It’s Graduation Time! Now What?

I have spent the majority of my years as a Speech-Language Pathologist working with high school and transition-aged students and I am rarely optimistic when it comes time for them to transition out of school either after the 12th grade or upon their 22nd birthday. According to the disability statistics by Cornell University, “In the year 2017, an estimated 37.3 percent (plus or minus 0.29 percentage points) of non-institutionalized, male or female, with a disability, ages 21-64, all races, regardless of ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States were employed”. This got me thinking about what I could or should be doing to better help my students. I decided I needed to do more research and get my student’s more actively engaged in their planning. That’s why I decided to start this blog. I want to research better ways to engage my students, pick more relevant goals, and most importantly increase their chances of success after high school. I want to look past just helping them access the curriculum and help them access employment and successful adulthoods. I will share my research here in hopes of helping other SLPs and other individuals with disabilities that are facing similar challenges. I would love comments, suggestions, research, or anything else relevant you feel like sharing. I hope to hear from you soon.