Introduction to the Course

Hi, I'm Chris Tester. I'll be giving a presentation on behalf of Helen Keller National Center, HKNC. I'm Deaf, I'm an interpreter, and HKNC reached out to me and asked if I would modify this presentation to make sure it was accessible to you, the DeafBlind community. In this presentation, we'll be talking about your future. We'll be talking about your rights and how to plan for what's ahead. Are you ready to start? I want to make it clear that this presentation is actually based off of another presentation called The Top Five Keys to Successful Transition Planning for DeafBlind Youth, which was given by Debbie Fiderer. Debbie is the coordinator of the community services program at HKNC. This presentation is designed to support transition age DeafBlind youth. Transition age refers to anyone between the ages of 14 to 21. I, Chris, was hired by HKNC to adapt the content and language of this presentation to make it readily accessible and understandable. One thing to mention at the onset, is that in this presentation, we will be talking about your rights, how to plan for your future and more. These are all general recommendations. The information is not tailored to any one specific individual. The needs and services available across the country differ. After watching this presentation, you can then begin conversations with your family, parents, and local and state service providers. Remember, be assertive and take the lead in having these conversations. This presentation will give you a better understanding of the big picture. It will help you understand your rights and what options are available to you.  

So, what does this presentation have to do with you? Our aim is to give you information, so that you can begin to prepare for your future, and more specifically, employment. We'll give you ideas of where you can work, where you can go for skills training, different career paths available to you, so that you feel prepared to take part in the workforce. We'll also cover different supports you can receive on the job. As a DeafBlind employee, perhaps you'll need an accommodation or assistive technology to be able to effectively do your job. If you haven't previously worked, you might be thinking, "how do I find a job? What's the interview process look like? Can I work there?" We'll be talking about all of these things. We'll also give you options, including various services and supports available to you, so that you can start preparing for work. I will also go over some terms and vocabulary that will be important for you to know throughout your transition to employment. Learning it here, now, it means you'll be prepared to see it in context later down the road. We'll teach you the English word and the sign, this way, you'll be able to recognize it in print as well as sign. Throughout this whole presentation, keep in mind that we're discussing the transition from school to employment. I want to make sure you all understand what services are available to you and how to use them to your advantage. I want to make sure you're aware of a law that was passed to support you. This law was enacted in 2015, and while this presentation won't cover every detail, I will give an overview of the law. Later in the presentation, we'll talk more about the specifics. The point is there are services and protections in place to support you for successful transition from school to employment. Our goal is to see you have a successful career in the field of your choice. As I just said, the point of this presentation is to plan for your future. We're going to break down this presentation into five topics. All of these topics fall under the umbrella of pre-employment transition services.  

The first topic we will cover is starting early and I'll explain the importance of starting early. Next, we'll cover the rights and protections afforded to you by certain laws. The third topic we'll cover is youth versus adult services and how and why they are different. We'll then cover job exploration and how to find work. Lastly, we'll talk about advocacy, how to be a self-advocate, how to ask for help or further training. These five topics are all designed to support you, to help you have an understanding of options that are available to you and what to do with those options, so that you can plan for your future.