Transition and ASD

Websites and Web Resources

Organizations
- http://www.fraser.org/Fraser/media/Assets/pdfs/Autism-Resource-Directory-12-Adult-Updated-102013.pdf: Fraser Autism Resource Directory of Services availiable for individuals 12 through adult.
- ici.umn.edu: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration website. Through collaborative research, training, and information sharing, the Institute improves policies and practices to ensure that all children, youth, and adults with disabilities are valued by, and contribute to, their communities of choice. We work with service providers, policymakers, educators, advocacy and self-advocacy organizations, researchers, families, and individuals with disabilities around the world to provide state-of-the-art information and practices that support the community inclusion of individuals with disabilities. (from: ici.umn.edu)
- https://mn.db101.org/about.htm--Minnesotans with disabilities want to work. However, many people with disabilities fear that if they go to work, they'll lose needed health care and other disability benefits. With DB101 people can explore different ways to balance benefits and work. DB101 helps people with disabilities learn how income may impact benefits so they can make informed choices, reduce fears, and ensure work is part of the plan. (from--https://mn.db101.org/about.htm)
- mnlifecollege.org: There can be a chasm between what young people learn in high school and the skills they need to become independent adults. We fill that gap using Real Skills for Real Life™ a three-year, apartment-based program for people with ASD or other learning differences. After that? MLC is here to help with the challenges that occur in life: friendships, roommates, work, health, wellness, community involvement, aging parents, and finding the balance we all need. (from: mnlifecollege.org)
- mylegalaid.org: Minnesota Disability Law Center's website. Provides legal services for people with disabilities, including: Client Assistance Program, Legal Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, Minnesota Mental Health Law Project, Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology, Beneficiaries of Social Security, and Individual Rights (from: RESOURCE LIST OF DISABILITY ORGANIZATIONS)
- http://www.navigatingcollege.org/: Navigating College is an introduction to the college experience from those of us who’ve been there. The writers and contributors are Autistic adults, and we’re giving you the advice that we wish someone could have given us when we headed off to college. We wish we could sit down and have a chat with each of you, to share our experiences and answer your questions. But since we can’t teleport, and some of us have trouble meeting new people, this book is the next best thing. (from: http://www.navigatingcollege.org/)
- projectsoarmn.org: Project SOAR is a community education program that provides specialized classes and activities for adults with disabilities (from: projectsoarmn.org)
- vsamn.org: organization to make the arts more accessible to Minnesotans with disabilities (from: vsamn.org)
Resources
- General
  - http://www.autismafter16.com/: Autism After 16 is dedicated to providing information and analysis of adult autism issues, with the emphasis on analysis. Anyone can Google “autism + adults” and discover a vast array of programs, documents, and products. Our intention here is to try to help adults with ASD and their families make sense of what’s out there. Our big focus out of the gate will be Transition issues, since so many of you are struggling with Transition right now. (from http://www.autismafter16.com/)
  - http://tensigma.org/: Ten Sigma is a nonprofit organization providing resources and rubrics for transition-based services. Not ASD-specific.
  - http://www.creating-futures.org/videofutures/: Video Futures provide some of the most powerful ways to create personal change. Video Futures provides (self-)instructional materials and consultation to educators, clinicians, and family members in the use of positive video futures strategies. Start up kits are available to guide set-up and utilization of Video Futures. Positive video futures strategies include:
    - Self modeling: short videos (2 min.), in which you see yourself succeeding at something you normally find very difficult.
    - Feedforward: you see yourself doing something you’ve never previously achieved...
    - Video explorations: videos of you (or by you) in possible futures further down the road—a place you might like to work or to live, spending time with friends, etc.(from http://www.creating-futures.org/videofutures/)
- Self-Determination
  - AIR Self-Determination Assessments: The AIR Assessments measure two broad self-determination components. Capacity refers to the student's knowledge, abilities, and perceptions that enable them to be self-determined. Opportunity refers to the student's chances to use their knowledge and abilities. (from https://www.ou.edu/content/education/centers-and-partnerships/zarrow/self-determination-assessment-tools/air-self-determination-assessment.html)
  - The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale-Adolescent Version is a student self-report measure of self-determination designed primarily for use by, and normed with, adolescents with cognitive and developmental disabilities.
  - http://www.imdetermined.org/#sthash.H6H8ubh9.dpbs: The I’m Determined project, a state directed project funded by the Virginia Department of Education, focuses on providing direct instruction, models, and opportunities to practice skills associated with self-determined behavior. (from http://www.imdetermined.org)
  - PERC Self-Advocacy Checklist
- Work/Career Resources
  - Assessing and Teaching Job Related Social Skills: A Curriculum Manual for students with Mild Handicaps
  - Employment Tool Kit: Autism Speaks Employment Tool Kit Resource
  - Job Accommodations Network: The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is the leading source of free, expert, and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. Working toward practical solutions that benefit both employer and employee, JAN helps people with disabilities enhance their employability, and shows employers how to capitalize on the value and talent that people with disabilities add to the workplace.(from https://askjan.org/)
  - Life Centered Career Education Competency Rating Scale Record Form
  - Life Centered Education: Skills for the 21st Century: teacher guide for working on competency skills in the areas of Daily Living, Self-Determination, and Employment.
  - Modules for Integrating Workplace Skills: The modules in this manual were developed to encourage and simplify the teaching of workplace skills. While initially planned for technical courses at Illinois Valley Community College, most modules can be integrated into various classrooms and curricula and utilized at different educational levels.
  - National Parent Center on Transition and Employment
  - Supported Employment: Participant Training Manual
  - The Vocational Behavior Checklist: The Vocational Behavior Checklist is an extensive list of 344 vocationally relevant skill objectives carefully specified in terms of conditions (antecedents or givens). behaviors, and standards.
  - State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
  - When I Grow Up Handbook
  - ‘I saw being autistic as an opportunity, not a weakness’
- Work Resources for Employers
http://www.reviews.com/online-tutoring/#tutoring_disabilities: The website and resource http://www.reviews.com/online-tutoring/#tutoring_disabilities was created to help people make better decisions by clearly laying out their options with content written by industry experts (from Glenda Garcia of reviews.com)

Books

"Flexibility is the key to stability." John Wooden