Transition to Adulthood

Transition Institutes

Transition institutes are annual weekend events to help young adults with deafblindness, ages 14 to 22, develop self-determination and leadership skills and make action plans for important adult-life goals related to college, career, and independent living. Families and service providers also attend and are given the tools to become more active participants in the young adult’s action plan.

The 2019 Midwest Transition Institute was hosted by the Minnesota DeafBlind Project. Each year a different state in the Midwest hosts the Transition Institute which happens in June/July of each summer.

Tools for Transition

• A Transition Guide to Post-Secondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities (pdf) from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• Suggestions for Creating Successful Transitions from School to Adulthood (pdf) from California DeafBlind Services
• Transition Toolkit from the National Center on Deaf-Blindness - Enhancing Self-Determination for Young Adults who are Deaf-Blind

Minnesota Transition Resource

• State Services for the Blind (SSB) is an agency that has a team that helps students between the ages of 14 and 21 to build confidence, explore career possibilities, and expand their horizons of opportunity. Although the agency does not say “deafblind” in its title, SSB provides vocational rehabilitation services for students who have a combined hearing and vision loss (deafblindness).
  
  For students who are deaf/hard of hearing and then have begun losing vision or are at risk for losing vision, such as with Usher Syndrome, SSB is the agency that provides vocational support.
• DeafBlind 101: An Introduction to Combined Hearing and Vision Loss is online training provided by the Minnesota Department of Human Services to help family members, friends and neighbors, caregivers, educators, employers and coworkers better understand combined hearing and vision loss.

National Transition Resources

• Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths & Adults provides training and resources exclusively to people age 16 and over who have combined vision and hearing loss.
• National Center on Deaf-Blindness: Transition recognizes that youth who are deafblind experience significant challenges when transitioning from school to desired post-school outcomes such as community inclusion, college, and career readiness. NCDB’s initiative facilitates existing partnerships between organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting successful transitions to adulthood for young adults with deafblindness.
• National Parent Center on Transition and Employment is from PACER Center and provides information, stories and resources to youth and their families. This is not deafblind-specific information, but provides good information about transition processes in general.
• National Technical Assistance Center on Transition shares best practices for transition and toolkits that provide an overview and then step-by-step guidance and resources on specific topics such as competitive integrated employment, evaluating work and hosting transition fairs.
• Youth on the Move is a website designed to provide information, strategies, and resources to transition navigators—teachers, counselors, family members, and community providers—to guide youth on the move.