9) different fact sheets on assistive technology available for download as pdf files. Fact sheet titles include - About Assistive Technology, AT and the IEP, and AT and Evaluations.
Career Search
Your Employment Selections (YES!) is motion-video, Internet-based job preference program for youth and adults with disabilities. This program allows youth and adult participants with limited or no reading skills to watch videos of jobs, listen as a narrator describes key tasks in each job, and select preferred ones. The program shows motion video for 120 different jobs.
College Entrance exams
Collegeboard.com is a site to help students, parents and educators plan for college and college entrance exams. The site has five main sections, which appear on the home page and in the top menu of most pages. These are: College Board Tests, Plan for College, College Search, Apply to College, and Pay for College.
Disclosure
The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities is designed for youth and adults working with them to learn about disability disclosure. This workbook helps young people make informed decisions about whether or not to disclose their disability and understand how that decision may impact their education, employment, and social lives.
Distance learning
The All Schools and Learning website is an Education Directory full of listings of schools including Culinary Arts & Cooking Schools - Acupuncture Schools - Dental Hygiene & Dental Assistants Schools - Fashion Design Schools - Filmmaking & Film Editing Schools - Visual Arts Schools - Colleges & Universities in the United States - Graduate Schools in the United States (U.S.) - Online Courses - Distance Education Certificate Classes - Trade Schools - Educational Articles & Resources, etc.
Driving needs
The Fletcher Allen Health Care Driver Rehabilitation Program provides the most comprehensive driving program in Vermont with services that include new and experienced driver evaluation, vehicle modification and vehicle fit assessments, specialized driver training for persons with special learning needs, and comprehensive evaluation and re-training for senior drivers.
Employment
The Vermont Department of Labor's primary focus is to provide services that assist businesses, workers, and job seekers.
Financial Aid
The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) was created in 1965 as a public nonprofit agency to help Vermonters who want to go to college or other training after high school. VSAC provides grants, loans, scholarships, career and education planning, and general information about how you, or others in your family, can get the education you want. VSAC's mission is to ensure that all Vermonters have the necessary financial and information resources to pursue their education goals beyond high school.
Guardianship
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) website contains a parent brief titled the Age of Majority: Preparing Your Child for Making Good Choices. This brief contains a section on guardianship. NCSET coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures. NCSET is headquartered at the Institute on Community Integration in the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development.
IDEA 2004
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP’s) IDEA website was created to provide a "one-stop shop" for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations, released on August 3, 2006. It is a "living" website and will change and grow as resources and information become available. As items are completed and added to this site, we invite you to grow and learn with us as we implement these regulations.
Identifying Interests and Skills
Mapping Your Future's vision is to be the leading public-service, collaborative provider of free information and services for schools, and for students and families as they consider college, financial aid, careers, and financial literacy options. Mapping Your Future's mission is to enable individuals to achieve life-long success by empowering schools, students, and families with free, web-based college, financial aid, career, and financial literacy information and services.
Independent Living
The Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL) works to promote the dignity, independence, and civil rights of Vermonters with disabilities. VCIL is committed to cross-disability services, the promotion of active citizenship, and working with others to create services that support self-determination and full participation in community life. Founded in 1979,VCIL is a statewide, nonprofit organization directed and staffed by individuals with disabilities.
IEP
Download a fact sheet about IEPs from the VPIC website.
Laws
Vermont Legal Aid is a non-profit law firm organized into specialized projects serving clients from six offices located throughout Vermont. Vermont Legal Aid helps Vermonters who have low incomes, are elderly or who have disabilities and who have legal problems. Vermont Legal AId does not charge for services and is funded through state and federal grants and by private donations.
Learning Style
The VARK Guide to Learning Styles website provides a questionnaire that gives users a profile of their learning preferences. These preferences are about the ways that they want to take-in and give-out information.
Military Careers
My Future is a website presented by the United States Department of Defense (DoD). The goal of the site is to help students understand the opportunities available to them in the military, and better prepare them for the choices and challenges they have ahead.
Options
The article Postsecondary Education Options for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Research to Practice, by Debra Hart is available online. This brief presents the following information about postsecondary education for students with intellectual disabilities: Definitions of "postsecondary education" and "intellectual disability"; An overview of postsecondary education options; Research findings on current knowledge of postsecondary education options and outcomes, with recommendations for improving access to postsecondary education and; a bibliography, including a list of websites.
Parent Training Information Centers
The Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers is an innovative project that supports a unified technical assistance system for the purpose of developing, assisting and coordinating Parent Training and Information Projects and Community Parent Resource Centers under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs and consists of 1 national center and 6 regional centers.
Planning Tools
Person Centered Planning is an ongoing problem-solving process used to help people with disabilities plan for their future. A description of Person Centered Planning is available from the Pacer Center's website. In person centered planning, groups of people focus on an individual and that person's vision of what they would like to do in the future. Person Centered Planning depends on the commitment of a team of individuals who care about the focus person. These individuals take action to make sure that the strategies discussed in planning meetings are implemented.
Postsecondary Education
Check out the Consortium of Vermont Colleges website to read more on higher education in Vermont and to find specific information on individual colleges. Not only does Vermont have more colleges per capita than any other state, but students on Vermont campuses are from every state (including the District of Columbia) and 100 different countries.
On the On-Campus Outreach (OCO) website you will find articles, fact sheets, on-line training modules, contacts for programs in Maryland, and related websites on serving students with intellectual disabilities in postsecondary settings who still receive special education services in public schools. Be sure to check out "Resources" and "Training and Support" on this site as well.
Check out the Trade Schools Directory website for a directory of trade schools in Vermont, including online programs available.
Programs and Agencies
The Vermont Parent Information Center (VPIC) is a statewide network of support and information for families who have a child with special needs or disabilities, and the professionals who work with them. Founded in 1992, VPIC serves families of children with special needs from birth to 26 years of age.
Questions about postsecondary education
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) was established to create opportunities for youth with disabilities to achieve successful futures. NCSET's website contains a Preparing for Postsecondary Education Frequently Asked Questions page that answers many initial questions about postsecondary education.
Rights of students in postsecondary education
The Office of Civil Rights' website contains a document explaining Auxiliary Aids and Services for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities, Higher Education's Obligations Under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA.
Roles of parents
The National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET) website contains a parent brief titled Parenting Post-Secondary Students with Disabilities: Becoming the Mentor, Advocate, and Guide Your Young Adult Needs. NCSET coordinates national resources, offers technical assistance, and disseminates information related to secondary education and transition for youth with disabilities in order to create opportunities for youth to achieve successful futures.
Scholarships
The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) was created in 1965 as a public nonprofit agency to help Vermonters who want to go to college or other training after high school. VSAC provides grants, loans, scholarships, career and education planning, and general information about how you, or others in your family, can get the education you want.
Self Advocacy
The Post-ITT Web Site is a collection of resources and activities to help students, parents and educators plan for transition from secondary to postsecondary schools. The website contains a series of guidance activities to assist with the transition to postsecondary education. The first series is titled self advocacy.
SSI and Health Benefits
Download a fact sheet on SSI and going to college from the VPIC website.
Trade and vocational schools
Check out the Trade Schools Directory website for a directory of trade schools in Vermont, including online programs available.
Transition
Transition... from School to Community is the Vermont Transition website. This site is designed for parents, students, educators, adult service providers and community members to learn about the process of transition from school to the community for students receiving special education services.
Vocational Training
The Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) has a mission to assist Vermonters with disabilities to find and maintain meaningful employment in their communities. The VocRehab Resources page provides a lot of information on what is available in Vermont.
Work and college
Download a fact sheet on SSI and work and college from the VPIC website.
The resources listed here are only a few of the programs available in Vermont. For more information on transition, please contact VPIC.
JOBS Program
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, Vermont 05671-2303
1 (800) 361-1239, 1 (802) 241-4262
Supported employment program for transitional youth.
Ticket to Work Program
Vocational Rehabilitation 1 (800) 361-1239
Vermont Protection and Advocacy 1 (800) 834-7890
Work incentive for people with disabilities to earn money and still receive benefits.
Deaf Services Program
1 (800) 361-1239
1 (802) 241-2186 voice/TTY
Rene Pellerin, Coordinator
rene@dad.state.vt.us
Technical assistance in work settings, adaptive equipment and ADA technical assistance home modifications.
VT Rural and Farm Family Vocational Rehab Program
UVM Extension Program
Burlington, Vermont 05401-3439
1 (802) 656-5433
1 (866) 622-2990
Help for rural and farm families with disabilities gain or maintain employment.
VT Association of Business and Rehabilitation (VABIR)
1 Main Street, #60
Winooski, Vermont 05404
1 (802) 655-7215
Employment services and placement programs for individuals with disabilities.
VT Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
103 South Main Street
Osgood building, Second Floor
Waterbury, Vermont 05761
1 (802) 241-2186
TTY Next Talk 1 (802) 241-1455
Career planning , supported employment, Ticket to Work.
VT Center for Independent Living
11 East State Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05602
1 (802) 229-0501
1 (800) 639-1522
www.vcil.org
Independent living services, peer advocacy information and referral and home modifications; Ticket to Work.
Project Hire
Howard Community Services
109 South Winooski Avenue
Burlington, Vermont 05401
1 (802) 658-1914 TDD
Skill assessment, job development, career planning, training, and placement, and ongoing support to individuals with developmental disabilities within Chittenden County.
Driver Rehabilitation Program at Fletcher Allen Health Care
Miriam Monahan, Driver Program Coordinator
PO Box 1554
158 Hurricane Lane
Williston, VT 05495
For more information or to make an appointment, call:
1 (802) 847-3140
The Driver Rehabilitation Program provides driver assessment, training and vehicle modification for new and potential drivers. They offer a variety of services tailored to an individual student's specific needs.
We are a United Way Agency in Rutland County.