Post High School

Below are websites to help with transitioning from high school into either college, vocational training programs or into a program that provides support to students to be successful at whatever level of education they pursue. Many of the programs are specific to a state or area, but we encourage searching for these kind of programs within a specific area.

Some key search terms in google include: aspire, rehabilitative support, vocational training support, excellence in disabilities, special colleges for students with disabilities, colleges with learning support programs, college experience program for disabilities, comprehensive transition program track, and post secondary program for individuals with disabilities.

Key search terms on a college or university website include: student support services or program, assist, disability support, disability, support, transition, accommodations, accessibility, resource, supplemental instruction and learning center.

Key search terms on a vocational school website include: supported employment, vocational rehabilitation services, and ability employment

Links to help with transition from high school to postsecondary education

A Transition Guide to Postsecondary Education and Employment for Students and Youth with Disabilities
This link is from the Department of Education, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and has a guide to help transitions from high school to the next step and a letter on the importance of collaboration with vocational rehabilitation services to share with your child’s school. The guide is applicable across the US.

Think College Institute for Community Inclusion
This extensive website has articles and resources around transition programs and post-secondary experiences for students with disabilities, as well as a state guide highlighting secondary colleges.

Colleges with Robust Student Support Services

Apraxia Kids, with the help of volunteers, has compiled a list of colleges across the US that have robust student support services to help students with any type of disability succeed.

The article below has resources at a few different colleges that help with transitioning from high school to different types of programs. Many of the programs are specific to a state or area, but provide an example of what types of programs/resources are available and we encourage searching for these kind of programs within your area using the search terms above.

Employment Resources

There are many aspects that need to be considered when searching for a job when there might still be noticeable communication difficulties that impact job performance. Questions such as “Where to start searching?”, “When should a disability be disclosed?”, “What are some appropriate accommodations?”, and “What resources are out there to help?” are discussed in this article.

Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a website that has resources and information on workplace accommodations, assistive technology assistance and starting a new business for employers and individuals. They also offer free consultative services by phone, email, JAN-on-Demand and Live Chat.

It is important that young adults find a core group with which to engage. It can be centered around any type of activity: Art, Anime, music, dancing, sports (watching or participating) or other physical activities (indoors or outdoors), gaming (video and non-video such as board or card games), animal rescue organizations, gardening, photography, sewing/quilting/knitting, religious activities, automobiles (restoring, showing, racing), politics, movies, writing/literature, volunteering for organizations within the community or at schools to help groups of people or anything else that hopefully is not centered around work/job. These type of activities will provide opportunities to meet new people, have fun and fill weekends or evenings. If meeting people in person is difficult, perhaps starting with an online group would be easier where chatting or texting is the main mode of communicating. Here are some examples of organizations that are localized to a specific state, but these types of programs are available in most states.

Waypoint Adventure is an educational organization that uses adventure-based programs to transform the lives of individuals with disabilities and their communities in Lexington Massachusetts.

Go Access inspires higher function and fitness for children and adults living with challenges and disabilities through high-challenge sports and training throughout Massachusetts.

Core Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides academic, social, recreation, therapeutic and work-skills programs in Reston, Virginia.

How to Give Back

Once a teenager gains more confidence and has found their voice, they may start thinking about how they can help others. There are many things a teen or young adult can do to give back to the apraxia community that has provided support over the years to individuals and their families.

Young Adults with Apraxia Blog Series

We asked several young adults to write out a response to several questions about how they advocate for themselves and how CAS still impacts their daily lives. Their messages are ones of lessons learned, hope, struggles, thriving, and perseverance. Most importantly, no one is alone in their journey.

Down the Road, How Can I Improve My Speech?

Sometimes a young adult may feel their speech is not as clear as it could be, or maybe some skills have been lost. There are resources to check out for going back to speech therapy.

If there is a college or university nearby, check to see if there is a University Speech-Language Hearing Clinic on campus. These clinics provide assessment and treatment for all ages and diagnoses. The services are provided by either graduate or undergraduate students studying to become speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and they are supervised by certified SLPs who often are well versed in the latest research for treatment approaches. And the cost is very minimal and even more so for students! Apraxia Kids has many university clinics listed state by state on the State Resource page.

If there is not a university or college nearby, then check out the Apraxia Kids SLP Directory which lists therapists by state/province who have foundational knowledge on assessment and treatment of childhood apraxia of speech. Even if they are not nearby, they could provide teletherapy which would be beneficial. SLPs who have a gold star are ones who have completed Apraxia Kids Intensive Training and are considered to have advanced training and expertise in assessment and treatment of CAS.

When meeting an SLP initially, be prepared to talk about goals for improving speech. These could be related to pronunciation of sounds, smoothness, or rate of speech. There could also be language goals such as word finding or auditory processing or about using language for social interactions. Whatever the goals, look for an SLP who has experience working with adults and apraxia.

Psychosocial Comorbidities in Adolescents with Histories of CAS

Children with severe speech sound disorders that persist beyond elementary school age are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, inattention, and social problems. If there is a comorbid language difficulty, the risk is even higher. Read a summary of several articles which looked at psychosocial challenges in groups of adolescents and adults diagnosed with CAS.

Resources for Mental Health in Children and Adolescents and Adults

This website by iReviews has published (2022) a list and description of apps, websites and services for helping children through adults be proactive and overcome challenges around mental health including stress, anxiety, depression and other concerns.

45 Tools and Resources for Student Mental Health