Resources for Planning for a Brighter Future

Reference many resources to help any individuals no matter their disability, have greater success in community employment at any age. Collect valuable tools and resources that are changing the current culture of work around us. Explore many initiatives as well as practices, which are bringing the ideas of work to every youth while still in middle school and showing the benefits of early planning.

Planning for a Brighter Future

Informing Families- Today and Tomorrow-
Information, videos, and planning resources provided by Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council. Considering High Expectations when working with youth to highlight their strengths as they transition to the next chapter in life is planned, prior to leaving school.

Interagency Work Group on Autism (IWGA)
Interagency Work Group on Autism coordinates Ohio's efforts to ensure Ohioans with autism spectrum disorder have the necessary system of supports across their lifespan.

Life In the Community-
This position paper from The Arc, outlines All people, regardless of disability, deserve the opportunity for a full life in their community where they can live, learn, work, and play alongside each other through all stages of life. People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, need varying degrees of support to reach personal goals and establish a sense of satisfaction with their lives. Review tips and PDF on information provided.

Life Journey Through Autism: A Guide for Transition to Adulthood
This free guide contains a chapter on vocation and employment. The appendices include state and federal agencies for transition assistance, job ideas and a list of reasonable and common job accommodations.

Transition Youth and Employment
The Ohio Employment First Task Force identified five core principles to consider when planning for competitive integrated employment for youth, including youth with autism spectrum disorder.

Preparing Youth for the Changing Landscape: Predictors and Practices

ASD Strategies in Action
Develop by OCALI, ASD Strategies in Action presents EBP as they are implemented so that families, teachers and service providers can learn how to support and educate individuals with ASD. The free modules are completely video based and include a transition age course.

Autism Society:Autism through the Lifespan
Additionals information for all stages of life as well as considerations for all postsecondary goals and planning after school.

Evidence Based Practices for Transition Youth
This Ohio Employment First document overviews eleven instructional strategies that can be used to give teachers many learning strategies for youth to learn skills to successfully navigate a variety of situations in multiple locations.

Employment Outcomes of Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum
Employment provides an important link to financial independence, health insurance, benefits, and social relationships. Learn key statistics about employment from the National Autism Indicators Report.

National Technical Assistance Center on Transition- NTACT
Effective Practices and Predictors-
Evidence Based Predictors of Post School Success are activities, experiences, and knowledge that when provided during the school years are correlated to better postschool outcomes in employment, education, and adult living.

Ohio Employment First Evidence Based Predictors of Post School Success
Evidence Based Predictors are activities, services and supports that occur during the school years that have been identified through research as being associated with higher rates of success as youth enter adulthood. This tool provides an overview of Evidence Based predictors as well as activities and resources to consider.

The National Professional Development Center- on Autism Spectrum Disorder (NPDC)
Identified 27 Evidence Based Practices (EBP)s that have been shown through scientific research to be effective when implemented correctly with students with ASD.

The National Professional Development Center- on Autism Spectrum Disorder (NPDC)- Evidence Based Practice Report
The report includes a matrix that reports the effectiveness of practices by age group.

What Works for Work
OCALI offers a free online product that individual practitioners and teams can use to learn about evidence based practices and create implementation plans. Eleven EBP for transition youth is highlighted in this product.

Transition Planning for Employment: Core Principles

Employment First- Backwards Planning
Backwards Planning for transition youth is a process that is intended to be used with a multi-agency team. This process can facilitate the type of collaboration reflected by Core Principle Two. Learn more about Backwards Planning from this short video by Ohio Employment First

Employment First: Changing Expectations
Video of young female reflecting on her experiences of having meaningful employment opportunities.

Heather Hall Video Resume
Gives examples of what Heather can accomplish and what her strengths, preferences, interest, and needs are. The Video shows a positive light to Heather's abilities through music and text

Module Four: Students Determined to Take Control of their education and their lives
The I'm Determined project provides a module about Students Determined to Take Control of Their Education and Their Lives which offers additional information and templates for Student-led IEP meetings.

Navigation Transition Planning for Youth on Place 3 and 4 on the path to employment
A video describing the journey to finding employment through a person centered and a collaborative team approach with additional resources and case studies to consider.

Ohio Department of Education Secondary Transition Modules
These five modules provide evidence-based practices provide information for transition teams to use that assist in developing transition practices and transition plans that move students toward successful outcomes in education/training, competitive integrated employment, and community membership.

Person Centered Planning
This YouTube video produced by the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities highlights the five key parts of person centered planning.

Seth Video Resume
See specific skills Seth can do with no assistance and have an exact understanding of what he can complete with additional resources or support from others both at work and with job development training.

Seven Essential Elements of a Person Centered Plan
Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities developed the seven essential elements of person centered planning through a collaboration of several divisions. A quality, well-written, person centered plan includes and considers all seven elements.

Transition Youth and Employment
Exploring the foundational elements of transition is a good place to start. The Ohio Employment First Task Force identified five core principles to consider when planning for competitive integrated employment for youth, including youth with autism spectrum disorder. As families, educators and agency partners work together to create plans that lead to adult success, they should review the five principles.

Video Portfolio PowerPoint Guide from Employment First and The Ohio State University
Presentation guides users to consider the audience of their portfolio, as well as key components to add to their video portfolio.

Transition Program and Services: Key Considerations

Age Appropriate Transition Assessment
The planning, implementation, and interpretation of assessment data is of great significance to the process of career development. So much so that one of the four OCALI Transition to Adulthood Guides focuses solely on the processes of Age Appropriate Transition Assessment.

Age Appropriate Transition Assessment: A Process of Asking and Answering Questions
Age Appropriate Transition Assessment should be a thoughtful and planned process that is individualized for each student. Teams may struggle at times as they determine what information to gather and how to gather the needed data. Learn about a simple, yet effective, process that a team can adapt to identify the focus of the needed AATA by developing important questions and determining how those questions can best be answered.

Age Appropriate Transition Assessment: What Is It?
Collecting data for Age Appropriate Transition Assessment (AATA) is a required part of the IEP process beginning no later than age 14. However, it is not always clear what data should be collected or how to interpret and use the data. Review an easy to understand description of AATA that can help guide a team to identify the needed data and how to use the data to inform post-secondary goals and transition services.

Alpine Assessments for Employment
The purpose of Alpine Learning Group's Site Assessment and Employee Characteristic Assessment are to aid clinicians in evaluating the appropriateness of potential jobs and volunteer opportunities for an individual with autism. The assessments are meant to be used in conjunction with one another.

• Employee Characteristics Assessment:

  An aid to clinicians in evaluating the appropriateness of potential jobs and volunteer opportunities for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

• Site Assessment:

  An aid to clinicians in evaluating the appropriateness of potential jobs and volunteer opportunities for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Bureau of Labor: K-12
U.S. Department of Labor provides youth with games and quizzes, resources, for youth to explore many career fields through video and fact sheets.

Career Connection
Career Connections is a joint initiative among the Governor's Office of Workforce Transformation, Ohio Board of Regents, OhioMeansJobs and Ohio Department of Education. Career Connections began in 2012 by providing a framework by which students develop a vision and realistic plan for their futures - during K-12 and beyond.

Community Based Functional Skills Assessment for Transition Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
This tool was designed to assess an individual's knowledge, skill and social communication abilities. The Community Based Skills Assessment uses both a criterion-based observation and interview-based process to measure the individual's knowledge, skills and behaviors. This assessment tool was developed for Autism Speaks through a contract with Virginia Commonwealth University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.

Curriculum Materials and Programs for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
A listing of examples of curriculum and programs compiled by the Indiana Resource Center for Autism is available as an early step in identifying options to address functional skill development for individuals with ASD.

Employability Skills Assessment Rubric
Many download resources from this site to help with employment navigation for youth.

National Technical Assistance Center on Transition- NTACT
Explore Evidence Based Practices, Promising Practices and much more for transition strategies and resources, implement through day-to-day lessons for students with a variety of disabilities.

OCALI Transition to Adulthood Guide: Age Appropriate Transition Assessment (AATA)
This guide focuses on the processes of Age Appropriate Transition Assessment that a team should use when designing AATA for students.

Ohio Longitudinal Transition Study (OLTS)
Each year, one-fifth of Ohio's school districts are required to collect information on their students with an IEP that exit the school district that year. One year later the district follows up with the student and reports their current activity related to employment, education and independent living. Read a summary of these postsecondary outcomes in the yearly OLTS reports.

Pacer Center- Inspiring Possibilities-The Transition to Employment:
What parents can do now-The National Parent Center on Transition and Employment emphasizes the need for families to "take note of your child's "soft skills' in their parent brief.

Pacer Center- Preparing for Employment
Additional resources and video presentation to consider when helping individuals transition on to the next chapter of their life that is ever evolving.

Pre- Employment Transition Services (PRE-ETS)
Offered through the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). These services focus on preparing youth to step into and benefit from valuable community employment experiences while still in school.

Walgreens Employees All
Walgreens made a significant effort to create supports and accommodations in their distribution centers. In one of the centers, 40% of the workforce were individuals with disabilities. This center became one of the most productive distribution centers in the Walgreens company.
This video was linked to a screenshot of the video on youtube

YouTube A Natural Fit: UC educators create new model to support workers with disabilities
A short video with no audio description. The University of Cincinnati's Advancement and Transition Services and Aramark have partnered to pilot a novel way to support employees and interns with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The early results have shown great promise.