The transition from high school to college to the workforce can present unique accessibility challenges for individuals with disabilities. As they move through each phase of life, they may encounter changes in their environment, support systems, and expectations. Navigating these transitions requires careful consideration of their evolving needs and the resources available to support them.
School spaces
Scot Marken, Founder and CEO of EdRedefined, is a consultant who works with students with disabilities during their academic transition. He says that young adults are most successful when they understand the differences between what they can easily receive at the high school and college levels.
“I speak to students and ask them, are they using those accommodations, and then I think of that visa vie, what someone has the potential to get when they're in college, if they're open to and want to use those [supports], and I then will look at where some particular type of skills [are] that they can work on.”
Marken draws on documents such as IEP, Section 504 plans, and medical information. He says it’s important to recognize that shifts in the size of the ones young adults are working through mean that they may not immediately identify what support they need, what they want, and what they are willing to access. After all, using accommodations—particularly very visible—can come with its fair share of unwanted attention.
Workplaces
During last year’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month, held each October, the US Department of Labour (DOL) shared that the percentage of disabled employees hit its highest rate on record at 23%. The DOL attributes that rise, in part, to the rise of digital solutions to accessibility solutions such as work from home and entirely remote workplaces.
Regarding digital accessibility in the workplace, the transition from school to work goes beyond whether someone needs a different monitor or additional time accommodations. Sheri Noble, a disability support services consultant working with Whitman College, is another professional working with students to meet their access needs. She says communication is at the core of that transition into an internship or career.
“I sometimes role-play with students, and I go, ‘Let’s play, let's just pretend.’ And so we go through something that a boss or somebody would ask, and it seems like it is more of a communication issue. And I find if they have confidence in themselves to communicate what they need, they do much better.”
Noble says that while students have to be aware of the essential job requirements, workplaces need to identify where they can be more accessible rather than just assuming what can and can’t be provided to workers with disabilities. She urges students to access resources like the Job Accommodation Network to grasp better what particular employers are openly willing to offer and where might be the best fit.
Another area of knowledge students need to be aware of that Marken feels transitions well into the job search is knowing the difference between what is legally required and what benefits might be less tangible.
Understanding accommodations
“[When] you’re talking about accommodations… [that] is one type of support, and that's formal support that you're getting because of laws. There's a lot of other types of support that students receive, whether they realize that or not, a lot of times it's informal support, particularly at smaller schools.”
Some examples of informal support in an educational environment include a staff member, such as a residence assistant, who is on the ball and notices when you’re retreating to your room a lot or a group of students who meet occasionally to complain about access problems at the school. In the workplace, this can mean finding out who you can be safe to disclose your disability to, but it can also mean joining programs like a company’s employee resource group.
Marken adds that accommodation needs can often be invisible before a person gets the job—for example, someone with dysgraphia, where their writing is affected.
‘So, you have someone whose handwriting may look like they're in first grade, and they don't stay on the lines, and they're all over the place, and, okay, and if someone goes and fills out a job application, if they're filling it online, and they can type. No one's going to know that necessarily. But if somebody goes to a local store and is handed a piece of paper, and they write, it looks like they're six years old, it's not related to can they do the job, but that, then becomes, for many people, potentially very challenging.”
Noble kept it simple when asked to imagine a hypothetical scenario where she could wave a magic wand and have employers implement knowledge from disability-focused supports on college campuses.
“Listen, and learn, and be educated by the student’s abilities that are going through this…understanding and compassion without coddling just build competence.”
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