The Post Secondary Transition Podcast

029. Season TWO, New School Year, New Info

August 19, 2023 Meghan Smallwood; Patrick Cadigan Season 2 Episode 29
029. Season TWO, New School Year, New Info
The Post Secondary Transition Podcast
More Info
The Post Secondary Transition Podcast
029. Season TWO, New School Year, New Info
Aug 19, 2023 Season 2 Episode 29
Meghan Smallwood; Patrick Cadigan

Send us a Text Message.

Host's Meghan and Patrick are excited to shift into their second season; they discuss the roots for their passions and focus their discussion on some of the updates that have populated their Post-Secondary Transition website. They drop hints about some of the new things coming up this season and details about future discussions.

Episode Keywords:
transition, information, families, guardianship, conversations, website, updates, links, resources, helpful

Links:
Transition Source Podcast (site)
Post-Secondary Transition Facebook (page)
ThinkCollege (site)
Certificate Track (page)
Adult Agency Snapshot (page)
Health Care Transition (page)
Residential Provider (page) & Emergency Housing (page)
Guardianship (page)

Download a transcript of the episode here.

Also visit our Podcast webpage to find links to all of our other discussions; go to www.p2transition.com.
- Additional information about post-secondary transition can be found at our website.
- Post-Secondary Transition Facebook page.
- Visit our YouTube Channel to find additional video resources.
- Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee from Pixabay.
- Transition music by Joseph McDade from Transistor.


Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Send us a Text Message.

Host's Meghan and Patrick are excited to shift into their second season; they discuss the roots for their passions and focus their discussion on some of the updates that have populated their Post-Secondary Transition website. They drop hints about some of the new things coming up this season and details about future discussions.

Episode Keywords:
transition, information, families, guardianship, conversations, website, updates, links, resources, helpful

Links:
Transition Source Podcast (site)
Post-Secondary Transition Facebook (page)
ThinkCollege (site)
Certificate Track (page)
Adult Agency Snapshot (page)
Health Care Transition (page)
Residential Provider (page) & Emergency Housing (page)
Guardianship (page)

Download a transcript of the episode here.

Also visit our Podcast webpage to find links to all of our other discussions; go to www.p2transition.com.
- Additional information about post-secondary transition can be found at our website.
- Post-Secondary Transition Facebook page.
- Visit our YouTube Channel to find additional video resources.
- Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee from Pixabay.
- Transition music by Joseph McDade from Transistor.


Meghan Smallwood:

What is Post Secondary Transition? Consider the question, what do you want for your child after they leave school? This will include research using resources and setting goals. It's a lot of information. And there's a lot to consider. And trying to do it all at once can really feel consuming. It will be a unique experience. But there are other families who are going through this at the same time you are. So we're here having conversations that will ask parents to think long term.

Patrick Cadigan:

So welcome. This is the Post Secondary Transition Podcast. We have conversations around the process for families of students with disabilities. I'm one of the hosts My name is Patrick Cadigan. I am a public school education teacher, special education teacher who was my co-host?

Meghan Smallwood:

I am Meghan Smallwood, and I am a public school transition coordinator.

Patrick Cadigan:

All right, Meghan. So here we are, we are in, what, season 2. We made it.

Meghan Smallwood:

Crazy. How did we get here so fast?

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, one, one year in. Obviously, we've been having a lot of conversations behind the scenes about how we want to move forward. How we want this podcast to look and what we would like to do with it. I think where we're going to start is obviously why we're here. What is it that we're doing, what motivates us? So Meghan, I, we did it, I did it to you, when we first started this whole thing, I threw you under the bus first. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna put it to you again. The first time, why is it that you do what you do?

Meghan Smallwood:

It goes way back. I mean, it's been in engrained in me since I was little, because I have a sister with cognitive disability. So I've lived Special Ed my whole life, I witnessed the transition from the public school setting to after 21 and saw all the stress that my parents went through. So that kind of drove, drove me, you know, to get into special ed. And then as I went through, you know, those first few years as a classroom teacher realized more and more, that the end goal for parents was really what my focus was my motivation to help people just preparing for life after so my went through years as a classroom teacher and decided that the transition coordinator role was the role that I really wanted and here I am seven years in.

Patrick Cadigan:

So, so how long did it take you to get to the transition coordinator role?

Meghan Smallwood:

I was 12 years in the classroom.

Patrick Cadigan:

Oh, okay.

Meghan Smallwood:

And then I mean, and I, every year, I was about your five or six while I was getting my masters that I took a course, specifically, you know, discussing that Post Secondary Transition world and all of the different agencies and all those fun acronyms that we help parents figure out. And so I started nagging our transition coordinator lead of the county and just checked in every year to see when there'd be an opening.

Patrick Cadigan:

And I remember, revolving around the masterclass, that's how you and I hooked up in terms of...

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

I had that the Towson class, and we did the, I needed an interview for with a transition coordinator. And I happened to because if I remember correctly, I was leaving the school that we that we were at, Cedar Lane...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, I think we had a year or two...

Patrick Cadigan:

Did we?

Meghan Smallwood:

Together.

Patrick Cadigan:

Did we have a...I think it was just a year, I think it was just a year. So luckily, I kind of remembered you. And so when that class came up, years later, because let me think I would have been I would have that would have been like three or four years later, after I had left...

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

And in my third year in, in the Master's class, so...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

And we did that interview. I'll never forget it, you're like, "Oh, yeah, you know, I've been thinking about something like this, you know, interview style and talking to parents and providers." And I was like, "Wow, guess what? We could do a podcast!"

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah. And I mean, in terms of the website, too, it's, you know, there's so much information, and I, you know, I feel for the parents, you know, I've been in their shoes, and one, you know, some kind of format with my sister, but there's just so much to know, and so much to keep track of, and it was just so important to me to have a place for them to access that continuously, you know, when they have the time to look through it and go back and refer to it and just know that they weren't alone in it all.

Patrick Cadigan:

And that was one of the other things that was kind of unique is that I remember when we first started talking, you had included the link. So a little bit of background for our listeners who wouldn't know, the original iteration of that site would have been done with Google. Google has a program...

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

that allows you to build websites. So Meghan had included that in our signature and I clicked on that link, and I looked at it and I was like, I was like yeah, this is really interesting. I, I I think I think more could be done. And I'll never again, one of those things I'll never forget I sent you an email. No, most people, you get an email from somebody that you barely know. And you're like, "Hey, can I work on this?" You know? And you're just like, Yeah, fine. Go for it.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, it was funny because I have to credit my principal from our school that we worked at together, I had been talking to him. And I'm like, I just need to figure out where I can house information. For these parents. He's like, what about a Google site? So that's where it started. And I'm not the tech savvy one. So I was very proud of myself for what I put together. And then yeah, you came along, you're like, "Can I, can I have your login? Can I just, you know, work on this for you? And I was like, I can't make it any worse than I have. So sure, go ahead.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah. And then we did, let me think we worked on that together for probably like a year or two. And then...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yes.

Patrick Cadigan:

I will say that in terms of design, and ease of use, and things would definitely hit a roadblock.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

And so we I think it was one of those things where, and I've learned not to do this, but I just was like, Oh, hey, you know, I can go and we'll do it over here. So we jumped platforms, and we went over to Weebly, and, and then I think I sent you an email after the fact and was like, "Oh, hey, here's a new website. And here's the domain and..."

Meghan Smallwood:

Don't use this link anymore. Use this one.

Patrick Cadigan:

I've changed my mind. And luckily, luckily, luckily, you were you were okay with it. But that it even in that that iteration itself has seen a lot of changes, as we have continued to do this, because let me think, obviously, for regular listeners, in the last episode, because we got caught, one of us was not even in the country, and one of us was in a totally different state, we had to throw something together really quickly. And so I threw together a collection of the website pages that had we had recently updated. So like starting with the certificate track page. So for those uninitiated, when you go to www.postsecondarytransition.com, you're met with like a menu system across the top right. And so you have start here, and certificate track and diploma track, and you know, things like that, but under the certificate track. To start with there, we went in, and we started to one of the things that has always been really tricky about design is to make it easy, and to make it understandable and to make it consistent. And that was one thing that like just around the post secondary transition process itself. Like, there's so much information out there, and it's so widely available, but it's just it's like it, it's like a storm.

Meghan Smallwood:

Well, that was the one thing I always struggled with, like how to format it or presented the easiest way possible to families. And I'm always looking for feedback. And I know you and I are always appreciative of feedback about the website. But it's just so hard because it's not black and white, you know, it's so gray. And you know, you want to put something under certificate, but that could be applicable to a student who is earning a diploma.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yes.

Meghan Smallwood:

Or, like a"tweener." So it's just good. I mean, if you get on the website to check out all the areas, you just never know what you might come across.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, speaking of that, because I remember in one of the original iterations. So we have there's a, under the certificate track, there's a tab that where it can go take you to our information page about DDA. Well, at one point, we also had DORS on there. But then, you know, in that in our discussions and in, you know, looking for more information, and like you said, trying to make it easier to navigate, it was like, well, this, this really belongs under the diploma...

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

side. It Yes, it is applicable to students who are not graduating with a diploma, but for the most part. So we kind of, you know, move things around. And I feel like we're doing that constantly.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

Hopefully, it's not driving anybody too crazy. But definitely on that page, we did updated links, updated visuals to just try to make it easier to understand. And along those lines. We also did the same thing with our adult agencies page. And one of the things that I threw this out in the last episode and I want to throw it out again, this is not intended to be the like, be all and end all, which is to say that we had highlighted, Meghan had put together an information sheet that she was giving out to parents, so I use that as the template and then I built kind of the page around it. But of course, this was only certain agencies. This was an all of them. And I remember because when you did that information sheet one of the things that you were were very quick to say, and I think you did it like, right at the bottom, you were like,"Look, we're not endorsing. I'm not endorsing anyone,

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

This is just, this is just for informational purposes.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, exactly. I figure it's just helpful because you look at a list of agencies and you're like, Well, I don't know where to start, I don't know what each one offers. So just from my personal experience with families, I figured this would be helpful to at least rule out or, you know, highlight some of the ones that could be a possibility. So...

Patrick Cadigan:

Well, and then one of the cool things is one of the updates that we did was is that we did find on and if I remember correctly, I want to say it's on the DDA page, but there was a page that they had provided that did have the full list.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

Now, again, this is this is specifically for the state of Maryland, but it had the full list of agencies. And I don't remember how we found that, but I was like, Yeah, we could probably make this easier to get to. So we

Meghan Smallwood:

And I believe that might have come from one of put... the the coordinating, coordinator of community services agencies, because I was looking for families that I've been working with that live in in Arundel County, as well. So I started looking at their list just to kind of get an idea, since I'm familiar with our county, but I think it's just good for all family, you just never know what the, again, you're thinking long term goals after 21. What if you want to retire down at the beach? What if you want to move into Western Maryland, you know, you have to consider options outside of this county, if you plan on, you know, moving, so it's just good to have that information.

Patrick Cadigan:

And it's, you know, playing off of that, you know, and you and I have had this conversation before, like in terms of trying to figure out how to make this information more, like broad or broadly available. But, you know, again, there there, it's been tricky. I'm not gonna lie, it has been tricky. And I feel like we we have predominantly focused in Maryland, because...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

Of course, that's where we live. That's where we work, right? Like, that's what we know and understand. But in context, recently, my wife and I, we flew, we went down to Florida, we were staying with friends. And while I was there, I did a Google search for post secondary transition. And I did it for two reasons. One, because I wanted to find out where we were on the Google rankings, but then also to see because you know, of course, Google let you by location, then we'll get when you do a search, it'll give you relevant links. And so they one of the things that I thought was really interesting about Florida was that it seemed so whereas where we live in Meghan is a testament to this, we the our county supports transition coordinators, specifically as a role as a job. And the impression that I got from Florida was that they were relying entirely on websites and pushing that information out to parents in that way. And I mean, that's certainly a way to do it. I'm not saying that it's wrong. I've just was like, oh okay, this is interesting. So there was a, there was a plethora of resources that were that they had, you know, that were available in Florida. And it was really interesting, like parsing through all those and reading them...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah

Patrick Cadigan:

Seeing what they had to say.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, and I kind of, I think it goes back to, you know, in Maryland, you know, every county handles it differently. Like at our county, it's specific, you know, I have a couple of schools, we have coordinators for the sign to the schools, but I know in other counties, you might have a coordinator who's assigned to half the county. So you're relying more on that special educator case manager in, in building people that you have built a relationship with them. So regardless of the fact that we live in Maryland, I think, you know, thinking outside to any other state, it's just it, it does ultimately fall on a parent. And I know one of our parent panels, a parent has said many times that he is the constant for his child, you know, I have all these people to help me, but I am the constant, the 21, when they go away, I'm still going to be there. So I cannot solely rely on these people. To do it for me, and to say here, just look at this one, you know, you need to do the research, you need to look at all the resources. And that's why I think it's so important, at least for me to make sure it's all presented, you know, for you in within this podcast within this website. So you have all that information and can make the best decision for you and your family.

Patrick Cadigan:

And, and again, I'm going to throw out there and kind of segue into one of the things that's really interesting about what it is that we're trying to do was because there's so much information, it's also knowing what to present and when to present. And what I mean by that is, is that one of the pages that we recently updated was our health care transition page and that actually had; Okay, I'll throw out there both the healthcare transition and then the housing information. Two separate pages And, you know, two separate sets of informational blocks. But what I found when I was looking through kind of what we were doing, in some cases, it just, it didn't fit. Right. Like it didn't, it didn't make any sense why that was there. So I actually started taking stuff down. And so more probably more so for the housing. But I really started to focus in just on the key on the on those key bits of information, like really focus it like residential provider, which, you know, is something that families when they're transitioning out of school, that is something that they're going to start thinking about. But then also emergency housing. And there was there was a whole bunch of other stuff in there, but it was like, yeah, yeah, it's, it's a little too much. Maybe maybe one day, maybe one day, we'll come back, and we'll do something like that again. But in terms of healthcare, and then the housing, it was almost like we, we we took away, but the information that was left is really valuable. And we think that you know, it's really going to it's going to be really helpful.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah. And I think that is a rabbit hole that you can kind of fall down.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, we kind of that comes up a lot when we're talking transition, right"rabbit holes."

Meghan Smallwood:

Hi, now I know. And then it's just and that'll happen to me, you know, within the school year, I'll talk to a parent and they'll get stuck on a topic, and I'll go down the rabbit hole, and I'm like, oh, it's three o'clock, how did that happen? But there's just so much information out there, and you're trying to weed through it to make it easier to present. So that, you know, the parent doesn't feel this, this overwhelming, you know, just just, yeah, it's it's a lot.

Patrick Cadigan:

It is a lot. And then one of the other things that we did, so we used to have pages up for the post secondary college programs that were available, kind of in and around our area, we had focused in on like, Howard Community College, Towson, and then even our friends over in Baltimore County. But what we had decided was because we had essentially built our own pages that used information that they were, that they had thrown out to the public, and don't get me wrong, those pages were beautiful. And we were really proud of what they look like. But at the end of the day, we decided, You know what, we just want families to just be able to get straight to the information go directly to where they need to get to. So we updated those, we updated those to essentially just be links. So we we throughout Beacon College, Community College of Baltimore, they have a program called CASE, Howard Community College, which I mentioned, Project Access, Montgomery College, the Challenge program. So again, if you the idea is, is that if you go to that tab, and you click on those links, it's going to take you directly to those programs, and there's a lot of information there. I feel like they did really well, with presenting it.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah. And I also think, you know, as you know, get back into the school year, it feels like there's always more coming out and more to be added. And as you look into the post secondary options in terms of college, there's just so many around the country. So again, even if you don't live in Maryland, you know, this can help you to start knowing what terms to search for what kind of programs there are, that could be in your area. So there's just a plethora available.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, and along that plethora, one thing lasting because I feel like we're really like, you know, pushing the website right now, but it's just such a cool resource. But one thing I did want to throw out there for our guardianship page. So we we give a kind of a brief overview about guardianship. We're also very quick to talk about that it is not legal advice. It's just an information page.

Meghan Smallwood:

And there are alternatives to guardianship.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yes. And and there's a there's a link directly in there. So we got guardianship, alternatives to guardianship. And we, we think that they're both really, really good resources.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yep.

Patrick Cadigan:

But one of the things that I wanted to throw out there, we have new information up from those clear information. I think, we went back and we kind of looked at what we had written and we were like, Okay, I think we can do I think we can do more with this. But the my favorite one, personally, was we came up with some updated resource links, and we we we really put a bunch out there. And so I think it's really going to be helpful. And we did the same thing on the alternatives to guardianship as well. So there are some links, there's a lot of links to go check them out. It's good stuff.

Meghan Smallwood:

And they're not going anywhere. So you can look at it, get overwhelmed, walk away, come back.

Patrick Cadigan:

Well, and so along those lines, we recently got an email didn't we were it was an outside agency that was looking to partner with us in terms of sharing of resource links. And so we're looking to kind of expand a little bit yeah, add more and And, again, we're working really hard to make sure that it's relevant that it applies. And, yeah, and that it's current and that, and that it's easy to find, but we're really, that was a cool email, I wasn't expecting it. And I always like when...

Meghan Smallwood:

It's nice because we are, we are more than, you know, willing to explore more things. And I love when we're, you know, when people reach out, and they're like, hey, we'd love to share our information, because that just means words getting out there. And we want to add more resources for you, the families to have. So...

Patrick Cadigan:

Well...

Meghan Smallwood:

We're always happy for them.

Patrick Cadigan:

And that came up recently, because, you know, of course, we also have a Facebook page. And we had shared out recently, some information that was shared by parents place in Maryland. And so, you know, Facebook, we're actually just click the share button. And you know, it goes up to your page. And I really appreciated the fact that they responded and said, thanks.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

Thank you, thank you for sharing, because we get that too, with when we interviewed... Barrier Free. And both Lauren and Brett, every

Meghan Smallwood:

Barrier Free. time we post something, they always kind of come back around and say thank you. So... Yeah, they're wonderful.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, that's who they are. They're super cool people, I really enjoyed that conversation, if you haven't had a chance to listen to it. So effectively, we kind of have two websites, don't we? We have www.postsecondarytransition.com, which is the informational page. But then, for this specific podcast, we have a secondary site, www.P2Transition.com, and that you can go to and you can find all of the conversations that we have had up into this point. And you figure after one year, we've done well.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, I was looking at the list this morning. And I was like, holy moly, we recorded that many didn't feel like it.

Patrick Cadigan:

Well, and I think that for for people who do We've been at it for one year. And we've been pretty so this is for my podcasters audience out there. That one of the things that I've been most proud that we have been able to do is to be consistent. Since we started last year, come hell or high water. We have posted one episode every two weeks. And one of the things that Meghan and I had been talking about behind the scenes was that we are the only podcast that talks about the post secondary transition process; I can I can say that unequivocally I've done the research. I've looked into it. Now there have been podcasts in the past, but they usually don't last. The I think and I'm going to include a link to one in the shownotes, which I found the information was helpful. But they were it was just a series of discussions. And then it just stopped. And then then there was no more. And when I listened to that very last episode, I mean, you could tell that the intent consistent. So I think we're doing really well. was to keep going. But then they just never did. And don't get me wrong. That's no judgment on the people who who were throwing out the podcast, none at all.

Meghan Smallwood:

Go us.

Patrick Cadigan:

So what are we? Alright, so what do you think? What do we got coming up? What are we as we move into Season Two? What are some of the things that we've been talking about? Let's throw it out there so that we can give everyone something to look forward to?

Meghan Smallwood:

Well, I think we definitely want to go back to our families, and get families who have gone through the process are going through the process to share their experience. That's always a good one. I think just hearing that firsthand experience is so helpful. But I think we've also over the year met a lot of cool people. And we've gotten a lot of contacts that we need to reach out to and set up and that's for different agencies and different resources for after 21 We the having the variety is helpful. Yeah, little bit of everything. So you know, all the options, but...

Patrick Cadigan:

I think my my one favorite story about that was is that we had actually, Meghan did a, what was it like an informational session with with the people from ThinkCollege. And so I reached out and I said, you know, hey, this is something that we're doing this podcast is something we're doing would you guys like to come on and talk about it and they responded and they were very enthusiastic and I was like Oh, that's great. So I crafted this very well written email and included dates. And I was very proud of myself. I was very professional and then turned off my computer and no one went away and didn't...

Meghan Smallwood:

Best intentions.

Patrick Cadigan:

...didn't didn't hear back from the ThinkCollege people and you know, you get busy and you kind of forgot about it. And then one day I was like, Hey, I never heard back from the ThinkCollege people I I wonder why that is? And when I went in, and then sure enough, there was that email. It's sitting in the drafts folder because I never actually bothered to send it.

Meghan Smallwood:

Whoops.

Patrick Cadigan:

So yeah, good, good work, Patrick. That's way to do it there, buddy. So we're gonna, we're gonna reach back out to them. And hope I'm looking forward to that. Because the when, when Ms.Maria's responded some of the things that she was talking about, I was just like, oh, yeah, this is gonna.

Meghan Smallwood:

It's funny, because when we had our session back in the spring, you know, and they were sharing about their opportunities. And another transition teacher and I were sitting there, we're like, we need to take a road trip up to, you know, the northeast to visit these places, because it was just amazing. And of course, your mind starts going and brainstorming how can we replicate that down here? Like, it's just, there's just so many opportunities. It's just amazing. You know, it's nice to see what else is out there past our little bubble sometimes.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yes, I agree. Oh, and then actually, so speaking of bubbles, one of the other ones that I'm looking forward to was, we recently got someone from another podcast reached out to us, and wants us to come on and talk about; now this is really cool.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, I'm excited for this.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, this one is gonna be really quick. For those of you who have been paying attention we did what was one of our helpful resources about this, the T21. Mom, podcast, and Ms. Mary, who she has a daughter, who has Down syndrome. And so but she is over on the West Coast, and not only the west coast, but their Canadian west coast. She reached out to us and she said, You know, I'd really like you guys to come on and talk about the transition process. And Meghan, and I were just like, oh, yeah, this is...

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

...gonna be this is because it's just such a different. It's everything about it is different, like different...

Meghan Smallwood:

Right.

Patrick Cadigan:

...different coasts of the country. So we're really looking forward to that one, I know that we're, we're going back and forth. We're trying to find out some, some dates that we're going to work. But I even reached out to one of my families that I have stayed in contact with with one of my students. And I talked to mom about that. And I said, you know, this is what we're doing. Are you going to be okay, if I, if I talk about Lucas, who was my student. And she was like,"Sure." I was like, Alright, cool. I, you know, I don't know, to what extent like, you know, how the conversation is going to be framed or anything, but I definitely, I definitely that. That is like, in my own personal experience. Like, I thought that made a lot of sense. Yeah. What else? Do we have anything else going on? I mean, like you said, we obviously we want to reach back out to our families.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yeah, I feel like as we get going, and as we get back into the mindset of the school year, it's just gonna all come together again.

Patrick Cadigan:

Yeah, of course. Because as we speak, it is. It is a Wednesday, and we're and you and I are going back to school on Thursday.

Meghan Smallwood:

Tomorrow. Yes. Yeah.

Patrick Cadigan:

Well, it's been a it's been a good summer. Um, I think I'm, I think I'm ready. Is there anything else you want to talk about while we're...

Meghan Smallwood:

No, I don't think so. I think it just always, I know, it's hard to say. And I always say this with a little laugh when I talk to families and like in your free time, you know, but it's just don't wait until the last minute. Just always, always, always be checking those resources, check our website, check our podcast, check with people at school, just always, always have transition in the back of your mind. Because so many times I hear family say, Oh, my God, it's the last year, I haven't done anything, like, you know, just trying to put it off and enjoy the bubble. You know, that's been for the last 21 years of their child's been in the school system. Just always be prepared. And that's what we're here to help with, you know, it doesn't matter if your child's not even 14 yet, you're listening. It's some of the stuff will change. Yes, you know, resources may be updated and whatnot. But the process in general, you know, that pretty hold pretty steady. So there's things that you're going to want to just begin to brush up with and talk to those around you that you might know going through it and then just start small.

Patrick Cadigan:

Start small, I think that that is a really good place to start. And it's also going to be a really good place for us to stop. But before we let you go, we're going to this isn't what we're going to effectively do as a call to action. Right. So as we move into our second year, what we are interested in doing is building the audience, right but we need your help in order to be able to do it. So please follow the information from this and other conversations in our show notes. Like follow and definitely share out the podcast both the Post Secondary Transition website itself and our podcast website P2Transition.com. We have a YouTube channel. We have videos of all the conversations so we you know we record it, obviously It's, it's designed and intended to be audio. But I have some handy dandy software that also turns it into a video. And so we have that posted to our YouTube channel. But we didn't stop there, right in a lot of ways. We did a lot of the legwork, we curated videos on the topics that we've already talked about, that revolve around transition, we've created playlists that cover guardianship, alternatives to guardianship, we have some videos up there about ABLE accounts, and there's going to be more to come because, you know, one of the other things that was tricky about that is we wanted to make sure that the information was updated, current, relevant. So sometimes, we have videos that are posted, but then we take them down. And if we can, we're gonna replace them with new and updated information, but it is there, and it is at our YouTube channel. So definitely, be sure to subscribe there as well check it out. And then I've, we've said it, we're gonna say it again, check out the website chock full of information around the entire transition process. You're also going to find both our contact information there. And we've actually been doing blogging. So you'll find a we've been talking about some of the things around the transition process. And that is on our blog, so you will find it all at the www.postsecondarytransition.com Oh, that was a lot.

Meghan Smallwood:

That was a lot.

Patrick Cadigan:

But episode one of season two, and I think we nailed it.

Meghan Smallwood:

Yahoo!

Patrick Cadigan:

All right. Well, then that's it. Thank you guys for joining us, and we're gonna have more conversations coming up. So we will see you soon. Thank you

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