POLICY and PRACTICE: Strategies for
Supporting Young Adults with the Most Significant
Communication and Behavior Challenges
In the five years that Employment First has been policy in Ohio, efforts by multiple agencies have been directed toward improving employment and employment-readiness opportunities for young adults with developmental disabilities (DD). Considerable progress has been made for people with DD as a whole, but for individuals with significant behavior and communication challenges, major barriers still exist. Research has shown that, with the right supports, these young adults with significant behavior and communication challenges can be successful in the workplace and other community settings.
This conference will explore policies that pertain to young adults with significant communication and behavior challenges, and strategies that can most effectively put those policies into practice to promote successful employment and meaningful daily activities.
Registration from 8:00am-8:30am
8:30am-noon: The morning session will be a facilitated discussion of state and federal policy. State-level representatives of agencies tasked with supporting young adults with DD will present their agency's overview of policies and plan of how they support these young adults. Regional agency representatives will be present to help us navigate the implementation in our area.
Noon-12:30pm: Lunch- a boxed lunch will be provided as part of the registration fee. We will take a short break but will consider this a "working lunch" to continue this important discussion.
12:30pm-3:30pm: In the afternoon session three local providers will share their program design to support individuals with the most significant needs and successes they've experienced. Then, in depth discussion will be held to understand what is essential to program structure to overcome challenges and the skills and knowledge that are critical for staff to effectively support community work with this population.
The target audience is agency and school administrators, supervisors, and experienced transition team members. Attendees should have a basic understanding of systems including Developmental Disabilities, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, and Department of Education, as well as a baseline level of skill and training for support of young adults with autism spectrum disorders and other DD.
A Certificate of Attendance will be available for all attendees.
For questions please contact: [email protected]