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Deer Creek Schools Transition House Project. Transition House: The Developmental Foundation of a Quality of Life for Individuals with Disabilities. Jeffrey McMillan Dr. James L. Rose. Problem Statement:
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Transition House: The Developmental Foundation of a Quality of Life for Individuals with Disabilities Jeffrey McMillan Dr. James L. Rose
Problem Statement: Students with significant disabilities often graduate high school without the requisite job skills that are needed to sustain a quality of life. Individuals with disabilities often don’t find work after high school due to the lack of planning. When compared to their nondisabled peers, students with disabilities are more likely to experience unemployment or underemployment, lower pay, and job dissatisfaction. Many students with disabilities drop out of high school before graduating, leaving them even more unprepared for and less likely to obtain a job. Per disabilitystatistics.org, 2014, the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities in Oklahoma was 37.9%, while the employment rate of working-age people without disabilities in Oklahoma was 77.6%. A difference of 39.7%.
Why is there such a disparity in employability between those with disabilities and those without? The research on the employability differences sites many reasons • lack of training • transportation accessibility • Lack of skills to complete an application • employer matching/mismatching • poor social skills • poor hygiene • and the list goes on… Regardless of the reason for the differences, all or nearly all of these lacking skills are addressed in a six year transition house training program.
Transition House Defined: A simulated training opportunity for students with special needs to learn to live independently by developing “activities of daily living” (ADLs) skills such as: • personal hygiene and grooming • food preparation • functional transfers and ambulation • employment skills • accessing public transportation • and the list goes on…
The transition house concept includes: • working spaces which teach students how to manage the business of running a household • developing job skills such as: • product development • carpentry • electrical • technology repair • and the list goes on… Many of these skills equate to small business models like a copy shop, food truck, confidential shredding, landscaping, etc.
The transition house curriculum includes the following skill development: • Parental Support • Research substantiates that adults with moderate to severe disabilities worked more hours, earned higher wages, and lived more independently when their parents were moderately to highly involved in their transition planning process. • Employment for many individuals with disabilities is obtained via family members and friends contacts • Family plays an important role in career decisions for individuals with disabilities Socialization Training
Program Goals: To produce young citizens who are prepared to live and work independently within, and contributing to, the community at large. The transition program will assist students as they navigate both the educational systems (common education and higher education) as well as through the State run agencies. Successful transition will be achieved when the student can demonstrate the requisite skills to live and work independently with minimal or no assistance, including but not limited to: good hygiene, meal preparation, laundry skills, leisure skill development, time management, money management, accessing public transportation and community businesses, com-munity/self employment, safety and equipment management, horticulture, create/construct/sale of “Antler Products”, food truck management and food truck food preparations, etc.
Social Skills Training • Providing social skills training to students with disabilities was identified as a substantiated transition planning practice when students have poor social skills • Students with autism spectrum disorder, emotional disorders, and intellectual disabilities have deficits in their social skills, targeted social skills training is a necessary component of transition planning for these students. • A comprehensive transition house curriculum teaches social skills to students with disabilities and creates specific social skills scripts which students learn and practice for generalizability to social and work settings.
Daily Living Skills • Possessing functional daily living skills has been linked to better post-school outcomes for individuals with disabilities • Personal care activities such as bathing, dressing, toileting, and eating • Generalizing these skills to daily living environments is necessary for the achievement of successful post-school outcomes • Experiential opportunities like those noted in a simulated living space, i.e., transition house.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) is a term used to refer to daily self-care activities within an individual's place of residence, in outdoor environments, or both. ADLs are defined as "the things we normally do...such as feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, and leisure." • Basic ADLs consist of self-care tasks, including: • Personal hygiene and grooming • Dressing and undressing • Feeding oneself • Functional transfers, e.g. Getting out of bed • Voluntarily controlling urinary and fecal discharge • Elimination • Ambulation (Walking or using a wheelchair) • Instrumental ADLs: Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are not necessary for fundamental functioning, but they let an individual live independently in a community. • Housework • Meal Preparation • Taking medications • Managing money • Shopping for groceries or clothing • Telephone use • Using technology (as applicable)
Conclusion • For most people, work is essential to a livelihood, a sense of worth and accomplishment, and overall life satisfaction. A significantly unequal number of people with disabilities do not go on to experience steady, satisfying, or gainful employment. • Schools must give more focus, in both time and resources, to preparing non-college track students for work or post-school training. • A comprehensive transdisciplinary approach to both assessment and planning are essential elements of a successful transition house curriculum • People with disabilities who are encouraged and supported to make their own decisions, to act as “primary causal agent[s] are better employed at higher salaries and more independent. • Accessed and used appropriately, a transition house and its supporting curriculum can empower young adults with disabilities to protect and exercise their right to make choices, helping them become poised and prepared to lead full and independent lives, free from overbroad or undue guardianship.
The Deer Creek Transition House Project brings together all of the key elements of a successful transition program. Students with special needs who graduate from high school with strong transition skills are equipped to enter the workforce, go on to higher education, and fully participate within their community. According to the Federal guidelines and statistics on transition programming, for every dollar spent on good transitional programming, the State saves twelve dollars over the individual’s lifetime. Not only is investment in transitional programming a sound financial decision, but the investment in the quality of life for all of our citizens is realized through the full participation and acceptance of our children, friends, and neighbors into our community.
Contact Information:Jeff McMillanjeffmcmillan@dcsok.orgJames Rosejamesrose@dcsok.org
