Transcript PA Summer Institute: Focus on Transition

Skills for Success
Dr. Karen Wolffe
2109 Rabb Glen Street
Austin, TX 78704
512.707.0525
[email protected]
Levels of Intervention
Informational Level Students
Instructional Level Students
Advocacy Level Students
Basic Career Education Goals
Conveying High Expectations
Encouraging Socialization
Developing Compensatory Skills
Providing Realistic Feedback
Promoting Opportunities to Work
Conveying High Expectations
Critical to self-esteem & life success.
Youngsters need to hear from those
around them that it is expected:
– They can and will grow up,
– Establish families outside of their nuclear
families,
– Live interdependently, work, and play in the
community.
Encouraging Socialization
Students need to be able to:
Develop interpersonal relationships at
assorted levels (public, acquaintances,
friends, and intimates),
Understand reciprocity, and
Understand the nuances of nonverbal
communication.
Compensatory Skills
Braille reading and writing skills,
Efficient use of low vision aids,
Orientation and mobility skills,
Use of assistive technology,
Career education,
Social skills, and
Independent living skills.
Providing Realistic Feedback
Young people nee realistic feedback
concerning strengths and weaknesses.
Ultimately the evaluation of students’
efforts will be made against a defined
norm not simply against their own
accomplishments or a perceived level of
expertise.
Opportunities to Work
All children and youth need to be engaged
in doing chores at home, in the
community, and in school.
They also need volunteer experiences,
part-time work during and after school,
summer jobs, and to participate in
work/study programs.
Resources
Books
– Skills for Success (Wolffe, 1999)
– Pick Up Your Socks (Crary, 1990)
– Self-esteem and Adjusting with Blindness
(Tuttle & Tuttle, 1996)
– Get Out of My Life…but first could you drive
me and Cheryl to the Mall (Wolf, 1991)
Resources
Articles
– In the Darkness There Can Be Light: A
Family’s Adaptation to a Child’s Blindness
(JVIB, 4/05)
– Effects of Visual Impairment, Gender, and
Age on Self-determination (JVIB, 6/04)
Resources
Internet sites
– www.afb.org
– www.careerconnect.org
– www.braillebug.org
– www.tsbvi.edu/recc/
– www.aph.org
Resources
Organizations
– American Foundation for the Blind
– American Council of the Blind
– National Federation of the Blind
– NAPVI, NOPBC
– APH, RFB&D, NLS, NBP, AT vendors
Resources
People
– STC presenters & participants
– Successful blind & low vision adults
– TVIs, COMs, VRCs, VRTs
– Community-based leaders and group
members (religious, secular, political…)